Gentlemen Occasionally Win... Just Not The Way They Expect!
By Marlon G. Silversteel, silversteel2002@yahoo.com



I was a substitute teacher for the school district when it all happened, doing
nearly all my work at Fairdells Middle School (which in my opinion, was the
best site in the district!). The administration was tough but fair. The
teachers were excellent, treating themselves, their students, and the
substitutes well. And the kids themselves were delightful. I soon discovered
how fun teaching middle school could be! Being called in to Fairdells always
made my day.

I had been doing a stint, covering an 8th grade Spanish teacher's classes for
several days now. I was fluent in Spanish, which was a major plus, as the
district was hard up for subs who could speak foreign languages and prove
competent to teach them. The 8th grade class at Fairdells was by far my
favorite. I knew a lot of the students by name, and they all knew me. I had
gained their respect and affection early on, and had the reputation of being
one of the best and most well-liked subs around.

It was a Friday. I was kind of anxious for the week to end, anticipating a
very nice date that I had lined up for that evening (I was a single guy in my
early 30's after all). The kids were a bit restless too, which I always
understood given Friday and all. However, I did have one little incident that
had to be dealt with ...

"Trevor! Nick!" I called out to two boys from the doorway of the classroom
facing the quad. "Get over here, both of you!" My baritone voice resonated
clear, instantly grabbing the two fellows' attention. They turned suddenly
from their minor altercation with a couple of girls and started walking
sheepishly towards me. They knew they had been busted. The girls with whom
they had been inappropriately messing around turned and walked off the other
direction, scoffing to themselves.

"Inside, guys, now!" I commanded, holding the door open for them to enter.
Sighing, they set their backpacks down outside along the wall (school policy
when entering class), and came in. I closed the door behind us.

"All right," I said, more mellow-toned. "Just what the hell was that all
about?"

"What, Mr. Pearson?" Trevor exclaimed, trying to sound innocent. "We weren't
doing anything wrong!"

"Yeah, Mr. Pearson," Nick chimed in. "We were just joking with Kristen and
Veronica, honestly!"

"Nice try," I replied, not buying it. "The classroom window was open. I could
here everything you guys said." I could see the red starting to come up from
below their collars. They lowered their eyes.

"Uh huh," I continued. "Yeah. You guys ought to know better than to make those
kind of remarks to a lady, even if you're just messing around. It's very
disrespectful, and it's the kind of stuff that's gonna keep you home alone on
Friday nights for a long time in the future!"

They seemed to smile a bit at the last part. I knew they were good boys, and I
could play it a bit light as long as they got the point, which they seemed to
just fine.

"I'm gonna let this one slide, okay?" I finished. "Just be thankful that Mr.
George wasn't in ear-shot, you would probably be doing detention all next
week." Mr. George was one of the Assistant Principals and generally handled
discipline.

"Yes, Mr. Pearson," they both responded, seeming a little relieved, but
maintaining their humility.

"All right, have a good weekend." I opened the door, allowing them to leave.
Nick turned back once he had his backpack.

"You have any plans for the weekend, Mr. Pearson?" he asked good naturedly.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I answered. "I have a date tonight."

"All right, Mr. Pearson!" Trevor stated, giving me the high five sign. "You
go!"

"Hey, remember ... respect for the ladies, right?" I smiled and waved them
goodbye as they walked towards the front of the school.

I turned the lights off and was about to lock up when I heard another voice,
this one a girl's. I turned as I saw Ariel Madison approach. Ariel was in 8th
grade as well, one of my Spanish students. She was very bright, and had always
been one of my best students in any class I had subbed with her.

"Hi, Mr. Pearson!" she called out, walking up to the classroom. She was
wearing a skirt that came up just above her knees, a tight blouse that
revealed a portion of her mid-section and showed a lot of her very nice figure
(for a 14 year old girl) and she had her long blond hair in a very cute
ponytail.

"Hey Ariel," I replied, smiling. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really," she said. "I didn't get part of the weekend homework
written down. Is it still on the board? Would it be okay if I came in and
copied it down again, just to make sure?"

"Well," I exclaimed, looking back into the now darkened classroom, "I erased
the board already, but why don't you come in, and I'll give you the assignment
again so you can write it down, okay?"

"Thanks," she said, and walked in with me. I hit the lights, and went to get
Mrs. Bishop's lesson plan again so that Ariel could copy down the assignment.

