Hot for Teacher

Written by Drew Mashburn

I was a Junior at Nordhoff High School in Ojai during the school year of 1967-68. That woulda made me sixteen years old when school began that September. We were all checkin' each other out to see how any of us might have changed over the summer break, and, like every year, the guys were hoping to spy new girls in attendance at our school. I'll bet the girls were doin' the same.

A few of my buddies and I spotted a really cute, short, fresh-faced chick new to the school. Nobody knew a thing about her, but we all thought she was a head-turner and had a few compliments to share with one another. I couldn't help but wonder who might be the first to take her out on a date. Who was gonna be the Lucky Dude? It was, for sure, gonna be a competition!

Well, what happened later in the day when I attended my English class? I'll bet you think the "really cute, short, fresh-faced chick that was new to the school" was a fellow classmate or that I was lucky enough to land a seat next to her. Am I right??? If only that had been the case.

Can you imagine my surprise when the "really cute, short, fresh-faced chick that was new to the school" wound up at the front of the classroom writing "Mrs. Arce" on the chalkboard??? That's correct. She was my English teacher. WHOA, NELLIE-BELLE!!! My buds and I had been schemin' on a teacher. It about blew my socks off!

Susana Arce had been Susana Callender when she attended and graduated from Nordhoff High School, only seven years before she became my teacher. Mrs. Arce was extremely young-looking when she landed her position at the school.

I wound up having Mrs. Arce as my English teacher my Senior year, too. It was probably my Senior year that she had us students write a one-page story. She wound up reading mine to the class because she liked it. I don't remember the exact assignment, but I know I wrote disapprovingly of pierced ears. When Mrs. Arce was reading my paper, I noticed she had pierced ears. I slunk lower into my chair and hoped she wouldn't mention the author's name, especially since I noticed several of my female classmates sported pierced ears, too. I was seeing my dating options dwindling. "Please, Mrs. Arce...don't mention my name!" (She never did. Whewie!)

I remember being so embarrassed while Mrs. Arce read my paper, knowing she had pierced tears. It didn't occur to me then, but maybe she was just torturing me for my opinion since hers was obviously the opposite. That was something almost 60 years ago. Therefore, I barely remember being in her classes. However, I must have learned some reasonably decent writing skills from Mrs. Arce. I say that because I've written articles and stories that have been published in several magazines, newspapers, newsletters, an online magazine, and elsewhere. I don't consider myself a super accomplished writer, but I've received many compliments for the stuff I've put out there. That's good enough for me, and I hope Mrs. Arce is a tad proud of herself for assisting me.

Oh, Mrs. Arce and I now only live a few miles from one another in the Ojai Valley. I'm happy to report that we've become friends. We've attended some of my high school reunions and even gone hiking together a few times. Nowadays, she lets me call her "Susie," and I've changed my mind about pierced ears.