The Instructor Read Free Page B

the first week of class. That afternoon, Faith and the rest of the students found themselves in the welding shop looking at two oxyfuel setups. Their goal for the afternoon was to learn to assemble, disassemble, light the torches and make a cut. Tony along with one of the other instructors, an older man by the name of Jerry who Faith would swear to be coming close to the age of seventy if he were a day, would be supervising the process.
    Never having seen one of these setups before and slightly intimidated by it, Faith put herself in the back of the line for trying it out. She watched intently as each of the men went up and took their turns. As they completed their assigned tasks they were permitted to leave for the day. Faith could have cared less about the leaving early; all she cared about was not having many people around to watch her fumble.
    Jerry finished up with his final student, said his goodbyes and left Tony and Faith alone in the shop with the oxyfuel setup separating them.
    "All right. I know you've been paying attention, so get to it." Tony motioned for her to take her turn.
    For the first time since she had met him, she was able to focus on something other than the reaction of her body to his presence. Carefully, she assembled the equipment and gave the finished product a solid inspection once done. Peering at him from under her safety glasses she gave him a nod.
    Tony quickly double-checked the setup and seemed satisfied as he took a step back from it.
    "Good," he said, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans and passing her the flint. "Light it up.” He backed off to the right of her slightly to ensure he didn't mistakenly get in the line of fire – literally.
    A soft hiss emitted from the tip of the torch as she took a deep breath and flicked the flint.
    Nothing happened.
    She furrowed her brow. Took a deep breath and tried a second time.
    Still nothing.
    "Like you’re flicking a lighter on," Tony suggested.
    Faith looked over at him and shrugged. "That doesn't help, I don't smoke."
    Tony crossed his arms over his chest and smiled, his eyes lit up with amusement. "Fair enough. Keep trying."
    Taking another deep breath she tried a third time. The third time was the charm as the flint sparked, causing a strong, thick flame to shoot out from the tip of the torch.
    "I did it!" Faith spun around to face him, torch in hand, flames shooting straight out and making an arc of flame as she spun.
    "Oh fuck," Tony said, stumbling backward and bringing an arm up to shield his eyes, just seconds before the flame whipped past where his face once was.
    "Oh my god!" Faith gasped, shutting off the flame and setting it down.
    "Not to worry. I have great reflexes." He gave her an uneasy smile while quickly regaining his composure. “When we light it this next time and cut that sheet metal, we're not going to make any sudden movements.”
    "I'm so sorry." Faith took off one of her gloves and ran an unsteady hand through her hair.
    "Forget it. It happens."
    "Really?" she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.
    "Actually... No. Not really, but... first time for everything." He put up a hand to her. "Don't move, and don't touch a thing until I get back. I'll just be a minute."
    Faith shrugged and slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Sure."
    She watched as he exited the shop and disappeared into his office. Less than a minute later he returned with a black ponytail band in his hand.
    Coming to a halt beside her he motioned to her hair. "Do you mind?"
    Faith shrugged and shook her head.
    He stepped behind her, and with the speed and skill of someone who had done it numerous times before, he threw her hair up into a loose bun. He stepped back and looked over his handiwork with a satisfied smile on his face. "You might want to keep it up like that from now on. Hair. Very flammable. We don’t normally have to address this issue otherwise I would have said something before coming in here."
    "I'll keep that in mind,"