Fall for You: Boys of Alabama

by Mica Halstead

  ◆◆◆

  First day jitters are a real thing and not just for students. Teachers get them, too. I’ve anticipated this day for so long. Jase never failed to remind me how worthless I was every single day of the six miserable years we were together. Knowing how far I’ve come is such a great feeling. I busted my ass these last four years, taking night classes and doing my student teaching, and it all comes to a head today. I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, to ignite a love of learning in my students. Give them the opportunity to have someone they can confide in. Someone that students can come to when they’ve had a bad day at home or just need a safe space. Some of them don’t have that. Some come from abusive homes or broken families and I want them to know that they can always come to me, that my door’s always open.

  I had a drama teacher in high school that was that safe space for me. Her name was Mrs. Hendrix and I always knew, regardless of what I needed, her door was always open. She would lend an ear and a shoulder to cry on no matter how bad of a day I was having.

  The first bell rings and the noise from the hallway starts to carry into my classroom, room 203, as my first class trickles in for the day. Tenth grade History. High school is such a turning point in a young person's life. A time when they’re finding out who they are as an individual and I am so incredibly thrilled to be a part of that journey for them.

  “Yo, teach!” a young man shouts from the back of the room and a smile graces my lips.

  I clear my throat, “I believe you meant to say “Excuse me, Ms. Carter.” The few kids that are seated snicker a little.

  “Yeah, Hunter!” “Show some respect, dude.” “Roasted!” Are all shouted from around the room. The young man, Hunter I’m assuming, shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Uh, sorry Mz Carter, I didn’t mean no disrespect.”

  “Totally fine, Hunter. Now, is there something you need to ask me?”

  “Ah, nah I just wanted to say ‘sup.” He replies with a grin.

  I laugh a little. “Alright, then. Good morning.”

  The second bell rings just as one last student slips in and drops into their seat. I stand up from my chair and turn around to write my name on the board. “Alright class, as you can see, Mrs. Martinez is no longer your History teacher. My name is Ms. Carter and I’ll be teaching y’all this year,” I turn back around after capping and dropping the dry erase marker in the tray of the board. “Now, the majority of you are fifteen and sixteen years old. I’m just going to be real with you. I’m not here to babysit. I’m also not here to parent you. I’m here to teach you. I’m thrilled to share my love of History with each and every one of ya, and for all of you, passing Sophomore History is a requirement to graduate. I won’t be holding your hands this year. You want to graduate and participate in my class? Super. I am here for you every step of the way. You want to come to class and goof off, spend the entire time on your phone, and disrespect your classmates that want to learn? Well, then I guess we will be spending next year together, too. Any questions?” I finish my speech after making my way up and down each and every aisle way, removing phones from hands and placing them face down on desks.

  I see some heads shaking no and some students slumping down in their chairs and I snicker a little. From what the principal told me, Shelly Martinez was a total pushover and these kids just coasted by last year. Now, by no means do I plan on being a hard ass, but I’m also expecting my students to put in the work.

  I clap my hands together and crack a huge smile. “Great! Now that we are all on the same page, lets get started!” And just like that, I’m well on my way to my first official day as Lex Carter, History teacher at Jefferson High.

  ◆◆◆

  The rest of my classes go about the same throughout the day. Overall, I’ve got a good group of kids and I think this will be a good year. Now it’s 9th period, my planning period, and I’m seated behind my desk with my heels kicked off and I’m trying to crank out some lesson planning before I head home for the day. A knock on the door breaks me out of my trance. “Come in!” I yell, dropping my pencil on my desk and rolling my neck back and forth. The door opens and in walks the principal, Mrs. Mancini.

  “Lex!” She greets me, “just popping by to check in on you and see how your first day went.” She finishes by dropping down at the desk in front of me.

  “Super sweet of you,” I reply, leaning back in my chair, “it’s actually been great. Laid down some ground rules with all of the kids and they seemed pretty receptive. Time will tell but I think it’s going to be a good year.” She nods along while I’m talking, glancing around my room taking it all in.

  “Good, good. So, I did want to check on your day. But I have somewhat of an ulterior motive for stopping by.”

  “Uh, okay… what’s up?”

  Kristin shifts around in her seat a little. “Okay, as I’m sure you know, our first football game is coming up on Friday. Our cheer coach has resigned from her position and we are looking for a new coach to start as soon as possible. I’ve reached out to all the other female staff members and they all have prior obligations and are unable to commit to coaching the girls. I was hoping you might be up for taking them on.” She finishes while plastering a huge smile on her face.

  I tilt my head to the side, “Are…. are you asking me to coach a cheerleading squad?” I chuckle nervously, clearing my throat. “I, ah… uh… I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve cheered. I’m not even sure I would know what to do with a group of girls.”

  She jumps out of her seat “No worries! We have a great bunch this year! Sophie is the captain and has been since her sophomore year. She’ll be a great asset if you run into any trouble! She’s a fantastic leader and the other girls really respect her. You shouldn’t have any problems! Practices are Mondays and Wednesdays right after school until 5 and then obviously games every Friday night. JV cheers on Saturday mornings.” She continues to ramble on and claps her hands together. “Oh, this is just going to be perfect! I’m so excited. If you need anything, you know where to find me! By the way, today’s your first practice. The girls will meet you on the field!” She rushes out of my classroom and as the door shuts behind her I can’t help but think that I just got swindled. The bright side to today? I have yet to run into Ford.

