Shawn was attuned to Miss Blake’s awkwardness; he certainly was not blind to it. He found it amusing in a way, she the teacher and he the student. She was very attractive, but he hadn’t thought of her as anything but his teacher. Now she was offering to be his mentor. The thought appealed to him, their minds seemed to run along the same lines, meaning literature, and she seemed to genuinely care about his future.

When she brushed the hair out of his face, he was sure she was attracted to him. It was something only a mother, which his had done many times, or someone that liked you would do. Which she obviously did or she wouldn’t be taking this interest in him. It was her awkwardness that amused him though, she reminded him of some of the girls that had tried to get close to him at times. Of course he had never had the time to indulge them, having to work all the time or not be in school at all.

He almost laughed out load when they stood and bumped into one an other.

“Ok, then. Next week, Shawn. Um. I think I should get going now. Attendance to,….um,….hand into the office.” She said.

“Thank you Miss Blake,” Shawn said. “Next week then.” He agreed, grabbing his backpack, and heading out the door.

The next week went by quickly, and Shawn settled into all his classes well. The novelty of a twenty-one year old man in class was still amusing to all his classmates but he shrugged it off. He must have been hit on by at least half the senior girls and most of the junior ones. He reply was always the same, “Sorry, I’m just trying to get used to being back in school right now, maybe later.”

The day before he was to meet with Miss Blake again, his Mom told him he had to get right home from school the next day. She had to work late and needed him to get the kids supper and settled. He found Miss Blake in her classroom and told her the situation, and would it be okay if she could come to his house after school and talk to him.

“Your invited to have supper with us,” he told her. “All my brothers and sisters will be there, and it will be a mad house for awhile until they settle down for supper. But we can talk afterwards.”

“Well…..I suppose it would be alright,” Miss Blake responded. “It is related to school.”

“Good,” Shawn replied, “here’s my address.” He handed her a slip of paper with the address and phone number. “Supper will be about 6-0-clock. That will give you time to change or whatever you need to do after school.”

The next day Shawn hurried home, some of the family was also home already. He jumped into the shower very quick and as he stood before the mirror brushing his hair he stopped, looking at it. He mussed it and left it that way then headed for the kitchen to start supper.

About 5:30 there was a knock at the door and a couple of minutes later Miss Blake was standing in the kitchen surrounded by all the brothers and sisters.

“Oh Hi,” he said. “Suppers not quite ready yet, please sit down.” He indicated a chair at the table.

All the brothers and sisters just stood there starring at her.

“What, you guys never seen a teacher before? You better git ‘fore she gives you all more homework,” he laughed, cashing them all away.

It was then that he noticed the bowl of polished apples sitting on the table, left by his mother. He smiled as he reached down and handed one to Miss Blake. And on a whim he quoted chapter three of Genesis:

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

He turned and went back to preparing supper, a grin on his face.