Page 55 of Substitute for Love

Maybe not so much if they had a history of kissing.

Avery shook her head. No. She wouldn’t go there. She’d put it all out of her mind. Marshall was coming to town, Gabe was most likely leaving, and she needed to focus on her new job at the library and taking care of her mom. No more distractions.

Still, he had given her an idea. That morning, she’d been trying to get the students to write short stories based on their readings. As always, Avery followed the substitute plans to the letter. Give directions. Let students write.

So many of them struggled to come up with anything. Maybe he was right. She needed to relook at how she was getting them to create a story from nothing. Especially the students who didn’t do that naturally like she did. But how to approach teaching the concept differently?

As students filed in, Avery got an idea. It was less straightforward than the sub instructions, but it was worth a try.Anything was worth helping the students enjoy writing. When the bell rang, she headed to the whiteboard and wrote, “Once upon a time…”

Once everyone sat, she started talking. “Today we’re going to talk about stories. Specifically how to start a story.” She turned toward the whiteboard and underlined what she had written. “Once upon a time. That’s how the fairy tale writers started their stories. But how else could a story begin?”

Silence. Everyone stared at her. What would Gabe do right now?

Of course, he’d be silly. Tell a dumb joke. It was worth a try.

Avery cleared her throat. “Did you hear there’s a newBeauty and the Beastmovie starring Cogsworth? It’s abouttime!”

A few students snickered. She’d take that. “Ok, if you don’t want any more lame jokes, give me some answers. How else can a story begin?”

Students yelled out answers, some silly, some insightful. She wrote all of them on the whiteboard.

“How do people know what to write next? Then next? How will they figure out what the story should be about?”

One student talked about how the author ofTwilightcame up with the story through a dream. Another student said ideas pop into her head sometimes.

Then Avery remembered a video she had seen recently. “I want to show you a clip about how to create a story. Specifically about how authors come up with characters and plot.” She hooked up her phone to the overhead projector and the students seemed genuinely interested as the video played.

“Story is something we all inherently know. So even if you haven’t done it before or think you’re any good at it, you already know the basic elements of beginning, middle, end. Creating characters people care about and putting them into tense situations. Fighting dragons. Saving the world.”

“Kissing the girl,” one guy yelled out, and everybody laughed.

Avery smirked. “That one is definitely a popular plot point.” Even though the student was being silly, he was referring to the lesson. This was working. A warm sense of happiness flowed through her. Is this how teaching was for Gabe, too?

Next she explained the assignment, and even though she had spent more time prepping the students than each of the previous class periods, these students appeared willing to at least try.

Avery had to admit this was one of the best classes she’d had all day, maybe even since starting as a substitute teacher. And she had Gabe to thank. He had given her a different perspective. And it had worked.

As the students began writing, she walked back to the teacher’s desk to grab her phone and send him a text. But something caught her eye outside the window. In the distance, the recognizable form of him stood in the parking lot facing away from her.

Was that really Gabe outside? She stopped and focused on the form. It had to be him. He was standing next to his truck. But he wasn’t alone. A female figure rested her hand on his shoulder, their closeness causing Avery’s throat to feel tight. All of a sudden she was defensive. Who was encroaching on the bubble around Gabe? The one Avery suddenly wanted to protect?

Claire. Why was she here?

If she had shown up at the school, clearly she wanted to meet up with him. The question was, did Gabe want to see her? Not that it was any of her business. She and Gabe were only friends. Weren’t they? So why did she care so much about what he was up to?

She couldn’t. She didn’t. Avery went to close the blinds as she saw them hugging, not like a quick hug but a long hug where two people share a closeness. An intimacy. This wasn’t a friendship call. This was something more.

She realized anything between her and Gabe had been nothing. A fling. A lie. Gabe was never hers before and he definitely never would be again. Her heart sank.Great job, Avery. Now your heart is broken again.Long-term guy, short-term guy, it didn’t matter. She and relationships—well, one relationship previous to Gabe–didn’t work out. So, she was going to be grateful for this perspective.

Good, she thought. Good for them. At least, that’s what she told herself. So why did she feel so crappy? Because she definitely had feelings for Gabe. And she thought he had feelings for her. No matter how hard Avery tried to convince herself they were just friends, she was lying to herself.

For the rest of the day, she tried not to sulk as each class came and went, the assignment going better and better all the time. At least she could feel happy about that. There was a sense of satisfaction in the school day she had never felt before. And even though Gabe had helped her look at things differently, she was the one who had carried it out. Substitute teaching wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe doing this and working part-time at the library would be good.

Still, she wondered about Gabe. Would he act weird if he knew that she had seen them? In the back of her mind, she devised a plan to avoid seeing him the rest of the day. Thankfully, last period was prep so she could leave early. She’d have to be strategic in walking to the office, otherwise he might catch her eye through the window of his classroom door.

She laughed to herself, recalling her first day tripping in front of his classroom as they locked eyes. Well, that wasn’t going to happen again. Avery now wore better-suited shoesand she was definitely not going to fall for that handsome, unavailable substitute teacher again.

She sat at the teacher’s desk between classes deep in thought. What a substitute for love he turned out to be. Funny. She smiled. That would be a good title for a story. Avery made a mental note to take the idea and run with it. Not that romantic comedies were her thing. But she’d be willing to give it a try.

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