Shit! I think to myself as I pull into the driveway of my parents' house and see my mom's white SUV, and my Dad's Sedan parked out front. I didn't want them to be here when I got here. I had hoped and prayed that they wouldn't be here when I got here. Sometimes they would leave Eli home with one of the local high schoolers while they traveled south for business. I guess tonight wasn't one of those nights. Rubbing a hand through my hair I let out a deep breath, eyes locked intently on the front door.

Well here it goes...its better just to rip it off like a Band-Aid. I knew it was bound to happen eventually. I mean I figured they wouldn't be ecstatic to see me when I was supposed to be 2 hours away at university. Edging wearily out of my car I shut the door as quietly as I can before I walk hesitantly up to the front door pulling out my house key. When I open the door the first thing that I see is Eli sitting at the coffee table with a pencil grasped firmly in his little hand. He is looking up at me wide eyed, and I can see the excitement in his face as he jumps up from whatever work he was doing. "Danny!!" He shouts his little arms outstretched.

"Hey Eli!" I say, mentally cursing my little brother's announcement of my arrival. He wraps his little arms around my legs looking up at me with his big brown eyes. I run a hand over his brown curls letting the rush of affection for the little guy sweep over me.

"Did you come to see me?" He asks excitedly and I make to answer but a voice coupled with clacking heels comes from the kitchen.

"Danny?" My mother's voice asks and in a manner of seconds she is stepping into the room. Her blonde hair is curled perfectly against her shoulders and she is struggling to put a pearl earring on. Damn it. I must have arrived just an hour too early. She is decked out in a white dress suit and I know that she and dad are probably just on their way to meet with some client. "What are you doing here sweetie?" The look of confusion and concern that crosses her pretty features does not surprise me.

I avoid eye contact, "Uh...I'm here to see Eli!" I attempt smiling at him as he giggles and reaches for me to pick him up. I do exactly that, and attempt to convey in my body language that that is exactly the reason I am here....obviously.....

Mom finally gets her earing into place, and I can see that she isn't falling for my poor attempt at lying by the way her brown eyes narrow. "You came to see Eli on a Wednesday night at...." She glances down at her watch and her eyebrows hike up on her forehead, "Five o'clock. Isn't your financial management class going on right now?" She questions without even waiting for me to answer "You know you have a hard time in that class you shouldn't be missing it."

Of course.....I can't just have a normal mom who is absent because of work and has no idea what I'm doing with my life. Instead she just had to be guilty and make up for that with an incredible amount of involvement. I mean....what kind of mom has their twenty three year old sons schedule memorized?

Lowering my gaze I slowly set Eli down on the floor, "Eli go finish your assignment" I murmur nervously, "I need to talk to mommy okay?" He nods his head, his curls bouncing every which way before galloping over to his abandoned worksheet. I slowly, guiltily raise my head up to look at my mother. She gives me a suspicious side eye.

"Kitchen." She orders before turning on her heels. Sighing, I follow behind her until we are standing at the kitchen counter. "Talk Daniel James Walker." She orders in that stern voice of hers that since I was little had me dreading what was to follow it.

"Okay!" I say in defeat moving quickly around the counter to the opposite side so if she gets upset she can't reach me. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She leans her manicured hands on the counter staring at me while her foot taps impatiently against the floor. I idle, biting my lip, running a nervous hand over the back of my neck. "Uh so...." I start before letting out a sigh. The mysterious stain on the counter is suddenly looking extremely interesting.

"Daniel. I don't have all week." Mom orders upon my silence.

