Catching Up.

In high school i hung out with my history professor.

It was never in a Mary Kay Letourneau way, but a totally friendship kind of thing. He was the coolest teacher at my high school, everyone loved him. He kind of resembled Santa Claus, said hey by saying "greetings and salutations" and was absolutely brilliant.

In the 11th grade Marie and I had him for American History. We had previously heard about him from friends, and he frequently stopped in to other teachers classes to talk about current news. So we were more than excited when we found out he would be our History teacher for the semester.

The class was interesting, he made us participants in history rather than observers. He would implement games and movies to keep us interested. After a few weeks class, i began asking him questions in the hall when i saw. I was generally intrigued with history, and he was a man he knew everything about everything.

I generally have an interest in people who know useless information. It's because i am a curious person, so anyone who can provide me with answers when i have questions, is on the top of my favorite people list.

Talking to him in the hallway soon led to hanging out in his classroom during lunch. I wouldn't stay for long, but just long enough to catch up on current news and share peanut butter cookies with him before heading to the library.

Soon 12th grade came and i wasn't in his class anymore. I still talked to him when i saw him, but our afternoon lunch Q & A's stopped. I went to him for my college recommendation, and he and my advisor both talked to me about colleges and things like that.

Even though me and the history teacher talked frequently I never thought much about the extent of our relationship. Marie went on to take AP History with him, and because she is much more assertive than i am, i assumed their relationship was much closer. I assumed everyone else's relationship was much closer to him, because i was simply just a cliche high school wallflower.

So i was a little surprised on Saturday when my mom called me and told me she spoke to one of my old friends. I instantly thought it was "Peter?, Aric?, the other Eric?, Brianna?, Alana?, ", But no...it was HISTORY TEACHER.

My mom said they talked for a pretty long time, and he kept gushing about me. That I was his favorite student, that he missed our lunch Q & A's and that he wonders what i am doing. By this point even my mom was a little flattered 1) because i had never mentioned him before 2) she internally began to take all the credit for me turning out so well.

My mom was taking in all the praises until he indirectly asked for my phone number.

WTF Mr. History Professor.

While they were talking he said something on the line of "I wish i could call her sometimes".

Knowing my mother she probably made a "what the hell" face but then politely continued on with their discussion. She said she wouldn't give him my phone number, but that she would make sure i came to visit before i headed back to school in August.

She then began questioning me all about what the hell me and MR. History Teacher were talking about during our lunch Q & A's.

I swear up and down it was nothing more than peanut butter cookies and the US Government. Pinky Promise.

This wasn't the first awkward moment someone gushed about me(like the time the MAYTAG man came over to fix the washer machine for the 2nd time(the first time was during the summer when i was home) , and kept asking my mom were her "VERY VERY VERY nice daughter was". She and I were both freaked out by this, seeing the first time he was there i didn't say much to him, except when he asked me about my computer)

If and when i go back I'll have to drag Marie with me. I sure as hell am not going back alone.