The First Day of School

She set out in early dawn, as she drove in the direction of the sun rise. The corn fields were covered in heavy fog as the semis barreled past on 1-70. This was her first of school her senior year in her tiny little rural Kansas town. Her radio was turned way down so she could barely hear the day’s weather forecast before starting to play some new Taylor Swift song. She’s spent the summer life-guarding at the huge ancient municipal pool that served three towns and two counties. Her arms were tan and as she glanced at her reflection in her rear view mirror, her makeup was spot-on, albeit the lipstick a little bright. She rubbed her lips together to smudge the color a tad. Perfect. She realized she was holding her breath tight in her belly as she thought of seeing HIM. She’d seen him occasionally over the summer- at the Dairy Queen getting his kids ice cream cones, splashing with his kids in the pool while his wife sat in a sleek one piece bathing suit on the lounge chairs. She didn’t smile at him much but reserved her gorgeous smile for her children. She walked gracefully up to buy buttery popcorn and lemonade at the concession stand and everyone’s head turned. She wasn’t from this town instead returning with her husband so he could teach 12th grade English and Journalism. He’d had a job at a small liberal arts college in a small town a few hours from here but left only after a few years. She’s heard some of the girls whisper that he may have gotten fired for having an affair with a student. Excited whispers. Like maybe they had a chance too. She pulled into the senior lot and saw her best friend pull neatly into a parallel slot in her cherry red VW bug, a tiny ladybug stuffed animal hanging around the rearview mirror.