by Lia London
Nikki blushed. “I just go through the room at the end of each day and pick up the candy wrappers. Good grief, there are a lot of candy wrappers.”
“Wait ‘til Halloween,” said Gayle.
Nikki described the room’s defects, and Doug took down the work order, hanging the clipboard on a nail. “That’ll be a snap. I’ll get to it today right after classes.”
“Wow, really? So fast? How can I ever thank you?” Nikki couldn’t believe she’d waited so long to meet this man.
“He likes brownies,” said Gayle with a playful poke to Doug’s belly.
“Ah, anything edible will do,” he said.
“Salsa? I make a mean salsa.”
His face brightened. “That sounds great. Here, I’ll escort you ladies back up to the land of the living.”
As they went, they sang and danced “Let it Snow”. Gayle caterwauled dissonantly, but with great flair, and Nikki laughed as much as she sang. At the top of the stairs, she turned a breathless grin on Doug. “I’ll see you after school, and I owe you salsa. Thanks so much for the snow dance!”
She and Gayle pressed their way into the throng of students. Doug waved hello to Ross, who had clearly just broken up a fight. “Hey, you were right about the new kid!” he called, pointing at Nikki.
She glanced back and caught the exchange. Ross cast a sheepish glance at her and then turned back to the work of talking to the fighters.
20~Helping David
Nikki stared at the graded essay in front of her. Oh, David, what am I gonna do about you? Though he had shown marked improvement in class, and his attitude had been positive overall, he kept scraping the line of eligibility to play sports, and she worried that his one beloved activity would be taken away if he couldn’t get his academic act together. With a sigh, she glanced at her watch. She still had half an hour left in her prep period. I wonder what Coach is doing this period?
She made her way through the deserted halls to the gymnasium, smelling it before she reached the doors. Voices shouted quick commands, and she heard the squeak of tennis shoes on the hardwood floors and the occasional bounce of a ball. Standing in the doorway, she watched two simultaneous games of volleyball going on, each boys vs. girls. The groups had clearly been divided by ability, with the more skilled students playing against each other, and the beginners, closer to her, floundering, but having fun.
Will roamed back and forth between the two games, calling out to the kids. He was more inclined to correct the gifted players, whereas with the struggling ones, he just encouraged.
At least he isn’t one of those P.E. teachers who is out to humiliate the nonathletic kids.
A sharp whooping holler sounded from the far end of the gym, and Nikki recognized Sammi. Her teammates all gave her high-fives, and Will shouted, “Nice work, Sammi! One more, now. One more!”
Rather than monitoring both games, he leaned forward with his hands on his knees, watching the play intently. A girl on Sammi’s team said, “Game point,” and served the ball just barely over the net, causing the boys to scramble to get beneath it in time. They managed to volley it back, and then, with astonishing speed, Sammi bounded into the air and spiked the ball with a force disproportionate to her tiny frame.
The girls went wild with victory, screaming and hugging each other. “Sam-mi! Sam-mi!” Will clapped loudly—Nikki noticed coaches could always clap more loudly than normal humans—and shouted, “Take your victory lap!”
Sammi took off running, followed by her teammates, and they rounded the perimeter of the gym smiling rather than complaining about the run. As they neared the door where Nikki stood, she waved, “Nice job, Sammi!”
“Ms. F!” Sammi’s face shone even brighter. “Did you see that?”
“I did! A+ spiking!”
Sammi turned and jogged backwards, giving a double thumbs-up to Nikki. In the background, Nikki saw that Will had spotted her and felt her heart skip at the way his eyes lit up. Distracted by his flexing chest muscles, she didn’t track Sammi’s course and so didn’t warn her.
Crash!
Sammi backed forcibly into the pole holding up the beginners’ net. She spun and grabbed the pole in an attempt to stop herself from toppling backwards, but that rocked the net. Another student reached out to steady her, and someone tried to grab the net. A moment later, everything smashed to the floor.
A moment of stunned silence broke when Sammi raised a fist of victory. “I’m okay!”