"I know. I'm sorry." I groan rolling my head back in distress. Why God. Why does she have to be so scary when she's so fucking small? Just rip it off like a Band-Aid. The faster the better right? I take an enormous inhale of air before letting out my wrongdoing in one ginormous breath. "I withdrew from all my classes." Once the words are out of my mouth I feel surprisingly better. It was like they had been sitting on my lungs making it impossible to breathe. Of course, my mom probably doesn't feel that way. I continue to stare down at the counter, nervously tucking my hands into my pockets. There is a silence in the room that has my nerves on end. Finally, I can't take it anymore and I peer up at my mother. She's just staring at me her teeth chewing on her bottom lip. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

My mother moves away from the counter pressing one palm to her forehead the other to her hip, and I just know she's pissed. You see, there are two types of anger for my mom. First, there's the "I-will-slap-you-to-next-spring" mad. This is commonly seen when she catches you walking on her white carpet with muddy shoes or breaking one of her fine china dishes amongst other trivial things. Then there's the REAL mad. The "so-disappointed-I-can't-even-look-at-you" mad. This usually leads to weeks of stunted communication, and even worse...tears. I silently look up to the heavens cursing whatever god is up there watching before placing my hands on the counter. "Mom don't be mad. I'm sorry." I plead.

My dad chooses to jog down the stairs right at this moment. He is adjusting his tie while checking his watch. "Honey are you ready to go, we gotta be there by 6:30" He says before glancing up at us. The tension in the room must be thicker than cheese because his eyebrows raise awkwardly and he glances at me with a questioning look.

"Uh, what's going on here?" He asks lightly, switching his briefcase to his other hand. He's trying to play it safe. Of course he is, he's no stranger to Mom's Anger phase 2.

"Danny withdrew from all of his classes!" Mom shouts her hands flying into the air to emphasize her exasperation. "Danny, you don't get refunded for that tuition!" She says whipping around to face me. Her eyes are pink around the edges, signaling how hard she must be trying to hold in her tears. "You didn't think to at least ask us before doing this?" Dad's eyes shift nervously towards me. He's afraid for my life.

"Mo-

"We're the ones who are paying your tuition! The least you could do is communicate with us!" She shouts her hands flailing in the air. She stomps to the cupboard and pulls out some Clorox wipes, pulling out seven sheets and balling them up before scrubbing the counter with fervor.

"Shit" I mutter.

Wrong choice. Moms head shoots up and her eyes are shootings rays of fire. "Daniel James Walker do not use that language in front of me." She orders. "Ignac is an expensive school!" She continues, Dad rubs his eyes. "It's the best business school in the state!"

"Honey-

Dad attempts to cut off the rampage, but to no avail. "I don't understand who raised you to be this disrespectful, how could you have so little consideration for us?"

Her words sting, and I flinch when she says them. My jaw clenches and I glare down at the floor. I know there is literally nothing I can say to calm her down right now. Still, it doesn't stop me from feeling guilty. I mean she's completely right. I didn't even think about them when I withdrew. I just had to get out of that place. The doorbell rings right as mom is about to shout out another round of disappointment at me and Dad cuts her off. "Julia, the babysitter is here we have to go."

I send an apologetic gaze my mom's way. In response she bites her lip in anger before turning her back towards me and stomping out of the room. Dad watches her go with a resigned expression and then turns back to me, "Go ahead and move your stuff into your room. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Then he's following mom out. I choose to wait until they have dismissed the baby sitter and driven off down the street before I move out of the kitchen.

Eli gazes up at me from the coffee table knowingly and I offer him a half smile that doesn't really reach my heart. "Hey, you wanna help me bring my stuff in?"

____

"Well you're going to have to get a job." Mom says as we all sit together at the breakfast table. She passes me the plate of eggs and I mutter a quiet thank you before taking them. "I don't want you just sitting on your butt the whole time you're here."

"He can stay with me!" Eli suggests excitedly smacking his fork down on his egg which explodes and flies across the table.

I ignore him even though I would love to just stay at home and watch him. I'm mean I would literally love to do anything that allows me to put off figuring out what I want to do with my life. It's the perfect way to ignore how I don't seem to belong anywhere. "Yeah I'll start looking." I finally say as Mom lectures Eli on playing with his food.

"Then can start back at Ignac in the fall." Mom says cheerily as she pours my dad a glass of orange Juice. He says thank you without looking up from his phone which he is typing away on. Same old same old.

