Second Time Around

Chapter One

The traffic sucked. Well, it always sucked, but today, it sucked worse than usual. Kelly Adams swallowed her rising curse as she leaned her head back against the headrest and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. At the rate she was going, she was going to be late for homeroom.

That made her smile. Late for homeroom. It was the first time in twenty-five years she worried about that. Not to mention it was the first time in just as long since she last set foot in Brunswick High. And as she eased her Jeep into one of the last available parking spaces, she breathed a sigh of relief. Fifteen minutes to spare.

The high school was three times the size it was when she attended that quarter of a century ago and as she stared up at it, her stomach did a slow flip. No wonder Alyssa had been so nervous about starting here. If she got lost, it might be days before anyone found her.

She sighed as she eased the keys from the ignition and climbed out of the Jeep. There was a sea of parents all making their way inside, so she just joined the flow and found her way to Alyssa's homeroom.

It was so weird, being back at her old alma mater. All of the teachers looked so young. And as much as the school had changed, parts of it were still very much the same and Kelly never expected the nostalgia to be as powerful as it was. She'd enjoyed high school, still kept in touch with quite a few of the people she'd graduated with. Facebook was a wonderful thing.

Back to School night was one of the nights she dreaded. Crowds were never her thing and there were well over two thousand kids going to Brunswick High, so this was beyond a crowd. By the time she got to Alyssa's homeroom, she was actually sweating.

From homeroom, it was on to following Alyssa's schedule, where she spent ten minutes listening to each teacher explain their plan for the year. She felt older by the class, especially when one told them she was only six years out of high school herself.

Finally, it was the end of the night and she managed to find her way to the gym, where she had to sit through one more presentation. But as she settled in the bleachers, she smiled. There was one face that was familiar and one that brought her back to 1988, when she was a junior and Tony Marino was a new teacher fresh out of college.

For a minute, she was transported back to those days, when her hair was huge and school was a place to hang out with her friends. Every girl at Brunswick had a crush on Mr. Marino and she was no exception. He had dark hair, dark eyes, was incredibly hot, and she distinctly remembered the day she made him blush when she asked to go to the nurse because of cramps. His olive skin took on a deep flush as he grinned and said, "I don't know how you girls deal with that every month. Go."

Well, he looked a lot more self-assured now, as he stood chatting with the other phys ed teachers. They were all dressed for the summer-like weather in shorts and Vikings tee shirts, but he was in dark gray trousers and a black button down shirt. He was a little stockier than he'd been back then, and his hair was more silver than dark now, but other than that, he looked very much the same.

The bell rang and the teachers spread out to talk to the various grade levels. Kelly bit back her smile as Mr. Marino approached the freshman section. She lost half of what he said, as the heat and a long day meant her mind went for a stroll down memory lane.

When the bell rang again, it jolted her back to the present and she gathered up her purse, the various papers and handouts given by the other teachers, and her keys, and stood to traipse down the bleacher steps to the parquet floor.

As she went to step down, someone jostled her from behind, knocking everything from her hands and she twisted her ankle as she missed the bottom step. Heat surged through her as she sprawled facedown on the floor with a very undignified, "Ooof!"