The Unexpected You

by Emily N. Kay

My jaw hangs open, and I let out an incredulous gasp. “I’m sorry, Jacob. Don’t mind her. She’s saying nonsense because she’s gone mad,” I tell him through clenched teeth, glaring at my crazy friend who is laughing hysterically right now.

  Jacob blinks multiple times. His freckles become even more visible as his face reddens. “Oh…” He scratches the back of his neck. “Um, thanks? Even though it’s, um, a joke,” he stutters and lets out a nervous laugh.

  We fall into an awkward silence. Even Zoe is now holding her breath, cringing.

  Jacob finally says, “I should go.” Then he quickly strides away without looking back.

  I smack Zoe’s arm. “You are unbelievable! Why did you do that!”

  “What! You should thank me. Because now I am sure of one thing…”

  “And what’s that?” I snap.

  “That Jacob Weiler is so into you.”

  “He’s not!”

  But I’m starting to doubt it myself… Is it really possible that he has a thing for me? I mean, he has no problems talking to Zoe whatsoever, or anyone else. So why act weird around me?

  That’s when I decide, I have to set things straight with Jacob. Whether he likes me or hates me, I’ll finally get my answer.

  I will talk to Jacob.

  “Look at her,” Zoe says, her eyes on Maria who is sitting in front of the class. Her seat is directly across from the teacher’s desk. “I told you she is out to get him. I get why she does it––to prove a point that she’s irresistible or whatever. But to seduce a teacher? Even I think that’s too far.”

  A flash of guilt hits me. I couldn’t imagine what Zoe would say if she knows about me and our teacher.

  Maria is wearing a strapless top that showcases her enormous chest. Also, I can see her butt cheeks peeking out of her short shorts from where I’m sitting.

  I force out a laugh in response to Zoe. “Mr. Chase might like it.”

  “What guy wouldn’t.” Zoe scrunches up her nose at Maria. “But don’t you think it’s a bit much? She’s obnoxious. I know we don’t have a dress code, but it’s still school.”

  I laugh at how serious she is acting. “Since when are you this uptight. Your best friend is an escort,” I remind her, my voice lowered.

  “Believe it or not, babe, I’m highly doubting whether we should continue our friendship right now.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  Zoe grins.

  Then Nick––Mr. Chase––finally arrives. He scans the room, and his gaze rests on me very briefly. Then he sees Maria, with her amazing cleavage and perfect hair. He quickly looks away from her and addresses the class.

  I want to clap for him in the effort to look away from Maria’s––cough, cough––rack. Let’s just hope he can hold himself together for the rest of the semester.

  “Today we’re going to be talking about world building. For example, in every fantasy novel, it’s all about world building––creating or building a new world that’s beyond reality. It is important to engage your readers with the world that you build. It has to be different. Mesmerizing….”

  I find myself listening to every word he is saying, taking in his deep voice––the same voice that talked to me freely that day.

  I snap out of my thought as Zoe pokes my hand.

  “Alice!”

  “Hmm?” I look at her, dazed.

  “Were you daydreaming? He said we have to write.”

  “Oh…” I blink. Shit. I was completely zoned out. “What do we have to write about?”

  Zoe narrows her eyes at me. “You really weren’t listening. Write something about your ideal world. A perfect place to live. Ugh, this is ridiculous.”

  Apparently, we have to turn this world building exercise in at the end of the class. Just the thought of having him read my writing––my thoughts and my fantasies––unnerves me.

  I start writing. And Nick starts walking around the class, checking on each of us. I hate when a teacher does this! It’s harder to think when someone is observing what you’re doing. It doesn’t help that the person doing it right now is him––the one who knows my secret.

  As I’m jotting down the first sentence, I feel Nick’s footsteps coming closer to where I’m sitting. I hold my breath as I stop writing, pretending to be thinking.

  I wait for him to move past me, but he lingers by my desk. Nick looks over my paper. I glare at him in panic. From the fear of suspicions or of him seeing my writing, I don’t know. Maybe both. I try to cover my paper with my arms.

