Current Impressions by Kelly Risser Page B

boulder nearby. I tried not to notice how good he
looked, even in basketball shorts and a faded T-shirt. “I’m not the
most patient of teachers.”
    “You can say that again,” I mumbled under my
breath.
    He turned back and grinned at me. “But I
won’t.”
    He was so infuriating! I tried to think of a
smart reply. Nothing came to mind. I watched as he placed his cap
on his head, adjusting it slightly.
    “Oh, and Meara?”
    “Yes?”
    “Part two of your lesson today…” He paused
until I motioned for him to go on. “Transport yourself back to
Ronac.” He winked and disappeared.
    I stared in disbelief. Really? This was the
best teacher my dad could come up with?

 

    “Evan, your ride’s here,” his mom
called.
    “Coming!” He looked around his room. It was
so clean—didn’t even feel like his. Everything he needed for the
trip was packed between his suitcase and his carry-on. With any
luck, he’d see Meara before the end of the week. At least, he hoped
she find him right away. He didn’t know how to find her.
    He picked up his bags and went downstairs.
His mom was at the door, looking out at the professor’s car. When
she turned, her face was shiny with tears.
    “Mom, I’ll be back in a few weeks.”
    “Over a month,” she corrected with a smile.
She reached up to frame his face with her hands. It was something
she’d done since he was a little boy, only now, he was quite a bit
taller than she was. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek
before hugging her.
    “I love you, Mom.”
    “I love you, too,” she said. “You’ll
call?”
    “Regularly,” he said. “And, of course, I’ll
call you when we land.”
    She nodded and dropped her hands, focusing
again on the professor’s car. “He won’t come in and say hello?”
    She’d been irritated ever since Professor
Nolan declined the invitation to dinner. Evan tried several times
to get him to come over, but he refused.
    “He’s socially awkward,” Evan said after a
moment. It was an excuse, but as good as any. It didn’t really seem
like the professor had friends. He barely talked to his colleagues
and mainly barked orders or facts at students.
    “Something about his profile seems
familiar.” She continued to squint at the car. “What did you say
his name is?”
    “Theodore Nolan. Uh, Ted.”
    “Ted Nolan… hmm… I don’t recognize it.” She
frowned in thought. “Maybe he just has one of those familiar
faces.”
    Evan shrugged. Professor Nolan looked like
the stereotypical nerdy college professor—dowdy suit, tie, glasses,
and untidy hair. He didn’t really stand out.
    He picked up his suitcases and waited. His
mom wasn’t moving from the entryway. “I need to leave, Mom.”
    “Of course.” She stepped to the side and
held open the door. “Have a good trip. Say hi to Meara for us.”
    His parents knew that Meara was one of the
reasons he took the internship. It was probably the main reason
they agreed to let him go. They knew how hard it was for him when
she moved away with her dad. They also genuinely liked her. Meara
was easy to like.
    He paused to kiss his mom’s cheek one more
time. He would miss her, but she would probably miss him more. The
house had been noticeably empty in Katie’s absence, even when
filled with guests. At least Katie was returning in a few days.
She’d keep their mom occupied. And, Dad was coming home tonight and
not traveling the rest of the week.
    Evan hurried down the steps and put his bags
in the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat. “Sorry for
making you wait. I was saying goodbye to my mom.”
    “No problem.” Professor Nolan didn’t even
look at the house. He simply took off. “Where is the rest of your
family?”
    “My dad’s on a business trip. My sister’s in
Cancun.”
    “Your mom is alone?”
    There was something in the professor’s tone,
but Evan couldn’t pinpoint it. Whatever it was, he felt uneasy, but
the feeling came and went just as quickly. “Not