"Cook, Robin - Invasion Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cook Robin)

Beau gathered his papers, slipped his putative mini-sculpture back into his pocket, and stood up. He had to excuse himself multiple times to move laterally along the row. Because of the narrow space his exit caused a significant commotion. One student even dropped his looseleaf notebook which opened and sent its contents wafting down into the pit.

When Beau finally got to the aisle, he caught a glimpse of the lecturer shielding his eyes so as to see who was making all the fuss. He was one person Beau wasn't going to ask for a letter of recommendation.

Feeling emotionally as well as physically exhausted at the end of the school day, Cassy made her way down the main stairs of the high school and exited out into the horseshoe drive in front. It was pretty clear to her that from a teaching standpoint she liked elementary school much better than high school. From her perspective high-schoolers generally seemed too self-centered and too interested in constantly challenging their boundaries. She even thought a number of them were downright mean. Give me an innocent, eager third-grader any day, Cassy reflected.

The afternoon sun felt warm on Cassy's face. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she scanned the multitude of vehicles in the drive. She was looking for Beau's 4X4. He insisted on picking her up each afternoon, and was usually waiting for her. Obviously today was different.

Looking for a place to sit, Cassy saw a familiar face waiting nearby. It was Jonathan Sellers from Mrs. Edelman's English class. Cassy walked over and said hello.

"Oh, hi," Jonathan stammered. He nervously glanced around, hoping he wasn't being observed by any classmates. He could feel his face blush. The fact of the matter was, he thought Cassy was the best-looking teacher they'd ever had and had told Tim as much after class.

"Thanks for breaking the ice this morning," Cassy said.

"It was a big help. For a moment I was afraid I was at a funeral, my funeral."

"It was just lucky I'd tried to see what it said about Faulkner in my laptop."

"I still think it took a bit of courage on your part to say something," Cassy said. "I appreciated it. It certainly got the ball rolling. I was afraid no one would speak."

"My friends can be jerks at times," Jonathan admitted.

A dark blue minivan pulled up to the curb. Nancy Sellers leaned across the front seat and popped open the passenger-side door.

"Hi, Mom," Jonathan voiced with a little self-conscious wave.

Nancy Sellers's bright, intelligent eyes jumped back and forth between her seventeen-year-old son and this rather sexy college-age woman. She knew his interest in girls had suddenly mushroomed, but this situation seemed a wee bit inappropriate.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, sure," Jonathan said, eyeing the crack in the sidewalk. "This is Miss Winthrope."

Cassy leaned forward and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sellers. You can call me Cassy."

"Cassy it is then," Nancy replied. She shook Cassy's outstretched hand. There was a short but awkward pause before Nancy asked how long Cassy and Jonathan had known each other.

"Mommmm!" Jonathan moaned. He knew instantly what she was implying, and felt mortified. "Miss Winthrope is a student teacher in English class."

"Oh, I see," Nancy remarked with mild relief.

"My mom is a research virologist," Jonathan said to change the subject and help explain how she could say something so stupid.

"Really," Cassy said. "That's certainly an interesting and important field in today's world. Are you at the University Med Center?"

"No, I'm employed at Serotec Pharmaceuticals," Nancy said. "But my husband is at the university. He runs the physics department."

"My goodness," Cassy said. She was impressed. "No wonder you have such a bright son here."

Over the top of the Sellers's van Cassy caught sight of Beau turning into the horseshoe drive.