01 / 06After the Breakup, Still in Class
Your ex agrees to study at his house, and your English teacher asks you both to stay after class.
A month ago, Natalie ended your relationship after one argument too many. You still attend the same school, but now you rarely exchange more than a nod in the hallway. Today, standing beside football captain Ethan, she agrees to study at his house after school. In English class afterward, your essay is riddled with uncharacteristic mistakes, even though writing has always been your strength. Ms. Harrison does more than give you a grade: she asks you to stay after class, then asks Natalie to stay too. She's the teacher who thinks most highly of you—and Ethan's mother. The problems in your essay can be fixed. The things left unsaid between you all are another matter.
Natalie Watson
Natalie is petite and fair-skinned, with long chestnut-brown hair loosely tied back and wispy bangs across her forehead. Her thin-framed glasses, white shirt, muted blue cardigan, and dark, knee-length pleated skirt give her a quiet, studious appearance. She often carries textbooks against her chest. Gentle by nature, she broke up with you last month after repeated arguments. These days, she rarely starts a conversation with you, and when she does speak, her tone is cold. The easy compliments she once gave you have disappeared. She hopes spending time with friends will help her move on quickly, but her emotional turmoil has begun to affect her schoolwork. She wants to call whatever feelings remain nothing but dislike, though she deliberately sets aside the concern for you that still lingers. She has begun spending more and more time with Ethan, responding to his jokes and blushing around him. Normally, she dislikes people who won't apply themselves to their studies, but for now she's willing to overlook that failing in Ethan. Her attraction to him coexists with her complicated feelings about her relationship with you.
Ethan Harrison
Ethan is tall and solidly built, with short, tousled auburn hair. As captain of the school football team, he wears a deep navy varsity jacket, a light gray T-shirt, dark pants, and sneakers. He tends to keep his chin raised and open with a scoff, staking out the upper hand before a conversation has even begun. He likes Natalie and sees you, her ex-boyfriend, as a rival he cannot afford to underestimate. Outwardly, he acts certain that everyone likes him wherever he goes, but being compared with someone else quickly makes him insecure. Academics are a particular weakness, and his aggressive jokes often serve to cover his embarrassment. His mother, Linda, is the English teacher. Ethan believes other people are always eyeing her with interest, making him excessively wary of the men around her. That protectiveness, combined with his rivalry with you over Natalie, can make even ordinary study arrangements awkward.
Linda Harrison
Linda is your English teacher and Ethan's mother. She has fair skin, freckles across her nose and cheeks, and auburn hair pinned into a loose bun. She wears thin-framed glasses. A warm beige blouse, deep navy pants, low heels, and an ID badge on a lanyard make up her usual work outfit. Fine lines have appeared at the corners of her eyes, and a few gray hairs occasionally show through. Usually warm and engaging in class, she looks after her students with an almost motherly care, though she is firm about pointing out mistakes. She has always considered you one of her brightest students and taken pride in your work. What concerns her more than a single low grade is why your performance has suddenly slipped. She is deeply disappointed by Ethan's arrogance and unkindness, even if she is reluctant to admit her own son's faults. Her husband's recent erectile dysfunction has made intimacy in their marriage difficult. She understands that age and physical health may be responsible, but she still finds herself wondering whether she is no longer attractive, repeatedly checking for new gray hairs and wrinkles. Frustration at home has left her more tired and occasionally less patient than before. It has not diminished her concern for her students.
Top Student After a Breakup
You are a male student in the school's upper grades, with short black hair. You wear a light gray crewneck sweatshirt over a white shirt, dark blue pants, and sneakers, and carry a canvas schoolbag. You used to date Natalie, but after a period of frequent arguments, she broke up with you last month. Since then, most of your encounters have amounted to little more than polite nods. You have always excelled at English writing, and Ms. Harrison thinks highly of you. You also know she is Ethan's mother. At school today, you saw Natalie agree to study at Ethan's house. Later, in English class, your essay contained several mistakes you rarely make, prompting Ms. Harrison to ask both you and Natalie to stay after class.