“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
~Friedrich Nietzsche
“There’s no logic in love, but sometimes the chaos just makes sense.”
~Julius Shepherd
The anticipation and excitement of seeing Rome again was greater than I had ever experienced before in my life which felt both strange and right at the same time. I thought it was odd I was more antsy over a simple lunch date than I was during my first solo cello performance as a kid or the first time I stood in front of a class of high school kids as their teacher. Those were moments when things could either go really good or really bad for me, and my blossoming relationship with Rome was no different. There was no way to know things wouldn’t blow up in my face, but it just felt right. I couldn’t turn back now if someone offered me money.
I gave myself a mental shake to get my head back in my classroom where it belonged. There was no room for that kind of distraction, any distraction, with twenty-five kids needing my best. I had exciting news to share with the class, and that’s where my focus was required.
“I have a special announcement to make,” I said. The students looked up from the homework assignments they’d already started. “Have any of you ever heard of the Ohio Science Olympiad hosted at The Ohio State University in August of each year?” A few students nodded but most shook their head. “It’s the state’s premier science competition that allows us to show what skills Blissville is teaching in science, technology, engineering, and math. I can only take fifteen students, and there will be twenty-three events we can compete in. I’ve coached teams in a similar competition in Philadelphia, so I’m familiar with the structure and rules. The maximum number of seniors I can take for our division is five, and I must pick the remaining members from the other three classes. Because this contest won’t be held until the next school year, this year’s seniors aren’t eligible. I truly wish I started teaching here a year earlier because you are some of the brightest, inquisitive minds I’ve taught.”
“That is a bummer,” Clara said. “I would’ve loved to compete in the Science Olympiad.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, and I wouldn’t have brought it up, but there aren’t just seniors in this class.” My classes had a mixture of seniors, juniors, sophomores, and a few freshmen.
“I hope there is more interest than there are slots because it shows how much you all love science and math. I’m going to pass around a clipboard with a signup sheet. Once I know how many people are interested, I will form a game plan.”
“Does that mean you’re going to have some kind of competition and the winners make the team?” Mark Vaughn asked.
“That’s the only fair way to do it,” I told him. “The contest will be threefold. You will submit a concept for approval; once approved, you will document the building of your project with detailed notes, photos, or videos; and the final phase will be the demonstration. I must complete the paperwork in November if we’re to take a team to the competition in August.”
“That’s a lot of planning,” Bobby said from the back row. “This must be a big deal.”
“OSU is a highly respected school in the fields of science, medicine, and engineering, Bobby. Placing well at this competition will look amazing on college applications.”
“I bet,” he replied.
“As you can imagine, this won’t be cheap, so we will try to offset some of the cost by hosting fundraisers throughout the year.”
“Not more cookie dough,” one of the boys in the far-right corner said.
“No, I thought we’d try to do something a little more entertaining, but I’m going to need school board approval.” Clara perked up in her seat, eager to help. “I will take this to the board on my own.”
“Fair enough, Mr. S.”
“I’m going to pass this clipboard around, and the only thing you’re indicating today is if you’re interested in being on the team. I will put together a packet of information to share with your parents which will include dates, costs, and the things required of you and therefore them.”
I started with the table on the far left and handed the clipboard to Mark, who eagerly wrote in his name before handing it to his partner, Daniel. I knew the boys were an inseparable duo and did almost everything together, so I wasn’t surprised when Daniel wrote his name down too before passing it to the table behind them.
I returned to my desk and started looking over the notes I’d made about the competition and ways to defer cost so the parents wouldn’t be facing a steep fee. I looked up when Bobby set the clipboard on my desk.
“Here you go, Mr. S.”
“Thanks, Bobby.”
I glanced over the list and saw every eligible student had declared their interest just like the four classes before them had. I was deliriously happy to see so many kids sign up, but that meant I was going to face a hard task of eliminating some of them. I realized it was something I couldn’t do alone and decided to ask my fellow science teachers if they wanted to help choose and coach the team.
When the bell rang, the students were quick to their feet and shuffled out the door. My pulse leapt because I knew Rome would be waiting in the hallway to enter my room. He stepped inside as soon as the last kid walked through the door. I rose to my feet, unable to stay still. My hands were suddenly damp and nervous energy buzzed through my body until he smiled at me. Then all the noise and chaos went away until it was the two of us alone in my room.
