During the summer months, it was easy for a single teacher's house to transition from a comforting retreat into a self-imposed prison. On the weekends, I still got out to see my friends, and otherwise there was the occasional errand to run, but as time passed, time increasingly lost meaning. Grocery shopping was as likely to happen at 3 AM as it was during daylight hours. It was liberating, in a sense, but simultaneously disorienting. One year I had managed to land a summer school position to help keep me grounded, but the others, I had needed to adapt on my own. One of those adaptations had been Baxton Park. It was a decently sized public park, mostly a softball field and open grass but with a few pavilions and a wooded area at the east end. Squirrels and birds were in abundance, along with the occasional sighting of a raccoon or a hawk. One day, simply to be out of the house for a while, I took my lunch there and ate it sitting on a small grassy hill overlooking the field, leaning
Come on, come on, pick up pick up pick up! "Hello?" "Candace! Oh thank-" "What in the name of all that's unholy are you calling me for at this hour, Canon?" "Look, I know it's late, I'm sorry, but-" "Late? Christ, it's after two! You have some nerve." "I really am sorry, I swear. Now just shut up and listen to me - there isn't much-" "Did you tell me to shut up? Don't youdare tell me what to do, buster! After what you pulled, you're lucky you aren't on your way to prison. Believe me, if we could have found a way, you would be." "Yes, you made that very clear earlier, and I didn't mean to be rude, but please if you'll hear me out for just a-" "Great, now you woke Isa." Her voice through the phone was suddenly muffled. "No, mama, it's that asshole again... Idid have it on vibrate, but he must have called a hundred times... We can't tell him to go fuck himself, because he might actually try to do it... I know you meant it metaphorically-" "Figuratively," I mumbled. " -but mayb
Candy returned. "We're handling this. You stay wherever the fuck you are, hear me? So help me, if you already found a way to slither out of this, I won't be able to rein Isa in next time. I don't think I'd even try." "Paranoid much? God, Candace, I... ya know, fine. I won't call again, but keep me in the loop, OK? I'm halfway to shitting myself over this. Promise me you'll tell me once everything is under control." "We're going to get them back under theirown control, Canon. Don't you worry." "I don't care about any of that any more. I just don't want anyone to... crap, I'm repeating myself. Let me know? And... you know. You two be careful too." "Yeah." The phone went dead. Minutes passed like hours. Candy had said don't call, but she hadn't said don't text. I could still do that without letting her know her plan had failed as badly as mine. I know you said not to call, but... anything yet? Don't be a little bitch. Candace is seeing if they're parked on the street. Might be l
The eye roll redirected to Isa. Seriously? Like lashing out at LGBTQ people only hurt the bullies doing so? Good grief. I'd seen her talk students down in school more than once before. Hell, she'd been the one to pacify Taylor over the whole chapstick incident! Oh, well. It was two in the morning, and she had two armed and malicious students in her home. I supposed it was reasonable she wasn't at her best. Abbie and Taylor continued to banter with Isa. Meanwhile, my phone notified me Candy was typing, and a few moments later, I got a response. I think it's working. Fuck. Abbie brought a bat. Taylor a knife as big as my arm! They set them down now. Tasey Mae is back in her holster too. Tasey Mae? Good god, they'd given it a nickname? Isa resumed her efforts to get to the heart of the matter. "Look, nobody is judging you for anything that's happened these past couple weeks. I checked this stuff out with the help of professionals, and you wouldn't believe what's in it." (This stuff,
"Yep. I figured they were good at being scary as hell, while you're good at being sweet and lovable, so I let you all do what you do best. Meanwhile, I kept the line open with... her," I pointed to Candy, not wanting to use her name and snap her out of her stupor. "I knew they'd want to 'fix' you like they tried to fix me, so I just waited until I was sure the Serenex was in the open and you had Isa's attention, and then... I told her about my plan." "Dumb fucking cunt never saw it coming." Abbie drew up in Candy's face and laughed mockingly. "Oh, they did at first. The good officer was watching her phone - she knew not to trust your coach around me. I worried she might be smart enough to suspect that angle. But I also knew if you came in here armed and dangerous, the officer would be the one dealing with you." Abbie eyed at the weapon at her sister's feet warily. "I seriously thought she was gonna tase us for a sec there, C-dawg." "I would've for real knifed that bitch. Fuckin' t
The girls quibbled back and forth, though anyone watching could tell they were all waiting for me to say something. Let them wait. We had hours - all day, if we felt like giving them another spritz or two - and it would only take moments to do the job. The hundred copies method had been an amusing foray into the allure of abusing teacher-student power dynamics, but it had also been childish and unnecessary. No, I would do this right, and only do this when I knew what "right" meant. "We do... as little as possible," I announced at last. Their conversation ended immediately. "What?!" the Sterns demanded in concert. Even Cassie looked surprised. Abbie scowled through the wall at the two women. "We cannot leave these two backstabbers to do it again. You fucking know they will!" I held out my hand cautioningly. "I'm not saying we do nothing. We protect ourselves, yes. Keep them from interfering with us, let us go about our affairs without any more shenanigans. But we're not giving in to
"Abbie, please. Let's talk about this. I want to hear what you're feeling, OK? Just don't do anything rash. That's how we all got into this mess in the first place." "No, this is how we got into this mess in the first place," she said, snatching the canister from my hand. She raised the nozzle and pointed it at my face. The girl was going to dose me, then march into the kitchen and do god only knew what to Candy and Isa. So much for my troubles being over. My mind was frantically exploring options, but my planning hadn't covered this contingency. There was only one thing left to do. I opened my mouth wide. Damnit all to hell if it didn't taste even worse the second time around. The room was bright with sunlight when I woke up the next morning. Shit, was it the next morning?! I scrambled, looking around for my phone. There it was in its usual place on the nightstand, reassuring me that it was shortly before noon on Sunday. It had been nine hours or so since I had let Abbie dose me
By early evening, the kids had moved inside. Probably drinking, or worse. Though again, nothing I could do about it. By nightfall, they were starting to disperse; every time I looked out the front window, there were fewer and fewer cars parked along the street. I was increasingly surprised Megan hadn't come back yet, but then she texted me to let me know her mom needed a little extra help, and would it be OK if I could give her an extra day. Oh, and keep an eye on Cassie for her. We'd partaken in an orgy not forty-eight hours ago, and here was this woman charging me babysitting her daughter when she knew I was fucking her. My balls were turning brighter and brighter blue. Something else that could be laid in large part and Isa and Candy's feet. Wherever they were, I hoped Abbie and Candy hadn't heeded my counsel too closely. At last, a little after nine, the only car left was the Sterns'. I let myself in. Cassie was in the midst of cleaning up; Abbie and Taylor were on separate cou