Teacher's Plans

by JoAnn Carter

  “I like him. You two seem to match to me.”

  Ready to turn the tables, Amanda asked, “How about you? Any special girls in the picture yet?”

  “Nah, I’ve got a weird family who has me making cars out of cardboard boxes on my day off. How am I supposed to have the time for a girl?” he teased.

  “Excuses, excuses.” Amanda quipped back.

  ****

  Amanda smiled as she thought about her dad’s face at his party last week. It was worth every effort they put into it. If only her mind could stay on those happy thoughts, but now as she sat at her desk this last week of March, she had to think and prepare for the state audit. She glanced out her classroom window, almost oblivious to the beautiful crisp morning. Had she forgotten anything the State would want or need? All of a sudden, a rather short man, wearing a dark overcoat caught her eye as he approached the school. It looked like Tracy called out to him. The man stopped and smiled at Tracy and offered him a warm handshake.

  I wonder who that is? Amanda shrugged it off and tried to turn her attention once again to the matter at hand. What could I have forgotten?

  “Well,” Carolyn brightly announced, as she swept into Amanda’s classroom. “The State has officially arrived this morning.”

  “Oh great.” Amanda moaned. “Do you think I may have forgotten something? For some reason I feel edgy about the audit this year.”

  Carolyn teasingly said, “Ahh, have you tried to cut some corners or something else I should know about?”

  Amanda crinkled up a scrap piece of paper lying on her desk and launched it at Carolyn. “Are you looking to pick a fight this morning?” She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Seriously, Carolyn, I’ve kept up with my students records. That audit three years ago went off without a glitch, but…I don’t know, I just have a weird feeling.”

  Tracy walked into the classroom. “Good morning, ladies.”

  Carolyn said, “The State has arrived.”

  “So I heard.”

  Amanda sighed, “Audit time.”

  Tracy looked at Amanda closely. “You worried about something?”

  Amanda shook her head. “Not really, but something doesn’t feel right.” She walked over to her desk as the bell rang. “Oh well, I guess if I didn’t do something right, it would be too late to fix it at this point.”

  Carolyn rushed to the door. “Catch up with you later.”

  Amanda waved to her friend.

  “Why do I get the impression you feel like it’s the State verses the school?” Tracy asked. “They both want what’s best for the children.”

  “Yes, I know. That’s what the government says about our taxes, too.” Amanda sighed heavily as she realized her comment hadn’t come out right. Trying to wave it aside, she said, “Please don’t misunderstand me. I know Uncle Sam deserves and needs some of our money, but everyone dreads the idea of the IRS reviewing his or her income tax. It’s the fear of the unknown I guess.” Tracy looked as if he might deny it so she continued, “Come on...you know you would think, ‘I wonder if I did something wrong, or miscalculated something.’ That’s precisely why so many people go to accountants. However, there’s no accountant I can go to for the school’s audit.”

  “I hear what you’re saying.” Tracy seemed to have a spark of battle in the depth of his blue eyes as he said, “But, I don’t agree with you. First of all, an audit by the IRS and an audit for the school are two totally different ballgames.”

  “Tracy, have you ever seen a school being audited before?”

  Suddenly the room’s noise level rose by several levels as their first period reading class joined the room. “We’ll have to continue this later.” Tracy gave Amanda a big smile, as he added, “I’m sorry if I came across as a fighting Irishman. Just blame it on my ancestors.”

  ****

  For a week now, the State’s man, Mr. Willis, looked at the Individual Educational Plans and Comprehensive Evaluations as well as met with parents and students. Amanda wasn’t sure what made her feel uncomfortable around him. Perhaps it’s just the position he holds with the State she rationalized. Or, maybe it’s what I like to call ‘little man syndrome.’ Amanda stood several inches taller than he did and what he lacked in height, he made up for with aggressiveness. When he left the room, there was no question what he liked and didn’t like.

  Amanda ran to the teachers’ lounge to get a quick drink, thankful it was Friday. As she entered the room, she noticed Tracy and Mr. Willis sitting together at one of the small tables. They seemed deep in conversation. Tracy looked up, saw Amanda and stopped mid-sentence. Amanda could sense his tension, like it was her own. She see-sawed back and forth about whether or not she should go talk to him to see what was wrong or wait until later when they were alone. The heavy, oppressive silence penetrated the room making Amanda feel edgy. Better wait, she decided.

  She grabbed a can of juice out of the machine and was about to leave the lounge when Tracy met her at the door and opened it for her. “Thanks.” Amanda put her hand on his arm, hoping to convey her support through her touch. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “You okay?”

  “Amanda…” waiting for her to look into his eyes, he continued, “I need to talk to you privately.” Was that concern or fear she saw in the depths of his eyes? “Anytime.”

  “Soon.”

  “Is everything all right?”

  His shoulders sagged and he rested his hand over hers for a brief moment. “I’ll know soon enough.” He gave her a small smile before he promised, “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  What in the world could cause Tracy to be so upset?

