My boss, the principal of the school, invites me out to the local dance at the fair. It seems to be the thing to do around here. It’s either that, or I stay in, so I decide to go, despite my reluctance. This time, however, I don’t bring my bike. I walk instead.

At night, the wind has started to chill things quite a bit. When I walk, I tread carefully. “Hey!” I hear a deep voice call out. “Hey you!” Apparently, I don’t tread carefully enough because when I turn, I see him. The repair man.

I glance slightly and briefly make eye contact with him, but keep walking. Shit, I think to myself. You’re screwed. You have to face him now. “Hey!” he calls out again.

“Addison?” I turn and fake a smile. Sure, he’s hot and I guess he’s not that bad of a guy. He did say sorry earlier. I just don’t think I’m ready to start mingling with too many people yet. This is my first week in town. I still haven’t even unpacked all my things yet. I’m not about to start dating someone, let alone someone who’s clearly ex-military, or army, or whatever he is.

“Hey, you remembered,” he slowly jogs over. “Headed to the dance?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I purse my lips together awkwardly and put my hands in my pockets to keep from getting too cold.

“Want my gloves?” he asks. “You look a little chilly.”

“I’m good,” I stubbornly say, though I do want those gloves.

“Alright, suit yourself,” he sighs. We walk in silence for a few seconds before he says, “So, are you liking Canton at all?”

“What makes you think I’m not from here?” I ask him, seeing the lights of the carnival in the distance.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “You talk like you’re from the city. I know because I lived there for a good six months.”

“You caught me,” I laugh a little. “Six months? What, you couldn’t take it or something?”

“Nah, I hated it,” he smiles. “It’s a bit too hustle and bustle for me. You have to work your ass off out there. What’s the point in that?”

“Yeah, but there’s things to do on every corner,” I say.

“There’s things to do on every corner here,” he says. “You just can’t see it.”

“Oh, yeah?” I laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he looks offended. In front of us is a patch of ice. “Watch your step,” he mutters.

“Nothing. You’re right, I can’t see it,” I say. “Guess you’ll have to show me, huh?”

At this point in our walk, we’ve reached the foot of the fair. Kids scream on the Zipper ride, families stuff their faces with deep fried goodness, and the feeling of community is all around us. That’s something I really admire about these small towns, and even though I’m not trying to date anyone, I’m starting to think that maybe this is just the custom around here. I need to learn to open up better to people. This isn’t the city. I don’t need to be as closed off and reserved.

“You want me to show you?” he asks. “Really?”

“I’m meeting with my boss right now,” I smile. “But maybe after. You know, if we happen to run into each other.”

“What’s your number?” he asks me.

“You’ll just have to find me.” I wink, separating from him.

“Your name? Anything? You gotta give me something. Come on!” he pleads, dropping to his knees jokingly. Who am I kidding? He’s cute, in a big and burly kind of way.

“Get up! You’re going to get mud all over your pants,” I say, but he just stands there, soaking his kneecaps in the wet snow.

“I’m a lowly repair man,” he laughs. “You don’t think I’m used to this?”

“Alright, alright!” I shout. “My name’s Helena.”

“Like Mount St. Helena? The volcano that killed 50 people?” he asks, smiling.

“You know that’s Mount St. Helens, right?” I laugh.

“Same thing to me,” he shrugs. “I guess I’ll see you around, Helena. Tonight, hopefully.”

“If you can find me,” I smile and turn away, realizing that I may have been, possibly, flirting with the guy.

Truth is, I don’t know what I’m doing out here. I’m just floating along, it seems. But I do know that he’s been okay towards me, so why not flirt a little? A little flirting never hurt anybody, right?

I walk toward the dance and sit down at the benches, off to the side a bit. “Helena?” I hear a soft voice mutter. I turn to see a portly looking man with glasses, smiling. “Hey, it’s Fred Kneeves, the principal at Canton Junior High. How are you?”

I jump up and shake the guy’s hand. “Hey! I’m great! I’m so excited to teach on Monday!” I exclaim. “How are you doing?”

“Good! Good!” he says, brightly. “How are you liking the town so far?”

“I love it,” I say. It’s not exactly a lie. I do really enjoy it. It’s different from the city, but little by little, I’ve started to get used to it.

“Great, well, we’re really happy to have you here,” he says. A woman next to him awkwardly touches his shoulder and he jumps. “Oh! I almost forgot. This is another staff member, Judy Owens. She teaches mathematics. I think you two will get along great.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” She smiles.

I shake her hand and say, “Likewise.”

“You two should grab a few beers tonight. Judy can show you around a little,” he says, smiling.

“Well,” Judy says, “I could use a drink right now. Want to grab one at the cart?” She motions over to a booth selling alcohol.

“I would love a drink,” I admit.

“Great, let’s go,” she says. Fred is jovial and aloof, just happy to have his staff getting acquainted with one another. From what I know, Canton Junior High has had a high turnover rate in the last couple of years.

“You’re our only hope,” Judy whispers. “Everyone’s moving away from Canton.”

“Why?” I ask her, concerned I may have picked the wrong city to teach in.

Judy shrugs. “The economy. There’s not much work here. Most of the teachers were married to men with long careers. They found work elsewhere. Sold their houses. That kind of thing.”

Behind Judy, Addison walks by smiling at me. He’s with another very buff guy who pounds back a pitcher of beer. Addison has his own and when he spots me, he does a little dance, mimicking Michael Jackson’s “the robot,” while spilling beer all over himself. I can’t help but burst out laughing. Judy looks stunned.

