It was after six o'clock when I finally packed up my briefcase and walked out of the office. My marking load had increased steadily as the end of the school year approached and I had to stay later and later every day to get it done. In a few weeks I was sure I'd be there until eight, or later. So I trudged down the hallway heading home to my empty apartment.
I had been teaching high school English for three years now and to be honest it was not as rewarding as I had hoped it would be. When I decided that I wanted to be a teacher it was for the most altruistic reasons. I wanted to help mold young people's minds, I wanted to help them on their way to bigger and better things, to make a difference in their lives. Thus far I had seen no evidence that I had accomplished any of those things. It left me feeling bitter and a little resentful towards students and because of that I had earned somewhat of a reputation among the student body as being a hard ass. Some wit from a past semester had even taken the liberty of giving me a nickname that I hear whispered in all my classes: Stonewall.
On top of my lack of job satisfaction I was 25 and single with no prospects on the horizon. I went home to my bachelor apartment every night, ate a frozen dinner while I watched TV or did some more marking and then went to bed early. On the whole I suppose I was not to happy with the way my life was going and only too willing to take some of that unhappiness out on any student who tried to bend the rules, or got on my bad side for one reason or another.
So this was the state of mind I was in as I walked down the empty hallways, devoid of all other human beings except for the cleaning staff. I parked my car around the back of the school at the very rear of the teacher's parking lot and the fastest way to get there was by cutting through the change rooms and the gym. The halls were silent as I walked along, each step I took punctuated by the echo of my footfalls on the tile floor. The girls change room was closest to the main foyer so I decided to cut through it to get to the gym. Even though the last bell had rung three hours ago I stuck my head in cautiously because I knew there was a cheerleading practice after school. I shook myself for a moment and then got a little annoyed. That practice would have been over long ago, what was I thinking tip-toeing around an empty locker room. I walked in and started towards the double doors at the far end.
I was about halfway there when I heard a sound. I stopped and listened. For a moment there was nothing..... and then the sound of sneakers squeaking on the tile floor. Someone was sneaking around in the locker room. I figured it was probably some of the first year guys on a dare, or a bet to get a girl's underwear from one of the lockers. "All right!" I called out, my voice echoing in the nearly empty room. "I know you're in here so come out right now!" There was the sound of hushed whispers and then more squeaking from a row of lockers to my right. In a moment two figures came into view looking a little worried of what was going to happen to them. It was not any freshmen boys though, it was a couple of senior cheerleaders.
I knew them. They were both in my grade twelve compulsory English class, Carolyn and Allison, and they sat together in the very back row. Carolyn was also in my creative writing elective course. "Well girls I know that there was a cheerleading practice today, but it looks like it's been over for some time. So why don't you tell me why you two are still here?" The girls shifted from foot to foot, their heads hung while Allison played nervously with a stray thread on her cheerleading uniform. Carolyn brushed a lock of her long honey blonde hair out of her eyes and looked up.
"Well you see Mr. Gordon, Allison and I were working on a special routine for the big game in a couple of weeks and we were having a tough time with it. So we asked Ms. Paulson if we could stay being and work on it and she said it was okay." I looked them over carefully to see if they were lying to me. I could tell that they had been active from the sweat that stood out on their arms and foreheads and by how it made their uniforms cling to their bodies... molding to their stomachs and breasts... - What was I doing? These were students and young girls I shouldn't be having thoughts like that about them. I composed myself and started them down.
"That may very well be Miss Havesham, but it is against school regulations for students to remain on school property after hours without being supervised by a member of the faculty." I paused. "You'll both have to go." Allison jerked her head up and protested,
"No, Mr. Gordon! We have to work on this routine! We have to get it done!"
"Don't take that tone with me Miss Sternwood, I should have you both put on report for this," Both girls looked very nervous now. Carolyn chewed at her bottom lip in a way that was slightly arousing. My adrenaline was flowing now and my eyes darted back and forth over the two girls,