Laughter and more cheers of “Sam-mi! Sam-mi!” erupted, and the students scrambled to help lift the pole back into place. Very quickly, however, they made it worse, and Will roared, “All right everyone. Take a lap and shower up!”
Sammi grinned and brushed herself off. “The cosmos is keeping me humble.”
Will slapped her shoulder. “Skip the lap, Sammi. Head on down and get the hottest shower.”
“Thanks, Coach,” she said. She waved to Nikki in parting.
Will and Nikki smiled awkwardly at each other for a moment while the room drained of teenagers. Left alone in the silence, Nikki forgot why she’d come. She glanced down at the net. “Need some help with this?” she asked.
He surveyed the damage. “Yeah, that’d be great. I don’t know how a handful of kids can make such a mess.”
Nikki stooped to pick up the net, and Will unhooked the ends of it from the fallen pole. “Here, pull it long,” he directed. “We can sort the knots better that way.”
She obeyed, and they worked at unwinding the twists.
“Ugh. It got knotted somehow. Do you have long nails?”
Nikki fluttered her modestly tipped fingers at him. “Not much, but I’ll give it a try.” She bent over the jumble of twine that he held and became acutely aware of his proximity. He exuded strength, and even with her head bowed, she could sense his eyes on her. Their hands never quite touched, and yet she could feel a surging electricity. Excitingly uncomfortable, or uncomfortably exciting. She wasn’t sure she could trust herself. If he grabbed her now and kissed her, she might not fight back. Can he hear my heart pounding? Am I really as hormonal as the girls I teach?
“Did you need me for something, or are you just an angel that seeks out good deeds to perform?” he asked, his voice warm and close to her ear.
Nikki closed her eyes, hidden from his view, and tried not to tremble at the chemistry she felt. You can’t tell me his cologne is doing all of that! She took a deep breath and answered without looking up. “It’s David.”
“Pembroke?” He sighed heavily. “Did he flunk something?”
“No, no. Not quite that bad.” Nikki released the final knot and stepped back, allowing Will to rehang the net. She was grateful to put space in between them.
“The kid’s amazing with his body, just not his brain.”
“Different kind of intelligence,” said Nikki. “He’ll have to be a coach when he grows up.”
“Did you just insult me?” he asked with puppy-dog eyes.
She batted her lashes innocently. “Did I?”
“I resemble that remark,” said Coach, now looking at her intently. His half-smile disarmed her, and when he moved in closer again, she felt her heart skip a beat. “It’s very sweet of you to worry about him like that.” His fingers brushed her arm lightly, sending tingles down her back.
“You asked me to,” she said, stepping back. “Just trying to follow through.”
He smiled knowingly, and she wondered what he thought he knew. “I also asked you to go to lunch with me again,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Any chance you’ll follow through on that one?” He winked and moved to put his hand on her shoulder.
Nikki inwardly chastised herself for not staying on guard. Red alert! I’m not sure how to handle this! “I’m a married woman,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Been there, done that,” he said, shrugging off her concern. “You can trust me to be discreet.”
Ew! “Will!”
“And very worth your while
.”
A grating buzzer sounded to mark the end of class, only partially masking the sound of her frustrated scream.
The next morning, Nikki hatched a plan to help David that didn’t involve Will Carlin.
“Robert, Sammi, can you come here, please?”
The two cast curious glances at each other and left their peer editing groups. “What’s up?” Robert shoved his glasses back up his nose and leaned with both palms on Nikki’s desk. Sammi squatted so that her chin rested on a stack of handouts.
Nikki drew a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. “I know how much you two love peer editing.”
Robert groaned and Sammi snorted. “Unless we’re editing each other, no one finds our rare mistakes,” said Robert smugly.
“What if I let you off the hook on that duty in class for the rest of the semester?”
Robert’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as Sammi’s grew with excitement.
“What’s the catch?” Robert would not be easy to persuade.
Nikki leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Do either of you know David Pembroke?”
“Oooh, I do!” Sammi bounced a little.
Robert rolled his eyes. “She has a physical fascination for the guy.”
