She tapped her chin, examining me with her sharp, all-knowing eyes. “I see how hard you still work for your family. It’s impressive how you got your degree while working full time for them. I’m sure they’re proud.”
I snorted. “They’d be prouder if I’d chosen the family business over a low-paying teacher’s salary.”
“Maybe that’s why you think struggling with a class makes you a bad teacher.”
I startled, my eyes widening as they met hers. She smiled and sent me finger guns.
“Busted,” I joked, even though I felt like she’d karate kicked me in the chest with one of her high heels.
“Thought I hadn’t picked up on that, didn’t you?”
“I was hopin’ you hadn’t.”
She winked at me. “Mr. Walker, you’re a great teacher, and you’re not out here on your own. You’ll notice, by the way, that none of my brilliant ideas worked last year, either. So we’re gonna keep at it and work together to figure out where the engagement fell off. Once we get that squared, we can figure out how to fix it.”
I let out a slow breath, then asked the question that had been on my mind since the beginning of the last school year. “Are you sure you still want me to teach shop? I’m no Mr. Paige, and I don’t think I ever will be.”
“Mr. Paige was a once-in-a-generation teacher, Mr. Walker. There’s no scenario in which I imagined you’d be able to take over his class at the same level.”
“Then why…?” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
“Because you have more in common with these kids than some junior Bob Vila, or whoever’s popular in woodworking these days. You’re from here, you’ve overcome a lot to get to where you are today, and you’re more than just book smart.”
Before I could protest, she held up a hand. “And you can’t tell me you haven’t come up with a few astute observations about the direction of the class. What’s your gut telling you?” she asked with a pointed look.
Intimidated, I drummed my fingers on my thighs, not certain what I had to say would land well. Seeing my hesitation, she moved her hand in a rolling gesture.Get on with it, Mr. Walker.
Fine. “They don’t have any use for picture frames when they store all their pictures on their phones. If they view a project as a waste of time from the get-go, then there’s not much I can do after that to engage them. They’ve already checked out.”
I hoped I hadn’t offended her. Dr. Gardner, however, looked thoughtful. “This is not the knickknack generation,” she noted smoothly.
“Unless we’re talking about gaming action figures.” My grin fell as I recalled Leo’s words from our conversation on the topic. “There was also a concern that these projects were wasting precious resources.”
“Really?”
I nodded, grateful she was listening so intently. “This generation is really into saving the planet through, among other things, resource conservation. This summer I wanted to Venn diagram projects I can take on with my limited ability that would also have a greater purpose. Or, I don’t know…”
Dr. Gardner bounced her foot, deep in concentration. After a moment, she held up a finger. “The mayor has some incentives in place for community-based learning. Maybe you need something that’s not just environmentally conscious, but also actively good for Seguin. I’m sure we could contact local organizers and come up with a list of projects.”
I bit the inside of my lip, pondering her words. “You know, I volunteer with my friends at the Meeting House most weekends. I bet Beckett would have some thoughts on the subject.”
Her face lit up. “That’s a great idea. Let me know what you come up with.”
We finalized our review, and I shook her hand, ready to head out for my next errand. By the time I got to my old truck, I was feeling a little better about the upcoming school year.
Looking at the box in my passenger seat, I smiled. Time to visit my favorite bartender.
CHAPTER4
ozzie
My uncle Ryan, wearing his full sheriff’s uniform, shifted his jaw. “I saw my father leaving the bar. After verifying that I had not accidentally slipped into another dimension, I figured I should come over and see what’s up.”
Joel snorted.
Already annoyed, I decided to go with the truth. “I had a nail in my tire last night and went to the tire shop to get it repaired. Walker refused to take my money.”
Uncle Ryan shifted his thumbs into his belt loops. “And old Cornelius had to go ring up his good buddy and tell him you were accepting charity?”
