That was it. He wasn’t even grounded anymore. His parents had set him free by giving him adult status. Ben had almost felt sad after it had happened, like he was being forced to grow up. He quickly moved past those feelings, though. No longer would he have to deal with curfews or tell them who he was staying with. The new arrangement was ideal for him, which was why he felt horrible that he was breaking his promise already.
He hated P.E. There was nothing redeeming about it, and it would never contribute to his health or success later in life. If anything, facing the abuse of the coaches and his peers threatened to make him jaded and mistrustful of the human race. Why should he waste an hour every day in a class that made him feel useless and incompetent? He refused to subject himself to that, no matter the consequences.
Ben stayed in the hallway, feeling it was a safe place to hide, until the bell rang. Students with flushed faces swarmed out of the locker room. He let them pass without making eye contact, waiting for someone to ask where he had been. It didn’t happen until one of the very last people stepped into the hall.
“Ben, my man!” Leon called out happily. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since my wisdom teeth were yanked.”
“I’ve been skipping a lot of classes lately,” Ben confided. “Have the coaches said anything about it?”
“Those clueless goons? Of course not. They’re too busy reliving their glory years with the second-rate jocks who didn’t make the football team.”
Ben laughed in relief. “I wonder how long I can get away with this.”
“I don’t know man, but you’ve got the right idea. Tell you what, if the coaches ever notice you missing, I’ll try to cover for you.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.”
Leon clapped Ben on the shoulder. “Hey, I hear your best friend is dating my best friend.”
“Ronnie Adams?” Ben asked. “I didn’t know you guys were friends.”
“Yeah, Ebony and Ivory. That’s our band. Ronnie’s on guitar and I’m on bass. You should come by with Allison sometime, smoke a j and sing. I crooned out a few tunes with your girl already, but I’d love to hear what a real pair of singers can do.”
“Yeah, all right. Sounds fun. Thanks again for covering for me.”
“No problem my man!”
Ben hurried to English class with a weight lifted off his chest. Despite the potential ramifications with his parents, he felt glad not having to worry about showing up for first period anymore. He would have to find something to do, though, now that Tim wasn’t accessible. He kept his eyes peeled on the way to class, not certain if Tim would be in school today or not.
In English they had a test, which meant an unwilling competition with Daniel Wigmore, who finished early and spent the remaining time gawking at Ben while mentally timing how long it was taking him to finish.
In Spanish class a few of the kids had come up with a broken Spanish sentence that referred to him as a fat and ugly mariposa. This irritated Ben more because of its stupidity rather than its offensiveness. He might be a mariposa, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him and he certainly wasn’t ugly when compared to the perpetually awkward idiots who were trying to get a rise out of him.
Lunch was a singularly trying experience too, since he had so much he wanted to tell Allison, but couldn’t without other students overhearing. Keeping things under wraps was crucial if he wanted to have future fun with Tim, and that was one promise Ben was determined to keep. Luckily there was choir, providing them with uninterrupted free time.
Allison was the ideal audience as he spilled the details, gasping and exclaiming at all the juicy parts and asking all the right follow-up questions. Reliving the details with her triggered a longing inside of Ben. He wanted to see Tim again or at least call him, but part of him was reluctant. What had happened between them had been intense, and now Ben felt it prudent to back off a little. He didn’t want to scare Tim off. Plus, it would feel extra satisfying if Tim made the first move.
Making the transition back to sixth period wasn’t the struggle that first period had been since Ben genuinely liked Ms. Hughes, even though he wasn’t looking forward to explaining why he’d been skipping. He searched his mind for a believable excuse during class, and she kept her eye on him as if he would raise his hand and confess at any moment. By the end of the period, Ben was considering slipping out with the rest of the students when she asked him to stay behind at the last moment.
“Well?” she asked, sitting on the corner of her desk.
Ben took a deep breath. He’d already been caught by his parents, so that wasn’t a worry, but he could still get in trouble with the school. Then again he didn’t have a good story prepared.
“There’s this guy,” he began. “Tim Wyman.”
Ms. Hughes nodded. “I have him in my second period. He thinks he’s Tom Cruise.”
Ben laughed and nodded before all the details came pouring out of him. All of it. Even his parents didn’t know about Tim’s parents being out of town or the ankle injury. Ben was also open with his feelings, hesitating only when he reached the part where they slept together.
“I think I can imagine the rest,” Ms. Hughes said. She was quiet for a moment, making Ben wonder if she was doing just that. Then she said, “Sarah Niles.”
“Sorry?”
“Sarah Niles,” Ms. Hughes repeated. “She used to copy off my tests during freshman year. Dumb as a post, but beautiful.” She paused, gauging Ben’s reaction and continuing when he nodded with encouragement. “Sarah was my first love, ever since she kissed me behind my parent’s rose bushes at a birthday party. I would have done anything for her, and I did. She never would have passed Physical Science if it wasn’t for me. Unfortunately, like your Tom Cruise, she wasn’t exactly comfortable with herself.”
“So what happened?”
“She promised we could go to the dance together. I knew we couldn’t openly go as a couple, but single girls go together all the time and end up dancing together, and no one thinks anything of it. Sarah was popular and liked to keep me a secret, but still she promised. The night of the dance, I showed up on my own. We were supposed to meet there, but unbeknownst to either of us, some of Sarah’s friends had decided to fix her up with a guy. She was dancing with him when I showed up. Young and brave as I was, I intended to cut in. But then Sarah shook her head.”
Ben swallowed. “And then?”
“And that was it,” Ms. Hughes said, straightening up. “Love isn’t meant to be hidden away and life is too short for shame. I was lonely a good couple of years, but I met someone just before graduating.”
Ben thought of the teacher he’d seen Ms. Hughes kiss and wondered if it was her.
“You’re too bright to ruin your academic career for a guy, Ben. I hope you can bring him around to seeing things your way, but being held back a year isn’t going to seduce anyone.”
Ben laughed. “So what’s my punishment? Cleaning the chalkboard?”
Ms. Hughes assigned him an essay and went over the details of a test he would have to make up. She could have demanded Ben drop and do pushups, and he would have gladly complied. If only every adult in his life was as cool as she was.
After school Ben went directly home. He made sure to be a social part of the family for the entire night, helping with dinner, washing dishes and even being civil to his sister. He wanted his mom to see that she had made the right decision in cutting him some slack. Of course, staying close to home was good too, just in case Tim decided to call. By midnight, when Ben was climbing into bed, it was clear that this wasn’t going to happen. As he fell asleep, Ben couldn’t help picture Ms. Hughes, young and passionate, striding across the dance floor with determination but being stopped dead by the shaking of Sarah’s head.