When Nikki raised an eyebrow, Sammi shook her head. “No, no. Not like that. I don’t think he’s cute or anything. Just fast. He’s amazing! I wish I could get some coaching from him.”
Nikki’s other eyebrow jumped up to join its mate. Suddenly, her face melted into a pleased smirk. “Well, isn’t that convenient?” She flicked her fingers at Robert. “You can go sit down now, Robert. I won’t trouble you further.”
He started to go, but returned with a stage whisper. “Wait. Do I still have to peer edit?”
“Yes. Go. Sit.”
Robert groaned, but did as he was told. Sammi scooched herself to take his spot directly in front of Nikki. “What’s up? What’s up?”
“What if I could arrange a swap of sorts? You help Pembroke with English and he helps you with…whatever, running?”
“But he’s a junior.”
“But you’re the best writer I have in all my classes.”
Sammi’s eyes widened. “Even Robert?”
Nikki licked her lips. “You’d better not tell him. It’ll destroy his ego.”
Sammi grinned, her perfect teeth gleaming and her olive cheeks rising. “I won’t tell him. But thanks! So what’s the deal?”
“Let me iron it out with Pembroke, but maybe you guys can work an exchange. Can you do it without making him feel…”
“Dumb?”
“Yes, please don’t make him feel dumb.”
Sammi shook her head. “He’s not dumb. He’s just a really smart athlete. When he’s in the zone, he can do anything.”
Nikki reached out and grasped Sammi’s hand. “You, Samantha, are wise beyond your years. You have no idea how important this is. I owe you, like...five things…of indeterminate value.”
Sammi squeezed Nikki’s hand. “You’re okay, too. Just get Robert out of peer editing, and we’ll call it even.”
21~Amanda Returns
“Who’s the brown-noser that keeps bringing you apples?” asked Josh, eying the fruit on the corner of Nikki’s desk.
“I don’t know. I came back from lunch, and it was there.” Today’s was a perfect Snow White style apple.
His eyebrows shot up. “You got a secret admirer?”
Nikki felt heat rise to her ears, but looked earnestly at her computer screen, trying to remember what she was looking up.
Students, overhearing Josh as they entered, circled around the desk expressing inordinate interest in the apple. She quickly felt surrounded and embarrassed, and the kids picked up on this.
“Ooooh, Ms. F has a secret admirer!”
“That’s so sweet!”
“You gonna eat that?”
Nikki’s eyes snapped up to David. “Pembroke, you crack me up.” Her eyes flicked just past him to a face with five o’clock shadow. “What do you think, Officer Ross? Is it safe to give the apple to Pembroke?”
Ross scanned the circle of students with a grin. “So much excitement over a piece of fruit. Do the lunch ladies know this? They’ll stop serving pizza!”
“No-o-o-o!” moaned Josh with dramatic pain.
“Seriously, you gonna eat that?” asked David again.
Nikki glanced at Ross, received a confirming nod, and said, “Sure David. You can be Officer Ross’ deputy.”
“Huh?”
Ross laughed, and slapped David’s back. “Sit down, kids. Bell’s about to ring.”
As they dispersed, Nikki looked up. “What brings you by, Officer?”
“I saw a crowd gathering and wanted to make sure you hadn’t passed out or something.”
“So, they might be poisoned apples after all?”
He shook his head, smiling.
“Well, the five you’ve eaten haven’t done you any harm, I guess.”
The bell rang, and he jolted. Leaning in, he whispered, “Just warning you that Amanda’s back.”
“Thanks. Be on stand-by in case there’s a fight?”
“You know it.” He winked and headed out the door, giving a high-five to cowboy Adam on his way. “Tardy, Tex.”
Adam rolled his eyes.
“Officer Ross!” called Nikki, suddenly remembering the contents of her bottom drawer.
Adam swirled around. “I’m getting busted for a tardy?”
Nikki laughed, “Sit down, Adam.” She scooped two jars from her drawer and hurried after Ross. Just outside the door, she said, “I forgot to give you these.”
