Page 52 of How We Fooled

“But?”

“But it turns out, our age might be a bit of a problem.”

“Why? How old is she?”

“Twenty-three.”

I watch my mom mull her age in her head and wait for her to fully comprehend and form an opinion about it. “I mean … it’s not ideal. If you were the eighteen-year-old girl, I wouldn’t have it, but that’s for different reasons. You being the younger one, I guess, doesn’t bother me that much. You’ve always been an old soul anyway.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’ve never really liked anyone at my school. I needed someone who was more mature.”

She nods. “Yeah. I can see that. Then, what’s the problem?”

“She moved here to be a teacher?—”

She places her palm out in front of her to stop me. “Don’t tell me …”

I raise my eyebrows and wait for it to set in to see if she’ll figure it out on her own.

She covers her mouth with her hands. “Was she hired at the high school?”

I nod.

“As a teacher?”

I nod again.

“Oh, Eli.” She shakes her head slowly as it fully sinks in. “Eli, you guys can’t …”

I stand up and start to pace. “Why not?”

“Eli … that’s not okay for so many reasons.”

I hold my finger out to her. “Give me one!”

“You’re a student.”

“I’m eighteen. I’m legal. We even have the law on our side.”

“But it’s not ethical.”

“I get it if I’d met her as a student, but you know we’ve spent this entire summer together, having no clue this would happen.”

“Didn’t she know you were a student? Why did she even apply there?”

I drop my head to my chest. “She didn’t know I was still in high school.”

“Eli!” she says, shame laced in her voice.

“I wasn’t keeping it from her! I told her I was still in school. She assumed college.”

“But you didn’t correct her?”

“It literally never came up! I wasn’t trying to keep it from her on purpose. I never thought it would matter!” I sit down again. “I love her, Mom. I really do. I can’t lose her.”

She reaches for my hand, holding it tightly. “I know you do. I saw it all over your face when she was here. Your dad and I even talked about how much you seemed to like her. But, baby …”

I flop back on the couch with a huff. “But we can’t be together.”

---