Page 108 of Dear Mr. Brody

Parker: But he’ll be there.

I set my phone on my desk and counted backward from ten. The class quieted down as I lifted my gaze and surveyed the room. Vivian watched me intently, but I gathered my nerves and pushed them aside.

“Should we get started.” And all eyes were on me. “The Colossusby Sylvia Plath…” I blinked, trying to remember what I was about to say, when Parker raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr. Mills.”

“It’s depressing,” he said, and the class laughed.

“Why is it depressing?” I asked, eager for his interpretation, hopefully Vivian Decker couldn’t see just how eager.

“I think she’s talking about herself,” he said.

“I think she’s talking about her father,” Lydia, one of my less-vocal students argued, and I leaned against my desk, thrilled she’d decided to engage in the discussion.

“I think it was her husband,” another student said.

I took a chance and gave Parker a soft smile. He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. “Maybe it’s about all of them. ‘The sun rises under the pillar of your tongue. My hours are married to shadow.’Maybe she doesn’t feel seen. She talks about being put back together in the beginning. Maybe she thinks she can’t be whole because of all these things in her life that hover over her?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Poetry is unique, in that only the author will ever know it’s true meaning, yet we can try to reflect inside the words, see what we see in ourselves, make it what we want it to be. Lydia, however, is correct.The Colossuswas written about Plath’s father after his death.”

I paced in front of my desk, asking students to tell me about their favorite lines from the poem, asking them to interpret them, to tell me what they loved, what they hated, did they even like it. And as time ticked by and the class neared its end, I forgot about Vivian, forgot about the full-time position I wasn’t sure I wanted. Parker gave me all of his secret smiles, and I tried not to blush a thousand times.

Marcos actually jumped into the conversation, too, but mostly had negative things to say about Plath’s work. “It was boring, I mean, what the hell is she even talking about? Was it about a farm? She lost me when she started talking about the barnyard.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Parker teased him, but he grinned anyway.

“Be nice, Parker.”

“I’m very nice, Mr. Brody.” Parker leaned back in his chair and stared at me with a smirk on his face that would make a nun blush.

Jesus Christ.

I lowered my eyes to my laptop, choosing to ignore him. It was the safest thing to do. “Now… for Wednesday’s assignment.” The sound of papers rustling made me smile as the students prepared to take notes. It was much better than the groaning I’d started off with in August. “I want you to write a six-stanza, free-verse poem about a person you know. It can be anyone. It doesn’t have to be a loved one. You can make assumptions about the barista at Starbucks if you like. As long as it’s six stanzas long, I’m happy.” The students started to put away their notebooks, and I raised my voice over the rising sound. “Also, your third book review is due before Thanksgiving break. That’s two weeks, people.”

I picked up my phone as everyone started to file out of the classroom and sent Parker a text.

Me: I’ll finish up here and meet you at my place.

Parker: I can wait.

Me: Probably better if you don’t.

Parker: Sure. See you later.

Vivian made her way toward the front of the room as I slipped my phone in my pocket and started to pack up my things. Parker turned to leave without meeting my eyes, and I assumed it was his way of being covert, but something about the look on his face gave me pause.

“Mr. Mills,” I called out. “If you could wait a minute… we can go over the play like we discussed.”

He hooked his thumbs under the straps of his bag and nodded. “Yeah, I can wait.”

“I won’t keep you,” Vivian said. “But I wanted to tell you, the job is yours if you want it. I’ll have my secretary send over the offer tomorrow.”

“That soon.”

“Don’t worry. You have time to think it over,” she said. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Parker passed her on her way out of the classroom. Once the door shut behind her, I relaxed.