Sex Education

16.

Jack went to stand with the teachers as they gathered around the campfire for breakfast. He glanced over at Stephens, wary about what the teacher might have planned for today's activities. After their little talk yesterday, Jack was cautious about what he said or did around Stephens. The other teacher, King, didn't notice anything. In fact, King was starting to look bored. Jack figured he wasn't the camping or outdoorsy type. They were only here for a couple more days, so he could stick it out.

"Good morning, students," Stephens said after everyone had settled into their seats with their food. Jack risked a glance at Ennis, who was staring down at his food. Jack gave a slight frown then looked back at Stephens. "Today we've got somethin' special planned. Mr. King and I talked about it some last night and we agreed to take y'all on an adventure today!" His forced excitement didn't get the students excited, at least not overly excited.

Jack thought about pointing out that he hadn't been part of that conversation. He was one of the teachers in charge here, after all. He should have a say in what they all did as a group. But he kept quiet.

"There's some trails we wanna get to today," Stephens went on. "So we're gonna split off into two groups, tackle those trails, and then come back here in the mornin'." He smiled when some of the students looked a bit more excited now. "Yes, folks, we'll be spendin' a night away from the main camp. It'll be worth it, don't worry. We've picked out some great campin' spots that y'all will really enjoy."

"Two groups?" Jack spoke up, getting Stephens' attention. "How're we gonna split that up?" He didn't have to point out that there were three teachers. One group was going to end up with two teachers or else one would be left at the main camp. There was no way in hell he was going to be left behind.

"You and Mr. King will take one group and head south," Stephens said. "I'll take the rest of the students up north." He spoke as if the answer had been obvious and Jack got the feeling that he wasn't going to like this arrangement. "You'll be Mr. King's assistant and I'll be pickin' one of the older students as my assistant."

Jack felt like he had been gut punched. There would be no other student Stephens would pick. Not after the way he talked yesterday. About Ennis. Before he could protest, King pulled him off to the side with a map to show him where they would be going. Jack had to put it aside for now.

They weren't planning on heading out until mid-morning. After going over the map with King and finding out who all would be in their group, Jack finally found the time to catch Stephens alone. Stephens was in his tent, packing up a few things for the overnight stay.

"What the hell?" Jack asked, keeping his voice from rising so no one outside the tent would overhear. "I don't know what you've got goin' here-"

"It's an activity for the students, nothing more," Stephens said then turned to face Jack. "What else would it be?" He stood straight as if asking Jack to defy his decision. And after learning Ennis would be in Stephens group, and Stephens' assistant, Jack was ready to defy him.

But he couldn't. As he had told Ennis, there was nothing he could do. Not without pissing Stephens off enough to start talking once they got back into town. Which was probably why Stephens was doing this now. He wanted Jack to say something to give Stephens the excuse to ruin lives. There was still nothing stopping Stephens from saying something, but if Jack played along, maybe Stephens would stay quiet. It was a risk Jack had to take.

"I was just wonderin' why we couldn't go as a group, that's all," Jack said, wishing he could just punch the teacher in the face. Get all of this aggression out. But then he would have to explain why he had done it.

"We'll be in a group the rest of the time," Stephens said. The smirk on his face showed that he was enjoying Jack's discomfort about it all. He stepped past Jack and left the tent without another word.