  “Having trouble writing, Miss Anderson?” he quietly speaks.

  I widen my eyes. What is he doing? The more attention he gives me, the more suspicious it’s going to look!

  “Um, no…” I mutter.

  “Then why are you covering your paper?”

  My heart lands with a thud. He’s embarrassing me! Worse of all, is he trying to get us caught?

  I can see Maria is looking over at us now, her glare seems like it could burn down the whole class. I turn to Zoe for some kind of mental support, but she’s now lost in her own writing.

  “It’s not finished. You can read all you want when it’s done,” I say in my throat, my voice a whisper.

  I glance around the room for a sign of people noticing something between us. But no one seems to care. Except for Maria Lopez.

  Nick smirks at my response. And finally, he walks away from my desk.

  “Mr. Chase, I have a question,” Maria Lopez speaks up with her squeezed, high-pitched voice, raising her hand.

  Nick turns his attention to Maria, leaning closer to her as she gives him the sweetest smile and says something to him that I can’t hear.

  I glare at the back of her head, frowning. “You’re right. She’s obnoxious,” I whisper to Zoe.

  She seems surprised by this as she stops writing. “Whoa. Who’s the uptight one now…”

  When class is over, Zoe is rushing off to sort out the class schedule with her counselor. I take my time to gather my stuff, my eyes fixing on Maria as she is leaning on the teacher’s desk, still going her way to flirt with the teacher.

  “Alice.”

  I startle as Leo touches my shoulder. “Oh, hey.” I forget that Leo is also in this class. He was having problems with his classes clashing, and so he just joined us today, where his seat was automatically assigned to the back row (sadly) away from me and Zoe.

  “Are we still on for today?”

  “Yeah. Um, where do you want to do it? Somewhere quiet?”

  I realize that now the whole class is gone, and it’s just me, Leo, Nick, and of course Maria is still here. And what I just said probably sounded very wrong. Because Maria stops talking mid-sentence and looks at me with interest. Like there’s suddenly something she could use against me. Some kind of scandal.

  And apparently, Nick seems to have heard everything as he glares at me and then at Leo, his face hard to read.

  I ignore them and say to Leo, “Library in fifteen minutes?”

  Thankfully, Maria rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to Nick.

  “Okay. Goodbye Mr. Chase.” Leo nods at Nick as he walks out the door.

  I get up and ready to leave. But then I see how Maria looks at Nick, how she bites her lip, arching her back to show her boobs… I’m considering putting myself between them just to see her reaction, but of course I’m not going to do that. No high school drama, that’s my mantra.

  So I lift my chin and make my way to the door, completely minding my own business when Nick calls me out, “Miss Anderson.”

  I stop short in my steps. I gulp as I turn toward him. Maria’s brow is creasing, obviously annoyed of the lack of attention Nick’s given her.

  “Yes?” I say quietly, hesitant.

  “You forgot to hand in your paper.”

  Oh, shit. How did I forget to do that! “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I shuffle through my purse for the paper, and I can hear Maria’s scoff from here.

  Found it. I grab the sheet of p
aper and hand it to him, not bothering to meet his eyes.

  “Are you okay, Miss Anderson?”

  Maria whips her head to look between Mr. Chase and me, and my heart is beating really fast. Oh no… She is going to be suspicious!

  “I’m fine,” I answer quickly. “Good day, Mr. Chase.”

  And I’m rushing the hell off of there as fast as I can.

  Chapter 9

  On Monday, I spot Jacob sitting with three other guys (whose names I don’t remember because I suck) on one of the wooden tables in the common area. His reddish-brown hair gleams where the sun hits through the glass window.

  Lunch time is almost over. I need to just hurry and get this over with.

  I swallow the fear down my throat as I approach him. Laughter stops as soon as I stand tall over them. The guys are now glaring at me. Clearly, this is not something that happens often. Me––a girl who rarely talks to or involves herself with any guy at school––now standing over a flock of them.

  “Jacob,” I call him. “You have a minute?”

