Under His Care - Love Under Lockdown

“Me? Are you sure?” she asks.

I nod as I get up from my desk, handing her the workbook.

“The page for today is already marked, ” I say, showing her.

“Oh, okay. If you’re sure,” she says.

I can sense her excitement growing. She takes the book from me and starts to study the page. I sit at my desk and watch her read through the lesson. She is quiet as she prepares.

I watch as she takes the book with her to the board. With her free hand, she writes the key points of the lesson on the board in her neat, perfect script.

I feel proud of giving her this opportunity, and for distracting her from the situation we are facing. I go back to grading the stacks of papers I have, trying but failing to get her off my mind long enough to concentrate on something else.

Chapter 6

Stacey

I wake up and look at my clock. I’m alarmed that it’s mid-morning already. I never wake up this late. It’s not like I have anywhere to be, though; it’s the start of the first week of the mandatory two-week closure.

I stay in bed, staring at my clock. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but something doesn’t feel right, like I don’t even have the energy to get up.

I turn over and stare at the ceiling for 30 minutes. Finally, I force myself into a sitting position. My body feels stiff and a little achy, but I assume it’s because I slept wrong.

I stand up and stretch, but that doesn’t really help. I pull on my robe and slippers, grab my phone from my nightstand, and walk to the kitchen. I need a strong cup of coffee.

As I’m brewing the coffee, I look at my phone, seeing that I have a text message. I click on it and read it.

“Good morning.”

That’s all it says.

I wonder who it’s from. I look at the number quickly, then look again. My mouth drops open in shock. It’s from Mr. Winston, I mean, Chris. I can’t believe he texted me.

When my coffee is ready, I take a cup to the living room with me, setting it on the coffee table in front of me. I sit on the couch and text a “good morning” back to him.

He replies with a little smiley face and a reminder that today is the first day of the online assignments that students must complete.

I respond with an “okay” before setting my phone down and sipping my coffee. It’s weird; I feel sort of sluggish. I try to shake the feeling off.

I grab my textbook and laptop, then go back to the living room, sitting on the couch and checking my email. I login to the school website and wait for the students to start uploading their completed assignments.

I turn on the TV for background noise. I go to take a sip of coffee, but suddenly I feel too warm to drink it. That’s weird.

My phone chimes again. I quickly grab it to read the text from Chris.

“Just reminding you that I’m here if you have any questions or need any help.”

I smile at my phone, thinking about how sweet he is. I can feel my body heat rise as I text him back.

“Thank you. That’s very sweet of you. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

I hit send, then put the phone down.

I try to take my mind off how weird I’m feeling by skimming through the first assignment that the kids need to complete. A few minutes later, my phone chimes again; he’s texted me a winking face.

I find myself giggling after I put my phone down. I realize that I’m lusting hard after him. I look up from my work and sigh. Why couldn’t I have had a teacher as dreamy as him in high school or college? That would have made it a lot more fun for me.

A short while later, I text him.

“How does this work? Who grades the assignments?”

I eagerly wait for his response. A few moments later, I’m reading his message:

“You could grade it first, then send it to me to double check and enter it into the book? Or we could split the workload and take turns with each assignment that is turned in?”

He’s giving me a choice. This is a difficult decision.

“I think I’ll go with the first one,” I quickly text him back.

I like my choice. Not only will it make his workload easier, but I’ll get to show off my skills at grading again. I’m hoping I can earn a few more compliments or praise from him.

“Okay, sounds good,” comes his answer.

About an hour later, the first two assignments are turned in. I quickly get to work. After grading, I submit them to Chris.

He texts me shortly after.

“Excellent job. I’m not even sure you need me to double check them. Haha.”