There I was, sitting behind my desk, typing dates into my calendar software, and getting ready for another school year to begin. After twenty years at the same small school, I really did not expect anything unusual to shake up my normal routine, but I could not have been much more wrong.
I started teaching at this school four years out of college. My first school had been a pit, so when I made the move to my present position I appreciated the quality of the place and stayed here. The school has been good to me, and I believe I've been good for it and for the kids. That is what leads to this story.
While I was sitting there making entries on my laptop there was a knock at the window beside my desk. I must have been really focused on my typing, because the sudden noise startled me enough that I jumped in my chair. When I looked up to see what had startled me, I was pleasantly surprised to see Jan, one of my former students, standing by the window laughing.
Jan had graduated six years ago, gone off to the state university, got married, and moved off with her husband to start a career. She had always been a good, ambitious student and had been a statistician for the team I coached at the school. As our stat girl, she traveled with the team, kept all of the team and individual records, and entered all of the information into the spreadsheets after each competition. She was bright, responsible, and (as any of the athletes would have told you) absolutely gorgeous.
The six years out of high school had certainly not dimmed her light any. When I looked out the window at the laughing young woman I was reminded anew of her stunning looks. Jan's hair hung down far enough to cascade around her (now) well-developed breasts that were emphasized by the light blue, scoop-necked top she was wearing. Her deep brown eyes were still sparkling from her laughter, and her soft pink cupids-bow mouth was turned up in a wry smile.
Jan pointed toward the exit door in my room, so I gladly went over to let her in. When I open the door I got my first look at the rest of Jan's outfit, and tried hard not to stare. She was wearing a pair of white shorts so small that they came up nearly to her crotch and that were so low cut I could see the V of her hips diving nearly to where there should have been pubic hair. I stopped dead in my tracks for a second that seemed like an eternity, then looked back up to Jan's smiling face as she strolled into the classroom.
She apologized for giving me a start, and said she was driving by the school and noticed my old pickup in the parking lot so she thought she'd stop in to say hello. She asked about some of her old classmates, made conversation about how the facility had and had not changed, and generally just shot the breeze for a while.
When I asked her about herself I found out several interesting bits of information. Jan had recently divorced her husband for taking money from his firm and cheating on her with one of his business associates. She was staying at her parents' farm, but she would be leaving in a few days to go to a grad school on the east coast and get her Masters degree. She said she was only in the area for a short while, and she had wanted to make sure she saw me before she left.
Jan sat quietly for a few seconds, then looked me right in the eye and smiled. She said she wanted me to follow her to her parents' farm so she could show me something she had saved since she was in high school.
I didn't have much left to do anyway, and her parents' farm was only a few miles out of my way, so I locked my doors, went out to the parking lot, and tried to keep up with Jan as she sped down the highway and over the two miles of gravel road to her parents' home.
When I pulled into the yard, I noticed right away that Jan's car was the only one there. I assumed everyone else was in town shopping or something, but thought nothing of it at the time.
I followed Jan into the house and down a short flight of stairs to a well-furnished basement. She told me to sit on the couch and asked me if I wanted a beer or a drink of some kind. I agreed to a beer and commented that it was a unique experience getting such an offer from a former student. Jan laughed a little then told me to get comfortable while she got part of my surprise. She disappeared for a couple of moments into what I assumed was her old bedroom and came out holding a large, very full scrap book.
Jan sat down on the couch beside me, put the book in my lap, and started flipping through the pages. Inside were pictures and clippings from the four years she had worked with the team, but surprisingly, there were pictures of me that I had no idea she had taken. When I asked her about them, Jan giggled a little and confided that she'd had a crush on me her junior and senior years so she had taken the pictures when I wasn't looking. I had to admit I was flattered, and I told her so, which got me a big smile in return.
