A group of three girls lingering around one locker follow Elijah as we head down the hall. I’m not blind. He’s kind of a big deal around here, and I can guess what path his teenage hormones led him down. They’re tricky fuckers to manage.

“You know Sara Pylar?” Elijah asks in a tentative voice.

See? Too bad I can’t bet on my players’ screw-ups. I wouldn’t be working here, that’s for sure. I’d be a rich man.

I open up the door to my classroom, and Elijah heads in first.

Do I know Sara Pylar? Of course, I do. She’s usually the one in the short skirt with her finger twirling a strand of her hair. The worse her grades are, the more bubble gum she chews while she asks to move to the front row so she can see the smart board better. Sara would eat up and spit out a kid like Elijah if he ever tried to tangle with her.

“Yeah, I know Sara.”

He sits in the chair next to my desk. “There was this dare…”

“Nothing good comes from those.” I cross my arms.

“JP was razzing me about how I’ve only ever kissed Becca and that when I go to college, we’ll break up and how the girls at college are on another level.” His eyes widen, silently asking me.

I went to college. I played in college, and at one time, I thought maybe I’d hit the majors. Then family responsibilities brought me back to Lake Starlight. Now I teach and try to advise kids like Elijah not to make the mistakes I did. Then again, youth is your free pass to do stupid shit.

“Girls in college are the girls you went to high school with but a little older.” I sit in my chair, grabbing a pen.

“He said I’d regret not having experience.”

My gaze lands on the clock. Elijah has about five minutes before first class bell. I hold up my hand to stop him from rambling. “Listen.”

Elijah is good enough to be drafted first round, and this town can’t wait to see him succeed. He’ll have plenty of temptation come his way over the years, and he needs to decide now how he’s going to handle it.

“Did you kiss Sara?” I ask.

“No, but…”

“I’m gonna guess here and tell me if I’m wrong.” He closes his mouth, so I continue. “You let your friends get to you. JP, whose mom probably follows him on his dates you do realize, tells you that you don’t have enough experience and should kiss another girl.”

He’s nodding and smirking because everyone knows JP’s mom will probably put up spy cameras in his dorm room next year.