But as students filed in, chattering and laughing, Rachel couldn't quite shake the melancholy that had settled over her. Jack was out-processing and making decisions about his future that would determine where he would go to live, possibly to disappear back to the other side of the country. After all, he’d spent the past ten years based out of California. He probably felt like a West Coaster by now.
She pulled up her lesson plan and called the class to attention. “All right, everyone. Today, we're going to talk about the power of setting in storytelling. How the places we choose to anchor our stories can reflect the internal landscapes of our characters.”
As she talked, gesturing to examples on the board, part of her mind wandered to her own internal landscape. To the tiny Pennsylvania community that had shaped her childhood and early adolescence. To the bay that had been her sanctuary since she was fourteen. To the town that had become home. To the school where she'd found her purpose.
And to the man who'd been her first love, her first heartbreak, her first everything.
Rachel pushed the thoughts aside and focused on her students, on their eager faces and thoughtful questions. This was her life now. Teaching. Friends. David's patient affection. It was a good life. A full life. But not the life she’d once dreamed of.
12
Carson Hudson
Carson sat with his friend Ben on the bleachers near the practice field, waiting for their turn in the batting cage. It was one of those rare breaks in JV practice where the head coach was late, leaving the rest of them to warm up on their own.
Robbie dropped down beside them, his usual goofy grin not plastered across his face. Instead, something in his expression made Carson look at him a little closer.
“Man,” Robbie said, glancing around to make sure no one else was within earshot, “I gotta tell you guys something.”
Ben straightened up. “What?”
Robbie leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You know that stupid freshman stunt they made us do? The one where I had to hide in a locker in the boys’ locker room for fifteen minutes?”
Carson nodded. He'd drawn a different stunt where he had to carry the coach's equipment bag for a week. But he knew all the freshmen had been assigned something silly, and while none were harmful to themselves or others, they had the right to refuse to participate if they wanted.
“I saw something,” Robbie continued. His face scrunched, his expression uneasy. “And I don't know what to do about it.”
“What did you see?” Carson asked, his stomach already tightening with a bad feeling. Robbie was usually fun-loving and rarely serious about anything. To see him concerned was unsettling.
Robbie glanced around again, then started talking. He described wedging himself into the locker. “Fuck, those things are narrow. And the smell of old gym socks and jock straps made me gag. But I had the timer on my phone and wasn’t spending one second beyond my fifteen minutes stuck in there.” He lowered his voice. “The little slits in the locker let me breathe but cut my view down. I could hardly see anything.”
“What happened?” Ben asked.
Robbie leaned closer. “I saw a varsity wrestler sit down on the bench. Couldn’t see him, but I could tell by his shoes.”
A bead of sweat dripped down Robbie’s face, and he swiped at it with his sleeve. “A guy walked over. Not a kid… his voice sounded like an adult. But he had his hoodie up with his back to me the whole time.”
Carson's pulse kicked up. “What did they do?”
“The guy handed the wrestler something.” Robbie's voice dropped even lower. “And the wrestler asked if they were supplements. The guy said, yeah, that they'd improve his performance and that they were perfectly legal. But he also said to keep quiet because not everyone would get them. Only the ones who could take them to state.”
Ben's eyes widened. “What else did they say?”
Robbie continued, describing how the student must have been nervous because he dropped the pills. “Nothing… I mean, he just gave them to the wrestler.”
Carson felt cold settling in his stomach. This didn't sound right. None of it sounded right. “You didn’t recognize either of them?”
“No. I couldn't see faces. I was too scared to be caught in the fucking locker.” Robbie looked between Carson and Ben, his expression troubled. “It's probably nothing, right? The guy said they were supplements. Said they were legal.”
But Carson could hear the doubt in Robbie's voice. Could see it in the way his hands fidgeted with his glove.
“Are you worried?” Carson asked.
Robbie was quiet for a moment. “It's been bothering me. Like, if it was really supplements and everything was legal, why all the secrecy? Why the 'keep your mouth shut' stuff?”
“That's a good question,” Ben said.
“But you guys can't tell anyone,” Robbie said quickly, his voice rising slightly with panic. “Seriously. I don't want anyone knowing it was me who saw this. What if I'm wrong? What if it really was just vitamins or whatever? I'd look like an idiot. Or worse, I'd get labeled a snitch.”