Chapter One

I get up extra early to take my shower and drive to the school. I live on campus and my school is far away from Lake View. I want to drive by my parents house and then I will drive down to the school.

My old house looks the same from the outside. The color is the same, the bushes in front of the windows are the same bushy bushes I have known for three years. I briefly consider stopping by to say hello to Mom and Dad, but they have already left for work.

Taking the familiar streets to school that I walked every day for years, memories flash through my mind of walking to school with my sister. As sophomore year passed and junior year sprung up, I started walking to school with our neighbor and my first real girlfriend, Susan Black.

That didn't last.

Susan and I dated for approximately two years and then it ended. It wasn't sudden, but it was unexpected, which sounds weird when I say it. I thought it was going well, but then she decided to break up with me. I guess that makes sense since we are at different colleges.

I have had interesting relationships with girls to say the least. None of them ever worked out, obviously. I have always been a gentleman, I treat women correctly, they way they should be treated. And I'm not some kind of nervous dork unless I really like her.

And then out of nowhere my sister calls me and tells me she's getting married! I'm not upset because of who she's marrying. I can't even say I'm upset about her young age, but what makes me lowkey depressed is that she's only dated one guy. One. Yeah sure he's great whatever, but I've had way more than one girlfriend and look at me. My life is sad. I'm majoring as a high school history teacher.

This isn't fair. Fuck me.

Why can't I just find a nice girl? It's not a lot to ask! I'm a good guy with terrible luck that doesn't seem to change.

People say that your junior year in college is when you start relationships. I don't even have a steady girlfriend and my sister is getting married.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?

Calm down Caleb, I say. No one cares but you. I take a few deep breaths and blow the anger out.

I am so distracted by my anger, I almost miss the school. I blink a few times and then find a parking spot. I park and remain sitting in the front seat for a little while. I take a few deep breaths and push out all of the air from my lungs.

The school hasn't changed at all if you don't count the chipping paint that needs to be redone soon. Everyone's classrooms are still the same from all these years ago. I can tell by the laminated teacher's names posted by the doors. I remember a lot of these teachers. I wonder if they'll remember me.

My first stop is the office where the only thing that has changed in the secretary. Not that I paid special attention to the secretary when I was going to school here. The only thing I noticed about her was how young she looked, but that's no matter. I wonder what happened to her. She probably got a better job.

I pull myself away from my thoughts to concentrate on where I'm walking. I find Ms. Matthews' classroom. Wow, it's been awhile since I've been in here. I feel slightly weird.

"Caleb," she says. "It's nice to see you again." I smile and greet her the way I always did in school.

"Hello Ms. Matthews."

"Caleb, I am not your teacher anymore, you can call me Jeanine." A blush spreads across my face. That's a tad awkward for me considering I kind of had a crush on her when I was a sophomore, but in my defense, a lot of people have had crushes on a teacher. I know my mother did, but that was when she was eighteen and he was twenty two. Still, it happens a lot. It doesn't affect me any longer.

As a few students walk in to start the day with history, I glance at them and turn back to her. "I'll call you Ms. Matthews." She smiles and walks past me to write something on the board.

By the time the tardy bell rings, everyone is sitting in their seats. Ms. Matthews is still intimidating, I see.

"Good morning," Ms. Matthews says. "As you know, today we are going to finish the video we started last class and then you will have a quiz on it, so pay attention and take notes." She walks over to the projector. "While I'm setting up, Mr. Prior will introduce himself."

Thirty pairs of eyes fall on me and I only recognize one face, Noah Farmer, Rick's younger brother. I give the class a small smile. "I'm Mr. Prior, I am a student at DePaul University and I will be your student teacher for the rest of the year. A little bit of background information: I was born in Milwaukee and moved here in high school, Ms. Matthews was my history teacher, and I have a sister who goes to college in Colorado."

Noah smiles reassuringly.

"You can ask me for help if you need it," I add quickly. "Except on tests and quizzes." This makes Ms. Matthews smile.

"Thank you Mr. Prior. All right. I'm starting the video now, take your notes out if you haven't already."

The video plays on and I get lost in what is happening. I have always been fascinated with history classes. It's nice to see the progress we've made, but it also reminds me that there is still a lot of work to be done.

"How have you been?" Ms. Matthews asks. She takes a sip of tea from her fancy china cup. It has roses on it.

"I've been great. How about you?"

"I'm doing well," she says. "How is school? I know you were good friends with Richard Farmer, Noah's brother..." she points him out even though I already know who he is. "Do you see him?"

I shake my head. "We go to different schools, but we email every other week or so." She smiles.

Ms. Matthews hasn't changed much. She has the same hairstyle, she always wears blue, she doesn't look like she has aged. I wonder what else I missed while I have been gone.

The video lasts for another ten or fifteen minutes before Ms. Matthews turns it off and passes out slips of paper to the first person in each row.

"I shouldn't have to remind you as you are not six, you're sixteen, but write your name on your paper. I will enter a zero in the grade book until you claim it and then I will take off a point for your not following instructions that you have been taught all of your school career. It's happened before and I guarantee you that it will happen again."

Wow, she was never this hard on our class, but I guess if schools don't discipline students, some teachers have to take over. I'll keep that in mind. Sometimes the only way kids will listen to you is if you're tough like Ms. Matthews.