  Ford

  “Soph! My favorite Senior. How was cheer camp last week?” I’m leaned up against the weight room, just south of the football field, checking in with Sophie who is not only captain of the cheerleading squad but also my kids favorite babysitter. She has been such a huge asset to our family the last five years, watching the kids almost anytime I need her, she helps out around my house, and she’s a great role model for Aria. Sophie comes bouncing over to me.

  “Hey Mr. J.” she breathes out as she flops against the building next to me, “camp was good. A lot of work, but good. Did you hear we lost another cheer coach?”

  “Yeah, I heard. Rough. But I’m sure the school will find a great replacement. I wouldn’t worry about it. Plus, with you as captain, you could basically handle the whole squad by yourself,” I joke with her, nudging her arm with mine. She giggles and rolls her eyes.

  “Whatever you say. I got your text during lunch, what’s up? Need me to come over this weekend?”

  “Actually, yeah. You don’t even have to wait for the kids to fall asleep. They know you’re coming and Aria is so psyched…” I trail off when I hear a gasp from around the corner of the weight room. My brows furrow together and I shove off the wall to walk around the corner and run smack into somebody. “Shit,” I growl and my hands automatically shoot out to keep the person in front of me from falling backwards. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was standi…,” I trail off when I realize it’s Lex and she looks furious.

  “What the hell is wrong with you!?” She seethes, shaking my hands off of her biceps and pokes her finger into my chest.

  “I said sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you..” I toss my hands up in the air, trying to
figure out what the fuck her problem is.

  “I don’t give a crap that you ran into me, I can’t believe you’re sleeping with a student!” She lowers her voice on the last four words and instantly I narrow my eyes and stumble back, her words a blow.

  “Sleeping with… what the fuck? You think Sophie and I are SLEEPING together?! Wow,” I scoff. I can’t even fucking believe this. “Good to know you think so little of me.. For your information, and not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but Sophie DeMarco is my kids babysitter. Has been for the last four years.” I shake my head walking back a few steps. “Maybe instead of accusing me you could just ask me straight up next time. I can’t even look at you right now.” I turn and head back around the side of the building where Sophie is still standing, her eyes wide and her face flush, obviously embarrassed to be a part of Lex’s accusations.

  “7 Saturday work for you?” I ask her as I walk past.

  “Y.. yeah, sure thing Ford.” I tug her ponytail as I walk by.

  “Thanks kid, I’ll see ya later. I need to get out of here.” I book it to my truck, jump in and slam the door. How the fuck could Lex even think that about me? I thought maybe there was something blossoming between us, but clearly, I was wrong. Cranking the key in the ignition, I put my truck into drive, and head to my moms to pick the kids up.

  ◆◆◆

  I slam the door behind me at moms still reeling from the incident at the school. Walking through the foyer and down the hallway towards the kitchen, I can hear everyone in the kitchen. Trying to calm down a little, I slow my steps and take time to really look around at the house I grew up in. Wood panel floors give way to light gray tile when you hit the kitchen, a sweeping staircase to the right of the foyer leads up to three bedrooms and a master bath upstairs, all recently remodeled. The great room is off the left of the foyer, with a dining table big enough to seat 10 and a window seat perfect for curling up with a book, which is something mom does often. Stepping through the entryway to the kitchen, directly in front of me is an island with concrete countertops, and where both of my kids are seated on bar stools, little feet swinging, working on homework.

  “Dadddddy!” Aria squeals when she sees me and reaches her arms out, waiting for me to swing her up. I happily oblige and bury my face in her sweet little curls while she squeezes my neck.

  “Hey angel. How was your first day of Kindergarten?” I ask her as I lower her back into her seat. She starts yammering on about her day. I ruffle Zane’s wavy brown hair, the same color as his mother, as I walk to the other side of the counter and drop a kiss on my moms cheek, echoing a few ‘uh huhs’ and ‘that’s great baby’ as I pull open the fridge door and grab a soda. When I shut the door and turn around, mom is standing right in front of me. I stumble back a little.

  “Jesus ma, what is with you sneaking up on people? You really need to knock that shit off.” I try to sidestep her and head back to the island when she steps in my path again.

  “Nuh uh. What’s this? What’s going on? I can tell when you’re pissed, and right now - you are pissed. What happened?” She finishes by narrowing her eyes at me. I roll mine.

  “It’s nothing ma, don’t worry about it. I’ve just got a lot on my mind between the school year starting, football, and the kids. Okay?” She seems to stare at me for a minute, trying to figure out if I’m lying or not.

  “Mm,” she mumbles while studying me. “I don’t believe you for a second, but I’ll leave it be. For now.” She turns back around and leans over the counter to help Zane with a math problem. My mom has always had this sixth sense. She could always, ALWAYS, tell when we were lying, when we were sneaking out of the house, or when we were even thinking about doing something that was against the rules. No joke, one time my brother Zander and I snuck out his bedroom window to go meet some girls, and we got out and around the back of the house and there stood ma in her bathrobe with her hands on her hips. She always knew. We never got away with shit.

