The First Day

         Adam stood quietly in front of his desk, arms clasped behind his back, staring quietly at the young girl in front of him. Woman, technically, but she was young enough that he automatically thought of her as a girl. She looked nervous, waiting, obviously wondering if he was going to say something, or if she should. She fidgeted slightly, then got herself under control. He liked that. It boded well that she could control her nervousness, her fears.

An Afternoon With Ella

    At first, she didn't think anything of it. They had lain there countless times before, laughing about their friends, talking about homework or the teams they played on. Sometimes one or the other of them would rub the other's back...something they both loved. It was easy, relaxed. They were best friends. There had been that rough patch when they'd first met, when he'd hit on her and a brief attempt at a relationship had sputtered and died. But they had realized the friendship was there, and it had grown. No one believed them that they were just friends, but they laughed about that, too. Fair enough, though, they were together all the time, even on vacations in the same tent and all. But Ella and James knew how it was.