I nod silently, even though I have absolutely no intention of going back to Ignac in the fall. It just wasn't where I wanted to be, all those stuck up rich assholes with their perfectly tailored suits and emotionless expressions. The clean cut white walls and modern architecture of the school buildings had driven me to insanity. There was no expression in the place. People barely spoke to each other, they just walked back and forth with their high end messenger bags and their phones stuck under their noses. I know I don't want to go back there. I know I don't want to study business. I just don't know what I do want. The only problem is I can never tell my parents I don't want to go back to Ignac. They both had been students there. It's where they met and had me as an early mistake before getting married. Of course I didn't deter their dreams to start in business together.

"Daddy you're coming to my class today right?" Eli asks chewing on his pancake while looking up at my father hopefully. Dad's fingers freeze on his phone before he looks up at my mom.

"Crap I completely forgot." He worries. "I was supposed to go help out at their pizza party today. The new teacher is super pushy with parent involvement. He emailed me like five times asking me to come."

I scoff cutting into a pancake. "Must be super old." Only old people are willing to be that annoying.

"I have no idea, he's new to town. I haven't met him yet." Dad shrugs. He takes a pull of his OJ that could rival any alcoholic. "It's so inconvenient that Mrs. Henderson left this close to the end of the school year." I think what Dad means to say is that it's inconvenient that he now has to get bombarded with emails.

Mom shakes her head as she stands up and begins to clear the table. "We can't miss the deal sweetheart, we barely got them to consider." I look at Eli across the table who is slowly starting to realize that Dad will not be joining him at school today. He pushes his egg across his plate absently his big eyes shimmering. Still, he doesn't say anything. He's used to this. I slowly drown out my parents as I reach my leg out underneath the table and nudge him. He ignores me. His mouth tugs into a little frown as he fights the tears that are threatening to burst from his eyes. I can't help but be amazed at this six year olds ability to hold in his emotions. I mean normal six year olds would be throwing a tantrum right now; demanding their Dad to come, screaming about his promise. Eli, however, does none of that. He reminds me of me.

"Well just send Danny!" Mom's words are bringing me crashing back into the conversation.

"What?" I ask looking away from my brother whose expression has now brightened significantly at my mother's suggestion.

"That's a great Idea!" Dad seconds standing up from the table to take his dishes to the sink. He stops in front of the cupboard mirror to check and make sure that his dark hair is perfectly in place. "You like that idea Eli?"

"Yeah!" Eli screams slamming his silverware against the table top. Mom quiets him by taking the silverware from his hands and removing his plate.

"Wait-uh no! I was supposed to be looking for a job remember?"

My parents do not seem phased by my obvious annoyance at their volunteering me to go sit in a classroom with a bunch of first graders my only conversational companion being an old man who is probably jaded from so many years of dealing with a bunch of little nightmares.

"Oh you have plenty of time to look for a job. You can go help your brother out for today." Mom quips still annoyed at me for ditching school. I am about to assert my no, but then I look across the table and see Eli's big hopeful eyes still slightly wet from two seconds when he had been struggling to stifle his feelings. Love is a scary, uncontrollable thing. I crinkle my nose.

"Fine, I'll go."

"Great. I was supposed to bring paper cups, plates, utensils and dessert." Dad informs me grabbing Eli's backpack off of the couch and motioning him to put it on. "You're gonna have to drop by the store. Avoid any deserts with nuts of any kind. The party will start at around 11:45 so don't be late."

"Yeah don't be late." Eli repeats pulling his backpack over his little shoulders. Then he runs over to where I'm sitting and wraps his arms around my neck. My heart melts.

"I won't be late I promise." I tell him with a squeeze giving him a kiss on his curly head. He giggles then slides off of my lap grabbing a hold of dad's hand.

"Alright I'll meet you in Napier after I drop Eli off." Dad says to my mom who grabs her purse off of the kitchen counter while simultaneously scooping her coffee into her opposite hand. Then without a single goodbye or thanks to me they are out the door.

