At The Clap of Thunder

Sophia Summers was not one for inconvenience.  Looking around the large school gym she huffed at how utterly unacceptable it was to be subjected to sleeping here. When they got the flash flood warning she told her parents there was no way she would go to the school; she’d rather drown. But no, she begrudgingly took her sleeping bag out of her walk-in closet and went to the school’s ‘evacuation center’ which was basically just the gym. Sitting on her high-end sleeping bag, pleased that her parents could afford one with extra padding, she pulled her long hair into two French braids. It felt dirty to not be in her room on the queen sized bed, and doing her normal nightly routine. The lights rattled and dimmed for a moment.  She looked up and saw Mr. Evans – gross.  She knew most teachers lived around here but was seriously hoping he was not one of them. He was young and tall and she supposed some might say he was attractive, but she thought he was an ugly person. He was still wearing his button down and jeans from earlier, and it was almost nine. 

“Men,” she scoffed.  She couldn’t stand to look at him. From across the room she watched him help Caroline White’s parents set up their things.

Where are Beth and Sara? she thought. Her parents were both still at work and would probably end up staying there through the night, but she was used to being alone. She looked back at Mr. Evans who had a stupid smile on his handsome face as he helped Mr. White settle in.

A flash of lightning danced against the wind and was followed by a crack of thunder.  

The thunder shook the whole room.

“Thanks again!” Mr. White said with a grin.

As Mr. White walked away, Zac Evans thought about Caroline White, and how she would often come in for extra help on essays; not that she needed much help, for she was very bright, but he didn’t mind her visits. Sometimes he would find himself in a bad mood if she didn’t come in after school to work on something, longing for their sessions. She was mature and beautiful. Her brown hair perfectly balanced the fairness of her skin. Her laugh and smile could brighten up his day. She was a good kid. 

Another slap of thunder bounced through the gym as Caroline came back, after changing in the girl’s bathroom into her pajamas.  Out of her friends she was the prettiest, but she would never believe that.  She wore modest clothing and didn’t think she was much to look at. She heard Mrs. G., a history teacher, making an announcement to a crowd of people.  

“Alright!” shouted the petite woman. “We got a little bit of a late start, so we need some people to help bring things out of the storage rooms.  When you hear your name, find your group and get going!”

Caroline walked closer to the crowd looking for her friends, and heard Sophia Summers loudly complaining about how unorganized everyone at this school was, but promptly shut up when Mr. Evans looked over at her.  

“Hey guys.”

Brooke looked at her and said hey, and Alexa and Ryan both waved.

“You should move your sleeping bag next to ours,” said Alexa.

Suddenly Ryan’s eyes got wide, “Oh my god, yeah! Matt is here! He and his friends are set up over by us!!”

Caroline blushed, “Guys, come on, we’re just… friends!” With that, the girls broke out into giggles.

“Maybe the power will go out and you guys can go make out,” laughed Brooke.

“Oh Caroline,” said Alexa in a fake deep 'boy' voice. “Kiss me!” She grabbed Ryan’s face in and made a kissy face.

Ryan started playing along too and, with a dramatic voice, she said, “Oh Matt, I thought you’d never ask! Hold me! I’m so in love!”

The two embraced and started laughing all over again.

Caroline rolled her eyes trying to hide her smile. “Okay, har-har, very funny you guys. It’s probably not going to happen.”

“Caroline White, Matt Lee, and Mr. Evans, snacks…” All her friends squealed in delight.  

Alexa said in a whisper of excitement, “The cute boy and the cute teacher! You’re so lucky!” 

The thunder pounded again and everyone went off.  

Zac walked behind Caroline and Matt Lee who were flirting with each other. Every time she laughed, he wished that it had been him walking next to her. He admired her figure, and wanted to reach out and touch her soft hair. Matt slowly wrapped his fingers around hers. Caroline looked down at their intertwined hands and blushed. Matt was probably planning on sneaking her out into the hallway later to hook up. He couldn’t let that happen; he absolutely refused to let this silly boy corrupt such an angel.  

Thunder rolled in loudly.

The rain seemed to be getting worse.  Sophia, Beth, and Sarah sat in a circle, painting their nails.

“So,” started Beth, “me and Jimmy totally hooked up!”

“Did you have a stroke? When were you going to tell us?  Was he any good?”  Sarah asked in rapid fire.

“Well, he was really, really sweet,” Even under her dark skin you could tell she was hard core blushing. “And he asked me out…” 

“AND?” both Sarah and Sophia shouted at the same time.

“And I said yes!”

Once they recovered from the news Sarah looked over at Sophia.

“When are you gonna date someone, Soph? You’re a catch,” Sarah said.

For a moment she felt her face falter but quickly she regained her usual composure. 

“Well a Queen never settles down.” She saw their dissatisfaction with her answer. “And well, whatever. All boys are immature!” 