  Jacob looks at me in surprise. “Hey, what––what is it?” His gaze darts to his friends, seeming as confused as they are.

  “Can we talk?” I look at his friends. They are all speechless, but I can see some of them grinning. “It’s going to be quick,” I quickly add.

  “O-kay.” Jacob gets up and follows me to the opposite table.

  I can feel people’s curious gazes. They are, for sure, going to talk. I try to ignore them and focus on Jacob. Looking at him up close, he really does have the face that is likable––round, innocent brown eyes, freckles across his nose and cheeks, and the kind of lips that seems to always curve upward.

  Jacob seems to notice everyone staring as he glances around, uncomfortable with the attention. He clears his throat. “So, what’s up?”

  “Okay, Jacob,” I start with a tender voice, “I know we never really talk, but I just want you to be honest with me, okay?”

  “Okay…” His brow narrows.

  “I’m sorry this might sound totally random, but I just want to ask if… I mean, I want to know if you hate me.”

  His jaw drops. “What? Of course not! Wh-why would I hate you?” he chokes up, blinking wildly.

  “Then why am I the only one who you seem to have problems with? In Biology, you clearly didn’t want to work with me. And don’t say it’s not true.”

  Jacob’s mouth is opened the whole time I was talking. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that way… But honestly, I have nothing against you, Alice. I swear!” he hurriedly says, his voice high.

  Unsatisfied with his answer, I keep looking at him, waiting for another explanation.

  His face reddens. “Okay, fine. I admit that I find it hard to… talk to you. You’re like––up here––” He puts his hand up to level with his head. “Above all of us. And frankly I’m just afraid that I’ll say something stupid, or be awkward around you. So I figured I shouldn’t talk to you at all. And obviously, that didn’t work out so well…” He lowers his gaze.

  I look at him with my lips parted. I had no idea that’s what he thinks of me. This what I’m talking about… People assume things about me before they even get to know me. And I’m sick of that.

  “Jacob, that’s ridiculous. I’m not up here.” I repeat his gesture. “You can talk to me like a normal person. I’d appreciate that very much,” I say drily.

  His Adam’s apple moves. “I will.”

  “Can I ask,” I start, my eyes narrowing, “what makes me so hard to approach? Zoe also said the same thing. But I want to know what you think.”

  He straightens himself, stirring uneasily. “You’re too beautiful,” he mumbles while avoiding my gaze altogether. “The most beautiful in school. At least to me.” He chuckles nervously.

  Well, I was hoping it’s not that… Ugh, I hate that Zoe’s right. About almost everything.

  I let out a dry laugh. “Wow. Okay.” I clear my throat. “Thanks for… saying that.”

  “You know, for the longest time, I wanted to talk to you,” he suddenly says, finally meeting my eyes.

  “You should have!” I cry out, the rejection I felt in Biology coming back to me once again.

  He flinches at my sudden outburst. “Um, I’m glad we’re finally talking though…” he says unsurely.

  “Yeah. Zoe and Leo said you’re into me or something.” I let out a laugh. “But I don’t want to be presumptuous or anything, so I had to talk to you.”

  Jacob’s face starts to redden. “Well, they’re not completely wrong.” He smiles shyly.

  I look at him, surprised at his directedness. He just confessed his liking for me. And all of a sudden I don’t know what to do. Or say.

  So I smile. “I’ll see you around, Jacob.”

  At least I now know Jacob Weiler doesn’t hate me. And that’s good enough for me.

  Chapter 10

  After school, I am hanging out with Leo and Zoe in the school yard, filling them in on my “talk” with Jacob. Then I have to leave when I receive a call from Lacey. Apparently, I have a last-minute-notice escort business to attend to.

  My client for today––Sam––wants to meet me at his apartment in exactly an hour from now. That’s not a lot of time to change, and so I decide to just go with what I’m wearing. Luckily, my outfit today doesn’t scream high school kid. I have on a sheer blouse tucked in a short, A-line velvet skirt, and I’m wearing flats instead of heels.

