5. Ivy
5
IVY
There was something in the air on the last day of school before winter break. Attention spans shrank to nothing, excited chatter was at an all-time high and every classroom clock seemed to move at a snail's pace.
Rather than try and corral a herd of manic ten year olds, I embraced the chaos instead. We did a handmade secret Santa gift exchange, watched Elf and ate cupcakes I had baked the night before.
I also invited James to come visit. He had been a fantastic guest speaker and the kids were ecstatic to learn they had been taking great care of the fish.
“Wait, Dr. James…” Tanner scrunched his face up in thought. “ You’re called James. And Ms. Winter said the betta fish is called James too.”
James caught my eye and winked. “Funny that.” He grinned.
I felt my cheeks heat. Fish James was by far the most beautiful, elegant creature in the entire tank.
While the class was poring over some X-rays James brought, he sidled up beside me.
“How are you going to tell us apart?” he asked, nodding down at the bubbling water.
I blinked. “One of you is a fish and one of you is a human?”
“You’re very smart, Ivy,” he said, managing to sound completely sincere.
“Are you teasing me?”
He clutched at his chest. “Never.” I got a hit of melting marshmallows and hot cocoa as he leaned close. “Only Fish James would do that.”
I could feel myself breaking out in a sweat. His manner flustered me so easily.
Maybe it made the kids a bit too comfortable with him. After a few vet-related inquiries during the Q&A segment at the end, my gremlins went full-on boundary-stomping.
“I’ve seen you around town with Mr. C,” Madison said with her hand still in the air. “Are you and Mr. C bonded?”
“You don’t have to answer that,” I cut in quickly.
“No, it’s ok.” James waved my concern away. “Yes, we are.”
Oh, he was in for it now. Give them an inch and…
“But you’re not an omega.”
I nipped that in the bud as quickly as humanly possible. “Madison, people can bond whoever they wish regardless of designation.”
Another student piped up. “Does that mean you and Mr. C are a pack?”
“Well, there’s only the two of us for now, so I guess you could call us a very small pack,” James answered.
“For now? Does that mean you’re looking for an omega?”
“Is that why you moved to Starlight Grove?”
“Where are you from?”
I silenced the class with three sharp claps, clearing my throat so they knew I meant business. I didn’t miss the immediate pinch in James’ expression on the last question.
“5W, let’s thank Dr. James for being so generous with his time today,” I said firmly.
My students applauded dutifully and thankfully did not ask any more questions.
Rome stuck his head in right before lunch, just as James was gathering his things. His class must’ve gone to the cafeteria already. He always managed to look chic, dressed simply all in black. Small touches accentuating his style, like the signet ring on his finger and the glimpse of a fine chain at his neckline.
The alpha tapped his knuckles against my door. “Your door is squeaky. Have you asked Bruce to fix it?”
Our maintenance man had a very sophisticated system for job requests — he did what he felt like whenever he could be bothered.
I shrugged. “It’s been like that for ages. I’m sure he’ll get on it soon.”
“Hmm.” Rome did not sound convinced.
James threw an oversized jacket on over his scrubs. His face lit up when he saw Rome and my knees went weak from secondary exposure to his dimple.
“How did it go?” Rome asked.
“Terrible,” I catastrophized.
“Fine,” James chuckled. “Your students were great, Ivy. Precocious even. I gotta get back to work.” He waved at the tank. “Bye Fish James.” Then at me. “Bye Ivy.” Rome got a squeeze of his hand, James’ voice going tender. “I’ll see you at home.”
It was a good thing I was leaning against the door so I didn’t melt entirely into the floor of my classroom. I was extremely grateful when the bell rang.
Principal Jeff scampered into the room like an opportunistic little rodent right before the rush of students fleeing to the cafeteria.
“Ivy, so glad I caught you.”
“Here? In my classroom? Right when class ended?”
Jeff showed no signs of detecting my sarcasm. “Larry can’t do bus duty today. Do you mind, Ivy?”
But I did it yesterday.
My brief moment of hesitation did not go unnoticed by Rome.
“I’ll do it, Jeff,” he stepped in.
Jeff almost jumped out of his skin. “Rome, don’t lurk in the shadows like that,” he wheezed.
Rome gave me a pointed look over our principal’s shoulder.
Was I lurking?
I bit my lip and gave a tiny shake of my head.
“I’m sure Ivy doesn’t mind, right?” Jeff gave Rome a wink.
Even I knew that was an extremely dumb move.
“I’m good with doing it, Jeff.”
There was a definite increase of alpha energy in the room and it certainly wasn’t from our beta principal wiping his suddenly perspiring forehead.
“Great, Rome. Knew I could count on you.” Jeff strode out of the room, head aloft as he pretended he had gotten his way. “Make sure you two pop into the cafeteria for a special treat .”
Rome and I watched him leave.
“Why did he have to say it like that? Special treat. ” Rome shuddered. “Any idea what it is?”
