Page 6 of Ancient History

“Very seriously. As serious as the bubonic plague, which in part destroyed the feudal system of medieval Europe. He’s the new soccer coach and gym teacher.” I snickered, both at the situation and at the memory of a student last year earnestly believing the bubonic plague made women flat chested.

“Dang. That sucks. The fries are on me then.”

The guys and I thanked him loudly. Charlie returned to the bar.

Everett, Chase, and Julian all taught at South Rock High School. We started on the same day, and that helped forge our bond. That, and all four of us being out teachers at school. I liked to think our presence helped open the door for South Rock becoming more inclusive and much sassier.

I drained the last of my beer, needing a refill. “The brightside is that my recent dating history has given me lots of experience navigating awkward experiences. Working with Hutch should be a cakewalk.”

Awkward was an understatement. I hadn’t had the best luck dating-wise. The most recent guy I dated tried to fake an orgasm when I was going down on him. I had to break the news that only worked with women.

“Didn’t you tell us Hutch was playing professional soccer?” Julian was a sweet, cuddly bear of a French teacher, his extra weight making him soft and huggable. He’d grown a beard to fully own his bear-sona.

“I thought he was.” I made a promise to myself to never check up on him, flexing incredible restraint in the age of social media.

“Maybe he’s retired. Don’t professional athletes retire at like twenty-five?” Chase, who taught Chemistry, was the most inquisitive of us, every social situation a quadratic equation to him. He adjusted his thick-framed glasses, which played well against his combed blond hair and boyish face. He was really going for that 1950s NASA scientist vibe.

We all traded looks. We were nerds. None of us knew sportsball.

“Maybe he wants to give back to his community.” Chase shrugged.

Charlie came back with loaded fries and a fresh round of beers. It was perfect timing as my stomach began to growl.

Everett leaned forward in our booth. His pale skin popped against his fiery thatches of red hair. “I was doing some research today, and by research I mean gossiping among fellow teachers, and I got some intel on why he’s back.”

We all leaned in, afraid for others to hear.

“Yeah?” I gestured for him to stop being his dramatic self and spit it out.

“I heard…” Everett paused for dramatic effect, fitting since he was a drama teacher. “He busted his knee and had to leave the league.”

“Oh my gosh.” My hand instinctively went over my heart. I was crushed for Hutch. Despite how I felt about him (which was its own TBD), I always admired his skill on the soccer field. Watching him weave through opponents with ease was like watching the hand of God. Or the feet of God? Did God have hands and feet, or was he an omniscient blob with a white beard?

Julian raised a finger. “That’s not what I heard.”

Heads whipped his way like a courtroom in shock.

“I heard he got kicked off the team because of drugs, and he had to go to rehab.” Julian swept his flowing locks behind his ear. All his years of teaching French had given him a refined European quality.

“That’s terrible,” I said. My hand returned to clutch my heart.

“Which is it, though?” Chase asked.

“Huh?” Julian raised his eyebrows.

“You’ve presented two hypotheses. Everett said he suffered a physical injury. Julian proffered the theory that he was in rehab.”

“Rumors and gossip don’t really lend themselves to the scientific method, bud,” Everett said. “I think my story is right. Julian’s sounds like a Very Special Episode of a sitcom.”

“Well, Everett’s story is riddled with cliches,” Julian countered and crossed his arms in defiance. “Something a drama teacher should be aware of.”

“How do you say ‘kiss my ass’ in French?”

“I’ve already told you. Several times.”

“Guys!” I tapped my beer bottle on the table like a gavel. Hearing Hutch talked about like a tabloid object didn’t sit right with me. I hated that I couldn’t fully hate him. “It doesn’t matter what brought him here. He’s here.”

I heaved out a breath, the reality settling in. After all these years of actively working to not think about Hutch, I’d almost succeeded. Now I was back at zero.

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