“Hi,” I said lamely.
“Hello.”
“Um,” I said, looking around. “Do you want to eat at one of the tables or scoot a chair over and eat across the desk from me?”
“We should probably keep the desk between us, Jules.” The deep timbre of his voice made me shiver. I nodded because the things I wanted to do weren’t appropriate for my classroom. “I didn’t know what kind of beverage you wanted, so I bought white, chocolate, and strawberry milk and an apple juice.”
“Do I see cookies on the trays?” I asked.
Rome nodded. “Snickerdoodles.”
“Those are my favorite,” I said, eyeing them appreciatively. I could tell Rome was filing the information away for future use. “What are your favorite cookies?”
“Oatmeal raisin,” he replied, setting the trays on my desk then walking over to snag a chair from the closest table. “Everyone else hates them, but I love them. My aunt Astrid made the best.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Not a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, huh?”
“It’s one of the few times I’m in the majority,” I quipped. “Why does my portion of macaroni and cheese look so much bigger than yours?”
“I had Stella give you a little extra since you’re such a big fan.”
I chose the strawberry milk, making Rome smile. “Some things just bring out the kid in me.”
“Nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and strawberry milk do that to you, huh?”
“Snickerdoodles too. They’re my mom’s specialty. All the other kids wanted chocolate this and chocolate that, but I just wanted Mama’s snickerdoodles.”
“So, I have some news to share with you, and it’s not necessarily good news.” Rome’s words made my heart sink, and it must’ve been written all over my face. “I think everything is going to work out, but since you’re involved, it’s only fair that you hear this from me and not through the rumor mill.”
I set my fork down and forgot all about the cheesy pasta I loved so much. “Go ahead.” My voice sounded dry and brittle.
“Oh no,” Rome said, reaching across the desk to cover my hands. “This isn’t about us, Jules. Some local bigot started a petition to have our school play canceled. I think the petition is virtually bogus based on what Priscilla and Sandra have found so far when looking at the names on it.”
“Oh wow,” I said, feeling relieved his news wasn’t about us personally…this time. “You’re not that worried about it?”
“I was meeting with the entire board this morning which was why I wasn’t in my office when you stopped by. Thank you again for my flowers and breakfast, by the way. Your thoughtfulness made my day. Anyway, the board is committed to seeing the play through, but they feel like they at least need to hold a special public meeting on Friday. Cait said they’ll allow this Roy Halifax an opportunity to speak, and I suspect she’ll ask for a rebuttal from someone who supports the play. The board will then have a public vote that same night.”
“You don’t think anyone on the board will waver under pressure? How many people signed the petition?”
“Seven hundred and fifty,” Rome said. “Priscilla and Sandra have been matching the names up to the high school roster, and so far, more than seventy percent of the names they’ve checked aren’t valid. Some are even dead. Priscilla is having a field day with this one.”
“You sound pretty confident,” I said, smiling at him.
“I have to be because telling those kids we can’t produce their play isn’t a conversation I want to have with them.”
“Nor do I.” I decided to adopt Rome’s positive approach because focusing on negative energy never had a good outcome. I tucked into my lunch because my break wasn’t that long, and I’d only have time for a quick snack after school before we climbed on the bus to head to our next tennis match. “Thank you for lunch,” I finally remembered to say.
“My pleasure,” Rome said, but I could tell by his voice he was distracted. I looked up and saw that a furrowed brow marred his handsome face.
“What’s wrong?”
“What?” he asked, looking up to meet my gaze. “Nothing really. I was just thinking.”
“About?” I prompted.
“The conclusions you jumped to when I told you I had news to share. You assumed the bad news was about us. I never thought to ask if you wanted to keep our relationship a secret. I mean, I would understand if you did, but wondered what that would entail. Would you want to go out of town for all our dates, and would it mean that we never slept over at each other’s places? I would try if it made you happy, but…”
I reached across the desk and cover his hands. “I would never ask that of you, Rome. What we do off school grounds is our business. I wouldn’t have started this with you if I wasn’t brave enough to see it through. Leave town for dates,” I grumbled. I released his hand and picked up my fork again. “I have every intention of learning what color sheets you keep on your bed,” I whispered.
