Claiming What's Mine

know. My parents keep

r mom and dad have been so

imagined they’d kick me out of the house or...” she trails off. “I don’t know, hate me or something.” Ella shakes her head before c

ege and then have it disappear in the blink of an eye must be tough to stomach. Thankfully her parents are focused on the positives and have been wonde

office door. “AP physics is about to start. I shoul

ng. She’s an older educator who’s set in her ways. She expects students who choose to take her class to dedic

mall wave and hur

bottle of water, sighing because it’s already one in

dules to plow through. As usual, the day is flying by. It’s one of the things

. Since it’s quiet, I can use this time to check over grade reports. There are about a dozen s

the first student’s file on my computer. A t

r

ee if you were busy. I haven’t been able to catch you i

s not from California but has surfer boy good looks. From conversations we’ve had in the past, I know he prefers spending his ti

-down. School employees are not allowed to wear jeans or T-shir

it’s me who he continually seeks out. A few women have stopped by my office under the pretense of discussing student conce

there to be more, but at

g qualities, it’s Roman who makes my pulse quicken. Which is beyond frustrating. There’s nothing

How pathetic am I? It’s not like I don’t recognize the problem. Trust me,

ew into my office.

o one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. “You must be o

in next year’s schedule. It’s eating up a lot of my time. There are so many loose ends to w

r before it winds down and then yo

ack to work in the fall. I’ve applied to take two graduate-level counseling courses at a local university over summer break and have

, “How was your weekend? Did

hts, I say, “My parents hosted an engagement party for my brother and his fiancée. A lot of family I don’t get to see very often c

’t realize you have

ow him to do it this time. Deciding to let Drew in a bit, I admit, “Yes, m

d. “You’ve never me

iscuss my family with

y casually. “Hmmm.

y is. None of my colleagues d

sn’t a decision I arrived at lightly. When I broached the topic with my parents, I was surprised by how quickly