Puzzled, he took the jars, studying their contents. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Apple salsa,” she said, biting her lip shyly.
His eyes searched hers, sparkling with delight. “But I ate all the apples.”
Her mouth fell open as she realized he’d caught her going out of her way to do something for him. “Oh. Well. You know. Smelling them every day on my desk. I just…” She waved her hands in little circles.
Ross cradled the jars to his chest. “That’s very kind of you.”
Smiling at his reaction, she said, “It’s the least I could do.” She could hear the dreaminess in her own voice, and it scared her. I’m falling. I need to tell him!
“Your husband’s okay with me stealing this much from your stash?”
Gaaaak! But not right now. I have to teach class! Nikki licked her lips, wishing she could lie more convincingly. No, I don’t. I wish I’d never lied in the first place. “He knows you’ve been such a good friend to me,” she said. Her eyes searched his face for emotion even as her heart searched for courage to tell him the truth. She spoke with a tender immediacy, hoping to gauge his response. “I always said that when I got married, it would be the forever kind. The kind where we trust each other. I would never betray the one I love.”
Ross seemed to think about this for a moment before nodding with a half-smile. “Again, thank you. That’s very kind of you both.”
He turned to go, and Nikki felt a piece of her try to follow. Instead, she sighed and went back into the class room to face Adam’s distraught face. “Am I seriously busted? I can’t get detention. My dad won’t let me go on the hunting trip next weekend.”
Nikki laughed and clapped her hands on Adam’s shoulders, turning him around and propelling him towards his seat. “Adam. Sit down. You’re not busted.” She glanced at her roll-taker. “Don’t even mark him tardy today, okay? He might lose a lung hyperventilating, and I don’t want that on my conscience.” She winked at Adam. “Or my floor.”
Cody gave a relieved smile to his friend and turned a sly gaze to Nikki. “So what was with the present for Officer Ross?”
“What do you mean?” Nikki’s heart pounded in her throat.
“You bribing an officer of the law?” asked Adam.
Nikki snorted, her hands on her hips. “Rig
ht. With apple salsa.”
“Applesauce? Ew!” said Cody.
“Apple salsa,” corrected David, his mouth full of apple. He stood and launched the core into the waste basket near the door. “Score!” he cheered, as it clanged into its mark.
The class erupted in cheers and whistles. Nikki crossed her eyes at Adam and Cody. “Ball players!” she whispered. They snickered conspiratorially and forgot all about the apple salsa for Officer Ross, which was what she’d hoped.
Nikki stared at the girl who entered the class and walked across the back of her room mid-lecture on persuasive writing techniques. With blue and purple fluffy hair, she resembled a dollop of cotton candy on top of a black stick. “Can I help you?” The girl turned angry eyes on Nikki, who flinched with recognition. “Amanda! New hairdo. Very...easy to spot in a crowd.”
Unamused, Amanda sat down, casting a half-smile at Justin. He whispered something to her, his eyes darting to Nikki sympathetically. Amanda’s shoulders relaxed and she faced front.
Nikki realized she’d been standing with her mouth hanging open, so she finished her presentation in abbreviated form and assigned the class to start outlining their next project in pairs. Drawing a deep, fortifying breath, she approached Amanda.
“Can we have a quick chat in the hall?”
Amanda did not look up, but held up a pink tardy slip. Ignoring this, Nikki signaled for Amanda to follow her. When Amanda didn’t move, Justin reached across the aisle and tapped her elbow.
“What?” she hissed at Justin.
Hurt in his eyes, he gave her a meaningful look. “Ms. F needs to talk to you.”
Glancing in Nikki’s direction but still not making eye-contact, she exhaled as if civility were a heavy burden. “Whatever.” She stood up and followed Nikki out.
As Nikki walked, she uttered a silent prayer for wisdom to find the right words. Once the door closed, she and Amanda looked at one another, as if measuring the animosity. Except that Nikki didn’t want to feel animosity. How do I start this conversation without starting a fight? She let out a shuddering breath and willed the corners of her mouth to climb up her cheeks a little.
