The Teacher

The action switches to three months before the Prologue. Eve Bennett prepares for work alongside her husband, Nathaniel “Nate” Bennett. They are both teachers at Caseham High School. She teaches math, and he teaches English. Eve knows that everyone envies her and is likely curious how she married a good-looking man like Nate. He was voted the hottest teacher the previous year by the senior class. However, Eve is unhappy in a marriage that has become stale and bogged down by routine. The couple recently bought a house, and Nate would like to fill it with children, but they only have sex once a month. Eve stopped using birth control a year ago but has yet to get pregnant.

Adeline “Addie” Severson doesn’t want to go to school because of a scandal that she was a part of the year before, but her mother takes the day off to drive her to school just to make sure she makes it. Addie reluctantly gets out of the car and walks up the front steps. A group of other students blocks her from entering the school. This group includes Kenzie Montgomery, the most popular girl in Addie’s class, and Hudson Jankowski, Addie’s former best friend. Addie goes back down the stairs to find another way into the school.

Eve speaks to her best friend, Shelby, another teacher at Caseham High School. After discussing Shelby’s exciting summer vacation on Cape Cod, Eve asks about Arthur “Art” Tuttle, a teacher who was forced to resign the year before after a scandal involving his relationship with Addie Severson. Art, also a math teacher, was immensely popular with the kids until the scandal. Eve doesn’t believe he did anything wrong, and nothing was ever proven, but Art resigned because of pressure from parents of other students at the school. Eve has Addie in her sixth-period math class this year.

Addie struggles to find a place to sit in the busy cafeteria at lunch. A girl, Ella Curtis, offers Addie a place to sit, and Addie is grateful until she realizes that Ella only offered the seat as a way to pry information out of Addie about Mr. Tuttle. Ella repeats the rumor that Addie and Mr. Tuttle had a sexual relationship even as Addie denies it. Ella expresses disgust because of how old Mr. Tuttle is and how unattractive he appears. Addie, wishing she and Hudson were still friends, leaves the cafeteria.

Eve is annoyed when she sees Nate having lunch with a new, younger teacher at lunch. When the bell rings, Eve makes a show of kissing Nate before they both leave to report to their sixth-period classes. Outside her classroom, Eve is approached by a former student who asks her to write a letter of recommendation for a college application. Eve is flattered and happy to help. However, when she enters the class and begins assigning seats to her students, she is unhappy to come face-to-face with Addie Severson. It occurs to Eve to be concerned that Addie is in Nate’s seventh-period class.

Addie is unhappy that Mrs. Bennett assigned homework on the first day of class. Therefore, when Kenzie and her friend Bella bully her out of a seat by the windows in Mr. Bennett’s class, Addie decides that this is the worst first day of school ever. After the bell rings, Mr. Bennett greets the class and announces that they will focus on poetry this year. He then asks each student to volunteer their favorite poem. When Mr. Bennett calls on Addie, she claims that her favorite poem is “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe. Mr. Bennett announces that his favorite poet is Poe, but his favorite poem is “The Raven.” Mr. Bennett promises that they will discuss Poe in detail during the year and winks at Addie.

Eve gets a ride home from school from Shelby. She then drives to the mall, where she goes to a shoe store called Footsies. She makes a beeline for the Christian Louboutin shoes. She tries a pair on and is pleased that they fit perfectly. When she sees the price tag, she knows that she cannot hide this purchase from Nate. The clerk is distracted by another customer, so Eve slips the shoes into her large bag. Eve begins to leave the store at the same time as the other customer and is mortified when the alarm goes off.

Addie rides the school bus home, thinking about Hudson. He has a provisional driver’s license and his own car. He had promised to give her a ride every day, but now that they are no longer friends, he doesn’t. Addie’s mom is waiting when she returns home and grills Addie about school. She wants to know why Addie and Hudson aren’t friends anymore and offers to call Hudson’s mother. Addie’s mom also asks if Mr. Tuttle was there and seems relieved when Addie tells her that he quit or was fired.

Eve silently panics when the alarm goes off, but the clerk comes over and tells the other customer that she forgot to remove the security tags from the shoes she just bought. Eve realizes that she didn’t set the alarm off because she hadn’t walked through the doors yet. Mortified at what almost happened, Eve returns the shoes to the display and quickly leaves the mall. At home, Eve finds Nate making dinner. She expresses pleasure at seeing him and attempts to seduce him, but Nate turns her down.

