Page 76 of Blind Date
ONE WEEK LATER
Samantha
I leaned against the front of my desk and looked at my class as they filtered into the room, cutting off their lifeline and tossing their phones into the basket that I now kept near the door.
“Good morning.” I smiled, picking up the white box that sat on my desk. “Since we’ve reached the end of the book, I thought we’d celebrate with a donut party.” I flipped the lid to the box of donuts and walked around the room, letting each student take one.
“Donuts from Avila’s. Love you, Sam.” Devon grinned.
I smiled at him as I set the empty box on my desk. I picked up a copy of the book and held it up.
“Final thoughts. Did you like it?”
“Way more than I thought I would,” Emma said.
“I didn’t expect all the drama,” Lily said.
“Drama? That was literally eighteenth-century reality TV.” Devon laughed.
I walked over to the board and wrote in all caps: MR. DARCY, and underlined his name.
“Let’s talk about him. Did you like him?”
“At the end, yes,” Gina said.
“At the beginning, I hated him,” Devon said. “He was rude.”
“I think he needed some serious therapy,” Delilah blurted out.
Madison raised her hand.
“Madison.” I pointed.
“I think people misunderstood him.”
“Go on.” I nodded.
“I don’t think he was mean on purpose. He was just socially awkward and didn’t know how to connect with people.”
“Exactly.” I smiled. “Mr. Darcy isn’t the hero because he’s perfect.”
“He’s the hero because he fixed himself,” Devon said.
“Yes, Devon.”
“Mr. Darcy lets himself love someone even when it’s uncomfortable and scary,” Lily said.
Thoughts of Wes swirled in my mind. Our encounter on the street outside the coffee shop. His speech at the homecoming game. I got lost in my thoughts, and the students knew it.
“You okay, Sam?” Emma asked.
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile, but I could tell the class wasn’t convinced.
The bell rang, and the students gathered their things.
“Tomorrow, we start Romeo and Juliet,” I said as they began to filter out of the room.
Delilah stopped at my desk on her way out. “For what’s it worth, Sam. The right Mr. Darcy figures it out eventually.” She walked out.
