Chapter 5

Going to work Monday morning was a lot better when as soon as I arrived I was given a big kiss, a firm butt grab, and I gave a quick boob squeeze to the beautiful school nurse.

My classes went well. I brought in a boom box and said, "I'm dedicating the following song to a few of you. You know who you are." I clicked play. The song was the Thompson Twins "Lies".

"So," I said after the song was done, "the message is 'Lies, lies, lies, they're going to get you'. It was true in George Washington's day and it's true today."

I stared straight at Tommy and Danny during my sixth period class as the song played. It was amusing to watch them squirm. It was also interesting to see who unexpectedly looked guilty about something. Several students grooved to the tune in their seats.

The students warmed up to the new Mr. Coleman in a short time. The boys would talk heavy metal music with me and the girls would say how much they liked the class. I received a compliment from Gloria Granger who overheard students talking in her class about how they liked history now. If it wasn't for the fact that I was forty and the girls were anywhere from fourteen to just turned eighteen, I would have thought some girls flirted with me.

Naturally, my popularity waned any day I gave a test or quiz.

I pushed the doorbell. I practiced what I might say but I still felt like I didn't know what to say. The door opened and my breath was taken away. My mother stood before me.

It was strange seeing my mother looking so young again. She was forty-two right now which was two years older than I was currently. She looked good. She hadn't started to turn gray yet and she never gained the weight most people do when they get older.

"Yes?" she said.

"Hi, I'm Chr ... John Coleman." I felt extremely nervous. "I'm Chris's history teacher."

"Is he in trouble?"

"Not at all. May I come in and explain? Please don't let Chris know I'm here yet." I knew he would be back in his room and wouldn't come out until dinner time.

"Have a seat," she said when I entered.

I sat on the couch. It was weird seeing the old furniture. I remembered how nice it looked when my parents bought it but now it looked like ... well, the eighties.

"Chris is being bullied by a few boys at school," I began.

"Oh!" she said with motherly concern.

"Yes and I'd like to have Chris learn how to defend himself." It was weird talking about myself like this.

"Like how?" she interrupted.

"Martial arts," I answered. "I want to learn myself. I would pick him up and take him and we'll learn together."

"Isn't that expensive?"

"There's no cost to you. It's free for Chris. I'm doing a buy one, get one free deal," I lied. "I'm single and I thought of Chris. Martial arts teach discipline and self-control too, so there are more benefits than learning to defend yourself."

"I think that would be good for Chris."

"I'm sure it would. I understand you have to talk it through with Dad ... your husband," I quickly corrected. "Here's my phone number." I gave her a slip of paper. "If you both agree, I think you should make Chris do it even if he doesn't want to." I knew my younger self. He'd hate the idea, but he just might enjoy it once he started doing it and especially if he could fend off Tommy, Danny, and any other boys who wanted to prey on him.

"Thank you," she said. "That's very kind of you."

I excused myself and headed over to Amy's place. Debbie would be out on a date and Amy was excited about having sex on her own bed for the first time.

"John!" Gloria Granger called over. "Come eat with us."

Alice Flagstone and Bill Burton were already there and so was Caroline Barlow. Spangler was not.

I sat down, happy to be warmly welcomed and invited.

"So what's your secret to becoming the school's most popular teacher in two weeks?" Gloria asked.

"Have a pretend fainting spell so you can get extra time off." After the laughter died down I said, "I teach history. It's a lot easier to get students to act out the signing of the Declaration of Independence than math problems and I don't think you want the students to act out what you teach in your classroom. What they do in the backseat of a car after school hours is none of our business!"

Gloria laughed and Bill laughed the hardest. Caroline grinned widely and Alice had the biggest smile. Old Alice was willing to laugh about sex. That was cool.

"That's for sure!" Gloria finally said.

"I see Tammy Roberts is definitely wearing maternity clothes," Bill commented.

"What did you teach her?" I jokingly accused. Tammy wasn't in any of my classes, but one couldn't help but notice the girl on campus who looked pregnant.

"She's a freshman. She hasn't been in my class yet. That's her problem!" Gloria cackled back.

I always thought Gloria Granger was a lousy Sex Ed teacher and maybe she still was, but she was very nice as a person. It was interesting seeing the teachers in a whole new light. They were no longer authority figures but they were peers and I could even say some of them were friends.

"Stephen!" Caroline said.

The rest of us looked over.

Stephen said, "Sorry, I'm late. I had a student who needed to talk."

"Okay," Caroline forgave.

Stephen looked at me. "What are you doing here?"

"We had this conversation last week," I replied.

"Give it a rest, Stephen," said Alice.

"He's okay," said Gloria.

"Have a seat, Stephen," said Caroline excitedly.

It was nice to hear them defend my right to be here.

"Let's eat somewhere else," Stephen said to Caroline.

She took a breath and rose.

"Let her stay," said Bill, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We're all having a good time. Right, Caroline?"

She nodded.

"I just want to eat alone with Caroline today," Stephen said.

"You can be alone with her when school is out," I said. "We were just talking about students in the back of cars." My wisecrack produced a few chuckles.

"Coleman!" he said, angrily balling up his fist.

"That's my name! Don't wear it out!"

"Come on, Caroline!" Stephen ordered.

"No!" I said. "Caroline decides if she stays or not. I vote she stays. What do you think?"

The other three all agreed she should stay.

"Well?" Stephen said.

Caroline looked conflicted.

"We're your friends," I said. "Four friends are better than one alleged friend who orders you around."

"That's it!" Stephen yelled.

He slugged me in the arm and got another shot on my chin.

"Stop it!" screamed Caroline. "I'll go with you."

"No," I said even though I hurt like hell. "Let him beat me if it means you get to decide what you want to do."

"What?" Caroline said looking stunned.

"Go ahead, Stephen. Hit me again. Hit me as many times as you want as long as you let Caroline have a say in your relationship."

Stephen cocked his fist back before turning and storming out of the room.

"I should go," Caroline said rising.

"What for?" Gloria said.

"I want to make sure Stephen's okay."

Alice said strongly, "He's not the one that's hurt."

Caroline looked at me. I could see the conflict inside her. She gathered her things without saying a word or looking at anyone and headed out.

When Caroline was gone, Alice said, "What's it going to take to get into that girl's head that Stephen's bad news?"

"It'll never happen," Bill said. "He has to control everything and everybody."

"He doesn't control you," I commented.

"He doesn't want to sleep with us," Gloria said.

"Personally, I'm kind of glad about that," Bill joked.

We all chuckled. I smiled. It was the first time I ever heard the math teacher show he had a sense of humor.

I hadn't heard back from my mom and dad, so I called Thursday evening. I knew the phone number. They still lived in the same house when I turned forty.

After exchanging pleasantries with Mom, I asked, "So have you decided about Chris?"

"Charles and I think it would be okay, but we haven't told Chris yet."

"Would you like me to tell him?"

"That won't be necessary."

"If it would be easier on you I can tell him. Classes are on Monday and Thursday. I'll come over Monday evening and we can tell him together. We won't give him a choice. It will be good for him."

I knew that if given a choice that I, or that is Chris, would not want to go, so he had to be forced into it. He would like it once he gained some confidence in his abilities. I hoped that was the case. That was my plan. I discovered as I got older that I had more physical abilities than I thought I had. I wanted to bring them out in Chris faster than they came out when I lived his life.

I took Amy out Friday night to see Sixteen Candles. It took some convincing that she'd like the teen comedy, but I was proved right. She liked it a lot.