Chapter 4
“Good morning, Mr. Lancaster.”
“Good morning, Jamal.” I gave one of my students a high five as he walked past.
Every morning, I stood outside and greeted every child that entered Sunshine Middle School.
As the principal, it was important to me to learn every student’s name.
I wanted them to feel comfortable in the school, with me, and the staff.
I knew how tough middle school could be, and I wanted the kids to know that our school was a safe place for them.
All the teachers and the guidance counselors shared the same values as I did.
Of course, like anything else, we had fights, but not as many as the school I had come from.
I attended this same exact school when I was younger, so when the principal position opened, I applied and got it. There were a few things I had to change, but everyone seemed to have adjusted well.
Once the bell rang, I went back inside the school. I walked through the halls and made sure everyone had gone where they were supposed to be and helped any students that needed help. School had been in for a few months, and so far, the year had been going well.
When the second bell rang, I headed into my office to complete some paperwork.
“Good morning, Mr. Lancaster.”
“Good morning, Miss Cheryl.” Miss Cheryl had been the assistant principal for five years. I would have thought she wanted the principal position, but she said she was fine right where she was.
I proceeded to my office and sat at my desk. I looked around the room and was still surprised by what I had accomplished.
I left Sunrise Valley to attend Black Elm University in California, and I ended up staying out there until I got hired for this position.
At first, I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life, then at some point, I decided on education.
I started out as a teacher, but I wanted more, so I applied for the assistant principal position at my previous school.
I’d done well for myself, and I was proud of being the principal.
I never thought I would return to Sunrise Valley, but I did miss home.
My parents and my best friends were still there.
I made friends in Cali, but it wasn’t the same.
I even had a girlfriend, but when she caught me with my dick down another chick’s throat, she left my ass.
I didn’t blame her, though. The shit was wrong of me, and I apologized, but she didn’t want to hear it.
I fucked around a little afterward, but I never got into anything else that serious.
I knew I needed to get my shit together, because it wasn’t right to hurt her feelings like that.
I loved her but got caught up. One day while I scrolled social media, I saw that she was in a new relationship, and she looked happy.
I started to send her a message but never pressed send.
There was no need for me to interrupt her life, especially because I wasn’t even in the same state.
Since leaving Cali, I hadn’t done much of anything but get my place together, work, and spend time with my people.
I hadn’t even had sex since the night I returned home and went out to a restaurant.
I remembered shorty was celebrating with her homegirl about something.
We shared drinks, and later that night, we were in a hotel room.
I still thought about her sometimes because she was something else.
My dick got hard every time I thought about the way she talked to me through each nut.
I had never messed with a woman like that, and I wanted more.
I thought we would have exchanged numbers at least, but by the time I woke up, she was gone like the wind.
I never saw her again, and the only thing I had was her first name, and that was no help.
I was sure it was a lot of Lisas in Sunrise Valley, and that was even if she was from here.
I needed to get out of this slump because my balls were backed up, and it was only so much jacking my dick I could do.
“Knock, knock.”
I looked up when I heard someone at my office door.
“Hey, Ms. Thomas. What can I do for you?”
Hannah Thomas was a seventh-grade teacher. Her bubbly personality made her lovable among the staff and the kids.
“Well . . .” She dragged out the end of the word and smiled as she sat in the chair across from my desk. “I have someone that I think would be perfect for you.”
I leaned forward and rested on my elbows.
“Oh really?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yup. My friend London is single, and she’s beautiful. She has a good job and her own everything. I think you two would hit it off.”
“I don’t know, Hannah. Why is she single then?”
“Because she’s been working a lot and hasn’t had the time. Things have changed, and now she has more time. Just one date, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”
I leaned back and rubbed my chin. I’d just told myself I needed something to do, but I wasn’t sure about being hooked up with someone. I figured when I met someone, it would be organically.
“Do you have a picture of her?”
“Nope. It’s going to be a blind date. She doesn’t know what you look like either, so you guys are even. Just give it a shot.”
She seemed to be pushing this kind of hard, which made me think her friend wasn’t as beautiful as she said she was.
I wanted to say no, but I really didn’t have anything else to do.
If it went well, maybe I could finally slide up in something.
If I didn’t like her, I would end dinner or whatever and go about my business.
“Fuck it. I’ll go. If she’s ugly, I’m forcing you on lunch duty or something for the week.”
Hannah laughed. “Trust me, she isn’t ugly.” She stood from the chair and clapped her hands. “I’ll give you the details tomorrow. Will this weekend work for you?”
“Yeah. Don’t make me regret this, Hannah.”
“I promise I won’t.” She walked out of my office, and I returned to what I was doing before she walked in.
I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what Hannah’s friend looked like, even though she didn’t give me anything to go off of.
When work was over, I headed to the gym to shoot hoops with my boys. I would talk to them about this blind date thing and get their opinions on it.
I kept a bag of clothes in my trunk, so when I got to the gym, I changed and headed to the indoor court.
My boys Vincent and Devin were already there, practicing layups.
“Yo!” I walked further onto the court where they were.
“Yo!” Devin greeted me first as we slapped hands.
“What’s good?” Vincent asked as he dribbled the ball. When he reached me, we slapped hands, then he passed me the ball.
Some other guy was in there, so we had a game of two on two. I was a little anxious to tell them about the impending date, but I held off until we were done.
At least once a week, the three of us played basketball at the gym.
Depending on how many other guys were there determined what we played and for how long.
Sometimes we just played around and talked.
The three of us had been friends since elementary school.
We only separated when we went to college.
Devin went to school in North Carolina, while Vincent went to school in New York.
The two of them didn’t hesitate to move back home when they graduated.
It was Vincent who told me about the job at the middle school because he used to date a teacher there.
By the time we played a few games, the three of us were sweaty as hell. The fourth guy had left, so the three of us went to sit on the bleachers.
“I got a date.”
Vincent choked on the water he’d just poured in his mouth, as Devin looked at me sideways.
“Bruh, how you just gonna spring that on us like that?” Vincent asked in between coughs.
“Word. You let us play games and shit and didn’t say anything. Who is the date with?” Devin asked.
I wiped my face with my hand towel. “I don’t know exactly. I mean, I know her name, but that’s it.”
They shared a look, then looked at me.
“What do you mean? Where did you meet her?” Devin asked.
I told them about Hannah setting up the date and how she wouldn’t show me what her friend looked like. I was sure she had a picture of her or something. She could have at least given me her social media information.
“She probably ugly,” Vincent joked.
“Man, I hope not. Y’all know I ain’t done shit since that night with shorty,” I reminded them.
Devin rubbed his chin and smiled. “Yeah, she had you going through withdrawal for a couple of weeks.” The two of them laughed at my expense, so I flipped them the bird.
“Fuck you. I did say no at first, but I thought about it. Hannah isn’t a bad-looking chick, so maybe her friend isn’t either. Maybe I’ll at least get some pussy out of it.”
I wasn’t sure if anybody could do what shorty did to me that night, but something was better than nothing.
“When is this happening?” Vincent asked.
“Hannah said she’ll tell me tomorrow.”
“Well, hopefully she’s at least good company,” Devin said.
I hoped the same thing. We stayed at the gym a little longer before we parted ways. I couldn’t wait until Hannah gave me an update on the date.
I was ready for something meaningful, and maybe this was my chance.