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June dressed in a few minutes, shoving her legs into black leggings and a worn VU t-shirt from college. She grabbed her fleece, put it on, and slid her feet into the Birkenstocks she brought with her. She paused for a moment in the white framed full-length mirror next to the door and took stock of her reflection. She pursed her lips, wiggled them from side to side, and tried to imagine what Colin saw when he looked at her. With another groan (did she make any other sound this morning?), she grabbed her water bottle and walked out of the room to find Kevin waiting for her on the couch.
“Finally,” he said in an over dramatic fashion, rising off the couch in a huff.
“It was like, ten minutes.”
“So did you make out here?” Kevin said, as June shut the door behind her. June rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks heat, giving away her answer.
“So who made the first move?”
“I’m not answering this.”
”I bet it was him,” Kevin said, chattering on as they walked across the field to the dining hall. “He seems like a take-charge kind of guy.”
“Still not answering.”
“Was he a good kisser? I mean, clearly, if you’re thinking about doing it again. You are, aren’t you?”
“Still. Not. Answering.” The two of them walked into the dining hall, beating the rush of students that would come in 30 minutes with their counselors, all sleepy eyed and energetic at the same time. June made a beeline over to the coffee machine, grabbed a chipped white mug, and filled it up with black coffee, adding her requisite cream to make it palatable. Kevin kept up his monologue, continuing to speculate about June’s evening as she went out to the front porch and sat in an Adirondack chair.
June sat down and sipped her coffee, the bitter taste waking her up. She took a moment that Kevin stopped to breathe and sip his coffee to appreciate the silence in the morning. The rustle of the leaves through the trees and the slight crisp in the morning air filling her lungs.
“Kevin,” she said, swallowing her coffee. “I love you like a brother, even though my brother is rad.” Kevin raised his eyebrows at her over his mug. “So here is a very short list of answers to your inane questions.” She could almost feel him vibrate with excitement. “Colin made the first move, but asked for permission, which was really sexy. He is a great kisser and I would love to do it again, but I also feel like I crossed a professional line last night, so I am going to try to be cool.”
Kevin took a moment, tilted his head, and considered her words. “But you’re like, the least cool person I know.” June lightly punched him in the shoulder.
“Now can we just have our coffee and figure out what we’re doing today?”
“Ugh fine. Do you want to go on a hike? I know you wanted to work on some cover letters, too.”
“I hate cover letters. I just want to write HIRE ME PLEASE in 80 point font.”
They continued to chat as the first few cabins of students rolled in, dragging their feet like they didn’t usually wake up at 7 am for school. A few early cabins began to trickle into the dining hall, kids grinning with tired eyes and they waved to Kevin and June.
“Ms. L!” Tasha, an outspoken student in June’s third period said. “I saw a deer last night!” Her eyes lit up animatedly, like she had seen an exotic beast from the Savannah in the mountains.
“Wow!” June said, setting down her coffee and turning to face Tasha. “Where?”
“Over there!” June said, pointing behind the cabins. “It ran out and looked at us! I think it was a girl deer.”
“And how did you know that?” Kevin asked, his science teacher mind always at work.
“No antlers, duh, Mr. K,” she shot back. “I do pay attention in class!”
“Do you know when deer are most active?” Kevin asked, continuing his lesson. “Now, think - remember we did a local animals unit.” Tasha scrunched up her face, trying to remember the information.
“Nighttime?” She guessed.
“Not exactly,” Kevin gently corrected. June loved the way he guided students towards the correct information, encouraging their stumbles and missteps as a part of the scientific process. “There’s a fancy word for animals that are active between the day and night,” Kevin continued.
June jumped into the lesson. “You have the super power of speaking Spanish, right, Tasha?” Tasha blushed a little bit, but nodded as she played with her long ponytail. “Okay, do you remember that silly movie Twilight?”
“Edward Cullen!” Tasha claimed. “He’s soooo cute.”
June chuckled softly, and took a sip of her coffee. “Do you remember what the name of that movie is in Spanish?”
Tasha continued to tug on her ponytail like it would pull the information out of her brain. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide and she gasped. “Crepúsculo!”
“Very good - your superpower saved the day again!” June said, clapping her hands together.
