Back to School

Derek didn’t even know why he was going. Yes, he did. He was going because he had let his friend, Tony talk him into it.

“Come on,” Tony said over the phone one night. “You like going to the football games, anyway. You always take your nephew.”

Tony was right. Derek was at the football games with his nephew. He liked football and he liked hanging out with his nephew. Football was a good way for them to bond and the ticket prices were reasonable. You couldn’t say that about the professional football games, if you even had a chance to get a ticket. And there weren’t any nearby colleges with football teams. The old high school was close, and the tickets were affordable.

That wasn’t the point. The point was it was Homecoming Weekend. Derek didn’t even know high schools still had Homecoming. Apparently, his old high school still had it and it was this coming weekend. Derek had no desire to return to his Alma Mater. He was done with his high school as soon as the principal gave him his diploma.

It’s not that Derek didn’t like high school. He did, but once he had finished, he was ready to move on. Just like he was ready to move on from college after he graduated from there. He had fun in high school but there was no reason for him to return. He didn’t need to go back for the five-year reunion. Why should he go back for the 10-year reunion?

“I don’t know,” Derek said to his best friend from high school. “I really don’t need to see anyone there. I was all set when I got out.”

“You should go to the football game,” Tony said. “Greg Gecoy is going to be there. When was the last time you saw him?”

Derek’s eyes widened as soon as he heard Tony say Greg’s name. He hadn’t seen Greg Gecoy since the three of them were in college. They were friends in high school. They went to different colleges but managed to stay in touch during the first two years. There were occasional messages from one to the other during and after college, but he and Greg eventually fell out of touch.

“It would be nice to see Greg again,” Derek said. “I haven’t seen that idiot in years.”

“Right?” Tony replied. “He doesn’t live far from here, either. He’s been nearby this whole time. He found me online and sent me a message. It turns out he was wondering if you were still around. I told him you still like going to the football games and you make an appearance from time to time. Come on. It’d be great to see him again. Right?”

Derek sighed. Tony wasn’t wrong. It would be nice to see Greg again. Derek thought back to senior year when the three had the same lunch period. It was nice to talk about something that wasn’t homework or a class lecture for a few minutes.

“Alright,” Derek said. “I’ll go, but I’m only going because I haven’t seen Gecoy in years. I don’t want to go to Homecoming, and you know that, and I hate you for this.”

“I know,” Tony said, “And I love you too. Just the football game. I promise.”

Derek hung up the phone. He thought about Greg. Derek was in a few classes with him when they started high school. They weren’t close until they found out Tony was a mutual friend. Instead of just two guys hanging out, it became three. Why not? They had the same interests anyway and they had the same friend: Tony.

Tony was the standard knucklehead in school. He didn’t take much seriously but he didn’t give anyone, teachers or students, a hard time. He was just a typical teenager who was more interested in sports and video games than he was in school. That could be said for any teenager today or 10 years ago. All three went out for the baseball team in high school. Tony was the only one who made the team. It was just as well. Derek needed all the time he could get to work on academics.

Saturday morning rolled around. Derek got to the game a couple of minutes early. He wanted to stop at the concession stand for a coffee. He wanted to support the school a little more than just the ticket. He passed through the gate and went to the concession stand. There were just two people in front of him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he waited for his turn. He typed, “I am in line at the concession stand. Where are you sitting?” There was just one person in front of him when his phone buzzed with a reply. Tony had written, “Four rows up. Forty-yard line. Closest to the concession stand.”

Derek ordered and paid for his coffee. He pulled back the tab on the plastic cover and blew on the hot drink. He looked up at the bleachers for his friends. Tony and Greg saw him and waved. Derek waved back and walked up the stairs.

“How’s it going, man?” Tony asked as he and Derek shook hands and pulled each other in.

“It’s good,” Derek said. He saw Greg and said, “Look at this train wreck.”