I watched as she wrote in her notebook. I couldn't help but look at her, as I
stood on the other side of the desk. She was really pretty. She was tall,
probably around 5'9" and very athletic. She had a lovely fair complexion. Her
eyes were some of the most beautiful I had ever seen. And I couldn't help but
notice how really good she smelled, even from five feet away or so!

"You got it?" I asked, as she finished copying.

"Yes, thanks Mr. Pearson, I really appreciate it." Ariel closed her book and
started re-packing her bag.

"I hope you have a good weekend, okay?" I said, walking with her to the door
and preparing to close up again.

"You too," she replied. "Do you have anything cool planned?"

"Yeah, I do actually," I chuckled. "You're the second to ask today. I'm going
out with someone tonight." I usually didn't talk a lot about my personal life
with the students (the school had a thing about that, which I understood), but
I opened up with some of the kids, who I knew would take things right.

"Oooooh!!!" she exclaimed, grinning. "Is she pretty?"

"Well, I think so!" I responded, smiling back and locking the door behind me.

"She's a lucky girl," Ariel stated as she shouldered her pack and started
walking. She turned back for a second a few steps away. "Hope you guys have a
good time!" Then she headed off towards the main office.

I sighed as I watched her walk away from behind, secretly wishing that some
gorgeous teen angel like her was my date tonight, and that either I was 20
years younger or she was 20 years older!

Monday morning came around, three days later. I was back at Fairdells, this
time covering for a Math teacher, Mrs. Keeler. I wasn't quite as upbeat as I
normally was (based on the weekend experiences), and I think the kids could
tell. I had a few students ask me what was wrong, and I just had to say
"nothing, I'm okay." I really couldn't talk about it, not then.

Ariel saw me during lunch while I was doing yard duty and came up to me. I
swear, she just got more beautiful every day! Today she had on a pair of jean
shorts (it was quite warm out), and the most attractive black tank top
imaginable. Her bare arms shone in the sun, and it occurred to me while
watching her approach just how well-built and muscular she was.

"How was your weekend, Mr. Pearson?" she asked, smiling. Her lovely hazel eyes
glittered.

"It was okay, thanks." I tried not to encourage discussion on this topic
today.

"So ... ?" she pressed a bit. "How was your date?"

"It went okay, thanks Ariel," I replied, trying to divert my eyes to a group
of guys across the quad, hoping that they might pull some crap so I could be
distracted and not have to deal with this conversation!

"Just okay?!" she insisted. "Oh, come on, Mr. Pearson, I'll bet you charmed
the pants off her!"

"Actually ... " I began, trying to find a way to get some resolution here, but
failing miserably. "Things really didn't go that well at all." I could feel a
couple of tears coming on. Embarrassed, I turned my head, not wanting Ariel
(or anyone else for that matter) to see. I was a teacher, after all!

"Oh, no!" Ariel stated, softly. "What happened?" She inched a little closer,
aware now that I was holding back some hurt and frustration.

"It's nothing, really," I sniffed, wiping away some drops, and trying to
stiffen up as quick as I could. I could see Mrs. Ingram, another Assistant
Principal, across the way. There was no way I could let her see me like this,
or observe a girl less than half my age trying to console me!

"Seriously, Ariel, why don't you run along?" I exclaimed, trying to remain
very calm and good-natured. "It's not any big deal, okay?"

Ariel looked crestfallen and sad. She lowered her head, averting my gaze. I
could tell that I had hurt her.

"Oh, look, I'm sorry," I said. "It's not your fault, honestly. I just had a
very difficult weekend. You really needn't worry yourself about it though."

She looked up at me again. This time, I could see tears in her lovely eyes. My
heart almost melted. She was just trying to be sensitive and kind.

"I'm sorry you had a bad date, Mr. Pearson" she replied softly, almost in a
whisper. "You don't deserve that, really ... you don't. You're the nicest man
I've ever met, and whoever it was you went out with shouldn't have hurt you
the way she did, however she did it. I mean, I just ... " She stopped, unable
to finish. She was starting to cry. I quickly looked around. This could be
interpreted in a VERY bad way, if I wasn't careful. I quickly pulled out a
handkerchief from my pocket.

"Here," I said, taking it and holding it up to her pretty face. Gently, I
began to wipe the tears from off her soft angelic cheeks. Ariel smiled again
as I wiped, and her tears began to subside.