I turn back to the messy yet empty kitchen. Somehow it reminds me of my soul. "Yeah no problem guys. I didn't have anything to do today anyways." I start to gather the rest of the dishes on the table to put them into the sink. Well I guess it's to the store I go.

__

I enter the town's local grocery with the intention to get in and get out as quick as possible. I know that If I linger too long one of the local gossip moms will pin me down and ask me a shit ton of questions. Then news of my return will be all over the town, and everyone will be talking about how poor Danny Walker failed. I know this is bound to happen eventually because I can't hide from the town forever, but right now I just can't handle that kind of attention. So, with the ninja reflexes of a fox I dart into the grocery store and grab a basket, keeping my head down to avoid any unintentional eye contact.

Just act like you're late to a meeting Danny, then no one will bother you. I head to the bakery and pick up a box of chocolate cupcakes glancing at the ingredients briefly to make sure there are no nuts. Safe. I toss the big box into the basket and continue over to the paper dish area. I manage to avoid three gossip moms on my way to the correct isle dodging into the isle and tossing the first things I see into the cart. As long as I have forks cups and plates it doesn't matter. Finally I jog over to the cash register and without even looking at the clerk toss my stuff onto the belt.

"Well if it isn't Danny Walker." An amused voice says, and I flinch. Shit, I had tried too hard to avoid people. I look up at the clerk only to see my best friend Ethan grinning stupidly.

"Ethan!" I sigh in relief.

Ethan shuffles out from behind the desk his big body seeming to go on forever. He moves to high five me and I return the gesture allowing him to pull me into one of his famous bro hugs. "Danny! Yo, what brings you back to this hell hole?" he asks louder than I would have liked. "Weren't you supposed to be starting your new semester up at that fancy-schmancy school?"

Ethan's blonde hair is longer than when I last saw him and I refrain from telling him he needs a haircut. "Yeah it's called Ignac you dumbass." I shake my head and he laughs.

"Well sorry I didn't know you cared that much." He teases as he makes his way back around the register. He starts to ring me up.

I find that my head is shaking, "Nah man I don't care. I'm just glad to be out of that place. You think this town is a hell hole...you haven't seen shit yet."

He laughs his classic Ethan laugh, "Don't let your mom hear you talk with that mouth Danny. She'll fucking send you to Timbuktu."

His comment makes me chuckle. My mom's strictness is not a secret to anyone. The town knows her as a hard but bad ass mom. She gets what she wants no matter what it is. Even though she works 24/7 she never misses a Sunday meeting at church. My dad isn't much of a religious man he just goes because my mom makes him. Same with me. I'd been going to the local church since I was little. Still I'd never felt comfortable there. I always felt the most judged and out of place when I was sitting in the congregation. Although really I feel out of place everywhere so....

"So what the fuck is all this for? There a rager going on? You gonna invite me?" He wines, lips puckered in a disturbing pout. I want to slap the look right off his face. Instead I offer him an eye roll.

"If you consider a swarm of first graders a rager." His brows furrow in confusion at my comment and he points to my total on the screen. I hand him the wad of bills, "I was nominated to be a chaperone of Eli's class pizza party."

"Ahh, I bet that will be a bundle of fun." His tone says he thinks otherwise, and I have to agree. "Well text me man. We can get together with Ady and go see a movie or get wasted or something." The mention of the final member of our classic trio has me grinning.

"How's Ady doing?" The last time I had seen her she had just dumped some asshole who had thought that sleeping with a redhead would be a check on his bucket list.

Ethan hands me my change, "She's good. We have a couple of classes together at Wilfrith." Wilfrith is the local community college. Both of them had opted to save money by staying home and attending the small school. In a way I'm jealous that their parents had allowed them to do that. They had stuck together despite my breaking up our gang, and I had felt guilty about it over the past few years even though they had assured me that they would live without my constant downer attitude. God I wish I could have just gone to Wilfrith instead of being sent to that place.

"She got any new conquests of late?" Ethan scoffs hanging his arm over the register.

"Dude you know I don't like involving myself with her ever failing relationships." I wonder if I sense a hint of bitterness in the comment but choose to brush it off rather than investigate because that would be too weird.

