Page 28 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

October Lovers

Silvia’s suggestion rolled around my brain for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Everyone did dorm room pranks when we were students. I had fond memories of rearranging furniture and TPing my friends’ rooms while they were in class or at practice. But that was a long time ago. I wasn’t sixteen anymore. As a teacher, I needed to rise above that kind of immaturity. Didn’t I?

Yes.

Maybe?

Probably…

Obsessing over this was giving me a headache. I shoved all thoughts of Cooper, markers, and revenge roughly out of my brain as I made my way out to the Grove, an area of particularly old and massive trees near Cedar Lake. The October Lovers Club was gathering for their first meeting of the year.

I found the group easily enough. Wearing coordinating sweatshirts in red, orange, and yellow, they looked vaguely like fall foliage. The words “October Lovers” were emblazoned in large block letters across their chests. The sweatshirts might have been perfect club attire had it actually been October. But in the late-summer heat, the students all looked absurdly uncomfortable, even in the shade of an ancient oak with a trunk as wide as a Buick.

I approached with a bright smile. “Hi there. Is this the October Lovers?”

A round-faced boy extended his hand to me. “You must be Ms. Burke. I’m Russel. Pop a squat.”

I shook the very clammy hand before taking a seat between two other students who scooted aside to make room for me. Once I was comfortable with my legs crossed under me and had discreetly wiped my palm on my jeans, I looked around the circle of curious, sweaty faces, one of which I recognized from my AP Chem class. What was her name? She didn’t speak much in class and wasn’t speaking now either.

In fact, no one seemed eager to break the silence.

I had inherited a group of shy geeks. Not my specialty, but I could soften anyone.

“So, this is October Lovers,” I started. “What… um… what do we do in this club? If you don’t mind me asking…”

As one, the group turned to look at Russel. The leader. The boy cleared his throat. “Well, October is obviously the best month of the year.” At this, everyone nodded. Obviously. “So we get together and do October stuff.”

“Right,” I said, not understanding in the slightest. “So, do you guys plan the Halloween party? Or the Homecoming dance? I think those are in October.”

The girl to my left shifted in her spot. “Um, no. The Student Senate does that sort of thing.”

Ah, right. I had been on the Student Senate—a glorified party-planning committee with just enough charity work to call itself philanthropic. It was moderately reassuring to know that some things didn’t change.

I looked between her and Russel. “So then, what do you—”

“We have a bonfire and make s’mores,” he said in a rush.

“And every year we go apple picking,” the girl added.

“And we have a pumpkin carving contest, even though Miriam wins every year—she’s really incredible with a knife.” Russel gestured to the girl from AP Chem.

Miriam—I immediately committed the name to memory—wore an orange sweatshirt that clashed horribly with her strawberry-blonde hair, and she was blushing furiously at the attention, though she might have just been hot.

“I think I get it,” I said. “You all—I mean we—like to do fall stuff.”

“October stuff,” another boy corrected me with a significant look.

“October stuff,” I amended. “Right.” That made some kind of sense. I could get behind October stuff. Thank fuck no one had mentioned camping.

“So, what’s your favorite thing about October?” Russel asked. He had the energy of a chocolate lab in the body of a pudgy teenage boy.

I paused to consider for a moment before answering. Eight sweaty faces peered at me expectantly. “I used to live in Manhattan, before moving here. And one thing I always missed was walking through the woods and seeing all the fall colors. Sure, I had Central Park, but it’s not really the same as a proper hike through a proper forest, you know?”

“I love hiking,” a boy in a red sweatshirt said. “Someday, I’m going to hike the Appalachian Trail. Do you like camping too?”

I barely managed to restrain my grimace.

“Um, no. I’m not really much of a camper unless there is a memory foam mattress involved somehow. But I do like being outdoors. And the fall—October—is the best time for it.”