"Thank you," she whispered. I handed the hanky to her so that she could finish
the job. She did, and offered it back to me.

"No, that's okay," I said. "You can keep it, really." Had I known the power of
a token in the eyes of a middle school aged girl, I might've thought twice
about giving it to her. But she took it, and put it in her purse.

"I wish every guy was like you, Mr. Pearson," she stated, looking up at me now
with eyes that I wasn't sure how to read at that moment. "You're a gentleman."
And then she turned slowly and began to walk back to a group of her friends.

I watched her as she strolled off, noticing her gentle stride, her flowing
movements. I really wasn't sure how to feel or react at that moment. My heart
was conflicted, and I couldn't tell whether or not I felt better now, or
worse, than before. All I could tell was that there was an ache deep inside
... but was I aching for my terrible date experience that Friday night, or for
a sweet young girl who had just captivated me by her loveliness and charm?

My attention turned to other, more pressing matters as the day wore on. The
periods after lunch were a bit of a handful, 6th graders. I had to stay
unusually late after school due to some homework issues, one discipline case,
and some grading for the next day (Mrs. Keeler wouldn't be back until
Wednesday). It was after 4:00. The office was closed already, so I left the
key in the drop-box and headed off across the now-deserted campus towards the
faculty parking lot to where my car was.

I was about to unlock the door and drive off, when my eyes caught something
over near the bike racks. Since it was late, there weren't supposed to be any
kids hanging around. However, it looked as if there were a couple of boys by
the racks, trying to leave on their bikes. Trying was the operative word.
There was also a group of much bigger boys (from the nearby high school it
appeared), who seemed to be preventing their departure. It also looked like
there was some bullying going on. I paused, and put my keys back in my pocket,
getting a better look. I started walking casually over that direction.

The bigger boys had their backs turned towards me, so they didn't see me
approach. However, their two victims became easily identifiable as I got
closer - Trevor and Nick! They looked like they were pretty scared. They saw
me walk up, their diverted gazes tipping the other boys off to the presence of
someone behind them.

"What's going on here?" I asked, a little sternly. "Trevor, Nick, are you guys
okay here?" Now that I was closer, it was pretty clear that things were not
really okay at all! And Trevor and Nick looked terrified!

"Beat it, Teach!" one of the older boys snarled at me. He was wearing a
leather jacket and ripped jeans. His homies weren't all that much more
aesthetically pleasing, and all four of them (yes, four) were each at least my
size, possibly a bit bigger.

"You fellows aren't supposed to be on school property," I stated firmly. "Now
let these boys go, and get your asses out of here before I call the police!" I
reached down to my belt, just to confirm to myself that my cell phone was with
me. It wasn't. I felt a rush of blood flow from my face, as I hoped that the
pack standing in front of me didn't realize the same thing I just did and
decide to call my bluff!

"Oh yeah?" the guy said to me, taking a step up in my direction. "Well, what
are you gonna do about it?"

It occurred to me that there might be nothing I could do about it. I was
pretty well outmatched. I was 6'1" and a fairly solid 230 lbs. But this didn't
look good. However, Trevor and Nick didn't have anyone else to stand up for
them. These were my kids. I couldn't walk away. I was all they had at the
moment standing between them and what was for certain a nasty confrontation!

The office was closed, and the staff had gone home. My cell phone was locked
in my car. I didn't have many options ...

"Trevor, Nick," I said to the boys on bikes. "Get on out of here. I'll take
care of this." They nodded fearfully and tried to ride off. But two of the
boys stopped them.

"They ain't going anywhere!" the ringleader scoffed. "Not until the two little
punks pay what they owe me!"

"What do they owe you?" I asked, reaching for my wallet. It occurred to me
then that if it was just a money issue, I might be able to negotiate a way
out, for all of us.

"What, are YOU gonna cover their backs?" the boy laughed. "I didn't know
teachers were rollin'in it so good!" His buddies all laughed as well.

"Seriously, how much?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.

"All right, Teach," the fellow replied. "If you wanna cover their scrawny
asses, that's cool. We'll call it even. Fork over five grand, cash only!"

"What???" I asked. "Oh come on, how can two 8th grade kids owe you guys five
thousand bucks?"

"Easy, Pops," another boy stated. "Beavis and Butthead here lost a shitload of
crack that they were supposed to deal. Now they owe!"

I sighed. So it was about drugs. I had no idea that Trevor and Nick had gotten
themselves into something like this. I slowly put my wallet back. I obviously
didn't have that kind of cash lying around.

