Unexpected bonding time.

On Monday, right after the first class of the day, you return to the teacher’s office only to find three of your colleagues arguing. You do the sensible thing and nope the fuck out of there. You have enough shit to deal with already to have to spend your short break listening to adults arguing about where to leave their stuff. However, that leaves you with a big dilemma. Where do you go? The teacher’s office is your safe space, away from the kids. You can allow yourself to drink a cup of coffee and slump your shoulders there.

…

Dammit, now you can’t even go make yourself a cup of coffee. Maybe you should just suck it up, but… maybe a walk around school might do some good. Sure, what could go wrong?

You walk the hallways, getting a few odd looks from students. Thinking on it, you always see all the teachers in the office during breaks. Do none of them go out to see how the kids are doing? Sure, that’s the hall monitors’ job, but surely they can do it too every once in a while. You end up finding yourself in the yard, looking over the students. They mostly stick to their groups, talking and eating snacks. It’s not like there’s much to be done in a 20-minute recess. You’re starting to consider going back, hoping the argument is over, when a soccer ball rolls up to your feet, followed closely by a young man.

“Teach? What are you doing here?” the boy asks, surprised to see you here.

That’s… Lucas. Lucas Rivera, from your class. He’s one of Gabriel Green’s friends, but he praised you for having the balls to stand up to him. He also has dark skin and very short black hair. He has a more athletic frame, and you think you’ve heard he likes sports. It seems his best grades are in P.E.

“Just getting some fresh air, Mr. Rivera,” you tell him with a small smile. “Is this yours?” you ask, looking down at the ball.

Then, just for a whim, you pick it up with your foot and start juggling it. One, two, three, four, five, six, sev- aww, shoot. That’s all you could manage.

“Woah, teach! You play soccer?” Lucas asks with something of an excited smile on his face as he picks up the ball.

“Just a bit when I was in high school. Just like you are now, I guess,” you admit.

“Hey… why don’t you come play with us? We’re missing one member,” he offers, nodding back to the concrete multi-court in the middle of the yard.

You raise an eyebrow. That’s… an odd offer. Should you go? You know it’s important to keep a certain distance from the students. You’re not their friend, you’re their teacher. But considering how terrible your relationship with them is… Well, it’s been improving, but still.

…

“…Alright, fine. But only if the rest of your group is okay with it,” you answer.

“I’ll go ask, then.” He nods.

He goes back to his group of 7, mostly seniors from the looks of it, and only a couple more from your class. They suddenly all turn to you and wave for you to come. You just hope this isn’t a mistake. But… the boys look excited, at least. You remember it was a big deal when one of your teachers came to play with the students. Maybe they’re not so different from other boys around the world.

Now that you’re here, they re-arrange to teams and you’re grouped with the three students from your class: Lucas Rivera and… yeah, Josh Reed and Liam Taylor.

“I hope you’re a soccer super star, teach! Cause those guys are fucking good!” Lucas says.

“Watch your language in front of me, Mr. Rivera,” You say. “But no, I’m terrible at this.” You grin.

Turns out you’re not as terrible as you thought. You can actually hold your own against boys 6 years younger than you. Still, playing soccer has never been your forte. It’s Mr. Rivera who’s impressive. He’s both fast and skilled. No wonder he gets good grades in P.E.

You play for about 10 minutes before you check your watch.

“Alright. Sorry boys, but I have to go. I need to get my things ready for next class,” you say, catching your breath.

“Oh, okay. You know, you’re not half-bad, teach!” Mr. Rivera, on the other hand, looks like he barely broke a sweat, and he ran more than you.

The other boys agree and thank you for playing with them.

…

They thanked you.

…