Fitzpatrick taught us were part of every gothic horror novel. I was a senior then, about to graduate. Glued to my seat even in the late, late spring when my classmates were terminally zoned out, focused on graduation, the summer ahead of them, college. But I still had unfinished business here, and today he was wearing a black tie over a light blue button-up and jeans that were just snug enough to drive my imagination wild. When he perched on the edge of his desk reading from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , I let my eyes wander up and down his body, imaging a new use for each part. He was the new cute teacher this year, the one the girls whispered about between classes.