  ****

  Tracy came back from taking the kids to the bus lobby, his usual self. “You know, it seems like a life time ago that we went to Big Bill’s together. I’ve been wanting to ask you if you’d be interested in going on another date with me.” Tracy walked closer to Amanda. “I knew this week was going to be hectic, but now that it’s done, would you like to go celebrate the ending of the audit?”

  “It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.” She put her teaching plans away in her bag, puzzled still about their earlier conversation, “How about you? Everything okay between you and Mr. Willis?”

  Tracy hedged, “I’d rather think about you right now. How about pizza and a movie?”

  Sudden thoughts of Carolyn came to her head. Laughing, she said, “I’ve been warned about this.”

  “Warned about what?”

  Carolyn entered the room. Gesturing over to her friend, she said, “I’ve been warned about having pizza on a date.”

  Carolyn chimed right in, “Bad move.” She looked curiously at Tracy. “Who’s talking about dates and pizza anyway?”

  Tracy grinned, “I thought it was a good idea. What so wrong about taking your favorite girl out for pizza?”

  Amanda felt her face grow warm as Carolyn said, “I’ll have to tell you another time.” Carolyn looked at Amanda. “You didn’t forget that we had a ‘date’ for tonight, did you?”

  If it were anyone but her best friend…Amanda took a deep breath. “Oh,” Sheepishly, she admitted, “I can’t believe I almost forgot. Maybe another time?”

  “How about tomorrow?”

  Amanda giggled. “Well, actually, I already have plans for tomorrow as well. I believe you do too—bowling with our college and career group, right?”

  Tracy hit his forehead with his hand. “Now, I’m forgetting my plans. Yes, I’ll be there. Can I give you a lift?”

  Amanda glanced at Carolyn who waited with her eyebrows raised. “Well, I guess that would be okay.”

  “Great.” Tracy grabbed his coat and said, “I’ll see you ladies tomorrow then. Have a nice afternoon.”

  “Thanks,” the women chorused.

  “You, too.” Amanda added.

  After Tracy left the room, Carolyn turned toward Amanda and started to sing, “Hey, good lookin’…What ya got cookin’?”

  She gave
her friend a playful swat. “Oh, cut it out.” She put her hands on her hips. “Besides, look who’s talking anyway.”

  “Oh, no you don’t. We’re not changing the subject. I want to know all the gruesome details about you and Tracy. Anything new happening?”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “If you really want to know, nothing is happening.” Carolyn wore a knowing look that clearly showed she disbelieved Amanda. Amanda huffed out; “This would have only been our second date. It’s no big deal.”

  “Methinks the lady doth protest too much! Anyway, I’ll be by your house at five tonight. Maybe then you’ll be ready to ‘fess up.”

  “But, really…”

  Carolyn didn’t hang around to hear the rest of Amanda’s denial.

  Teacher's Plans

  Teacher's Plans

  Chapter Eleven

  April

  Amanda took a deep breath of the sweet, fresh spring air. She enjoyed looking at the neighbor’s tidy yard. Little buds on delicate green stalks bloomed into a wonderful array of color. The grass was thick and rich green, as if welcoming someone to lie down on its softness.

  It’s a good season for young love. As she hopped into her truck to drive to school, she prayed with a heart full of appreciation, “Thank you, Lord for all the beauty around us that reflects Your glory.”

  She turned into the school’s parking lot; it felt odd not to have the commotion of the school buses leaving to pick up the children while the school’s staff looked for parking spots. Wow, what a difference it is when we’re having our Inservice staff meeting . Amanda pulled her truck into the closest spot by the door. Joey’s teacher greeted her outside. “Do you know what I heard yesterday about your assistant?”

  Amanda raised a surprised eyebrow. “Tracy?”

  “The one and only.” Janice’s eyes looked serious. “I was shocked.”

  “What?”

  “I overheard, from a reliable source that he works for the State.” Seeing Amanda’s bewildered expression, she reinforced her statement by saying, “He’s really a big-wig undercover at our school.”

  “What? But that doesn’t make sense. I’ve never heard of anyone going undercover in a school. I don’t even know if something like that would be legal.” Amanda shook her head in disbelief.

  “Didn’t you notice how he and Mr. Willis seemed to know each other very well?” Janice looked up for a moment to glance at a car arriving. Seeing it was Carolyn’s vehicle, she waved then continued, “I know it struck me as kind-of strange.”

  A tiny seed of doubt planted itself in Amanda’s heart. Oh great…and I’ve been dating him. If this is really true, this is worse than… She refused to even think about her college experience.

  As Carolyn approached them, Janice said, “I need to go. I just thought you’d find that little tidbit as interesting as I did. I’ll catch up with you later. Let me know if you find out anything.”

  Carolyn joined Amanda at her car. In a preoccupied way, Amanda greeted her friend. “Hi, Carolyn.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Is it that noticeable?”