“Punk,” Greg said as he smiled. Greg and Derek shook hands and pulled each other in. The three sat down. It had been six years since they graduated college. It had been longer than that since the three of them had been together at high school. There was plenty to catch up on. Everyone asked and answered questions in between plays, filling the others in on what he had been doing after college. There were occasional references to high school. Why not? It was where they had met and there were plenty of memories. They talked about the classes they took. The girls. There were always girls to talk about in high school. Boys in high school like to tease their friend about a girl he likes. Boys have a “crush” just like girls do. Derek’s crush was Anna.

“I still can’t believe you asked her to the Prom,” Greg said.

“I just asked,” Derek said. “I honestly didn’t expect her to say, ‘Yes.’ She was one of the hottest girls in school. I was just messing around that day. Next thing I know, I’m escorting her into the ballroom.”

“What happened after the prom?” Greg asked.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “You never said anything about her after the prom.”

Derek shrugged. “I don’t know. We sort of fell out of touch after that. She did her thing. I did my thing.”

Tony and Greg looked at each other. Derek asked, “What?”

“She had a crush on you,” Tony said.

“She did?” Derek asked. He was surprised to hear that.

Tony nodded. “She was excited when you asked her to the Prom.”

“I was excited when I took her to the Prom,” Derek said. “It was weird. We had talked a couple of times. We sat next to each other in Science class senior year. We worked together on some assignments when the teacher let us work with a partner. It was weird. One day, we were working on this assignment. It was going great for us. We were one of the first ones to finish. At the end of class, we were talking about how great we work together and how everyone was jealous that they weren’t us. Next thing I know we’re talking about the Prom. I asked her to go with me. She said yes.”

“So, what happened after the Prom?” Tony asked.

Derek shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “We talked a couple of times after the prom but that was it. School ended. We kind of went our separate ways. Summer came and then Fall and everyone went to college. I always wondered what happened to her.”

“She thought that was going to be your first date,” Tony said. “She wondered if you were going to ask her out again.”

“I wanted to,” Derek said.

“You should have,” Greg said. “She really liked you.

“Really?” Derek asked. He thought about what they were saying. He really did like her and he had wondered what would have happened if he ever got the chance. He wanted to but…

“I wanted to ask her, but I didn’t know how she felt,” Derek said. “Like I said, I just asked her out on a whim. We had been talking and this one time it had been going great. The Prom was coming up I wanted to go. I wanted to go with somebody, so I asked her. She said yes.”

The three men watched the game for a moment. Derek thought about the Prom and Anna. He felt bad that Summer. He really liked her, and he thought about her a lot after the Prom and when he was at college for his first semester. He wished he could say something to her. He quickly looked around the bleachers but didn’t see Anna. He laughed to himself. He was thinking about someone and that alone wouldn’t just make that person appear. His attention returned to the game.

The first quarter came to an end. Greg stood up and said, “I want to get some coffee.”

Tony told Greg to bring him back a jelly donut. Greg said he would and went to the concession stand.

“So, what happened after the Prom, anyway?” Tony asked.

“It was weird,” Derek said. “My family went away not long after the Prom. When I got back, she was away with her family. She told me her family had a trip planned. I didn’t know it was so soon. I had a job at the supermarket. People didn’t show up for work. I did. I was covering other people’s shifts. I was just out of high school and I was trying to save up money. I got busy. The three of us had that week at the lake. Things kept happening. I never really got the chance to talk to her.”

“That’s too bad,” Tony said. “Where did she go to college?”

“I don’t remember where she went to college,” Derek said. “I know she went away from home and she lived at college. I think she wanted to study Accounting. I don’t know what she did after that.”

The second quarter had already started when Greg returned. Greg gave Tony his donut.  Derek was still thinking about Anna and the Prom. What had happened? He had worked a lot that summer and remembered how he had kept busy throughout the summer with work. He kept thinking. Maybe he could have called her. Oh, well. She could have called, too.

The second quarter continued. Conversation between the three friends moved on to other things. They talked about what they did in college and the jobs they were working. They talked about where they were living and what else they had been doing besides their jobs. “How’s life?”  The second quarter ended. The three got up to use the restroom. It had been a good game so far. They discussed the game as they walked back to their seats.

Before he got to his seat, Derek heard someone say his name. He turned around and saw the surprised, smiling face of Anna.