Chapter 1
Lennox
Just another day, with the same scenery, down the same old streets on my drive home. In fact, I pass by my childhood home almost every day. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little town that I was born and raised in, and apparently, will grow old and die in, as well.
“Whoa, Nelly! Now that is a good change of scenery. Oh, yes, indeed. Look at those well-defined muscles pushing that lawnmower. I can only imagine that the rest of his body is just as fine. Shit!” Being distracted, I over-correct a little and my car veers to the right, barely missing Mrs. Finkle's mailbox.
They say that fifty two percent of motor vehicle accidents happen within five miles of your home, and I just about added myself to that statistic. Focus, Lennox.
School starts in just a few short weeks, and that’s all I need, to show up with a banged-up face for all of my students to laugh at.
Highschool kids can be so mean, especially to geeky math teachers.
I try to ignore their snickering behind my back, but sometimes it’s hard to deal with, even at twenty-seven years old.
You would have thought I would have left the petty thoughts behind after high school, yet those memories of the so-called popular ones saying crap still taunts me as I walk down the identical halls. Only now, I'm a teacher here.
My garage door opens, and I pull in slowly, careful not to bump the wall in front of the car.
As I turn the ignition off, I glance in the rearview mirror to see if I can finally tell who the new mystery man that moved in last week is.
I haven’t been able to see his face yet.
Time seems to stand still while I simply admire this man’s toned body flexing and working in the hot summer sun.
I can’t believe that his tan skin glistening with perspiration is making me so hot that I have to roll down the window.
He has a ball cap on, but I’m still hopeful that he’ll show his face. He stops pushing the mower, takes the hem of his t-shirt and brings it up to his face to wipe the dirt and sweat away.
“Oh, have mercy on my soul. Those abs that form a perfect V shape down…” My tongue darts to the corners of my mouth to clear any drool that may have formed, just as he pulls his earbuds out of his ears and turns to face my garage, my car, and oh shit, me.
Our eyes connect in the mirror as I immediately sink into my car seat and try to hide from embarrassment.
He looks familiar, but I just can’t place who he is.
How am I going to get out of this car without him seeing me?
Not moving from my slumped form, I slowly reach my hand up to the sun visor to click the garage door opener to close the door.
I should have gotten the windows tinted when the car salesman tried to give me that add-on price to my hatchback Toyota Prius. But no, you can clearly see through the back of my car and into the mirror to see that I was totally in creeper mode.
I still wasn’t able to tell who he was. However, I do know that my new neighbor will definitely be starring in my fantasies tonight.
Monday, I will start back to work, and I’m as anxious as I was starting a new school day during my high school years.
It’s exciting to set my classroom up and meet the new students.
Yeah, there are those that are bratty teenagers, but the majority of the kids are well behaved and make my job fulfilling.
Those are the ones who remind me why I chose this career path.
Then, there are those other teachers that, unfortunately, I graduated with, and for God knows why, they went into teaching and chose this same school to come back to and torment.
Like, why? Why would the same mean girl from high school come back and teach here?
She’s the exact same one that was the leader of the group that always talked about leaving this tiny town and never returning.
Also, they were the ones who laughed and snickered behind my back if I dropped my belongings in the hall, rather than stoop down and help me pick them up before they got trampled on.
Those types of girls were the ones who wore the right things and fixed their hair and makeup perfectly just to gain all the boy’s attention and always made you feel like you could never be attractive or cool enough to get the guy who you were totally into.
Well, we are all grownups now, and I will give myself the same pep talk I did last year when they both were hired at Nelson County High.
This is a new era, and there is no need to think like that any longer.
I had the same education that they did to get where I am today, except I’m pretty sure that they did not graduate at the top of their college as an honors, 4. 0 GPA student.
I turn to the mirror hanging on the hallway wall, and I repeat the mantra out loud, “I am completely enough. I am attractive. I am cool enough, and I can be with anyone I so choose. Now, you go out there, Lennox, and you don’t listen to a damn word they say.
You will go to work next week, and you got this, girl. ”