  Then I put on a darker shade of pink lipstick and run my hand through my already iron-curled hair to complete the look.

  Sam has requested a quick meet-up before he has to go to China for a business trip. It alarms me a little––the fact that he desperately needs a woman to meet him just for one hour before he leaves.

  “He must be super horny, so be careful,” Lacey warned me on the phone.

  This apartment is luxurious. Sam is some sort of a successful businessman. I’m not sure what he does exactly. And at this point, I don’t feel the need to keep track of my clients’ exact title or occupation.

  I ring the bell to his apartment. In my head, all I can think about is to just get this over with, and to get out as quickly as I can.

  The door opens, revealing a black, broad-shouldered man in his thirties. “Come in,” he says, eyeing me from head to toe.

  “Hi, my name is Alice. I will be your escort for an hour today,” I say with a fake bright voice I have become accustomed to making. “What kind of company would you like me to be?”

  He chuckles. “Just be yourself, love. Do you want a drink?” Sam offers as he leads me to the large kitchen area. And from his accent, I realize that he’s British.

  I observe his apartment. Everything seems polished, just like him. The furnishings are sophisticated with only black and white furniture.

  Does he know that I’m eighteen?

  “No, thank you.” I shake my head. “Unless you want me to?”

  “Let me offer you a glass of Shiraz then.” He doesn’t know, or he just doesn’t give a damn. “Please, sit.” Sam gestures me to the large leathered couch in the living room.

  I do as he says, anxiously anticipating his next instructions.

  Sam walks over and sits next to me, handing me a glass of wine. He is so close to me that I can feel the warmth of his body, the strong, musky scent of his cologne hits my nostrils.

  “Tell me, Alice…” He puts his arm around me. “What do you usually do with your clients? I assume––nothing too intimate?” His dark eyes glint.

  I breathe in deeply, preparing my response. I need to be careful. “Well,” I slowly say, “you know the rules. Sexual intercourse is off-limits for my type of escorting.” I give him a sweet smile. “I hear you are going to China tonight?”

  If Sam is frustrated for not being able to have sex, he is doing a good job of not showing it. “I am.” He looks at his gold watch. “In fact, I have to leave for the airport in forty minutes. Which is why we should get on
with it.”

  “Get on with what––exactly––”

  Sam moves even closer to me, looks deeply into my eyes, then lowers his head to kiss my neck, down to the top of my breasts. I cringe a little, but I let him.

  This is my job. I signed up for this.

  All the while that he is touching me on places that I’ve never been touched before, all I can think of is how nice it would be if the man burying his face in my chest right now is someone I love. Someone that I want passionately.

  But there is no one––so this is what I’m going to get.

  I let out a soft cry as my client sinks his teeth onto my neck, sucking my skin raw.

  The next day, I make my way to an empty table in the library. Leo will be late today because he has a basketball practice. So I have a lot of time to kill.

  As I’m settling down and getting ready to do my Calculus homework, I see him. Nick is sitting at the two opposite tables away from me. His face hidden behind a MacBook, a cup of coffee next to it. I think he doesn’t seem to notice me, or anything at all, his attention is fixed on the screen. It’s not common to see a teacher in the library, but I guess Nick is different since he is just a substitute teacher with only one class to teach. He must have a lot of time on his hands.

  Good for him. I wonder if he is finally writing a book…

  A group of guys stroll in and claim a table between me and Nick. “Let’s just get this over with,” one of them says.

  I look away from them and keep my eyes on the textbook, trying to make sense of the letters and numbers. Mathematics is never my strong suit. I sigh loudly without intending to.

  “Alice? Hey.”

  I lift my head up to see Jacob waving at me from his table. It’s so nice to see him finally being friendly to me.

  I smile and wave back. “Hey.”

  His friends whistle at him and making loud noises.

  I assume his friends have now learned of our little chat…

  “Shut up!” Jacob hisses at them, a blush creeping up his neck.

  “Go get her, Tiger!” one of his friends says. Very loudly. Then he gets slapped on the back by Jacob, whose face is now redder than a tomato.