“Well, don’t get your panties all up in a bunch. I meant nothing harmful by it.”
If Kira’s eyes could have shot lasers, the principal would be a smoldering pile of smoking ash. She took a short, calming breath before saying, “Principal Reynolds, if anything happens to my client—and I mean anything—the lawsuit I will bring against you and this school district will be so sweeping they’ll bury you to get out from under it.”
The principal stared at her. His demeanor quickly sobered as he realized this conversation was over.
Without saying a word, Kira stood and left the office. Blayne was shocked by what had happened. Blayne looked at the principal. Then his eyes shot toward the door where Kira was no longer standing, so Blayne scrambled out of the chair and was out of the office and down the hall. Kira had almost reached the school’s front door when Blayne finally caught up to her.
When they were outside, Kira said nothing as they walked back to his car. He unlocked the car, and they piled inside before Kira finally exploded. “That fuckwit! That insolent, cockwomble, douchecanoe, wankpuffin.”
“Did they teach you all those names in law school?” Blayne said, trying not to laugh.
Kira turned and looked at him, but as soon as she saw Blayne’s smirk, the piss and vinegar went right out of her.
“How’s meditation doing for your anger issues?” Blayne asked, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head.
“Fuck you,” Kira said, as she chuckled and rolled her eyes.
“He really got under your skin.”
“Well, it was bad enough he’s not living up to the standard of care for his students under the law, but when he called me ‘missy’ and told me not to get ‘my panties in a bunch’, I wanted to reach across his desk and punch that smirk right off his face.”
Blayne put the key in the ignition. “See? I call that progress. You didn’t hit him.”
Blayne threw the car into reverse, pulling out of the parking space. The parking lot was pretty empty as he righted the car and drove toward the exit. Blayne glanced out of the passenger-side window as they left and saw the principal walking to one of the few other cars left in the lot.
“Hey, look,” he motioned with a jerk of his head. “It’s the cockwomble.”
* * * *
After he dropped Kira back at her place, Blayne picked up some Chinese takeout before heading to his apartment. When he got inside, he kicked off his shoes, laid out his food and turned on the TV to catch the news. He was only half-listening about some murder in New Orleans. He flipped the channel, looking for something mindless to watch. He finally settled on an old episode ofNCIS.
Gibbs was doing something with Abby in the forensics lab. Blayne watched and spooned in a mouth full of noodles. He reached down, picked up his phone and scrolled through the messages. He had a few emails from students that he shot back quick answers without saying, “It’s on the syllabus.”
He was about to put the phone down when his dating appEndZonetold him he had a message. He pulled it up and read.
Hey B.
Hope all is good in your world. Thanks for the response last night. Yesterday was one of the crappiest days of my life. I need a friend right now. I can’t talk about these things with my colleagues.
Over the previous year, Blayne had learned that Roy’s job enabled him to do quite a bit of traveling, but he was also tied down to his job and his coworkers. When Roy was venting about work, he frequently mentioned his coworkers were like family.
For Blayne, he had more of a split personality. He did his best not to have his two lives overlap often. There was his work and school—then his personal life. He felt life was more balanced and manageable when he could keep the different parts of his life clearly separated.
Hey, Roy.
I’m here for you any time you need me.
B.
Blayne almost hit send but amended the message.
If you ever want to talk, let me know.
He gave Roy his phone number.Blayne paused before hitting send. He knew giving a stranger his phone number over the Internet was asking for problems, but he’d been talking to Roy for almost a year, so giving Roy his phone number seemed like a natural progression in their friendship.
He set his cell back on his coffee table and went back to eating his dinner as he finished the rest of the episode ofNCIS. As usual, Abby solved the case, and Gibbs made the arrest.
After dinner, Blayne packed away his leftovers in the fridge and pulled out a book he needed to read for one of his classes, which was all the rage in 2020. He read the back cover, which seemed reasonable. Still, he knew Pluckrose and Lindsay’sCynical Theorieswas controversial to progressive academics like himself. He laid back on his couch and opened to the prologue.
