The Distance from A to Z Read Online Free PDF

with Stephie?
    The anxiety that races through me as I carefully write my name at the top of the page makes it such that I don’t even notice that Madame Joliet has come to stand in front of my desk. With Zeke.
    â€œCan we speak outside pour un moment ?” she asks, her words flowing between the two languages. I glance over at Drew but Madame Joliet is only looking at me.
    I nod. “Should I—” Merde . Should I be speaking in French? “Devrais-je prendre . . .” and then I just point at my bag, and she shakes her head.
    â€œIt’ll be just a minute.”
    She swings open the door, and I meet Zeke’s eyes, which are just as confused as mine. Could this be about the coffee? But then why Zeke and not Drew?
    Madame Joliet bites the edge of her lip but stays silent until the door is closed behind her. It’s only then that I realize that she has two stapled packets, one with the wallet-sized picture of me in the corner, and one with a wallet-sized picture of Zeke.
    Our applications to Huntington.
    â€œI’m going to do this in English to make sure that we all understand everything, okay? Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that you two are the only high school students in this class. Frankly, in the past few years, we’ve never had any students from your high school program request the class, and we’re really pleased that you both did. However, much of the class grade will depend on work done in pairs outside of class time. I’m usually pretty liberal about allowing people to choose their partners, but I’d like to request that you work together. I’m simply uncomfortable pairing either of you with a college student given that many live off campus. I’m certain there’d never be a problem but I don’t want to take any chances. Is that all right with you both?”
    I nod quickly, noticing Zeke’s head bobbing in time. “ Formidable . So there are two other matters to discuss. One is that as this is a college class, the material we’ll be using is . . .” She looks down the hall and then back at the two of us, shrugging. “Let’s just say that it’s appropriate for adults. Are you both over seventeen?”
    Mon dieu.
    We both nod, and she breathes out quickly. “It’s not like you’ll be watching anything terribly inappropriate, but if you were under seventeen I’d have to write to your parents and have them okay the movies on the list, as some of them are rated NC-17. It’s all silliness since young people in France watch these movies without a problem, but there’s a different standard for European kids and American ones.”
    There’s one more thing coming down the pike, and given that I’ve already agreed to spend many hours studying and working with Zeke every day, which will apparently include watching X-rated films, I’m loath to find out the next bombshell.
    And from the tired look in Madame Joliet’s eyes, it seems like she feels the same way. “ Enfin , part of the class is a two-day trip to Montreal toward the end of the term. I’ve already received permission from your program for both of you to attend, and I know that the university has signed consent forms from your parents. I just want to make sure you are both still comfortable with the trip, given that it will primarily be with college students. Should you decide not to attend the trip, there will be no penalty to your grade; I’ll merely create another assignment for you.”
    We nod again.
    â€œ Bien . D’accord . Let’s go back inside. If either of you haveany problems, please feel free to speak with me. I truly am delighted that you are both interested in improving your French.” Her smile is easier this time, her white teeth striking against the dark red lipstick. Apparently even with all the biting of her lip, there’s not a smudge of lipstick on her teeth. She’s truly