"Like you're one to talk Casanova." I droll knocking his arm gracelessly back over the register. I can tell by the expression he makes he's about to say something witty in response, but right at that moment an old lady slams a planting pot onto the belt. His eyes narrow into a glare knowing that he's missed his moment. "I'll be in contact." I snort grabbing the bag of plastic crap with one hand and my box of cupcakes with the other.

"You better." He says then mutters under his breath "Be careful on your way out, wouldn't want you to trip and fix that ugly face." I ignore his comment, but snicker as I exit the store and throw the groceries into the back of my car.

­­­__

It's about 11:35 when I pull into Southbend Elementary. I'm dreading this event with every fiber of my being, but I know that Eli will be ecstatic. That thought alone prevents me from bailing. I would do anything to make him happy, anything. The only spark of hope in this situation is that the party only lasts during the lunch period. When the lunch bell rings I'm out.

With this pleasant thought fresh in my mind I carry my goods to the front office where Donna the office lady, and mom's church friend, is perched filing her pale pink finger nails. When I walk in her eyes shoot up and her face contorts into a freaky grin. "Danny!" The shrillness of her voice could break class, "Well what a pleasant surprise."

"Hello Mrs. Kerr, I'm here as a volunteer for my brothers classroom." I mutter hurriedly hoping to convey my urgency and avoid any small talk.

She nods, my message seems to have been received. She hands me the visitor book, a bulky grey binder of documents. "Just go on ahead and write your name down and the name of the teacher's room that you're visiting." I nod and grab a pen from the small holder. It's one of those really embarrassing flower pens. I scribble down my name on the line, and then move to fill in the instructor name but realize I actually have no Idea what his name is.

Embarrassed I look up at Donna, whose gum snaps loudly between her teeth. "Uh, I actually-I'm not-"

"That's okay sweetheart." She chews, interrupting my idiocy. "I can look it up." She reaches her pink talons to the computer mouse and gives it a shake to revive it. I look around the office as she clicks the mouse and snaps her gum obnoxiously in unison. The wall to the left of me is covered in teacher photos so I move to take a look. A plethora of old woman faces gaze at me from behind their bifocals. A couple of mom aged women stand out amongst the grey. I don't see any male teachers among the smiling staff. I'm pretty sure Dad said Eli's teacher was a man. Finally I arrive at the last picture, there is a plaque next to the right of it that reads Mr. Price but there's no picture.

Ah that was his name!

I turn to inform Donna of my discovery but she beats me to it, "Mr. Price is your brother's teacher." The way she says his name sounds a little weird and she snaps her gum extra obnoxiously. With a raised brow I nod and scribble the name on the paper. She pulls out a sheet of sticky name tags and jots my name down before standing up and reaching over to pat the sticky paper onto the breast of my blue knit sweater. Her hand lingers a little too long on my peck and I awkwardly shift backwards.

Jesus she's as old as my mom.

"Uh where's his classroom?" I ask avoiding eye contact wondering why I am being molested by this crazy lady. I mean she's my mom's church friend. Isn't there something deeply wrong with that? She'd known me since I was a snot nosed brat. Donna reaches her hand over the computer onto the desk tapping a map of the building that is taped down for the molested parent's convenience.

"Down the hall, take a left and a right sweetheart."

"Thanks" I say quickly while trying to leave the office as fast as possible without looking like I'm fleeing for my life. I do what she said and find myself right in front of a door pasted with first grade scribble pictures and a make shift teacher name tag that was obviously written by the students. The letters of Mr. Price are all different sizes, jutted angles and colors and at the end of his name some clever student has taken it upon themselves to draw an oversized dollar sign.

Haha price...I get it.

I don't know if just entering the classroom would be considered rude so I opt to offer a slight wrap of my knuckles to the multicolored door. I hear a chorus of excited screams echo from within and I chuckle. How freaking adorable. It's like I'm Santa, but way less fat and way less jolly. At least this is a weird booster to my confidence right?

