case, my encounter with a blast from my past was way, way worse.
"Yeah, it's me. It's nice to see you Mr. Baxter."
"I can't believe it's you. This is the last place I expected to see you, Travis."
There he was--my old guidance counselor, Mr. Baxter. He stood right in front of me...a hot guy next to him and two kids with cotton candy in their sticky hands rounded out the picture. The Downy's Funtime Express had reached its last stop and I had nowhere to hide when he confronted me. It had been seven years since I'd seen him at my high school graduation, but he still looked good. I'd had a crush on him from the first time I'd been forced to go to his office to discuss my "future" after a bad performance on my PSAT test.
It was also around the same time my grades had taken a dip. My parents were splitting up and the stress had taken its toll. Mr. Baxter was the first authority figure I felt I could open up to, so I did. He'd made me feel like everything was going to be okay and, ultimately, it was. For a while, anyway. He was also the only one at my school who believed I could be anything I wanted to be. Too bad I'd only managed to find a menial job and didn't fulfill all that promise he saw in me. It made our chance meeting all the more painful.
"My uncle owns the place, so..."
There was no end to that sentence, so I didn't provide one. Mr. Baxter looked me up and down, taking in my conductor's gear, and smiled. His companion and the kids took a few steps away, and I hoped Mr. Baxter would follow them, but no such luck. He took another step closer to me and kept talking.
"Well, I must say, I saw your future turning out a little, uh, differently. What happened to State? Last I heard you were in college. And doing quite well."
I shifted my weight as the train started to fill up again, anxious kids and families waiting to be whisked around the park at extremely slow speeds. It was tough to look him in the eye, but I managed for a moment as I started to try to explain with as little detail as possible.
"I was at State, but that didn't really work out. I had to leave school for a little while. I'd like to go back, and I plan to, you know, when I save up enough money. Right now, though, I gotta pay the bills. You know what I mean, Mr. Baxter?"
"Please, it's been years. You can call me Andrew now."
"Okay, Andrew."
"Why did you have to leave school, Travis? Was it a grade issue? Because you had really turned things around by senior year."
"Um, well...not exactly."
I looked at the guy who was with Mr. Baxter and noticed him glancing at his watch while trying to keep a smile on his face. The kids were also chomping at the bit to leave, running in a circle around the guy, trying to get him to leave Mr. Baxter behind and take them to the next ride. Not that I blamed them. If I could have been running to the merry-go-round or the Tilt-A-Whirl, I would have. The guy, whose khakis were so well pressed my mother would have been impressed, cleared his throat to get Mr. Baxter's attention. I was thankful it seemed to work, as I had no desire to answer his question. He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave me a weak smile.
"Well, we should go. The kids can't really stand still this long. It was good to see you, Travis."
"You too, Mr. Baxter."
He turned to go, but only got a step away before he turned back.
"We should catch up some time, Travis. I'd love to hear what you've been up to these last few years. How many has it been?"
I knew he was being nice, so I tried my best not to sound too condescending when I spoke.
"Seven years. And, yeah, sure. Getting together sounds good."
It was one of those things people said, but never followed up on. I was being polite. Then he shocked the hell out of me when he fished a business card out of his wallet and handed it to me.
"Give me a call. Maybe we could grab some coffee."
"Okay."
"You look good, Travis. Really good."
I was speechless as the kid with the blue cotton candy dragged
"Yeah, it's me. It's nice to see you Mr. Baxter."
"I can't believe it's you. This is the last place I expected to see you, Travis."
There he was--my old guidance counselor, Mr. Baxter. He stood right in front of me...a hot guy next to him and two kids with cotton candy in their sticky hands rounded out the picture. The Downy's Funtime Express had reached its last stop and I had nowhere to hide when he confronted me. It had been seven years since I'd seen him at my high school graduation, but he still looked good. I'd had a crush on him from the first time I'd been forced to go to his office to discuss my "future" after a bad performance on my PSAT test.
It was also around the same time my grades had taken a dip. My parents were splitting up and the stress had taken its toll. Mr. Baxter was the first authority figure I felt I could open up to, so I did. He'd made me feel like everything was going to be okay and, ultimately, it was. For a while, anyway. He was also the only one at my school who believed I could be anything I wanted to be. Too bad I'd only managed to find a menial job and didn't fulfill all that promise he saw in me. It made our chance meeting all the more painful.
"My uncle owns the place, so..."
There was no end to that sentence, so I didn't provide one. Mr. Baxter looked me up and down, taking in my conductor's gear, and smiled. His companion and the kids took a few steps away, and I hoped Mr. Baxter would follow them, but no such luck. He took another step closer to me and kept talking.
"Well, I must say, I saw your future turning out a little, uh, differently. What happened to State? Last I heard you were in college. And doing quite well."
I shifted my weight as the train started to fill up again, anxious kids and families waiting to be whisked around the park at extremely slow speeds. It was tough to look him in the eye, but I managed for a moment as I started to try to explain with as little detail as possible.
"I was at State, but that didn't really work out. I had to leave school for a little while. I'd like to go back, and I plan to, you know, when I save up enough money. Right now, though, I gotta pay the bills. You know what I mean, Mr. Baxter?"
"Please, it's been years. You can call me Andrew now."
"Okay, Andrew."
"Why did you have to leave school, Travis? Was it a grade issue? Because you had really turned things around by senior year."
"Um, well...not exactly."
I looked at the guy who was with Mr. Baxter and noticed him glancing at his watch while trying to keep a smile on his face. The kids were also chomping at the bit to leave, running in a circle around the guy, trying to get him to leave Mr. Baxter behind and take them to the next ride. Not that I blamed them. If I could have been running to the merry-go-round or the Tilt-A-Whirl, I would have. The guy, whose khakis were so well pressed my mother would have been impressed, cleared his throat to get Mr. Baxter's attention. I was thankful it seemed to work, as I had no desire to answer his question. He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave me a weak smile.
"Well, we should go. The kids can't really stand still this long. It was good to see you, Travis."
"You too, Mr. Baxter."
He turned to go, but only got a step away before he turned back.
"We should catch up some time, Travis. I'd love to hear what you've been up to these last few years. How many has it been?"
I knew he was being nice, so I tried my best not to sound too condescending when I spoke.
"Seven years. And, yeah, sure. Getting together sounds good."
It was one of those things people said, but never followed up on. I was being polite. Then he shocked the hell out of me when he fished a business card out of his wallet and handed it to me.
"Give me a call. Maybe we could grab some coffee."
"Okay."
"You look good, Travis. Really good."
I was speechless as the kid with the blue cotton candy dragged
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