  Carolyn wrapped her arm around her friend. “We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs together. I think we can sense when a storm’s brewing.” She looked carefully at Amanda. “What’s up?”

  “I’m not sure. Janice seems to think Tracy’s work as a Teacher’s Assistant is just...well, a hoax. She overheard from someone that Tracy really is working undercover for the State.”

  Carolyn looked disgusted. “Now where did she hear something like that?”

  Amanda felt like she had to sit down. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask her.” Amanda started walking toward the school so she could rest for a few minutes in her room before the meeting. Peering over at Carolyn, she asked, “Did you notice anything strange in the way Tracy hob-knobbed with Mr. Willis?”

  Carolyn always went to bat for her friends, and apparently, she counted Tracy as one of them. “What exactly does that mean?” Without waiting for Amanda to answer, she commented, “They did seem to talk quite a bit, but when you think about it, Mr. Willis was busy all week talking to people. Tracy was just one of them.” Carolyn opened up the door for Amanda as she questioned, “Besides, why would the State be so interested in our little school—interested enough to send someone in ‘undercover’? That seems pretty radical if you ask me.”

  “You’re right. I’m sure this will probably amount to nothing.” She glanced at her watch. “You’d better get going. I’ll be following you shortly. I want to pray for a minute.”

  “I’m in no hurry. I’ll stay and pray with you if you want.”

  She gave Carolyn a bright smile. “Thanks, but really, I’ll be fine. You go on ahead. You’re right; it must be a crazy rumor.”

  Hesitantly, Carolyn said, “Well, if you’re sure…”

  Ushering her friend out her classroom door, she said, “Yes, yes, go.”

  “Okay, I’ll save you a seat.”

  Amanda went to her desk and sat down. Lord, it is just a rumor, isn’t it? She heard a foot scuffle against the floor in her room. She glanced up and saw Tracy standing a few feet away from her. He looked calm, relaxed and in control. The exact opposite of how she felt.

  “Good morning, Amanda.”

  Amanda swallowed hard. “Morning.”

  Tracy took a few more steps toward her. “I thought you’d be in the library with everyone else.”

  “Umm. I normally would be but, I wanted a few minutes to pray.”

  “Is everything all right?” Tracy asked in a concerned voice.

  “I’m not sure. Perhaps, perhaps…you could help me?” Shuffling her feet, she said, “Someone told me this morning that you work for the State.”

  Was it just her imagination or did Tracy’s face turn pale?

  “Who told you that?”

  Please deny it, Amanda mentally begged. My heart couldn’t take being deceived by you. “Janice met me out in the parking lot this morning.”

  The intercom went off. “Attention all teaching staff, the Inservice will begin in five minutes. If you are not already in the library, please make your way there at this time. Thank you.”

  Amanda grabbed some paper and a pen. Unable to leave the question unanswered in her mind, she asked, “It is just a rumor, isn’t it?”

  Tracy took a deep breath. “It’s complicated. I can’t go into the details right now. How about we talk over supper tonight?”

  Amanda’s heart felt like it sunk to her toes. Is he saying he does work for the State? Amanda shook her head as if to clear it. “Tracy…” She didn’t know if she wanted to scream at him or have him hold her to wipe away her sudden doubts of his honesty, of his love.

  She couldn’t think straight. “I’ll let you know later.” With that, Amanda rushed out the door, leaving Tracy behind.

  ****

  The Inservice dragged on, making it a very long day. However, even with all that had taken place earlier, Amanda began to be filled with a peace from God. She gave Carolyn a grateful glance, as she knew her friend had been praying for her.

  As the last session wrapped up, Tracy headed her way. “Amanda, how about dinner? We need to talk.”

  Carolyn met up with them. She glanced from one to the other. “Hey, Tracy. What’s up? You’ve been very quiet today.”

  Tracy acknowledged her comment with a nod. “Got a lot on my mind.” He turned back toward Amanda. “Can I pick you up around five thirty?”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Thanks.” He gave Amanda and Carolyn the first smile of the day. “I’ve got a few things to do before I pick you up. See you then.” Before he turned to walk away, he added, “Catch you around, Carolyn.”

  Carolyn waved Tracy away. “Yeah, sure.” As soon as he was out of ear shot, Carolyn quickly asked, “What’s going on? He definitely was not his regular self. Did you have a chance to talk to him?”

  Amanda sat back down and offered Carolyn a chair. “He came into the class
room just before our workshop. I asked him about the rumor.” Carolyn looked at Amanda expectantly. “There’s not much to tell. The only thing he said was that it was a complicated situation and we needed to talk. Hence, the date for tonight.”

  Carolyn sat back in her chair and slowly blew the air out of her cheeks. “I think we should pray.” Quickly looking at Amanda, she said as much for herself as for anyone, “And not jump to any hasty conclusions.” Carolyn hopped up from her chair and pointed her finger at Amanda, “And, girl, you had better call me as soon as you get home.”