I hate children, I hate children, I hate children.
Now why did I decide to be a teacher?
Oh, yeah. I wasn't doing any money as a writer.
So now I have to put up with dozens of preteens, screaming in my ear, running around a school bus on our way to the museum.
Kill me.
'How you doing over there, buddy?' Mrs. Chandler says to me. She's the other teacher in charge of this field trip. She used to be my teacher, too. That's how old she is. So us chaperoning this trip together is weird, especially when she keeps talking to me as if I'm one of the students.
'I'm good,' I reply, despite looking like shit. I barely slept last night because I was writing. Or more like, I tried writing, but I was on my phone, and playing with my dog. 'So, is it always like this?' I ask her.
She just laughs. Is she laughing at me?
I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I shouldn't be planning on murdering children, and hope we get to the museum, soon.
***
The Monroeville Museum of Art.
I've only been here a couple times in my whole life, the last time being when I was these kids' age, so I don't remember any of it. But I'm their history teacher, and Mrs. Chandler signed me up for this trip, so I had no choice.
'Hey - you - ' I still don't know how to be a professional and keep wanting to call them motherfucker, or assholes ever since I started teaching, so I have to bite my tongue every time. 'Listen to me, if one of you doesn't behave we're all going to return to the school, and I'll make sure you never go on a field trip again in your lifetime.' At least they're afraid of me. Mrs. Chandler reads them the rules again, and tells them to form a line to get off the bus. 'Remember guys,' I tell them as we start to walk in. 'You break it, you pay it. And it ain't cheap.'
Since this is my first field trip as a teacher, Mrs. Chandler is in charge of checking in with the museum staff, while I hand out brochures to the kids.
The first floor is all about Modern Art, so Mrs. Chandler, being the art teacher in this equation, is in charge of the students, while I stay a little behind, making sure no one wanders around.
I'm not a huge fan of art, other than written and music, so I'm starting to get bored back here. I take a seat in the main hallway, and check my phone. Dry as usual, but it'd would be really irresponsible of me to start playing games. Of course, I'm playing Sudoku on the job.
Until I notice two people standing not so far away from where I'm sitting, talking about – I don't know what they're talking about. But the guy talking catches my attention. He's wearing a gray sweatshirt and has long hair and beard, and yet manages to look gorgeous as hell. Okay, maybe it's just the sunlight coming in this way and making everything look beautiful. But no, he absolutely is.
Shit, I looked for too long.
I'm back on my phone, when I finally see Mrs. Chandler coming this way. That means we're heading to the Egypt exhibition, so that's my cue. 'C'mon this way,' I tell the kids, and lead them to the main exhibition room at the end of the hallway. We walk by where the man in the hoodie is, and either I'm hallucinating, or he smirks at me. I do a double take and turn around, and he winks at me. Fuck. Control yourself!
I somehow manage to focus on my job, and give my students a history lesson without thinking about that gorgeous man, and I don't know if it's the coffee, or the wink that put me in a good mood but I don't feel like yelling at them for once.
Before we head to the second floor, Mrs. Chandler says it's time for lunch, so we all head out to the cafeteria in the main area. I help her sort the cheap sandwiches and juice among the students, and then go get another coffee myself. When I'm about to pay, someone approaches the cashier lady, and tells her not to worry. 'Put it on my tab, Eleanor. It's on me.' And oh surprise, it's the gorgeous man in the gray hoodie. Except now, he's wearing even more layers and scarfs, and a beanie, and he looks so huggable. 'Hey, there,' he says to me, and I'm still a little confused. I'm just lucky there's a wall that separates the café area from the main cafeteria because I don't want my students seeing this.
'Thank you. You didn't have to do this,' is all I manage to say.
'I know. But it was the only way I could think of saying something.' He gets himself a hazelnut latte, just like mine. 'I saw you looking earlier.'
Fuck. I was way too obvious.
'Nothing wrong.' There's silence and he leads me to a table nearby. 'I'm Gerard, by the way. I work here at the museum.'
'I'm Frank,' I say shaking his hand. Is he like trying to offer me a job or what is happening?
'You're a teacher?'
I nod. 'History teacher.'
'You seem to be having a lot of fun, huh?'
'Is it that obvious?'
He nods, and starts to lean in, and before I know it, his lips are on mine, his beard scratching the corner of my mouth. Fuck, I love this too much. He tastes like hazelnut coffee, obviously, and that makes everything even better. 'Just thought I'd get it over with,' he says.
And I know this is too forward, but fuck I need it. And he already slipped his tongue in my mouth five minutes after introducing himself, so what the hell? It's not like we're ever gonna see each other again. And my students – and former teacher and coworker – are standing merely feet away. But I just need ten minutes. I think I deserve it. 'Where's the bathroom?' I ask.
He points to his left, so I get up and pull him by the arm, but he pulls me the other way around, straight through a door that says Employees Only. There's a long hallway and we go through another door that reads Employee's Restroom. It's a single one, so we're not risking anyone coming in. 'I just wanna say,' I tell him, his hands already on my hips, pulling me in. 'I don't do this often. Or more like – never.'
'Me neither.' And still, he pushes me to the wall, as his tongue literally attacks me, which I welcome with a gasp. I help him take off his many layers, while he unzips my jeans. It all happens too fast. His hands are under my shirt one second, and the next, he's on his knees, with my dick in his mouth. And honestly, I couldn't care less if he does this often or not, all I care I how he's doing it to me. I throw away his beanie, and pull his hair, while he's down there, and I hear him moan.
This is more fun than I thought.
When I finally come – it doesn't take long –, he kisses the rest of my body, and though I'd love to reciprocate, I realize I've been away for too long. 'I gotta go,' I say, putting on my clothes, and helping him with his. 'I'm sorry. Mrs. Chandler must be worried about my whereabouts. I don't want to get in trouble.'
'I understand,' he says, and then kisses me.
'Thanks – for everything.' I can't help smiling, for real. I've never done anything this adventurous in my whole life. I know, that's lame, I know, but I didn't come out until later in my life, and I'm not the kind of person who has one-night stands. So I liked this.
He leads me back to the cafeteria, and before I join them, he calls me. 'You forgot your coffee.' And hands it to me with a wink.
'Where were you?' Mrs. Chandler asks me.
'Sorry. I ran into an old friend while getting coffee, and we were talking. I lost track of time.' I just hope my hair isn't messy enough to give me away.
I then take a sip of coffee - hazelnut lattes will now have a different meaning for me - and notice a scribble on my paper cup. A phone number, and it's signed. Gerard :)
I smile so big, I'm sure Mrs. Chandler and Jackie Martinez, the girl sitting next to me, notice.
Soon after, we go upstairs and I do my best to remain calm and not get excited because I just got a guy's number.
An hour or two later, we're getting on the bus. I made it without killing any of my students, I think I can call that an achievement. I count them again, to make sure everyone's here, and just as I'm going back to my seat, I hear one of them calling me. 'Mr. Iero!' It's Jackie. She barely talks, so I'm surprised she has a question. 'Your friend is out there.' I turn to my right, and see Gerard waving from the sidewalk, smiling at me.
I wave back, and as the engine starts, they all yell, 'Bye, Mr. Iero's boyfriend!'