"Okay," I exclaimed, trying to keep cool. "There's no way that you guys are
gonna get five grand from any of us this afternoon. So let's just agree to cut
our losses, chalk it up to experience, and walk away, all right? These are
good boys, and they're not gonna give you any trouble, right guys?" I looked
at Trevor and Nick. They nodded, but didn't look too convinced. I wasn't
either!

"No way, dude!" the biggest boy laughed. "We're gonna get our money or we're
gonna take it out on all three of your punk asses!"

"Guys, you're making a big mistake, really," I said, taking a step back. "You
fellows are still young. You still have your lives in front of you. Don't do
anything that's gonna cause you to mess it all up, okay?"

"No, Teach," the boy in front of me responded. "You're the one who made the
mistake, by sticking your fuckin' nose where it didn't belong in the first
place!"

It was clear that nothing productive was going to come from any of this.
Someone was eventually going to get hurt, and I couldn't risk it being either
Trevor or Nick. I sighed, pretending to walk away, only to suddenly reel
around and land a hard right to the bully's face. He staggered back, as his
buddies instantly jumped in.

"Trevor! Nick! Get out of here NOW!" I shouted. It was all I had time to say
before I was in the thick of it.

The four boys were now completely focused on me. It gave my frightened
students the chance they needed to ride off in a hurry. I was relieved as I
saw them clear the racks and head out on the street ... at least they got
away, and could possibly go for help, assuming they thought of it. I just
wasn't sure if it would be fast enough ...

I tried to make a run for it once I saw them ride to safety, but there was no
chance now. My sudden punch was all I got in before it got too much. All four
of them were on me in seconds, flying into a frenzy. I was hit left and right,
up and down. Within seconds, two boys had me pinned up, held against the fence
of the rack while the other two took their best shots at my face and stomach.
I was convulsing, nearly unable to breathe, blood splattering. I didn't know
how much I could take, or if I could survive this or not. If only a patrol
care would make a loop nearby ...

I didn't have to wait that long, fortunately.

"STOP IT!!!"

The four boys stopped their assault long enough to look up towards the source
of the shrill cry. Ariel was standing there, with a look of shocking horror on
her pretty face. Her backpack dropped to the ground. I had no idea what she
was doing around here at this hour, but I was now terrified for her safety as
well. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been someone else?

"Well, well," the big one jeered as he saw her standing there. "Just what do
we have here? Hey Teach, do you have a little pet who came to save you?"

The others laughed like crazy and prepared to resume. Ariel bravely walked
right up to them, and to me.

"Just stop it ... all of you!" she yelled. "Leave Mr. Pearson alone!"

"Oh, this is just too good!" another one of the boys sneered. "Little Miss
Goody Two-Shoes coming to the Teacher's rescue!"

"Ariel ... " I choked out, barely able to speak. "Please ... get out of here
... I don't want to see you get ... " I couldn't finish it. I coughed up some
blood. I could see Ariel wince as tears formed in her eyes.

"Yeah, 'Ariel,'" the leader mocked. "You heard the Teach. Get your pretty
little ass of here, or we'll do a number on you too!"

"Yeah, that's a number I wouldn't mind taking!" another boy laughed. The
others all cracked up as well. I knew full well what they were talking about.

"Don't you dare lay a fucking hand on her, or ... " I tried to threaten,
straightening myself up, only to be hit again in the gut. I stopped short,
losing my breath, and slumped to the ground.

"I mean it," Ariel warned, with a very uncanny menacing glare and tone. "Let
him go! I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will if you don't stop RIGHT
NOW!"

"Okay, Princess," the biggest boy remarked, leaving me to his three cronies.
He walked up close to Ariel. "Bring it on. I haven't gotten a good tickle in a
while. Maybe you'd let me tickle you a bit too, huh?" His voice turned quite
venomous, as he reached out for her, no doubt to do something that I was
dreading.

His hand never made it to her arm. With a surprising burst of speed and
agility, Ariel grabbed his oncoming wrist, and twisted it. The bigger boy spun
around, as if a puppet in her hands, his wrist popping with a loud crack! With
his back now facing her, and being now at her mercy, she thrust him forward
with such awesome force that he flew a good ten feet straight into the fence!
He cried in pain, and collapsed on the pavement, holding his broken wrist.

