How to make your teacher fall in love with you

Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Mr James's POV

I was standing really close to Ella, knowing that I had no control over myself right now, and in spite of the promise I'd made that I would keep away from her, it really wasn't happening. I smiled down at her, but suddenly I saw a movement from behind her, and when I looked up I saw Beth standing in the doorway, to my horror. My eyes widened and I slowly moved back from Ella in a subtle way. I managed to smile at Bethany weakly, and said, "Hey Beth..." I didn't know what else to say, but she didn't let me say anything, anyway.

"What the hell is going on here?" she screeched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ella flinch. I bit my lip and looked away from her, forcing myself to walk towards Beth. Beth, who was supposed to be my girlfriend. I shuddered. I dreaded almost every moment I spent with her. Well, except for last night. It was a comfort knowing that I'm loved. At least, it's a distraction from my attraction to Ella. Not that it worked today, in her presence. I still like Ella, and I acted like a bit of a flirt today. More like a student, less like a teacher. Nathan really is right sometimes.

"What do you mean?" I asked Beth casually, trying to make it look like it wasn't a big deal.

"Seriously?" she said in a loud voice. "I walk into the art room and you're standing just a few centimetres away from her!" I rolled my eyes. Centimetres. It sure was obvious that Beth taught Maths at this school. The subject was also part of her vocabulary, something which I disliked about her. Then again, I wondered what I actually liked about her. Okay, now I'm being really mean. She is nice. I'm the one who isn't.

I shrugged, and said, "I was just explaining something to her."

She gave me a look and said, "Really?"

"Yeah, really. You know me and my students. I suppose you're used to it now." I crossed my arms.

She shook her head. "It really didn't look like that."

I glared at her. "Well, that's your problem, not mine." I took a deep breath, leering at Ella, who was standing at the side, not knowing what to do. I looked away, keeping in mind that I was having an argument with my girlfriend, who was also a teacher at this school, in front of a student. In front of her.

"Can you go now, please? We'll talk about this later," I said.

Beth pouted. "I was hoping we would spend some time together," she replied. "I have a free lesson now."

Sheesh, I thought. At least she has one free lesson, not two, like I do. I shook my head. "I'm sorry Beth, I need to help Ella with her work, and I promised some of my students that they could come in here anytime," I lied.

She sighed. "Fine. But this isn't the end of this conversation. Man, you can only be nice for a couple of hours before you turn back into that horrible person that you are. See you later," she said, looking really annoyed. She left the room in a huff.

"Whatever," I muttered, looking at the door calmly. She didn't even manage to make me angry. See how relevant she is to me. I turned to Ella. "Sorry about that..." I said softly.

"Beth?" she asked with a laugh. I nodded and she continued, "Your girlfriend?"

I chuckled. "Yeah I really shouldn't be talking to you about this," I said. She laughed.

"Really? Because I feel that you owe that to me, since you used me as an excuse to get rid of your girlfriend," she said jokingly.

I grinned. "Oh, bugger off," I told her, but then straightened. What the hell was I thinking? "Sorry, that's no way a teacher should..." I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.