Forbidden Love

Chapter 5 - It's A Date

The week following the family dinner went by in a flash. It mainly consisted of my grading the projects

my students did. Parent teacher conferences were coming up and, honestly, I’m not too nervous about

them. Probably because I don’t meet the children’s actual parents, just their caretakers.

But, for the parents that do come, they’re usually snobbish and turn their noses up at me—which is to

be expected. But the comments are honestly not needed. I don’t need them to criticize my work and

how I teach their kids when, truthfully, their kids are doing good in my class. I also don’t need them to

scrutinize my colorful classroom. Kids learn better when they’re not in a plain old classroom

The rest of the teachers seem to think otherwise, though. Their classrooms are all dull and have little to

no life in them. There’s not even a single plant in sight. And, honestly, I couldn’t just get my colorful

classroom. I had to fight for it since the principal of the school was mad and didn’t like it. When she

realized I wasn’t going to back down, she let me have my way.

Sighing in relief—since I had just graded the last paper—I relaxed on the ground which I was sitting on.

I stayed there with my eyes closed for a few seconds before I opened them and realized it was late.

Very late, at about 11 PM. I had to get up early in the morning too since I had to let the early kids into

the school.

I took a soothing shower before brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. By the time I was ready to

sleep, it was 11:45 and I was extremely exhausted. Keeping up a facade gets tiring which is why I’m

always lazy and tired.

Right before I drifted off to dreamland, I remembered a gorgeous pair of deep carmel eyes staring into

my own and a small smile spread across my face.

. . .

“Alright, kiddos. Don’t forget to remind your parents that parent teacher conferences are tonight, if you

were scheduled to have it tonight. Okay?”

“Yes, Ms. Aisha!” the students replied in usion.

Tonight is the first night where I was gonna be talking to every single one of my student’s parents about

how their students have been doing. Over the past few weeks I’ve been giving them tests to see how

much they’ve learned and what I need to work on them. Every single one of them had their own little

struggles but only three of my students were really struggling: Jasmine, William, and Devora.

I don’t want to tell their parents about them struggling since they might feel like their child isn’t smart

enough and possibly get mad at the child, so I decided to tutor them all personally so by the end of the

year, they would improve and be ready to go to the next grade.

I made sure I asked the principal for permission and thankfully she granted it, thinking it was a good

idea. (Surprisingly she just went along with it and didn’t argue about it to me.)

The children file in a single line while I grab my black coat. I put it on while walking with them outside.

All of the kids had their nannies waiting for them except Jasmine, and I honestly feel really bad for her.

Usually her dad picks her up but two times, and two times only, her mom came to pick her up. And both

times, her mom was disrespectful and snobby. Unlike Jasmine, she had blonde curly hair. She also had

dark brown eyes that had no life in them whatsoever. She was fit but not very tall, maybe about 5’5.

And, god, the clothes. Everything she wore was expensive.

When she—Jasmine’s mom—came to pick Jasmine up, she always just said two words: Let’s go. She

didn’t hug her, ask her how her day at school was—nothing. Maybe both times she was in a rush to get

somewhere but still. It doesn’t take five minutes to say “Hey, Jasmine! How are you? How was school?”

and then continue the conversation in the car.

Evern Jasmine seemed uncomfortable when her mom came to pick her up. But what could I do? I don’t

have proof or anything against Jasmine’s mom. And if I tried to speak up, the school would surely fire

me. Besides, I might be wrong. I might be reading everything the wrong way.

Soon enough, every kid was gone except Jasmine, again. I can tell she was about to cry because her

lips kept going down in a frown and her eyes were starting to water. I quickly grabbed her hand and

went to sit on the bench with her. I took out a lollipop from my jacket and handed it to her without

saying a word.

She smiled and put it in her mouth after taking the wrapper off. I chuckled at her eagerness.

“Thank you,” she said whilst enjoying the lollipop. We sat in comfortable silence before I heard a male

voice and a female voice arguing. I thought they were going to fade away—I hoped they were going to

fade away—but they just got closer and closer until I found out who those voices belonged to.