I flinch as soon as the thought circles my mind. Kids are a booster to my confidence? I seriously need to reevaluate my life.

The door swings open and I, expecting an old man, am looking straight forward only to come into contact with a very broad muscular chest. Shocked, I take a step back and cast my eyes upwards. In front of me is a man who is at least 6 foot 4. His dark hair is combed back coolly, and he has a clean cut and well-trimmed goatee that surrounds his thin strong lips. I can't help but think that he looks like James bond in disguise in his dark blue sweater vest, and dress shirt sleeves that are rolled and buttoned slightly above his wrist.

"Hello you must be Eli's father." The deep bass of his voice brings me spiraling back to earth and I flush awkwardly when I realize I've been staring like a weirdo. I mean, I can't help it he's just not exactly what I was expecting. I thought he was going to be a meddling old man. He's definitely not an old man. "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Walker." He holds his hand out to shake mine.

Holy shit, his eyes are so fucking blue. I stare into them wondering if it's possible for someone to have eyes that are the color of the clearest, bluest water like you see in those pictures of far off tropical beaches. His eyes that have been motionless suddenly flutter down to glance at my mouth which shakes me awake. Right handshake. I reach my palm out to grasp his which is still extended.

God Danny way to be a fucking spaz I think, but I say. "Actually I'm not Eli's father I'm his brother." It's only when my hand is firmly placed inside the large grip of his that I realize how drenched with nervous sweat my palm is. Jesus you would think I was sitting in a sauna.

My eyes glance down at our clasped hands then back up at into his crystal eyes. They crinkle at the edges with humor as a corner of his mouth twitches upwards in a knowing smile. Fuck he can probably feel that. Embarrassed I pull my hand out from his nervously whipping it against the side of my jeans. Avoiding eye contact I say "You can call me D-

"Danny sweetheart, you left your cupcakes!" A shrill voice calls from behind me. I noticeably flinch at the sound and Mr. Price's eyebrows raise in a curious tick shifting over my face.

Donna scoots up next to me grabbing the crick of my elbow, turning me to look at her. I force a polite smile to my face, hoping it doesn't look as uncomfortable as I feel. Awkwardly I make a side glance to Mr. Price who is leaning relaxed against the doorframe, muscular arms crossed over his thick chest.

"Thanks Mrs. Kerr." I offer taking the box from her talons.

"You Danny, got very handsome," She says in a cooing tone. Her hands come up to my head, one set of talons running through the short hairs at the back of my neck, the other resting dangerously on my jaw gripping my chin and forcing my head to look down at her. I feel the sharp point of her maincured nail digging into my bottom lip. Wonder if it's going to leave a mark. "But you're still as clumsy as ever."

My heart stops. What is this woman? Like holy shit! My instincts are shouting at me to push her away from me, give her a proper telling. Instead I clench my jaw and offer an exaggerated smile, goosebumps rising up on my arms underneath my sweater, the hairs on my neck standing on end. "You're right Mrs. Kerr. I guess some things never change." She chuckles but doesn't seem to want to remove her hands. She's lucky I'm holding onto this box of cupcakes. The cupcakes however aren't so lucky. The box is starting to crumple underneath the nervous pressure of my fingers.

Suddenly the box is being pulled from my hands. I turn to look over at Mr. Price who has pulled it from me in one ginormous fist. With the other hand he wraps his arm around my back, in the process knocking Donna's claws from my neck while seeming to nonchalantly rest on my shoulder to guide me into the classroom. "Thanks Mrs. Kerr, always the doll. Unfortunately we can't keep the kids waiting. They've really been looking forward to this." He chuckles easily. I wonder if he noticed her predatory touches and this is an act, or if he really is just that flighty. Donna doesn't seem to notice, she just melts into a puddle at Mr. Prices smile.

"Of course Mr. Price, you two go on in. I'll be back in the main office if you need anything." She quips before clacking away in her heels.

When she turns the corner I look up at Mr. Price whose arm is still wrapped around my shoulder. His eyes shift back to mine drilling into me. "I thought you looked rather young to be Eli's father." He says finally with a smirk. I clear my throat and lift the bag of plastic utensils up into his line of vision.

