I clear my throat. “Nothing. What’s up?”
Lina eyes me suspiciously. “Okay. Well, I wanted to check in with you about two things,” she tells me. I stare at her with wide eyes. “…the Fall Festival next week,” she lists on one of her fingers, “and the incident with Max’s dad,” listing on a second.
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Sure, yes. The Fall Festival is all up to speed. I just updated the spreadsheet. Everything on our side is mostly green… or teal. It’s all set. Only one or two ‘yellow’ tasks left, but those remain for the day before the event. How about your side?”
She updates me on their tasks and asks me a few questions about how to move forward with some of the logistical operations.
“Ask the PTO for two parent volunteers to run the ticket booth,” I tell her, after thinking. “And make sure there are at least ten adults there two hours before start time to help organize and set up. You checked our projector to make sure it’s still working?”
“Got it. And not yet. I’ll go dig it out after this.”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
“And what’s the deal with Max’s dad? Do I need to throw hands?”
I am silent for a second, thinking of the best way to phrase my answer. “There was an incident with Max and another student in his classroom. Georgia confronted dad outside after school. It was not… a diplomatic way to handle it.”
“Well, we both know that he probably deserved it.”
“Yes, but still. It was not… safe. She got in his face, and you know what he’s like.”
She nods unhappily. “But is it handled now?”
“There’s one thing I’m worried about,” I tell her. “Superintendent Daniels came in recently. He told me he didn’t want to hear anything about that classroom. It’s making the district look bad. I have a feeling he’s heard from Max’s dad already, and he just wants the class off the radar. No drama.”
“Or else, what?” Lina asks, quick enough to pick up on the undercurrent of his message.
“Or else I can kiss the spot as his Deputy Superintendent goodbye.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Annoyed, obviously, but I need to heed his warning.”
“Have you talked to Georgia about reeling it in?”
I give her an incredulous look. “Have you even met Georgia?”
“Yes, Oliver, you patronizing prick.” She crosses her arms. “But you’re still her boss.”Tell me about it. “If she needs to reel it in, you need to tell her to reel it in.”
“Didn’t youjusttell me to lay off her?”
She taps her foot. “Yes, to stop being an asshole to her. But before, the District just wanted you to keep her test scores up, which we both know was a straightforward task. But now, this ‘no drama’ thing? This is an explicit district directive. And now both your jobs are on the line. Neither of you wants to bewritten up for insubordination. Right? Isn’t this a little different now?”
I think about it. “I suppose. The stakes are higher now, I guess.”
“Yeah. But my point from before still stands, I think. It’s important to let her know. Tell her what’s going on. Communicate honestly with her.”
“I can’t betoohonest with her,” I mumble to myself. Because if I am, I’d probably be fired for harassment. Of the sexual kind.
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Okay. I will,” I tell her.
“You’re being weird. Get your act together, boss.”
“Trying, Lina.”
I find myself standing by the tomato stand at 9:55 on Saturday morning. I also make sure that I do all my shopping beforehand. For no particular reason. In fact, I’m a little confused as to why I’m standing here right now.