Sarah and Beth rolled their eyes and the conversation moved on, but Sophia’s mind was stuck. She sniffled, rubbing her nose. She was brought back into reality by a smack of thunder.

…

Despite her extra cozy sleeping arrangements, Sophia couldn’t sleep. It was around midnight when she heard someone moving. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head towards the noise. She saw from across the room a figure, walking very slowly so as to not wake everyone up. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark room she realized the figure was Mr. Evans. Her heart skipped a beat and she started sweating. She kept looking to make sure he wasn’t coming over to her. She closed her eyes tight and pretended that she was asleep hoping he wouldn’t bother her. His path across the gym was going straight towards Caroline White.  She saw him place his hand over her exposed arm, trying to wake up Caroline, and Sophia shuddered. Repressed memories flooded back; memories she swore she would never speak of. An empty class room just the two of them and his soft whisper that made a shiver go down her spine. What started as a teacher liking her more than her classmates, turned into something much worse. She pushed those thoughts away; dwelling on the past wouldn’t do her any good.

She watched as Caroline sat up and looked around the room in confusion.  She could hear them whispering faintly, and there was an air of concern in their almost silent conversation. Caroline got up out of her sleeping bag and walked with Mr. Evans out of the gym. Sophia went numb. More memories rushed back: his cold hands touching her, making her skin crawl. She sat there for what felt like hours until she made up her mind, and very quietly unzipped her sleeping bag and got up, grabbing her industrial flashlight—just in case. She tip-toed out of the gym and looked back to make sure no one had seen her. She closed the door behind her softly, and as she turned around she bumped into someone, and yelped as her heart leaped through her chest. 

“Woah, sorry,” said Matt Lee in a hushed voice.  Even in the dark she could see his short brown hair all ruffled up, presumably from tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.

“God, you scared the shit out of me!” she said in a yelled whisper.

“Sorry, I— are you okay?”

She was bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing deeply. She should just go back to bed and pretend she saw nothing, but then she would live with even more guilt and shame. When she finally recovered she made up her mind, and took his arm. “I need your help. Come with me.” She pulled him through the darkness as she began running. 

“What—where are we going?” Matt asked urgently.

“I think I have an idea.”

The thunder clapped in the air around them as they ran through the empty hallways.

Caroline was lost.  Well, she knew where it was, but wasn’t processing what Mr. Evans was saying.

 “Don’t you see, Caroline, we were made for each other!” The night lights came in through the classroom windows, lighting up his face in a strange way. She saw his excited smile and took a step back.

“Mr. Evans, I—you – you can’t feel this way about me, it isn’t right. You’re older than me—I’m your student” she said, feeling her throat swell up. 

“Darling, my dear, please, don’t speak that way,” he said, stepping closer to her, and she took another step back. “No one needs to know.  This could be our secret.”

“No I can’t… I won’t! It’s wrong!” She felt herself shaking. 

“Don’t be afraid of our love, Caroline. We have a connection. You’re not like those other girls; you’re smart, and shouldn’t you be rewarded for that?” He got closer, trapping her against the wall. She pushed against his chest trying to get away, but he was too strong and pushed her back, taking control. He brushed his cold hand across her face, and she turned her head, looking away. His hand made its way towards her breast, and he began to kiss her neck. Caroline gasped and began crying, trying to push him off.

“Please, stop. I—” she started, but he forced her to look at him.

“Caroline, I love you,” he said and Caroline began to sob.

“Oh, yeah?” yelled a girl from across the room who seemed to be out of breath. Her voice wavered for a moment, but then with less hesitation continued, “What about me?” She was holding something and was standing next to a boy, but Caroline couldn't make out who they were through the darkness and her tears. The guy seemed like he didn’t know how he had ended up here, but the girl started walking around the room, moving away from Mr. Evans, towards the windows.  

Mr. Evans walked towards the girl, completely ignoring the boy at the front of the class, and smirked, “We could have had something Sophia, but you pushed me away.”

Sophia looked down, she was shaking, “No one should ever… no one should ever be put through what you did. I pity you.”

“All three of us could be together.  Don’t you see we don’t have to hide our love,” he said walking towards her. He tried to pull her in for a hug, but she was too quick.  She took whatever was in her hand and smacked him over the head with it. She gasped; surprised she was able to do it. Mr. Evans slumped to the floor, taking down a desk with him.  Caroline slid down the wall to the ground and screamed, and the boy came closer to her, and she realized it was Matt. He wiped away the hot tears from her cheek, and she pulled him in for a hug and began sobbing all over again.

The girl stayed by the window where Mr. Evans body lay, making sure he didn’t move.  She looked out the window, wiping away her own tears. A few moments went by and all you could hear was Caroline’s sniffling. Sophia kept looking out the window unsure of what to do next. She looked back at Caroline, and said, “I think it stopped raining.”

Written Fall 2016

Art Credit: Helene Graham