When the bell sounded, I was surprised to hear him say, "Miss Andrews, would you stay a moment after class, please?"

 

Some of the girls made an "Ooooh" sound as they walked by me, and I realized for the first time how transparent I'd been, and how I'd put Mr. Lindbeck in danger of losing his job. If the principle thought there was anything going on between my teacher and I, Mr. Lindbeck would be fired for sure. It didn't matter that I'd already turned eighteen and was officially an adult-I was a student and any relationship that blossomed between us would be utterly unacceptable.

 

Why had it taken me so long to realize that?

 

I approached the long podium from which Mr. Lindbeck taught, and even before the class had cleared out I apologized for what I'd said the week before.

 

"Never mind," he replied, in a way that made me think perhaps he wasn't angry anymore. "You missed half a week's work, Miss Andrews. There's plenty of catching up to do if you don't want your grades to slip."

 

"Thank you," I said. I still couldn't bear to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry. I mean it, sir. I'm terribly, terribly sorry for saying... what I said."

 

He chuckled as the last students filtered out of the classroom, and he closed the door after them.

 

And locked it.