CHAPTER TWO: A PROBLEM WITH BEHAVIOR
I sat in my office at Johnson High School. The first half of the day was quite slow. Not many kids came to talk with me in the morning hours, unless a teacher sent them in with a note. This particular session was one of those cases after my lunch period. I clocked in from lunch and was just preparing my desk when the door opened and a senior girl looking very upset walked in. She plopped herself in the comfortable chair across from me. "Hi," I said, breaking the tense silence between us. "I'm guessing from the way you came in, you're not here on your own terms?"
The girl slid a piece of paper to me. It was one of the new Counseling Slips that the principal issued for teachers having problems with a student's behavior. Her name was Monica Lewis, eighteen years old. The teacher, Mr. Zackerman, explained in the reason box that Monica and another student were passing notes to each other. The subject was not one that would be considered 'school appropriate'. "I see. Well, let's talk about why you're here and what we can do to fix the situation."
"It was a stupid note." Monica grumbled. "There's nothing wrong with it, is there?"
I hesitated. Even I passed notes to students when I was in school and got away with it, even if I got caught. "Not usually, but it does depend on the topic you're discussing with the other student. What was it?"
Monica bit her lip and twirled a curled braid around her finger nervously. "Okay, we were talking about sex!" she said exasperatedly. "But we weren't going to do it on school grounds."
"You do know the subject is rarely talked about besides Health class, right?" I asked her. "Since we're on the subject of sex, let's dig a little deeper. You'be had sex?" She nodded. "When was your first time?"
"My sixteenth birthday." Monica said without hesitation. "My boyfriend at the time came over to help my parents set up the small party at my house and, when we went to bed, he snuck in my room and we did it. He popped my cherry and everything." She smiled at my impressed expression. "What about you, Mr. Erickson?"
I looked back in my mind to when I lost my virginity and chuckled a little. "I was the same age as you, but it wasn't with my girlfriend. I went to a party hosted by the quarterback of the sophomore football team, got drunk and ended up doing it with a cheerleader." Monica burst into laughter as she tried to picture me having drunk sex with a cheerleader at a football player's house. "Here's another question for you. Have you ever had sex with an older man?"
Monica went quiet for a while. I could practically hear the gears turning in her head as she thought hard. "I would like to at some point."
"Well, I was thinking that maybe lack of sex is your problem." She tilted her head, her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "When's the last time you had sex?"
"A few months ago," she said. "Aw, man."