"My father had a business meeting so he couldn't make it." Mr. Price removes his arm from my shoulder taking the bag from my hand and walking further into the classroom. I let out a breathe shutting the classroom door behind me before walking in. As soon as I come into view of the class an all too familiar voice shouts out at me.

"Danny!" Eli shouts from his desk before jumping up and running into my arms.

"Hey Eli!" I greet over the loud bustle of children, crouching down to wrap my arms around him in a big bear hug. From over my brothers shoulder I watch as Mr. Price and who must be another mom start setting out the dishes, cups, and silverware. The mom must be saying something funny to him because he seems to be laughing lightly as he rips open a bag of chips. He must sense that I'm looking at him because his eyes travel from the mom to me in one smooth motion. We make brief eye contact before I turn my gaze away, Eli pushing away from my hug to look at me.

"You're on time!" He says happily his eyes beaming with excitement. My heart stings at that. How many times had he been let down by our ever busy parents. The least I can do while I'm trying to figure my shit out is make his life a little better. I run a hand lightly through his hair, adjusting a few of his curls.

"Yeah, I'd never leave you hanging little man."

"Did you see my teacher?" He asks excitedly grabbing a hold of my hand that is sifting through his locks. "Isn't he cool?" My eyes again shift up towards where the older man was standing previously. He's still standing where he was before but his eyes are glued onto me as he slowly assists the mom in whatever she's trying to set up at the table. We again make eye contact. It's awkward. Why do we keep making eye contact? In order to make the situation a bit less weird I offer the older man a casual friendly smile. Ya know, like, hey I'm just your friendly neighborhood college dropout!

Mr. Price doesn't return my smile, his eyes hook onto my mouth and his expression grows serious as if he's debating something with himself. The mom must say something to him because he snaps his gaze back to her and then nods standing up straight. In a loud deep voice he shouts, "Class Class!"

"Yes yes!" The little kids all shout in unison, even Eli joins in from in front of me turning his body to face the teacher. I find myself rising to attention as well. I mean the guy has a voice that draws you. I can't help but listen.

"Why don't we all thank Mrs. Johnson and Danny for helping us get all this yummy food?" He says turning to Mrs. Johnson at the mention of her name, and then me at the mention of mine. His voice saying my name sends a shiver up my spine. I don't know why but it does.

"Thank you!" The class echoes in unison. I nod and smile at the little kids trying to keep my eyes off of Mr. Price. It's like I have to make a conscious effort not to look at this guy. What is this? Why I'm I so interested in him? I mean sure, he's not what I was expecting. A lot of things in life are not what I expect. I didn't expect to hate business. I didn't expect to drop out. I didn't expect to be twenty three and living at home. I should be over this by now.

"All right, Come line up and get some food!" He says cheerily to the kids, and I smile at the way he looks like a happy dad amongst all the little children. He must be a really good dad. He probably has kids right? I mean he looks at least thirty....but not forty. He's younger than my parents. I'm so deep in thought that again I don't realize that I'm staring at him.

"Danny!" Says my brother tugging on my finger. I drag my eyes away from the older man to look down at my brother with eyebrows raised. "Mr. Price was asking you to help give out the cupcakes."

"Oh," I say quickly glancing up at the man again. He's smiling as he looks from Eli to me, something warm about his gaze. "Uh yeah, sorry." I need to go home. Seriously somethings wrong with me. I momentarily debate bailing, but shake the idea when I see how happy Eli is as I push him into the line. No. Just gotta chill, seriously Danny chill. I repeat these words as I make my way to stand next to Mr. Price. His big body sending waves of warmth against my side by how close we're standing. Uncomfortable with how much I am aware of him I side step away from him only to run into Mrs. Johnson. She yelps in pain as I step on her foot, and Mr. Price's hand wraps around my forearm pulling me quickly back against him.

