Page 91 of Ancient History

“I can’t tell you how many times students have told me that my class doesn’t matter, how many parents have complained that this class is pointless and shouldn’t wreck their precious child’s chance at getting into Harvard. History is never as important as math or science or English, right? I refuse to let them belittle what I do. They may not respect it. Tommy may not respect it. But I do.”

After some wine and trash reality TV to take our minds off things, Amos and I went to bed. His queen bed was a big step up from mine. Soft covers, firm mattress, and no squeaking. I pulled him close to me and kissed the point where his neck and shoulder met.

“Hey, this is our second night in a row falling asleep together,” I whispered.

Amos just patted my hand, no energy to respond. I squeezed him tight, letting him know I wasn’t going anywhere.

The next few days were going to be hell, but we’d make it through. We had each other. I just hoped this shitshow didn’t get any worse.

25

AMOS

The hearing was two days later, expedited by his parents in the hopes he could still play in the playoff games. Hutch and I got zero sleep the night before, and not in the fun way. After staring at my ceiling, I used my anxiety-driven insomnia to good use: I cleaned the apartment, drafted some lesson plans, and took some online surveys that paid twenty-five bucks. Twenty-five bucks closer to Rome. I put my sleeplessness to use.

Whatever exhaustion lurked within me was tamped down with coffee and a nervous stomach. I’d never been to one of these hearings. I didn’t know what to expect.

The hearing happened first thing in the morning. Aguilar had a sub cover my class.

“Are you nervous?” he asked me as we walked down the empty hall to his office. I was literally going to the principal’s office. I was never the kid who was sent to the principal’s office.

Yes, I was nervous.

“Do you think I did the wrong thing?” I asked him.

“Not at all. But unfortunately, it’s been moved above my pay grade.”

The school district’s three-person discipline panel board would decide Tommy’s fate, and luck was on the kid’s side.

I was reading online last night (or was it this morning? Time blurred together when one did not sleep.), and one of the school board members used to coach basketball. Another one played football for South Rock in the eighties.

It was the lowly history teacher up against the kings of the jocks.

“The worst that happens is you reverse your grade for Tommy, and he plays out the rest of the season.” Aguilar shrugged as he opened the glass door to the main office.

It didn’t sound so bad, but it was the principle of the thing. Also, I wasn’t a confrontational person. I was ridiculously outside my comfort zone. Tommy didn’t deserve to be rewarded for cheating. I didn’t deserve to be penalized for upholding a zero tolerance policy.

“Oh, I forgot to ask, but did you and Hutch wipe down his desk from the other day?” Aguilar, with impeccably terrible timing, asked before opening his office door.

“What?”

“This probably isn’t the best time. We can table that for later. No pun intended. Get it? Table, desk.”

I didn’t have the energy to humor him with a laugh. The man had really, really bad timing.

He motioned for me to go in first. Chairs were set up in his office for all the new people here. Aguilar’s office was surprisingly spacious.

Three school board members, all men and all in brown suits, sat behind Aguilar’s desk. They had gold name plates. Mr. Grenier, Mr. Camp, and Mr. Howard. Three men who looked like the human versions of the curmudgeonly Muppets who heckled Kermit.

On the other side were two groupings of chairs. One was taken up by Tommy, his parents, and a woman in a sharp blazer. The other was for me. His parents had the outfits of well-to-do people, and their stares told me they were having none of my teacher bullshit. The woman in a power blazer had on a poker face. Was she secretly on my side?

“Who’s that woman?” I asked Aguilar.

“Their lawyer.”

They lawyered up? Did I need one? My legal experience stopped and ended with repeat viewings ofErin Brockovich. I suddenly had the feeling I’d brought a rubber chicken to a gunfight.

Tommy played innocent well. He looked like a totally different student in his tie and button-down shirt, as opposed to the grungy clothes he usually wore.

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