Glancing back, I gesture for everyone to move closer. They don’t have a great view and the fact they seem to be inching away makes me fight back a smile. “Come on,” I implore.
“Great news, guys!” Owen announces cheerfully. “We won’t be dying of natural causes.”
Kelly follows the directions and luckily, the flame lights with one push of the button. “Don’t let go of the pilot switch,” I caution. “You’re going to keep holding it down for about thirty seconds.”
“Got it,” she says, and I hear a sliver of satisfaction in her voice.
“Alright, now slowly release it and watch to see if the flame stays lit.”
She sits up with a stunning smile. “It’s still burning!”
“Good. Now turn the gas knob to on. We should hear a whump kind of noise when the main burner lights.”
The silence filling the small space and the intense expressions on their faces as they wait to see if it works makes me chuckle. As does the cheer they let out when the main burner fires up.
“Good job. Now just replace the access cover and you’re done. Now if your pilot ever goes out, you know how to fix it yourself.”
Getting to my feet, I turn to add. “Every direction I just gave is printed on the side of the heater as well and will be in the owner’s manual. If you don’t have that, I know you can Google.”
The rest of the lesson is spent showing them how to turn off the water to specific fixtures and appliances. As we’re wrapping up for the day, I take a moment to also point out the compartment in the side yard where the main water shutoff is buried.
“Life pro tip,” Milo speaks up. “If you can’t pay a water bill, that’s where the company will shut off your water. Sometimes they don’t padlock it and you can just turn it back on.”
“Why can’t you just cut the padlock?” Harriet asks.
“Because you’ll go to jail for destroying property.”
“Jails have water. Still not a total loss,” Harriet laughs.
Owen shakes his head. “No way, noooo. I’d rather stink than have a big dude named Bubba want to wash me.”
They’ll get no comment from me. I didn’t grow up poor, but I’ve had friends who did. Sometimes, you do what’s necessary to make it through the day.
After I inform them that we’ll be meeting here the next time, the group breaks up, climbing into their respective cars to head back to campus. I’m happy with how this has gone so far. They joke and have fun but they’re learning stuff I had to figure out on my own. I’ll never forget how embarrassed I was when I moved in my first apartment and my furnace wouldn’t come on. The landlord had to send maintenance over and all he did was flip the breaker on. Problem solved.
I pull into the campus lot in time to see Kelly hop out of Owen’s car and wave as she walks away. There’s something about her that intrigues me. She gets flustered easily, gets anxious when she gets put on the spot, but she was determined and eager to learn today. It was a joy to see how satisfied she was with herself when she lit the pilot light, the way her face lit up when the others cheered. She gained some confidence, and that makes me feel even better about this program.
I’m only on campus for a few minutes, just long enough to grab a few things and lock my classroom. Thunder rumbles overhead, and I dart to my truck, jumping inside just as rain starts to dot the windshield. The air is oppressive, heavy with the scent of ozone, and the clouds rolling in hang dark and low. It’s going to storm like a bitch.
The thought of beating the storm is all I’m focused on when I turn onto the main road, but a flash of color in the growing downpour catches my eye. Kelly rides a bike along the edge of the road, as far over as she can get without being in the mud. Her head is tucked down and she’s pedaling like mad but facing the wind.
She usually drives to school. Maybe her car is broken down or in the shop. Whatever the reason, this was not the day to try biking. I pull my truck over in front of her, and she looks up as she approaches, the alarm on her face fading when she recognizes me. “Mr. Aldrich.”
“Get in,” I tell her, hopping out of the truck. I have to raise my voice to get over the sound of the thunder. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’ll give you a ride home.”
Her momentary hesitation comes to a quick end when lightning streaks overhead, followed almost instantly by a loud crack. The speed at which she scrambles off the bike makes me laugh, and I lift her bike into the truck bed as she climbs into the passenger seat.
“God, I’m so wet,” she moans, tossing her long red hair back.
Oh no, I’ve stepped into a student teacher porno. At least my brain has. It only takes a moment of observing her to realize she isn’t trying to sound that way. She’s oblivious, innocent. And now I feel like a pervert.
“I’m sorry. I’m getting your seat wet.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll dry.” Rain comes down in torrential sheets, pushing the visibility to zero and closing us off from the world. Instant isolation.
This thought seems to occur to her too as I pull farther off of the road to wait out the deluge. “Um…you aren’t secretly a serial killer after school hours or anything, are you?”
The corners of her mouth twitch when I chuckle at her question. “No, not last time I checked.”
“That’s exactly what a secret, after hours serial killer would say.”
How did I not notice those eyes before? Clear and blue and inquisitive. Coupled with the pale skin, freckles, and fiery hair, this girl is beautiful. She’s a student, and I’m not supposed to notice, that’s why. I’m probably only seven or eight years older than her, but I’m her teacher which is a big hands off.
“Where do you live?” I ask.
“Also not information to give a potential serial killer.” Humor rings in her voice.
My console creaks as I open it. “Okay, how about if I swear on something that I’m not a serial killer.” Her giggle fills the small space as she sees the handful of Starburst I pull out. “I swear on the always superior pink Starburst that I’m not a crazy murderer.”
Plucking a yellow one from my palm, she turns and leans against the door. “The yellow ones are clearly the best.”
“Wow. A sociopath accusing me of being a serial killer. The irony.”
“Well, I’ve been lured into your truck with candy, so I’m probably not one to judge.” The candy gets popped into her mouth.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t know I had candy.”
She smacks her forehead. “Yeah, I should ask to see the stranger’s candy first, next time. How stupid of me.”
I’m surprised how different she is when it’s just the two of us. Not as nervous and more talkative. Funny even. “Why didn’t you grab a ride from Mr. Wright, or one of the other students?”
“It wasn’t raining when Owen dropped me off, and I told him I had a ride.” She gestures to her bike getting drenched in the bed of the truck. “Which was technically true. I live on Violet Circle. Do you know how to get there?”
I know where it is. The small loop of government funded apartments are infamous in town for being an epicenter of crazy, but I’ve never been there. I know quite a few students reside there if they can’t afford the dorms or are trying to save money.