The gym teacher makes the girls in Addie’s class take a shower every day. Kenzie is in Addie’s class, and she and her friends tease Addie for having hairy legs. Having to shower and change in the locker room makes Addie miserable, but she is cheered up each day when she goes to her favorite class, Mr. Bennett’s English class. Today, Mr. Bennett hands back poems he had the students write. Instead of feedback, Addie’s poem has a note asking her to see Mr. Bennett after class.

Eve is at the grocery store after school when she runs into Art Tuttle. Art is clearly drunk. Eve knows that nothing was ever proven to have happened between Art and Addie; he resigned only because of pressure from the parents. Art says that he’s applied to many places but hasn’t gotten any bites yet. However, his reputation is ruined, and he will never find another job in the area. Eve blurts out that Addie is in her trigonometry class but isn’t doing well. Art agrees that Addie isn’t a good math student. They say goodbye, but then Art comes back and grabs Eve’s arm, demanding that she listen to him.

Addie waits after class to speak to Mr. Bennett alone. He tells her that her poem is amazing and that she should consider having it published. He suggests that Addie join the school’s poetry magazine, Reflections. He says that it would be an effective way for her to make new, like-minded friends. Addie agrees.

Art tells Eve that she needs to be careful around Addie because she is a troubled girl. Eve can see that on top of being drunk, Art is upset, so she gives him a ride home. However, she can’t easily dismiss Art’s words regarding Addie.

It’s the day of the first Reflections meeting, and Addie is excited. However, her excitement is dulled temporarily when Kenzie and her friends approach the lunch table where Addie is sitting. They claim that it’s unfair that Addie is taking a whole table to herself when there are other people who need a place to sit. Kenzie picks up Addie’s tray, spills her milk over all her food, and threatens to throw it away if she doesn’t move. Hudson approaches and tries to soothe the situation but doesn’t stand up for Addie like she would like him to. Addie walks away.

On her way to the Reflections meeting, Addie sees Kenzie and Hudson talking in the hallway. They have left their backpacks against the wall, and Addie notices Kenzie’s house keys hanging off of hers. She steals them. Addie continues to the meeting and is happy when Mr. Bennett appears pleased to see her. Mr. Bennett introduces Addie to Lotus, the editor-in-chief of the magazine. Lotus looks over Addie’s poem and calls it dark but good. Then Lotus asks Addie about her relationship with Mr. Tuttle and refuses to believe Addie when she insists that nothing happened. Addie considers leaving the school in the spring, but she worries that Mr. Bennett would be disappointed.

Eve is home when Nate arrives. He’s excited about the staff of the poetry magazine this year. Eve remembers how Nate once wanted to be a poet and even published a book of poetry that only his parents and a few friends bought. She reflects on the poems he wrote about her when they first began seeing each other, but he hasn’t written her a poem in years. Eve tells Nate that she’s going to dinner with Shelby, so he decides to work on his writing. She leaves, goes to Simon’s Shoes, and slips inside just as the store is closing. She finds a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps like the ones she nearly stole from the mall store and tries them on. The salesman comes over to help, and they begin to kiss.

Eve and the shoe salesman, Jay, have been having an affair for months. They slip into the storeroom and make love. Afterward, Jay gets a call from someone asking him to pick up dinner before returning home. Jay apologizes for the call, and they get dressed, making plans to meet again the following week.

Mr. Bennett asks Addie to stay after the Reflections meeting so that he can speak to her. He tells her that he has decided to submit her poem to the Massachusetts poetry contest. He says that he’s only allowed to submit one poem from the school, and he’s chosen hers. Lotus is waiting for Addie when she comes out. Addie tells Lotus the good news, and Lotus expresses disbelief because she believes that Addie’s poetry is not good enough. Lotus accuses Addie of being the teacher’s pet and tells her that she should tell Mr. Bennett to send in a poem that is better suited to the contest. Addie refuses. Lotus accuses Addie of trying to ruin Mr. Bennett like she ruined Mr. Tuttle.

It’s Eve’s 30th birthday. She decides to wear her Louis Vuitton pumps in celebration. When Nate comes into the room, Eve tries to seduce him, but he refuses. While she waits for Nate to dress, Eve gets a message from Jay over Snapflash. They use this app because the messages are permanently erased after 60 seconds. Jay wishes Eve a happy birthday and claims to have a gift for her.