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“Do you know who she looks like, Miss Greta?” Philip said as he shuffled his piano books on the music stand.

Greta looked at the teenager curiously, not sure who the “she” was.

“Christina,” he clarified.

“Oh yes,” Greta said. “Your new friend at school.”

“She looks like Yvonne,” Philip stated casually, opening up the page to the song he prepared for the lesson.

“Yvonne,” she said carefully. “My former student?”

Philip nodded and started playing.

“Yvonne had those gorgeous blue eyes, and Christina’s are green, like a cat,” he explained. “But they kinda look the same otherwise.”

Greta didn’t know how to respond. Philip’s obsession with Yvonne was always so uncomfortable for her. She remembered the last lesson she had with the young girl. She played gorgeously and was calm and talkative until about five minutes before the session ended. Yvonne kept looking at the door, and Greta figured out that she was anticipating Philip’s arrival.

“He’s not coming today,” Greta said, reading Yvonne’s mind.

“Oh,” the girl said quietly, an embarrassed smile on her face.

Greta grinned warmly and explained he had a doctor’s appointment that couldn’t be changed and his mom rescheduled the lesson for another day.

Greta saw the relief on Yvonne’s face as her body released any tension that had accumulated thinking about Philip.

“He’s…strange,” Yvonne said with a nervous giggle. “I’m not trying to talk badly about the kid, but he just…stares.”

Greta nodded and told Yvonne she saw it and she was sorry he made her so uneasy. Yvonne shrugged.

“He’s a kid,” she said, trying to brush off any indication that she was scared of a 13-year-old. “Kids do weird things.”

When Yvonne left, she hugged Greta and lamented having to stop lessons with her. Greta wished her good luck in her marriage and her move, then waved goodbye. Yvonne headed down the porch steps and towards her car parked a little past Greta’s front door.

The following week when Philip returned to his usual lesson time, he was angry that Yvonne wasn’t there and that on her last day, he had to miss seeing her. He paced the room and mumbled under his breath.

“Stupid doctor wouldn’t change the time,” he whispered to himself. “I’m so mad. I’m so mad right now.”

Greta walked over to him, gently touched his arm, and said, “It’s okay, Philip. Maybe you’ll see Yvonne around town. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking into his teacher’s eyes and nodding. “Yeah. I’ll see her again. I’ll definitely see her again.”

After that day, Philip stopped mentioning Yvonne and Greta hoped that meant his fascination with her had waned.

“Hopefully, Christina won’t disappear like Yvonne did,” Philip said, the statement jarring Greta out her memory.

“Disappear?” she asked. “Yvonne moved away.”

A tiny grin flickered at the edges of Philip’s mouth.

“Right,” he said quietly. “She moved away.”