I’ve had a smile permanently glued to my face since this morning.

Pulling myself out of bed with Olive’s blonde hair splayed across my pillows was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a while. She was beautiful as always, with her makeup rubbed off and my blanket pulled up to her chin.

I considered it for a moment—quitting my job to stay there with her.

But then I figured it probably wouldn’t do me any good when she left.

So instead of quitting, I ended up at my usual nine o’clock class full of seven-to-nine-year-olds with so many personalities in the room it was like a circus.

Mr. Finn, can we take a break?

Mr. Finn, how can I do a backflip off the snow?

Mr. Finn, when do we get a snack?

You would think I was a walking Google search bar by the number of questions I was asked daily.

We finished our inside stretches, and I lifted my hand for them to stop talking.

“Alright, guys. Let’s go out. Single-file line, and keep your hands to yourself. Tyler, I’m talking to you.” The boy in question groaned in response and tilted his head back.

I opened the door for the kids and saw them walk in their line out into the snowy ground. They already knew to walk where I had everything roped off. Most parents stood on the sideline and watched as I taught their kids different moves before we went up the hill. I counted their heads as they passed to make sure everyone was accounted for. When they all filled out except one little straggler, I turned around to find Alea standing with her arms crossed and her eyebrows drawn in.

“Alea.” She humped her foot at the sound of her name. “What is it today?”

Our last session she complained that I was five minutes late because I had been with Olive. Before then, it was her skis that didn’t fit right. And before that it was because I hadn’t paid close enough attention to her tricks.

“You didn’t mention the MVP this week.”

Gah, she could be a brat.

“Are you assuming it’s you?”

Sometimes I’d pick the other kids when I knew good and well Alea knocked them all out of the water. She was always the best one, and this week’s MVP was her, but sometimes I didn’t appreciate her attitude.

“I deserve it the most. Maybe you wouldn’t forget if you weren’t around that girl all the time.”

Her bright pink shoes made it hard for me to take her seriously, and I somehow managed to not laugh when I knelt down to her eye level. “Come on, squirt. You know it’s you. Just ‘cause I’ve got a girlfriend now doesn’t mean I’m too busy for you guys. You know that, right?”