Class is Now in Session

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The whole next week of work was pretty entertaining. I taught the class a little about rock history and some of the bands that helped start it and carry it to the next level. I also scheduled a quiz for the next week. When I announced it, I was greeted by a wave of groans.

"Oh come on, you guys REALLY thought I'd go the whole year without giving a quiz or a test?" I asked laughingly.
"Yeah, we kinda did think that," Charles replied. I call him Charlie now, though.
"Well, calm down, the quiz won't be all that tough," I explained. "It's just gonna be some simple, basic stuff that we've covered so far."
"How many questions?" Cynthia asked.
"Not sure yet. Maybe twenty, twenty-five or so."
"What day is it gonna be?" Vera added.
"I don't have a set date yet, but just expect it some time next week." I paused for a second, waiting for another question. "So there are no more questions about the quiz?" A few scattered "no's" were what answered me. "Okay then, I think we've talked about everything I wanted to cover today, and we still have fifteen minutes of class left. So, just hang out, relax, talk amongst yourselves." I went and sat back down behind my desk. As soon as I sat down, Cynthia stood up and walked up to my desk.

"Ms. Ericson?"
"Hm? Yeah, hun, what is it?"
"Um, I was just wondering if you gave my note to your friend, Mike," she said nervously. I smiled in spite of myself. "Yeah, I gave it to him." Cynthia waited for more. "And he told me that he really thought it was pretty cool. He loves hearing from fans. They all do."
"Really?" she asked in a disbelieving, yet somewhat awestruck tone.
"Oh yeah, they always take time to talk to their fans."
"Then, um, d-do you think that I could, maybe, t-talk to him again?" she stammered. "Or any of them, I guess."
"I guess you could. They're gonna be here a little while longer," I said, a little taken aback by her request. "But let me run it by them first so you don't get in trouble or anything," I added, so as not to give students an open invitation to my house. But I doubt that any of them actually know exactly where I live.
"You'd do that?" Cynthia asked, a tad bit shocked.
"Sure I would."
"Thanks Ms. Ericson!" I could tell Cynthia was trying very hard not to yell.
"No problem," I laughed. "Now, anything else you wanna know before class is over?"
"Um, well, me and some of the others have been wondering how you met the guys," she said, cocking her eyebrows.
"Oh, it's kind of a long story, so I think that tomorrow I'll tell it to you guys."
"Okay, cool. Thanks again." Cynthia went back to sit and chat with her friends for the remainder of the period. I was glad that the kids were asking me questions. It showed some ever-growing interest in the subject.

"Hey Mike, can I ask you something?" I found him lounging around when I got home from work.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, you know Cynthia? The girl in my class who wrote you the letter?"
"Yeah. What about her?"
"She wants to talk to you."
"Really?" he laughed, sitting up on the couch.
"Really. She asked me today when class was over," I explained, sitting down next to him.
"And what did you tell her?"
"I told her that I guess she could but I'd have to check with you first."
"Well, I don't care, I wouldn't mind talking to her," he said with a nod.
"Cool, then can I tell her tomorrow?"
"Whatever you want." He let his head fall back on the couch. I stayed quiet for a second, then said, "Hey, where are the two trouble-makers? Usually they would've been in here by now."
"Last I saw them, they were running around your backyard."
I paused for a moment. "And what were they doing?"
"I didn't want to ask," he answered with a small laugh.
"I'm gonna go see where they are," I said, standing up and walking towards the back door. I looked outside and didn't see anybody, but I opened the door so I could go out and search anyway. I was about two steps out the door when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side. I jerked my head around to look at who it was. Lucy was standing there with a weird look on her face.

"Shit Lucy, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, trying to calm down from the sudden shock.
"How long?" she said simply.
"How long what?"
"How long has it been going on?"
"Has what been going on?" I asked, still not entirely sure what she meant.
"How long have you and Tre' been together?" She crossed her arms and stared me hard in the face. I was trying to erase any type of emotion from my face.
"We're not together," I told her, trying my best to sound confident.
"Then why the hell were you two making out with each other on Halloween?" she said, keeping her voice at a whisper.
"I have no idea what you're talking about Lucy." I turned my back to her and walked over to a lawn chair.
"Don't give me that shit, Carrie, I saw you guys on Friday." I could feel her standing behind me. I didn't like keeping things from Lucy. I knew she would never keep anything like this from me.
"Alright, alright, I give up, I'll tell you." And I did. I told her everything. I told her what was going on, how I felt, what I thought would happen if anyone found out. Lucy just sat and listened intently. When I was finished, Lucy took a deep breath and just stared at me. "Damn, Carrie, two guys at once? You're such a player." We both got a laugh out of that. "But seriously, don't you think you should break up with Tim if you're really serious about Tre'?"
"I don't know, Luce. If I break up with Tim, things could get complicated and then there would be questions as to why we broke up. And that would just make the current situation even harder to hide." I was so confused.
"Carrie, I think you should tell the guys about you two," Lucy told me.
"No! I can't do that, Lucy, not yet. Please don't tell them," I replied, my eyes growing wide.
"Fine, I won't tell them. But you're going to have to eventually," Lucy agreed.
"I know, but I'm not ready yet," I said, looking down at my shoes. "Lucy, what should I do?" Lucy thought for a moment, then said, "Carrie, if you really love Tre', you'll know what you have to do. You're a smart chick, I'm sure you can figure it out." She got up to leave. As she was walking through the back gate, I called out, "Hey Lucy, how DID you find out anyway?"
She smirked and said, "I was a little ways down the block when I realized I'd left my necklace at your house. I saw Billie on the front step and I told him what I needed. He said that it was late and that I should go home and he'd drop it off the next day. When I was walking back to my car, I saw you guys through the window...but I don't think Billie did." And she left.

Later that night, I managed to get Tre' alone so I could talk to him.
"Tre', we need to talk," I said, taking him into my room when the coast was clear.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"It's not what you did, it's who saw it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Tre', this isn't our secret anymore." My hands were shaking a little and I felt like I needed to sit down.
"Calm down, Carrie, and tell me what you mean," Tre' said as he took my hands. He looked me straight in the eyes. "You can tell me anything. I love you."
"Tre'...," it was so hard to say it. "Tre'..."
"Tell me Carrie, please."
"Tre'...Lucy knows about us!"