Sure, the media gave him so much credit for being so calm and handling the crash scene. Sure, he was the hero. Sure it looked like he had averted worse.
However, he knew the truth. He had created this mess. Why had he run out to her like that. Why had he acted like a beast in heat chasing prey. He was deeply distraught by this.
As soon as he knew she was good to go home, he let himself out. He had not mentioned to anyone about how hurt he was. He had held it quietly in. While the medics did wonder why his knees and elbows looked so bad, he had convincingly laughed it of to being too enthusiastic about scooping up the lady who had fallen that he had tripped on his way to her rescue.
It was not until the police gave a press conference that everyone figured out he had done this super hero stunt. And he had totally pushed himself underground since.
Sure, he had to recover from the impact, sure he had several appointments to keep, but he had to lay low. No one knew exactly who he was or where he lived. The school, thankfully, did not release any information to the press. He was a bit of a mystery. Sarah, thankfully, had kept very quiet and just thanked her lucky guardian angel for protecting her. She was such a sweet doll.
Steve kicked himself for referencing Sarah as a sweet doll. He knew better than to use pet names without a woman’s consent for such. He was just feeling very depressed about this truth he was keeping secret. Facing Sarah would be very painful.
In fact, the idea of seeing her at school and she thanking him for saving her life was too much. He had started to apply for other jobs elsewhere. He had enough guilt to last a life time. Why ruin her memory of her rescue with the truth anyway.
Besides, there was the whole dating thing he had not yet figured out. It was time for him to forget this heroic act and move on. It was time to switch into second gear. Make moves and forget Sarah.
++++
The principal of the school was not one to leave stones unturned. He had one of his support staff being applauded as a hero yet was doing all he could to avoid taking any credit. Something was not quite right. There was more to this story. Steve was a very upstanding guy who was looking for a break to become more. Sure, he would not stick around as a teacher, but his contributions to the school were priceless.
The video from security didn’t show enough. The house across the street showed the end. It would not be until the end of summer when it was clear no one was going to sue anyone that a third video surfaced. The lawyers had come to an agreement. The school got to see the video. It was a dash cam view of what happened.
Turns out, two youngsters were eagerly showing off to their friends their new car. They were reasonably speeding for the summer traffic load. Not enough to get a reckless endangerment ticket, but enough to cause lots of damage. When school is not in session, that stretch of road allows up to 40 miles per hour. It was reduced to half that during the school season.
One driver veered over the divider to avoid a cyclist who had randomly swung out into the street. The other teen coming the other way had reacted and crossed over the line to avoid the coming car.
Love's Perspective 
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