Third Period and a surprise from his past

Richard used the rest of his free time to study his notes as best he could. He worked on memorizing the seating chart so he'd know all the girls' names, but he kept getting distracted by steamy thoughts about the girls he's already dealt with that morning.

Eventually the bell rang and new students came in. He put on his best smile and greeted each girl as she came in.

“Hello. Hi there, I'm your new teacher. Hello, good to meet you. Hell-” Richard stopped himself from yelling 'oh crap.'

Shelby walked right by without saying a word. Her short red hair sent a spark through his spine, just like it had at the Frat party a month ago.

Shelby joined a group of girls standing at the back. Richard watched them chat as other girls filled the room.

Richard jumped a little when the bell rang. “Okay! Uh... I'm Mr. Stamp. I'm taking over for Ms. Sinow. She decided to take the semester off. She had a baby.”

Shelby sat in her desk. The other students probably did too, but Richard was too busy watching Shelby to care.

“You probably noticed the baby,” continued Richard weakly. “I mean, the... bump and all. Anyway. Quizzes!”

The girls groaned and Richard handed out the papers. When he held out a quiz to Shelby she barely glanced at him, but her hand slid over his as she took it. His heart skipped a beat, but he couldn't tell if it was panic or something else.

“Okay girls,” said Richard, just barely keeping his voice calm. “You've got the whole period. Take your time.”

The period dragged on, agonizingly slow. Richard sneaked glances at Shelby continuously, but she never looked up at him. Could it be another hot redhead? No, the seating chart confirmed her name. Had she forgotten him? That might be best. That might save his job.

The bell rang and the girls hopped up to hand in their papers. Several of them said goodbye flirtatiously, some said things much more flirtatious than just 'goodbye.' Richard just nodded without processing any of it. Shelby, the last girl to stand up, didn't say anything as she dropped her paper on his desk and headed for the door.

Richard watched her nervously, wondering if she had forgotten him.