“Good morning, Gilly.” APD walked in with a mug of coffee that was far too large for any human being. “I’m glad I found you. The junior high and high school want to team up with you again for National Honor Society for the teaching grant. You still okay to head that up? I know you’re busy, but you’ve done great work with all the fundraisers.”
“Right, yes. Of course.” I hit my forehead with my free hand. “I loved the program last year.”
“Great. I’ll give the go-ahead for it, but I know you’re swamped with everything else going on so far. They have announcements going out next week, but are yousureyou can collect the funds for our school? I can find someone else.”
“Yes, I really don’t mind.” The grant with NHS went to a high school senior who was planning on being a teacher and helped them with college funds. The year before, our school raised a thousand dollars for it, and combining it with the junior high and high school, the student received enough to help cover tuition for a semester at state school. It was amazing and something I held close to my heart.
No one needed to know how much I donated or how much I made Fritz put in. It was our secret, and one way we could give back without credit. I smiled, hoping to ease APD’s worried face. “This grant is important to me, okay? I’ll handle it just fine. Let me know when donations can start coming in, so I can arrange with the bank for the separate account.”
“Perfect. Okay, I can check this off my list. Thanks, Gil. Oh—that conference in Chicago? The literacy one you emailed me about? It was full, but I got you booked. All the information is in an email. Counting on you to bring back all the information and share it with staff.”
“Got it. Thanks, APD.”
He moved on to another teacher in the lounge and started talking about the IEP meeting that afternoon, and I took that as my time to leave.
Butterflies sent a weird manic energy through me as I headed toward my classroom and found Christopher leaving his room, wearing a fitted navy sweater and gray slacks that fit himsowell.
He stopped midstride and gave me the widest smile I had seen from him. “Hey, Gilly,” he said, his gaze moving down to my bright-purple flats. “I got your mail for you and was about to drop it on your desk.”
“Thanks?” I chewed on the side of my mouth as he followed me into my room.
He smelled so good, like laundry and leather, and the tension from last night was still there. He waited as I set my bag on my chair and faced him, and my breath caught in my throat at how he looked at me.
He had no business doing this at work, making me flustered and confused.
“So, my mail?”
“Right.” He blushed and passed a stack over to me. “There was an article inEducation Magazinethat I thought you might like. I added it to your pile. Just recycle it if you don’t want to read it.”
“I’ll look at it,” I said, running my finger over the desk. When I looked up at him, he stood close and his eyes were heated.
Oh damn. My mouth dried up, and I took a sip of tea to take a moment. My question was answered though—the sexual tension was very much still alive. We stared at each other, the air seeming to thicken between us when Larissa poked her head in.
“Heyo, Gilly, how was the single—oh my, am I interrupting?”
“Absolutely not,” I said, embarrassed at the thoughts I was having at seven thirty in the morning at myjob.I was always professional.UntilChristopher showed up. “We were talking about mail and, uh, a conference,” I lied.
“Right,” Christopher said, narrowing his eyes at me a bit as confusion swirled in those blue orbs. “Tell me, Larissa. Don’t you think it would be more beneficial if we both went to a literacy training instead of just her? I think it would be great to bring back the knowledge for our students, and we could each work with the rest of the staff.”
“He’s right. The few I’ve been to were so rich and intense, my brain spiraled out of control, and I only attended half the sessions. Two or three people would be better.” She shrugged, giving me an apologetic smile.
“Exactly.” Christopher looked smug, and while they were both right, I wasn’t ready to agree to a conference with him when it was highly unlikely he could attend. APD said he had to pull strings to get just me.
“Dang it,” Larissa said, eyeing her smart watch. “My mom has called three times, and that’s never a good sign. Talk to you later, Gil. I want to hear about the singles night. I hope you have some good stories for me.” She pointed a finger at me and gave me a hard look before leaving and shutting the door after her.
That left the two of us alone in my room.
“Have a great day, Ms. Carter,” he said, giving me another playful smile before heading toward the door. The immediate departure caught me off guard again, but before I could say anything, he paused at the door frame. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
“Lunch?”
“Buddy teachers meet on Tuesdays.” His eyes flashed with amusement. “I can’t believe you forgot.” He shook his head in mock disappointment and put a hand over his heart before walking out.
The morning exhaustedme in the best sort of way. I loved the beautiful chaos of teaching and loud voices and endless questions, but sometimes, I wanted to insert an IV of caffeine to get through the day. It was one of those days, and after getting more tea with the highest amount of caffeine, I got my salad and went to Christopher’s room. Buddy teachers were supposed to meet in their buddy’s room to make them feel at home and more comfortable, but being in his room meant he had more power.
Yes, his walls were boring and bare, and that had zero reflection of how good of a teacher he was or how much his kids liked him, but it still annoyed me.
“One day I’m going to come in here and spray paint everything hot pink,” I said as my greeting. He looked up from his laptop and rolled his eyes. “I’ll do it.”
