[ WP ] A substitute teacher falls in love with the absent teacher from their notes .

Luisa glanced at the clock. 12:45 -- fifteen minutes until class. She took the last bite of her salad and reached for the blue notebook on her right. Although she had looked over the English teacher's lesson plan quite thoroughly, she decided to review it once more for good measure. She flipped lazily to a middle page, only she passed the lesson plan. On the open page, she found a journal. 
 
 _________ 
 Day 1: I really like my students! They seem a little nervous, but I can tell they're eager to contribute. Ca n't wait to journey with them! 
 
 Day 8: Sandra shared a moving story about her family's struggle to immigrate and settle in. I do n't think the others realized the hardship she has faced in her life. I think hearing her story was eye-opening for many of them. Jane seemed especially moved. 
 
 Day 15: Jessi told me English was her favorite class! Yeah! 
 
 Day 17: Had to send two students out of class for making fun of another student. I asked Alex to read an excerpt from his reading journal, and as he read, I heard Max and Aaron snicker under their breath. It was infuriating. How could they be so insensitive? It totally disrupts the community and openness we're trying to build. I'm going to have to speak to them before next class. I hate this kind of stuff. 
 
 Day 17B: Alex came to my office in tears. I told him that would never happen again. I told him that he was doing an excellent job in class and I really appreciated his ideas and participation. I told him to keep it up no matter what, and that I was very proud of him. 
 
 Day 21: What kind of texts can I use that will appeal my students' interests? Are there better texts that will stretch their view of the world? I really want them to be interested and challenged at the same time. 
 
 Day 25: I was a little nervous when I realized I had placed Max and Sandra in the same group. Max has a strong personality, and ever since Sandra told us about her journey moving here, I've felt very protective of her. But then I noticed how they were helping each other understand the text. Max gets the main ideas quickly, but sometimes he skips over important details. Sandra worked on her outline slowly and methodically, and I think the way she questioned the text kind of rubbed off on Max today. His outline was more detailed than I've ever seen. 
 
 Day 42: Sandra announced that she and her family were moving, because her father got a better job in another town. Several students got up a hugged her. She said she would never forget us and all the things we had learned together. 
 
 Day 43: Max asked to give a short presentation at the end of class. I told him he was welcome to share anything with us. He shared an original poem ( we have been working on several poetry forms ). His poem included a farewell to Sandra, how he had never met anyone quite like her, and how he learned from her unique interpretation of the readings when they worked together. The poem expressed the sentiment in all of our hearts. 
 
 ________ 
 Luisa closed the notebook slowly. She looked at the clock again. 12:57. Time to go to class. She suddenly looked forward to meeting Max and Alex, and maybe even Sandra if she had not moved just yet. But even more so, she wanted to meet the English teacher. He seemed to her a man who cared a great deal about the development of his students, not just academically, but on a human level. She smiled as she thought about the English teacher some more.