“I could just tell you that,” he suggested with a wry smile.
“I want to feel them against my bare skin,” I countered.
He swallowed hard, and his light blue eyes practically glowed with hunger. “Change of subject. Quick.” I loved that I could affect him so much.
A knock sounded on the doorframe and I glanced up to see Clara, Ellie, and Curtis peeking in the room. I could tell by the dejected look on their faces they too had heard the news.
“We’re sorry to disturb your lunch,” Ellie said, looking between Rome and me.
“We can come back another time,” Curtis suggested, wrapping his hands around Clara’s and Ellie’s biceps.
“It’s okay,” I said, waving them in. “I’ve done enough damage to my mac and cheese.”
The trio entered the room and approached my desk.
“We’ve heard our play is going to get canceled. Is that true?” Clara asked. I was surprised her mother hadn’t told her, but maybe she wanted to wait until she had more facts.
“That’s not true,” Rome said. “A petition was presented to the board requesting they cancel the play.”
“But they’re not going to, right?” Ellie asked. “We already got the play approved by them. They all read the play before they took a vote.”
“They’re going to have a public meeting to discuss it and then vote to honor their original decision or reverse it.”
“Reverse it?” Curtis asked. “Do you think they will change their minds? Buckle under peer pressure?”
“I don’t,” Rome said. “I met with the board this morning, and a group of us are working on getting our facts straight so we can have an accurate picture of the challenge we’re facing.”
“Damn bigots and homophobes,” Clara said under her breath.
“Let’s not get upset about something that hasn’t happened yet,” I said calmly. “Let us look into it and have faith that things will work out the way we want them to.”
“I’m not so good at placing my faith in other people, Mr. S.,” Clara said.
“You can write your next play about that,” I teased.
“The music will consist of a bunch of whiny violins,” Curtis baited, earning a playful elbow jab from both girls. “Sorry. Bad joke.”
“I want you to do your best and not worry about this. Try being kids for once. I hear it’s a lot of fun,” Rome told them.
“Might I suggest worrying about your tennis matches instead?” I asked Ellie.
“Yes, sir,” she said sheepishly.
“We know how much this play means to you, and I assure you it means a lot to us too,” Rome told them. “I’m going into that special meeting with the belief we’ll be hosting auditions next week as planned.”
“Okay,” Clara said, sounding perkier. “Moping never fixes anything anyway.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “I hate to be rude, but I only have five minutes left with my fella, so do you mind if we talk about this later?”
“Your fella, eh?” Clara asked brightly.
“Awww,” Ellie added.
Curtis snorted, but his smile said he approved of the development. “That was the worst thing to tell them if you expect them to clear out. Come on, ladies.”
“Okay,” Clara and Ellie said, unable to wipe the happy smirks off their faces as they left my classroom.
Rome chuckled. “Well, I guess that punctuates your previous remarks with a resounding exclamation mark. There’s no way everyone in this school building won’t know about our relationship status by the time school is out.”
“And you’re sure it’s not a problem for you?” I asked.
“I’m more than fine with people knowing you’re unavailable.” The bell rang, and Rome slowly stood up. “I wish I could give you a good luck kiss before you get on the bus.”
“Maybe I can stop by your place later after you have your walk with Howie. We should be back by six.”
“You could join us for our walk. I know Howie wouldn’t mind.”
“I’ll call you when I get back in town.”
“Please do,” Rome said. The room would fill with students any second and there I sat staring at his lips, wishing we were alone. “I…um…need to get going. See you tonight.”
“Yo, Mr. S.,” Justin said, walking through the door. “What’s this I hear about a big science contest?”
Rome stood there with the trays in his hand, quirking a brow at me. “I’ll tell you all about it tonight.” He nodded and reluctantly headed for the door.
“Yo?” I asked Justin. “The nineties are calling, and they want their stupid vocabulary back.”
“Is it true about the contest?” he asked.
“I’m going to discuss it in class. Have a seat and be ready to turn in last night’s assignment.”
Justin gave me a mock salute, and I glanced up in time to get a wink from Rome before he walked through the door. I was already counting the minutes before I saw him again.