“Sorry.” I cover my mouth, feeling incredibly rude. “I just saw something funny.”

Judy turns around and sees Addison. He stops as soon as she looks at him, effectively throwing me under the bus. I turn bright red, knowing that she’s going to think I’m crazy or something.

“It’s okay.” She hesitates and turns back to me.

Of course, Addison starts dancing wildly again to the music, spilling more of his beer all over the place. His friend is even embarrassed by him, but I can’t help but laugh at how goofy he looks. He then winks at me and keeps walking.

“Do you know those guys?” Judy asks me.

“No, I don’t know anyone yet.” I smile. “They seem pretty weird though, right?”

“Girl, everyone’s weird here. They’re fine as hell.” She laughs. “Look, I get it. You’re from the city. I grew up in Baltimore. I think that’s why Fred brought me here. I’ve been teaching here for a year now. He’s a little clueless.”

“Thank God,” I whisper. “Another person from the city.”

“I got you.” She laughs. “Canton is a different vibe, that’s for sure. But it’s nice out here. People are really friendly.” She orders two beers for us and we continue to walk around the fair.

I can still see Addison in the distance, though to my annoyance, he and his friend seem to be checking out some other, younger women right now. “You really think those guys were fine as hell?” I ask her.

“Girl, if I were you, I’d be torn. I wouldn’t know whether to stay away or whether to jump in his arms,” she says, cracking up.

“Well, you’re right. That guy over there.” I point over to Addison and he glances over. “I keep bumping into him. Do you know him?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen him around,” she says. “He’s, like, the town handyman, right?”

“Yeah,” I shrug. “I guess so. He gave me his card.”

“I’ve heard he’s kind of a ladies’ man,” she says. “You know the type. Big and buff. ‘I’ll fix your pipes, Mrs.’ type of guy.”

“Ugh, why is that hot to me?” I laugh and drink my beer, watching him check out that stupid girl.

“Girl, why is it hot to all of us? The world is full of mystery,” she laughs with me. “Either way, I think you should go talk to him.”

“No!” I hiss at her. “I don’t even really know the guy.”

“Come on,” she laughs. “I’ll go with you. You need to meet new people, right? Well, now’s your chance.”

Judy grabs my hand and pulls me over to him. I nearly spill all of my beer onto my jeans. I take a deep breath and go along with it. Fine. She’s right. I need to become more acquainted with the townsfolk. Right. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s not because I want to sit on his fat cock. I like speaking to people.

“Enjoying the view?” Judy laughs. Addison and his buddy jump up and avert their eyes from the woman in the red dress to us.

“What view?” Addison smiles and extends his hand out to Judy. “Hey, I’m Addison. Oh! This is Halloway.”

“Howdy,” Halloway tips his deer-hunting hat at us and turns back around.

“What are you two fine ladies up to?” Addison asks us.

“We’re bored,” Judy says. “You two looked interesting. My friend here is from the city. I thought I’d show her around and introduce her to some of the Canton natives.”

“We met earlier,” he smiles. I swear he looks me up and down and bites his lip. The look in his eyes makes me slightly uncomfortable, while also sending waves of butterflies throughout my stomach.

“Oh, I see.” Judy smiles. Halloway glances back over to her and checks her out. “So, what do you guys do?” Judy asks.

“Drink,” Halloway lifts up his beer and sips it down.

“Well, he took the words right out of my mouth. We, uh, drink,” Addison laughs slightly and takes a sip from his pitcher. “And I repair stuff sometimes. You know, when I need some extra money. What do you do? I never asked you earlier?” His eyes are focused on me and I’m just staring at his pecs. I can’t help it. I’ve never seen anyone so… manly. It’s a bit overwhelming.

“Who me?” I nearly spit out my beer, adjusting my eyes back to his.

“Yeah you! Who else, darlin’?” he asks, touching my shoulder. Goose bumps shoot across my neck and I swallow my saliva down hard, feeling my pulse quicken to a furious degree. Darlin’? Really? Ugh, slay me now, please!

“I’m a teacher.” I smile. “I teach English at Canton Junior High.”

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” he says. “I don’t think I could ever be a teacher.”

“Why not?” Judy asks him. Halloway is staying silent, just drinking and checking Judy out.

“Seems like hard work. Harder than fixing sinks, anyway. I remember what I was like in junior high. Spit wads, tackle football, and running around creating havoc. That was pretty much me back then. I wouldn’t want to teach a room full of that.”

“Well, I start in a few days,” I laugh. “So, we’ll see how it works out.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to rain on your parade,” he looks down at his boots awkwardly. They’re brown, tied loose, and rugged looking, with splotches of mud all over them. “I’m sure it’ll be nice when you start. People are friendly here.”

“Don’t worry. I was a teacher’s assistant for a year before this. I know how young kids can get.”

“Hey, you guys want to dance?” Halloway suddenly asks. I feel my heart drop. Dancing. Oh God. I’m horrible at dancing.

“Brother, you know I want to dance,” Addison laughs, slapping his knee. He finishes his beer and slams the glass down, turning over to me. “Come on, honey. You want to dance with me? It’s innocent enough, right?”

He lends his hand forward and I instinctually grab it. He’s got rough hands, the sign of a hard worker. I instantly feel myself get wetter and wetter by the second. Still, I hate dancing. I deplore it! I follow him to the dance floor, pleading with him. “Oh, come on, Addison. I’m terrible at dancing!” But Judy is already with Halloway, dancing to whatever country song is playing from the large speakers.

Addison smiles and spins me around. “Welcome to Canton, honey,” he says.