AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ruth
I always volunteerfor yard duty during recess.
It’s loud, but kids always are. At least here, the cacophony is outside. In a classroom, the noise can be deafening, even overwhelming. Being outside always helps calm my nerves.
Too many other teachers treat recess as just another smoke break. It’s a pet peeve of mine because it means the kids are left to their own devices. Take the towheaded boy in a Spiderman tee shirt that just shoved one of his classmates a little too hard.
“Jason, come here.” I bridge my forehead with my hand, blocking out the glare of afternoon sunshine.
Jason flushes as a chorus of "oohs" kicks off around him. I don’t use my “teacher” voice on them often, which makes it that much more effective when I do.
“Why did you shove Missy?” I ask, hunkering down to be on eye level.
Jason isn’t a bad kid and I’m willing to hear him out before sending him to the time-out bench. He flushes again, a wave of brick red that climbs all the way up to his cropped white hair. Jason is intensely studying his untied shoes. I reach down and re-tie the laces, looking up at him patiently.
“If you don’t tell me,” I shrug one shoulder casually. “I’ll have to just assume you were being mean.”
“I don’t know.” Jason mumbles. “I wanted her to pay attention to me.”
Some things never change.
"I understand, but there are better ways to show Missy how you feel.” I finish tying his shoes and banish him back to the playground. “Use your words, not your hands. Being nice is the best way to get someone's attention, alright?"
Jason nods before sprinting off back towards the four-square game in progress.
“Missy, you alright?” I raise my voice to be heard over the din.
Missy nods, giving me a gap-toothed smile. Her eyes cut over at Jason, and she blushes, too.
If only things always stayed this simple. I sigh, watching the puppy-love unfold, as I internally scold myself for being jealous of children.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Penelope asks as she joins me, hauling herself up to sit on the jungle gym I've staked out.
“Sorry, my thoughts are a dollar now. Inflation is a bitch,” I give my best non-animal friend a smile.
Penelope hands me my regular afternoon snack — plain vanilla yogurt. She makes a face as I peel the lid off and dig in.
“I’ll never understand how you can enjoy the world’s most boring food,” Penelope says with a mock-shudder. “It’s unnatural. At least put some fruit or granola in it.”
“I like things simple. Boring is safe.” I shrug, licking my tiny spoon clean. “You know what you’re getting.”
“But it’s so… dull.” Penelope waves a hand as if to emphasize the basicness of my existence. “You’re too young to be living the life of a retiree. We’ve got to get some excitement in your life.”
— the wet sound of fists hitting flesh, the crack of bone like a log popping in a fire —
“Excitement is overrated, Pen. Trust me.” I shake my head to clear it of the memory. “Which is what I was thinking. I wish our lives could stay that simple.”
I jerk my chin towards the children, where Jason and Missy are bashfully attempting to play together.
“Ah. Is this about you missing work the other day?” she asks.
“Sort of. I ran into Austin.” I shrug, taking another bite. The tang of yogurt on my tongue is familiar. “He’s out early for good behavior.”
Penelope whistles. She knows the whole story. Well, almost. She doesn't know about the letters. Those are between Austin and me, and even he doesn't know about most of them.
"You just ran into him?” Pen furrows her brow. “Ruth, what are the odds of that? He clearly went looking for you. You should be careful."
I blink, giving her a quizzical look.