"What the fuck???!!!" one of the other boys yelled, dumbfounded. I might have
uttered the same had I been able to speak.

"That's your last warning," Ariel said icily. "Now back off!"

"Goddammit!" the wounded leader shrieked to his cohorts. "Get that fuckin'
bitch, NOW!"

The two boys holding me dropped me like a sack, as they and the third charged
the sweet, pretty, delicate girl who had just tossed their buddy like a rag
doll. I couldn't see very well, but this is more or less what happened.

Two of them tried to grab her arms, one on each side. Two powerful swipes
quickly discouraged that plan, as the two boys in question went flying off in
opposite directions, landing a few yards away, apparently unconscious from
either the impact on the ground or the incredible strength of her blows! The
third, totally bewildered, tried to rush her head on, and grab her up by the
mid-section, in an attempt to unbalance her. This proved pretty useless, as
Ariel casually took him by the collar and flung him OVER THE FENCE,
practically fifty feet in distance and at least ten feet in height to be
deposited in a heap on top of some racks. He didn't move after that.

The leader of the bullys, still slumped against the fence and in a state of
shock at what he had just witnessed, reached into his jacket pocket and
withdrew a gun, a semi-automatic pistol. He leveled it at Ariel.

"Girl or no girl," he gasped. "You're gonna pay, bitch!"

I tried to cry out, but no sound came from my mouth. The boy took aim and
fired.

It's difficult to describe what happened exactly. I heard the report, and saw
the recoil in the boy's hand. And I have to assume that the bullet hit Ariel,
because she was only about fifteen feet away, and this guy couldn't be THAT
bad of a shot! But nothing happened. By that I mean Ariel didn't fall. She
didn't slump over. She didn't even jerk from the impact. She just stood there,
glaring. The bewildered thug's jaw dropped, as Ariel walked right up to him,
and took the gun from his hand. Then, right in front of his face (and in plain
sight for me as well), she BENT the gun barrel into a small loop with her BARE
HANDS!!!

I don't know if the sight of that was sufficient for the bully or not, but he
stopped moving. He stopped talking. His eyes just glazed over. Ariel took him
by the neck and lifted him high up. Holding his powerless body against the
fence, she kept one hand on his neck and placed the other hand on a nearby
fence bar. The bars were solid iron, at least a half inch thick and vertically
spaced about three or four inches apart. She took one of these bars, and
grabbing it firmly, began to BEND it outward and inward so that it made a
tight loop around the boy's outstretched arm. She did the same with another
bar on the other side to his other arm. Then she let go, the tightly twisted
iron rods holding him in place. There was no way he could possibly escape!

Ariel got right up in his perplexed face. "Now, you didn't see any of this,
right?" she asked in a quite patronizing tone.

The poor guy just nodded his head in affirmation, and soon fainted.

She walked over to me, kneeling down by my side. She took out the hanky that I
had given her earlier and used it to wipe the blood from my nose, lips, and
jaw. Very gently, and tenderly, she helped me to my feet. I stood there,
leaning part way on this ... girl ... who had just saved my life, and who had
performed a feat that could only be described as miraculous!

"Ariel ... how ... how ... ?" I was trying to find words for this one, but
words simply failed at that moment. Imagine a teacher being at a loss for
words!

Ariel just put her finger to my still battered lips. "Sshhh ... " she said.
"It's okay, Mr. Pearson ... you don't have to understand."

"Yeah ... " I replied, shakily. "Perhaps that's the best thing after all."

Smiling, she helped me to my car. As I slowly and painfully got in, she handed
me the hanky back.

"Here," she said. "It came in handy. Thank you."

And with that she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. I couldn't help but
notice once again, despite the bloody nose, how good she smelled!

"No, thank you," I managed to reply. "I don't know how or why ... but thank
you."

"You're welcome," Ariel said, and started to close the door. "Oh, and Mr.
Pearson?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"We can just keep this between us, right?" she grinned, a little on the
mischievous side. "I don't think those guys are gonna say anything, and ... I
trust you."

"Ariel," I responded, just shaking my head at the whole complexity and
weirdness of the situation. "What happened this afternoon here is strictly
between us. You have my word." I gave her a subtle wink and closed the door.

I drove off, watching her walk away from campus towards her house, a lot of
questions unanswered, but not so bothered by that particular dilemma anymore,
that all of us seem to face from time to time. I guess things really do happen
for a reason, and maybe we don't have to understand the whole scheme after
all!

The End