I find Covey sitting on the bed in his childhood room. “Hey,” I knock on the open door a couple of times. “Can I come in?”
He nods and curls his legs around himself in a position I doubt I’d ever be able to get into.
“What’s up?”
“The usual. Wondering how I get myself into these messes.”
“It’s not a mess, Covey.” I sit down next to him and pull him into my arms without thinking. “It’s a little bit complicated, that’s all. We knew it would be, but we’ll get through it.” He takes a few shallow breaths, his muscles tense. For a second, I wonder if I should back off a bit. That kiss sent my mind wandering to all sorts of places it shouldn’t be. Mainly wanting to substitute Covey’s image onto the typically faceless man I jerk-off to. Which isn’t the kind of thing I should be thinking about while comforting my friend.
“I’m overtired. Sorry. I should’ve cancelled this whole thing.”
“How about we make an excuse and the two of us go to a nearby diner?” Maybe he’ll be able to relax and eat something once we’re away from his family.
“I’d like that.” He smiles at me, and my stomach does a little flip. “You know, they’re going to think we’re up here having a quickie.”
I groan. We’re going to get a reputation. “Come on, let’s go.”
Five minutes later, we’re out the front door after I say afew words about a school emergency—which I don’t think exists—and we’re on our way to a nearby diner. They have the best waffles in the whole state. It might not be true, but that’s what they say on the menu. Only the best for my boyfriend.Fake boyfriend.
CHAPTER 10
AIDAN
No one warned me how many meetings I’d have to attend as a teacher. When I imagined my life, the image in my head was always me, in front of a whiteboard, with a room full of mesmerized students.
Yeah, I know.
There’ve been a few moments over my career that approached that, all promptly interrupted by a student complaining or a fire alarm.
The meetings, on the other hand, are never-ending. With parents. Administrators. Other teachers. Students. Custodians. It’s a whole range of things that don’t fall into what I considerteaching.
But here I am at yet another mandatory faculty meeting. No clue what they have in mind today, only that I can practically guarantee I won’t like the subject.
“Take your seats so we can get started,” Principal Rodriguez calls over the sound of multiple conversations. Ittakes a few minutes, but eventually everyone finds a seat and settles down. We all know exactly what it’s like to be at the front of the room and ignored.
“Now, I know that these meetings aren’t a favorite, so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.” There’s no glee in the room. Mainly because that’s an empty promise we’ve heard a hundred times. It’s never short nor sweet.
“First, family night is in two weeks.” That reminder gets a big groan from everyone in the room. “The students will be getting the information sheet to take home tomorrow. Start thinking about the things you want to highlight, gathering resources, and putting together what you’ll need. It’s a nice opportunity to showcase the hard work students are doing in your classroom.” Lucky for me, that’s easy in kindergarten. Students produce a lot of artwork that’s easy to display, and parents are easily impressed by the work their kids do. Still, I want to find the right thing to put up around the room. It’ll be almost Thanksgiving, so hand turkeys are a given.
“Second,” she continues, even though I’m pretty sure the whole room is whispering back and forth instead of paying attention. “I know these weeks around Thanksgiving and winter break can be especially long and hard, which brings with it the temptation to back off some of the more intense curricular elements. I want to encourage you to make sure you’re keeping pace and that you continue holding the students to a high standard.”
There’s lots of mumbling, but no arguing. When I was a kid, my teachers used to put on movies, making some vague suggestion that they might contribute to the overall curriculum. And while I only have fond memories of that, it doesn’t fly anymore. For good reason, but there are many days I wish I could put on a movie, sit in my chair, and catch up on lesson planning.
“And finally, I want to thank Mr. Matthews and Mr.Ralston for volunteering to serve as chaperones for the school trip to The Nutcracker. We still need six more volunteers, so please let me know if you’re interested. If no one else puts their hand up, I’ll draw random names tomorrow to fill the slots.”
I keep my gaze fixed on the front of the room. Every teacher in the room is likely staring at me, wondering what possessed me to do this. No one, and I mean no one, volunteers. Worse? I roped Silas into it alongside me, assuring Principal Rodriguez that he was equally excited at the opportunity.
Is he going to kill me? Possibly. From experience, I know he’d be terrible at hiding the body. He hides a few things around his room each year, meant to be part of a yearlong scavenger hunt. The students find every item before the end of September.
I manage to avoid the death stare I can practically feel putting a hole in my head. As soon as the principal wraps up, I make a beeline for my classroom.
“Aidan!” Silas shouts as he jogs to catch up with me. There’s no chance I’ll be able to outrun him, so I slow down.
“What the actual fuck?”
“First, language. Second, it’ll be fun. Plus, we’ll get to hang out together outside of school.” It’s a weak argument, one that wouldn’t work on me if our roles were reversed.
“If you need attention, then you ask me to go out for a beer. Not sign me up to monitor a bunch of brats at a ballet.” He pulls me into his classroom. “Is this about the whole Covey situation?”