They belonged to Lisa, Jasmine’s mother, and Elijah. I swiftly turned to look at Jasmine and I saw that

she looked a little worried. I told her to cover her eyes so she doesn’t have to hear her parents arguing

and so I can talk to her parents.

By now, Elijah and Lisa were walking towards Jasmine and I. I got up from my seat and decided to talk.

“Excuse me?” I interrupted them both. They both turned to look at me but Lisa didn’t care about what I

had to say because she continued yelling after seeing it was me who said excuse me.

I scoffed. “I’m so sorry, Lisa, but what you will not do is start an argument in front of the school and your

daughter. That’s not acceptable and you should know to be a better mother than that,” I sternly told her.

Her jaw dropped. “Who the hell do you think you are?” she yelled.

Elijah sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Enough, Lisa. Jasmine’s right there,” he told Lisa.

She turned to him. “Oh, so now you’re gonna defend your hoe? Don’t think I’m stupid, I know you’ve

been sleeping with her. Jasmine speaks about her at home all the time!”

“Mrs. Lisa, that’s enough,” I cut her off. “I’m Jasmine’s teacher. Please, I don’t need name calling here.

As of now, I don’t feel safe sending her home with you.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, my, I am so sorry for this inconvenience. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting.

You’re not a hoe, I just misunderstood things.” She smiled softly. “It’s just Jasmine loves you a lot and I

got the wrong idea, you know?”

I didn’t know but I nodded my head along with her anyways. She was acting like a child; I didn’t even

know how and why Jasmine and Elijah put up with her.

I looked over at Jasmine. Her ears were still covered and the lollipop was still in her mouth. I beamed

happily at her obedience. While Lisa was still apologizing and rambling, I walked over to Jasmine and

so did Elijah. I bent down so we were about the same height then I tapped her leg and told her to take

her hands off her ears.

“You ready to go home, sweetheart?” I asked.

She immediately shook her head no. “I want to stay here with you, Ms. Aisha.”

I smiled sadly. “You can’t, I have to go home to get ready for conferences, remember?”

She pouts. “But I want to stay here with you.”

I thought for a moment. “How about you come with daddy to the conference and we can hangout then,

alright? I’ll even give you a present if you’re on your best behavior,” I settle on saying. She nodded

happily and got off the bench to hug me. I hugged her back.

“Bye, Ms. Aisha,” she said, waving.

“Bye, sweetie,” I replied. She grabbed Elijah’s but before the two talked away, Elijah apologized and

said a quick thanks. I just nodded my head before I realized Lisa wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She

probably left.

Sighing, I walked away. I still can’t believe Lisa had the audacity to say that to me. I got into my car and

drove off to my house so I could get ready for the conferences. The whole time, I tried taking my mind

off what Lisa said and instead focused on the conferences.

. . .

The parent teacher conferences were much longer than I had originally anticipated. The parents

actually came (I know, shocking) and were asking so many questions. They even kept asking the same

questions over and over again but just worded them differently. Hopefully they don’t think I’m stupid

since I didn’t bother to change the wording of the answers I gave them multiple times.

I met with everyone except the last two people, which were Jasmine and Elijah. And they were

supposed to arrive in a few moments.

“Ms. Aisha!” Perfect timing. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Jasmine ran into the classroom and ran up to hug me. I picked her up and twirled her around a bit

before I put her down. She broke down into a fit of giggles.

“Hi, Ms. Aisha!” she said again, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, darling,” I laughed out. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good! It was boring when I went home.” She pouted.

I ruffled her hair. “I’m sure it was.”

I looked over at Elijah who was, for some reason, smiling extra hard. I guess he fixed the issues he had

with Lisa or something.

He was wearing black ripped jeans and a simple black shirt. An outfit so simple yet it looked hot on

him. But, of course, I had to keep it all professional. No flirting with him or anything.

On the other hand, Jasmine was wearing a short blue skirt which looked cute on her. She also had on a

white top and her hair was in a bun with a few hair strands out.

“Hello, Mr. Elijah,” I greeted him. “You can come sit right here while I go get my papers for Jasmine.” As

he went to sit at the table, I went to get the paper and the present I got for Jasmine since I promised I

would get her something. It wasn’t anything big, just a teddy bear and a bag of candy. But hopefully

she’ll like it. And hopefully Elijah is okay with it.

