I’m an 8th grade English teacher. Most of my days are pretty simple. I park my car in the employee parking lot behind the school in a spot that smells suspiciously like weed most of the time. I drink my third cup of coffee this morning in a to-go mug that I kept from my wife and I’s honeymoon at Disney World. I take the same deep breath that I always do before I start the day: one that is packed with underpaid and overworked, with a side order of “too-many-degrees-for-this”. Then I say what I always say afterwards: “I love my job.”

Today, like any other day, started out quietly. I entered the main office, writing the time that I arrived for the log sheet, and noticed my mailbox. There was a copy of my Homeroom roster with a plastic bag full of “Life is a Movie: Live Drug Free” bracelets, and an extra bracelet included for myself. “Oh that’s right.” I think to myself. “It’s Red Ribbon week.” I slide on the bracelet and walk upstairs towards my classroom. 

On my way up I passed by the printer room and put my ear to it to hear if I could run copies or not. I didn’t hear the normal sounds of printing, but I did hear a bit of rustling… perhaps of paper? I thought nothing of it, as the printing room, like most rooms in a middle school, is utilized for many different reasons. For all I know, the printing room could be where one of my co-workers does their morning Zumba routine. What could they be doing?

As I continue down the hallway towards my room, I can’t help but have my curiosity get the better of me. If you know anything about teachers, it’s that when there is drama, they simply cannot help themselves. I mark my own words: as soon as I got my classroom set up, I was going to see what was going on in that room. So I continued on with my droll day, putting a bracelet on each of the empty desks of my soon-to-be full seats. 

Once I finish, I walk back to the printer room and put my ear to the printer room door. There was a long silence. I was beginning to think that the person had moved on. All of a sudden, I hear a loud scream from inside the room. I stumble back, startled by such a clamorous noise. Now I am really invested. Was somebody hurt? Was somebody trying to get the printer to work and got frustrated? Did somebody realize that their true passion was singing and “Oh, God, why did I subject myself to this career?” I simply couldn’t wait any longer.

I slowly opened the door, doing my best not to creak as I opened it. I look in and I see two heads, moving back and forth with each other, as if they were charmed by a snake charmer and they were wiggling their way out of a pot. These cobras weren’t just moving: they were moaning in rhythm. This, of course, makes me more curious. I have to find out who those two people are. I poke my head in, like something out of Tell-Tale Heart, and peer into the room. Now, with my whole head in, I can see the whole picture. I see a woman with the top buttons of her shirt unbuttoned and another woman with her arms around her waist. I wait patiently for when of them to turn their head until-

It’s the principal and the PE teacher.

I close the door behind me, as it is just about time for students to enter the building. I just have to tell this to my team lead. Or maybe I don’t… Maybe I get to keep this one to myself. As Jane Austen once said: “I was quiet, but I was not blind.”