"Uh I-I'm sorry" I stutter apologetically. Mrs. Johnson laughs at my nervousness and tells me it's alright, but honestly I'm not really listening. My arm is pressed against Mr. Price's side. He's laughing at something one of his students said, apparently not fazed by how awkward everything is. Maybe I'm just making this awkward. Maybe this is completely normal, and my mind is just on overdrive. Does he not feel weird? I smile and put a cupcake on one of the kid's plates as they make it down the line attempting to act normal.

After the last kid has gone through the line Mrs. Johnson informs us that she has an appointment with her obstetrician and that she has to leave. Mr. Price nods and walks her to the classroom door chatting away about how far along she is or something. I force myself to look away. Taking this brief moment of freedom to grab a water bottle from a pack that Mr. Price has sitting on the table. I break the cap, quickly downing the whole bottle as I gaze around the room at the children.

"Wow, someone's thirsty." Mr. Price's deep voice says from right behind me and I jump, choking on my water. I break out into a fit of coughs and Mr. Price slams is palm against my back grabbing my forearm to steady me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." He apologizes. Sounds sincere. His hand clasped around my wrist is warm, and tight. I notice it doesn't have a ring.

Not married?

Seriously Danny? Why do you care? What is your obsession? You're turning into one of the nosy neighborhood gossip ladies. Check yourself.

"I'm okay." I finally wheeze out grabbing the wrist of his hand that's on my wrist. Want to push it away but my hand ends up lingering a bit more than I intend it to.

"Are you sure?" He asks. His hand stops hitting my back. Instead it rests on my shoulder blade. He's peering over my shoulder. Trying to look at my face.

"Yeah I'm sure." Please stop touching me. I finally force my hand to push his away, and shift out of his reach turning to face him. He doesn't seem to notice my discomfort, or that he was touching me. He just turns to the table and fills a plastic cup with Orange juice, smiling as he gazes out at his students all seated across the floor. His hand around the jug is lined with veins. I stare. His fingers are really long.

"You're new to town Mr. Price" I say. I mean it as a question, but nothing seems to be going my way today so why should this?

Mr. Price sets down the jug, lifting the cup to his mouth while turning to face me. He drinks the whole cup tilting his head back like he's downing a shot. I stare at his exposed Adams apple, feel like I'm doing something wrong so I look away. Someone's thirsty.

He sets the cup down on the table when he's done. "Yeah I've been here for about a week. Please call me Owen. As far as I'm aware I'm your brother's teacher, not yours." I ignore his request to call him Owen. Pretend I don't hear it. I don't want to be too familiar.

"Why did you come here?" I ask it like it was the worst decision he's ever made. I don't have time to edit it in my mind. You know change the tone so I don't sound like such a douche bag. He laughs at the abruptness of the question, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Evidence of a happy life, satisfaction? "Sorry, I'm being one of those annoying nosy people." I apologize turning to look back at the students.

"No, I don't mind your nosiness." He shrugs. I flush but refuse to look at the man. I Know it's a bad idea although I'm not sure why, but it is. "I actually was born here. So, I guess I'm just coming back?" It's like a question on his tongue, as if he doesn't even really know.

"You were born here?" This comes as a surprise to me.

"Yeah, grew up here my entire childhood. I moved away when I was eighteen." Hm, must have moved to go to college. I don't ask anything else. I don't want to appear too interested in him, because I'm not. Interested. "You go to Wilfrith?"He asks. Neither of us look at each other.

"No. I was going to Ignac. I'm taking the semester off." Good job Danny. Nice and succinct answer. Let's not get too personal. He's just your brother's teacher, you don't need to see him again.

"Business hm?" Mr. Price seems to be thinking as he turns to stare at me. I don't look at him. Finally he speaks, "You don't seem like the business type." The words ring so true to me. It's like he is seeing into my soul. Stunned I finally turn to look at him. His eyes' are analyzing my face, seem to be clinging on to every blink of my eye, the nervous tick of my eyebrow, the way my jaw clenches. He notices it all.

My eyes fall onto his mouth. His lips pull into a crooked smile.

The lunch bell rings.