I raked my teeth over my bottom lip. “No, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
chapter eight
Emme
Today’s Learning Objective:
Students will examine historical documents.
“If we go outfor recess early,” I said, flipping through my plans for the day, “then we’ll have plenty of time for small group reading and writing conferences before lunch.”
Grace tapped a purple pen to my schedule. “I have three kids out for speech at that time.”
“And I have two at occupational therapy,” Jamie added.
“Fuuuuck,” I groaned. Ryan was visiting the school today and while it was all very exciting, it was also screwing up our flexible group schedule. “Okay, then we do a super quick morning meeting and go right into writing conferences. Keep recess at the usual time and then we’re rotating for reading. Whatever time we have left before lunch we can use for read-aloud or freewriting or something.”
Grace hummed. “That might work.”
“Let’s go with this plan,” Jamie said, scribbling down the changes on a sticky note. “Even if we discover five new problems along the way, we’re just going to make the best of it.”
I nodded. There would definitely be surprise problems. “Yeah, and?—”
“Emme.”
Ryan approached from the end of the hall near the front office. He looked thoroughly out of place among the colorful bulletin boards hung at elementary height. His long strides ate up the distance in no time at all. Beside me, I heard Jamie let out a breathy, “Wow.”
“Hi,” he said, holding out two paper cups. “Iced coffee and a smoothie. Since you’re not making them at home.”
“The only way to live is with a drink in both hands.” I took a hearty sip of the coffee—I needed that more than the vitamins and nutrients right now—and motioned toward my friends. “Ryan, I’m sure you remember Grace.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up as he took in my friend, dressed head to toe in black as usual. “As if I could forget.”
“We call her Miss Kilmeade around here,” I said. “And this is Jamie Rouselle. She teaches first grade. Jamie, this is Ryan Ralston.”
Jamie gave him her biggest, brightest smile. She was good at smiling, as strange as that was to say. She had a way of putting people at ease. “Such a pleasure to meet you.”
He nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets. “Thanks for making time for me today.”
Jamie fanned herself with the sticky note. “You’re welcome here any time.”
She was also great at making an innuendo out of anything. I gave her a look that she specifically ignored.
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Grace started in that dangerously sweet tone of hers that promised to fuck up anyone who crossed her, “it would be great if you mentioned to these kids that playing professional sports is an extremely rareoccurrence, and even if they do wind up in your shoes some day, they’ll appreciate having a solid education behind them.”
“I’d be the first one to tell them that,” he said. “I didn’t choose the college with the winningest team or the best coach. I chose the academic program I wanted above all else.”
And the location.He’d wanted to go as far from home as the scholarships would allow. It still brought out a twinge of pain to think about him leaving. About the time between the start of college training camp and when I left for the University of Vermont, and how stunningly alone I’d been. There were friends who were around for a good time and lots of laughs and then there were friends who burrowed into your cells and altered your genetic code, and Ryan would always be the latter.
“I’m just saying, no big promises,” Grace said.
Ryan nodded. “Understood.”
Jamie kept staring like she wanted to take a bite out of him. I swallowed a laugh.
“I could show you around,” I said. “Or?—”
“There he is!”
