Joseph heard the last bell and heaved a huge sigh. Today was the last day of school and the first day of hell for the janitorial staff. The halls would be littered with old tests, papers, books... anything that the students considered trash. To many of them, it was just the end of another school year and the beginning of a summer filled with suntans, hot bodies and keg parties. For Joseph, it would be a summer of heartache. Rachel was gone.
Just thinking of her brought tears to his eyes. For four years, Rachel Lockhart had been the center of his world, although, she hadn't known it. They'd met when she was a green freshman, running audio-visual items from room to room. She had been in Mr. Chainey's music room, cursing because the projector's lamp had burnt out and she didn't have a spare. He had entered the room to mop but had instead stood there and listened to her rant, laughing under the cover of his hand.
"What the hell are you laughing at?"
"You!" He bent over in hysterics, slapping his thighs. "I haven't heard anyone cuss that well since Mrs. MacCready?"
The anger fled her face, a stunned look quickly replacing it. "Mrs. MacCready? The
holier-than-thou
Mrs. MacCready?"
"The same one." Joseph chuckled, recalling the scene. "She had caught one of her expensive skirts on the corner of the desk drawer and cussed better than any sailor I've ever heard." He laughed at the remembrance. Rachel had broken into hysterical laughter, her thick, dark brown hair sweeping her shoulders as she rocked back and forth, her hazel-green eyes covered by indigo-shaded lids.
"She doesn't seem like that."
"You know what they say. 'Never judge a book by its cover.'"
"Yeah, I heard that before." She had smiled at him so softly and he had the feeling that she was talking about herself. "Well, I gotta go. Take it easy!"
That had been four years ago and she had grown into a beautiful, self-assured woman, teetering on the edge of womanhood. He had watched her go through the changes and found himself getting jealous each time she passed by with a new boyfriend. Still, she never forgot to stop by and spend some time talking to him and he thought that maybe once or twice, he'd seen a spark in her eyes but just shrugged it off.
Now, on the last day of school for seniors, she came into the cafeteria as she always did, watching him put the tables up. "Hi, Joey."
"Hey, Rachel." He stood and walked over to where she stood, astonished to find tears streaking her face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's the last day of school." He nodded and without a word, he took her in his arms, comforting her as she sobbed. "I never thought it would be this hard."
"It's been your family for four years, Rachel. It's hard to let go."
"Yeah. I know." She wiped her face and sighed. "I just came to say goodbye."
Joseph pressed a kiss to her cheek, knowing that she wouldn't be able to speak. "You know where I am. If you ever need anything... "
She nodded, tears falling anew. "Goodbye, Joey."
He watched her leave, his heart dropping into his stomach. She was gone forever now.
* * * * *
Summer swept by without a thought and Joseph spent his time performing general maintenance at the school and working out. His 25-year old body was perfection, hard in all the right places and lean in others. He thought about his precious Rachel every day, wondering what she was doing, wondering if she was thinking about him. He knew that she wasn't. She was a young, pretty girl. She was probably out with her friends, wrapping boys around her fingers and painting the town red.
So he was very surprised to see her standing in the cafeteria doorway. She looked different. Her dark hair was streaked with blonde highlights and the sundress she wore showed off her curvy figure. "Hi, Joey."
