Today's Reading
CHAPTER ONE
Helena
Helena Crosby had an unusual amount of optimism for seven o'clock on a Monday morning.
Part of that, no doubt, was because there were only four Mondays left in the school year. Four. That meant she was so close to swapping lecturing from the front of her English lit classroom for lounging poolside, she could practically feel the sun on her skin.
Not that she didn't love her job. She did. While teaching wasn't what she originally had gone to school for, it had quickly become her passion. Who wouldn't want to spend the day with (mostly) hilarious high school students while discussing the works of some of her favorite British authors like Jane Austen and Shakespeare? It was enough to make the school's ancient HVAC system, whose only settings appeared to be Arctic Circle and Sahara Desert, and the weird odor, best described as body spray with a hint of discount industrial cleaner and dust, worth it.
Still, there was only so much teenage humor and fighting with an obstinate thermostat that one could take. Plus, between all the required reading and grading, her own personal reading list was getting a little out of control. She needed to knock some of them out before the mountain of books on her nightstand toppled over and caused real damage.
But even more than her TBR pile and her countdown to summer, what really had Helena in a perfectly positive mood at this early hour on a Monday was that she had a plan.
This was noteworthy for two reasons. First, Helena rarely had a plan. She was more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of girl. A take-the-world-as-it-comes girl. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate a good plan. They certainly came in handy from time to time. But for the most part, she preferred her freedom.
Which brought her to the second noteworthy point: this plan was awesome. Not only would it solve a problem—nay, avoid a crisis—it was also so well-thought-out that there was zero chance it would fall apart. Plus, this plan included a vacation with her best friend and one of her favorite humans on the planet, Landon Blake. So really, what could go wrong?
Of course, she had to get Landon on board first, which did pose a teensy threat to the whole scheme. But she'd even come up with a plan for that as well.
Helena cruised down the empty hallway full of confidence and casually propped herself against the doorframe of Landon's classroom, clutching her "But First, Coffee" mug between both hands. "I know where you'll be spending the first week of summer vacation," she said, the last two words in a singsong voice.
"Please tell me it's far, far away from any kind of grading." Landon scribbled something across the top of the page in front of him before he looked up. "I think I'm going cross-eyed." He moved the paper to the bottom of the large stack and leaned over the next one.
"Trust me, I know the feeling. I spent my weekend trying to dig my way out of sophomore research papers." She ventured into the U.S. History classroom, decorated with maps of the United States and posters of professional soccer teams from around the world, and leaned against a desk in the front row. "I promise where we're going is miles away from any sort of grading. In fact, there's a good chance it's even illegal there."
Landon clasped his hands together on the stack of papers and focused his friendly deep-blue gaze on her. "I'm intrigued. Tell me more."
Their friendship had started the day they both walked into new teacher training at Pineview High School four years ago. As usual, Helena had gotten there a few minutes late. In order to draw as little attention to herself as possible, she'd snagged a seat in the back. Landon had walked in a couple minutes later and claimed the spot next to her.
Even if he hadn't been sitting right next to her, it would've been impossible not to notice him. He was all relaxed confidence and charming grin with the toned body of an athlete and the sun-bronzed skin of someone who'd spent their summer outside. If there was any doubt that he was part of the coaching staff, the school-colored polo shirt with "Pineview Soccer" embroidered on the front cleared it up. She'd started to wonder if she needed to give the HR handbook a read after all, to find out if there was a faculty dating policy.
Then Landon had made a snarky comment during the first sentence of the principal's opening remarks—at which she'd laughed louder than was appropriate—and Helena was convinced he was going to be in her life for a long, long time. Only, things didn't turn out quite as expected. After their third date, they'd both realized that while they loved being together, there was no spark. So in an effort to save what they had, they transitioned their relationship from romantic to platonic. In Helena's opinion, it was the best decision she'd ever made.
...