I went back to the table where Elijah was sitting. Jasmine, on the other hand, was at the play section

playing with the dolls.

“You have a beautiful daughter,” I tell him. “She has such an amazing personality.”

Elijah grinned. “Thank you. My daughter loves you, if you haven’t already noticed. She hasn’t always

been really happy, especially with everything going on at home lately, but whenever she talks about

you she’s always smiling. It’s nice seeing her happy like that.”

“Well, it’s nice knowing she has taken a liking to me,” I chuckled. “Also, I brought her a teddy bear and

a bag of candy since I promised to get her something. Is that alright with you?”

“You didn’t have to actually—”

“I never break my promises,” I cut him off.

For some reason, he just looked at me for the longest time ever and had a smile on his face. I would be

lying if I said my heart didn’t do a little dance.

“Yeah, you can give that to her,” he eventually said.

“Jasmine!” I called out. “I have something for you.”

She stopped playing with the dolls and walked over to me. “Yes, Ms. Aisha?” she asked.

I handed her the bag of candy and the teddy bear. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed them before

hugging me. “T-thank you, Ms. Aisha,” she said, stuttering a bit. “A-am I allowed to keep it?”

“Yes, Jasmine,” I laughed. “You can keep them.”

She turned to her dad, grinning. “Daddy! She got me a teddy bear and candy!” she excitedly told him.

He chuckled.

“I see, darling, but make sure to not eat all that candy in one day. Okay?” he asked.

“Okay, daddy.”

“Okay, Jasmine, could you go over to the station while your father and I talk?”

She nodded her head and went back to the dolls.

“Now, let’s get into business, shall we?” I said, turning to face Elijah. “I’ve been testing all my students

lately to see what they’re struggling on. Three of all the students are struggling pretty bad and,

unfortunately, Jasmine is one of them. I’m really worried for her because, as her teacher, I really want

her to succeed. I’ve been working with her more in class and she’s been improving slowly but

gradually. And, so, I was wondering if it was okay with you if I could possibly personally tutor her?” I

asked. “All you have to do is sign a paper. So, it’s your choice.”

Elijah thought for a moment. “First, thank you. And second, what’s she mainly struggling at?” he asked.

“She’s struggling in every area but mainly in reading and math,” I told him.

He sighed. “I’ll sign the paper,” he said. I quickly pulled out the paper and a pen then handed them to

him. He signed.

“When are you gonna start working with her and where?” he asked.

“I can start tutoring her next week after school. And, anywhere is fine. She can also stay here, in the

school, then you can pick her up once she’s done.”

Elijah nodded his head. “Alright.”

We began talking more about Jasmine and how she’s doing in class. I showed him all her tests and

some of her projects. The whole time, Elijah looked happy. Soon enough, we finished the conference.

“Before I go, I’d like to apologize for the way Jasmine’s mother was acting. We got into a whole

argument about nothing, really. I’m sorry for the words she called you, and I want to make it up to you

by taking you out to dinner,” he said confidently.

It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. Was he basically asking me out on a date though?

“There’s no need to,” I kindly declined his request. “I understand.” I didn’t really want to get my hopes

up. After all, he was just trying to be nice.

Elijah shook his head. “I insist. This is a way of me repaying you. I want to take you out on a date,” he

said again and this time, I blushed.

“I, erm…I’ll think about it,” I settled on saying.

Elijah’s smile widened. “Great! Take as long as you need, the offer isn’t going anywhere.” He then

turned to Jasmine. “C’mon, Jasmine. It’s time to go, honey.”

She said by to me and I watched both of them walk out of the classroom. Once they were out of sight, I

couldn’t help but grin. I knew I was gonna tell him I wanted to eat dinner with him—but…wait. I didn’t

ask for his phone number.

I got onto my school computer and looked up his phone number. Once I got it, I put it in my phone and

shot him a text.

Hey, it’s Aisha. I’m up to going to dinner with you if the offer isn’t withdrawn yet. I texted.

He replied quickly. Can’t wait.

Yeah, me too.