  Speak of the devil, I hear the front door slam and Zander shouting, “Where are my favorite niece and nephew?!” as he makes his way through the house. He’s so full of shit. They’re his only niece and nephew.

  Aria says exactly what I’m thinking. “Uncle Zan, you’re silly. We are your only niece and nephew!” He chuckles.

  “Guess you’re right, baby girl. Give Uncle Zan some sugar.” He leans over and she pecks him on the cheek.

  “I missded you. Where ya been? Huh?” She pops her little hands on her hips. Zander cuts me a look, like are you kidding me? I shrug my shoulders.

  “She’s right man, you’ve been MIA for weeks with barely a word to any of us.”

  “I called Madre and let her know I would be gone for a few weeks. Not my fault if she didn’t relay the message,” he says as he grabs an apple from the fruit bowl, shines it with his shirt sleeve, and leans his hip against the counter.

  “You called me a month ago, Zander Sinatra, to let me know you had to leave town for a week and I ain’t hearda hide nor hair from you since. So cut the crap.”

  I slug back a little of my soda and slam the can on the counter. “A month? What the fu… dgesicles, Z?” I catch myself before I drop the f bomb and mentally pat myself on the back. The last thing I need is Aria teaching her new classmates some colorful language. I stalk across the kitchen, snatch Zander up by his collar, and drag his ass towards the back patio. This little shit has been tight lipped about some ‘assignment’ he’s been on for almost a year now, and I’ve had enough.

  “Be right back,” I say to both the kids, “Uncle Zan and I need to have a little chat. Finish your homework.”

  “Oooh,” I hear Zane, who like always has been relatively quiet during the entire exchange, mutter under his breath. “Uncle Z is in trouble, Ri.” I hear Aria giggling as I shove Zander through the doorway and shut the slider door.

  Zander stumbles a little before righting himself and I walk across the patio and lean against the railing. “Talk.” I spit out as I cross my arms across my chest. “Quickly. And no more of this ‘I can’t talk about it’ bullshit, Z. You’ve been disappearing for weeks at a time. But never, NEVER, has it been for a month. Mom was worried sick about you. I want the truth, and I want it now.”

  Zander starts pacing back and forth on the patio with one hand on his hip and the other squeezing the back of his neck. “Come on bro, you know I can’t talk to you about this.”

  “And why not? Huh? You’ve been disappearing in the middle of the night, not coming back for weeks. That’s not normal and you know it. I know you're doing your top secret special forces shit, but don't you think maybe it's time to give it up?"

  Zander throws himself down into one of the Adirondack chairs that are on the patio. He scrubs both of his hands over his face. “I know man, I know. I just need a little more time before I can talk to you about this, okay? And I’m begging you to accept that.” He sounds really distraught, not at all like the little brother I know. I walk over and drop into the chair next to him, punching him in the arm.

  “I just worry about you. Big brother syndrome, and all that,” I sigh.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he says, nudging my shoulder with his, “now, tell me about your hot new neighbor.” He cracks a huge grin as I groan and through my arms over my face.

  Lex

  A week has passed since that little shit show outside the weight room with Ford. Cheerleading practice is going as well as expected. Kristin was right when she said Sophie could probably run the entire thing solo. I’ve basically just been there to watch them rehearse and make sure there aren’t any cat fights. I’ve only had to break up two.

  I’m also falling into a routine at school and gaining the respect of most of the students. Sure, there are a few who have trouble with authority figures. Those are the ones that will probably spend an extra summer with me trying to pass my class but to each their own.

  Ford. Crawford James. I’ve seen him in passing in the halls at school but he’s made it clear he d
oesn’t want to hear my apologies. Every time I pass him in the halls and try to talk to him, he either busies himself with talking to a student or just avoids me altogether. I mean, I don’t really blame him. I did accuse him of sleeping with a seventeen year old. I already apologized to Sophie and she was very forgiving. She said it’s not the first time an adult assumed their relationship was more than teacher/babysitter. She seems much more grown than her seventeen years.

  So that brings me to today. Tuesday. And the reason why I’m standing on Fords front porch, balancing two pizza boxes and a 12 pack of beer while trying to ring his doorbell. I sit the beer down and press my finger against the bell. The door swings open so quick it startles me.

  “Hey wady! What ya got? Huh? What is it? Is that for me? It better not have any of those gross green things on it.” Ford's daughter is talking a mile a minute, dressed in a purple tutu, spiderweb leggings, what looks to be her brother's football jersey, and a tiara on her head. I have to smother my smile and I crouch down so I’m eye to eye with her.

  “Green things? You mean green peppers?” I say and she scrunches up her little button nose and nods her head.

  “Yeah. Those. Thems nasty,” she says complete with a little retching noise.

  Just as I’m about to respond I hear Ford from the back of the house, and he sounds pissed. “ARIA!” he roars, and her little eyes widen.