An overhead announcement reminding them that the speaker presentation was about to begin in fifteen minutes kept them from chatting further.
“I’ll look for the map from you later today. See you later.”
“Later.”
Even though the meeting had nothing to do with her directly, she thought it would be a good idea to listen to the public speaker to get a sense of what the school’s overall mission was for the year, so she trailed after the rush of staff headed to the auditorium.
She took a spot along the wall, just inside the doors to the back of the house. Shortly after, he walked past her. With a smileand a head nod, he greeted her, then continued on toward the stage.
Watching him walk away, she allowed herself a moment of admiration for the man. When she met him at the hospital, it amused her that he didn’t know who she was right away. Granted, she’d never met him during the interview process, but as soon as she was hired, she began to “stalk” the staff online to get a head start on putting names to faces.
Since he was her immediate boss in the building, his was the first face she’d hunted for. His photograph startled her a bit because he wasn’t what she’d pictured as a high school principal. His short, black hair was styled to a traditional male cut, but he had a slight cowlick over his right eye. His mouth was in a straight line, but the ghost of stubble surrounding his mouth and chin gave it the barest hint of a smile. The juxtaposition of those features and his intense brown eyes gave his face a bit of cheeky sexiness.
It appeared that the English teacher-turned-principal’s look was having the same effect on other women in the audience, as she couldn’t help overhearing the two women closest to her murmuring to each other.
“How the female staff in his building can concentrate, I have no idea,” the redhead said. “Saint Mary Ignatius, I wish I worked in this building.”
Her blonde friend giggled. “Yeah, but then you’d be in the main office all the time and not get any work done. Plus, you’d probably have all the moms to compete with.”
“I wonder if teachers can get sent to the principal’s office?”
“Holy moly, don’t say things like that! Now all I can picture is being bent over his desk and him smacking my ass with a ruler.”
The two women dissolved into quiet laughter.
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the man in question. He’d put his glasses onand was reading through the handout everyone had picked up on the tables as they walked in. It was the glasses that led her thoughts astray. Now,shecouldn’t get the desk and ruler scenario out ofherhead. Talk about inappropriate.
After introductions of the new administration and a short welcome from the superintendent, the speaker came on stage and talked about how teachers needed to develop relationships with students. It was a great message—something she had practiced as a police officer when she was out and about on the streets, because many of the people she came across she saw over and over. Repeat offenders were some of the easiest to deal with because they knew her, knew she’d treat them with respect, even during some of their worst moments, and knew she didn’t always like what she had to do, but she was fair about it. That philosophy would easily transfer to students and teachers, especially since they were the ground floor of discipline in the building, much like an officer was on the streets.
After the speaker was done, she went to her office for a quick bite to eat, then headed out with her map again to finish her survey. She finished her major goal with about twenty minutes to spare, using that time to make a few minor changes on her page of the slideshow presentation for the meeting, and then headed to the all-purpose room.
Dr. Vaughn led the meeting with his two assistant principals, asking various individuals, like the school nurse, to share certain policies for the new teachers and as reminders to the veterans. He saved Elyxandre for last.
“We have a new school resource officer this year, Elyxandre Hookstead. She comes to us from the New Orleans Police Department, so please be sure to welcome her to the building and what is sure to be a bit of culture shock in the clientele.”
There was a chorus of laughter from the teachers and staff.
“Thank you, Dr. Vaughn. I know my name is a bit unusual. It’s pronounced eh-lek-sahnd, but I’m sure most of the students will end up calling me Officer E. Please feel free to use that as well.
“We’re in the process of updating the building map, and I will be posting hard copies in your rooms, as well as providing you with a personal copy by Friday.
“In the meantime, I was asked to go over the safety procedures with you for the building regarding our fire, tornado, hold, and lockdown drills that we’ll be conducting with the SAPD and SAFD. I know there will be questions, as they are slightly different than what you’ve done in prior years, but these are in line with the latest safety regulations, and I’ve provided you with a flowchart in your welcome-back packet. I promise this review will be quick and painless.”
She launched into the procedures, guiding people through the flowchart for each drill and then showing them the proposed changes for labeling the outside doors. There were a few questions, but nothing major, so she felt it went well.
The school year had officially started, and day one was in the books. So far, so good.
I NEED TWO REFEREES AND A NEW AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT
ELYXANDRE
Three weeks later,she was standing in the hallway, greeting students as they were leaving for the day, when Ezra Vaughn approached her.
“Hey, Officer E! Do you have a minute?”
“Hey, Ezra.” They did a fist bump, which was how the students had decided to greet her. It was odd, but she decided she kind of liked it. “What can I do for you, boss?” That was the other oddity. They all wanted her to use “boss” like they saw on police reality shows. Whatever worked with them was fine with her.
“Homecoming is in three weeks, and we need two referees for the flag football games. I’m trying to get Dad to agree to be one of them, and I was hoping I could sway you to be the second.”