“Kenny’s House of Hotdogs,” I said automatically.
I giggled at the bewildered look on Rome’s face. “It’s always Kenny’s House of Hotdogs,” I explained. “It’s terrible and I suspect the only reason he turns up at all these school things is because he has some sort of dirt on Jeff. That and Kenny is his brother-in-law.”
Rome snorted. “I guess this is what small towns are like, huh?”
“Yep. Regrets?”
His expression was odd. “Never.”
We had almost reached the cafeteria when we were intercepted. Robyn taught sixth grade and I was privately concerned the bow of her blouse would eventually consume her whole neck.
“Ivy, can you send me your IEP for Tanner?” she asked, clicking her fingers. “I have a new student starting next semester with autism too. I thought I could just repurpose yours.”
I stared at Robyn and her bow. “They’re Individualized Education Plans,” I emphasized heavily.
Robyn tutted. “I don’t have time to start from scratch, Ivy.”
There was a numb, hollow sensation, the pit in my chest widening. It felt wrong, but Robyn was waiting expectantly. “I’ll send it to you,” I finally said.
“Do you mind looking over it for me when I’m done? You’re doing really well with Tanner,” Robyn said a little too enthusiastically.
“Oh, um, sure. Happy to help.”
She had already wandered off. “Thanks, you’re the best,” she called over her shoulder.
Rome was watching me, his mouth set in a thin line. “Why did you do that?”
I scratched beneath my collar, his intense stare making me itchy. “Robyn is going away for winter break. She probably doesn’t have time to get it ready before they start.”
“So your time doesn’t matter?”
I really didn’t know what to make of his question, nor the way the muscle in his jaw tensed. “I-I’m staying here for Christmas, Rome.”
“Not what I meant,” he muttered but we continued on to the cafeteria without further comment. He pushed the door open for me and our eyes immediately landed on the garish red and yellow cart set up in one corner.
“Ivy, I don’t know if I want to eat mystery meat served to me by a guy wearing a wiener hat.” Rome sounded so adorably despondent I almost hugged him.
Almost but didn’t.
“What could go wrong?” I said brightly.
I really shouldn’t have tempted fate because twenty minutes later I was throwing up into a trash can. In front of Rome of all people, who was pacing back and forth on the verge of tearing his hair out. We’d left lunch together and I was caught off guard in a thankfully empty hall.
I didn’t even want to think about what was in that hot dog to make it come back up so fast.
“Please don’t say I told you so,” I said weakly. The queasy topsy-turvy sensation was still careening around in my gut.
“I would never ,” he growled. Rome pressed three bottles of water into my hands he’d managed to magic up from somewhere. A bit excessive but appreciated nonetheless. I opened one and drank it in slow sips until that awful acrid taste went away.
“Then why do you look so upset?” I asked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, feeling my nausea subside.
“Because I want to sue the living daylights out of this Kenny ,” Rome hissed, lacing the name with acid. He was back to wearing a hole in the floor. “But I only have teacher money, not fuck you money,” Rome muttered to himself. “Maybe I should’ve become a doctor or lawyer like my dad wanted after all.”
Despite logic telling me his reaction was really out of proportion with Kenny’s supposed crime, his outrage felt…nice. Like a secret, vengeful flame in my chest.
“Are New Yorkers always so litigious?” I asked, trying to calm him down.
Rome came to an abrupt stop. “Should I go fight him instead?”
The tiny flame became a roaring inferno.
What on earth?
At least my tummy was settling down now that the cursed hot dog was out of my system.
“I know you’re trying to make me laugh and feel better but don’t joke about that,” I said reproachfully.
His back was to me so I think I imagined hearing him say not joking under his breath.
“Well, I think I’ll be able to get through the rest of today. I really do feel better,” I tried to reassure him.
Rome looked me over to confirm my words and then suddenly the back of his hand was against my forehead.
I was so aware of his touch, the feel of his fingers tracing down my temple and cheek. My breath grew shallow. Partly as a defense mechanism, because I couldn’t risk getting drunk on his spiced citrus scent right now.
He didn’t seem anywhere near as affected, merely dropping his hand and stepping away once he was satisfied.
“If you need anything, send a student to me with a note,” Rome insisted. “I’m finishing the semester with the third graders. Recorders. You’d be doing me a favor.”
I ducked my head to hide my smile. That did sound torturous. “I’m ok,” I promised. “You might be on your own with them.”
The bell rang, its sharp metallic clang startling us both.
“I better?—”
“Yeah, me too.”
Neither of us moved. Rome held my gaze and it felt impossible to look away. “Well, since I have bus duty, I guess this is it until next year.”
The heaviness in my stomach had absolutely nothing to do with Kenny’s unfortunate hot dog. “I guess it is,” I agreed.
“Merry Christmas, Ivy.”
“Merry Christmas, Rome.”