25. Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Ginny
“Aubrey’s meeting you in class when you get there this morning, right?”
“Yes.”
“And Linda’s going to sit with you during her planning period?”
“Yes.”
“And Quinn and Nicole—”
“Are going to meet me during their planning periods, yes.”
“And you’re eating lunch with one of the other teachers?”
“Yes. And there are these little people called students that will be in my class every other time of the day.”
He gives me the side-eye but doesn’t say anything. Smart man. I might strangle him.
“I’ll be there at exactly two-ten.”
“School doesn’t get out until two-twenty.”
“I know, and I’ll be waiting. When the students leave, so do you. If you aren’t out there at two-twenty, I’m coming in.”
“Aye, aye Captain.”
“That’s Major.”
“Were you really a major?”
“I was.” He smiles.
“That’s kind of amazing.”
“Really?”
“I mean, yeah. I’ve only met someone up to Sarge.”
“Well, that’s not quite true, but Sarge was way more than a Sarge.”
I ignore the first part, only replying to the second. “He’s like the group dad to you guys.”
“And Trish is the group mom to you girls.”
“Who do I know that was ranked higher?”
He laughs. “All of us. Tiny, Ranger, Daniel, all the ANON guys. We were all officers.”
I stare at him, honestly a little awestruck that I know that many men who reached ranks that high. I never would have imagined.
He smiles at me like he knows what I’m thinking before sobering up. “Keep your phone on you at all times.”
“I will.”
“And use the watch.”
I grimace at that.
“I’m serious.”
“Fine. I’ll keep the watch on. But you know I have to take it off when I play.”
“Then don’t play.”
I give him my best teacher look. It’s like a mom look but with a bigger range. “You do understand I’m the music teacher, right?”
“I understand that. But it’s for one or two days, Ginny, and it keeps you safe. Besides, no way does anyone care today. It’s almost fall break, and I’ve heard you say that kids check out after Tuesday leading to a break.”
He’s not wrong, but I don’t want to admit it.
“Do you think Roger is okay with Aubrey being part of the plan?” I ask, changing the subject.
“I think Aubrey wasn’t going to not be part of the plan, and her dad gave in.” He grins at me. “Can’t think of someone who’s stubborn like that with their dad, can you?”
I flip him off, which earns me a full Joker laugh. Yes, it’s a thing. A thing of beauty. And one we don’t get to see very often.
“Look, you don’t have to wear the watch all the time,” he brings the topic back around. “And you, Aubrey, and your other friends will all be safer because of it. So can you try? For now? For me?”
“I’ll try.”
“You could always stick to the piano today.”
“And you could always stick to just your hand for the rest of time,” I offer in response.
“I feel like I’m in a three-way relationship—you, me, and your cello.”
“You are.” I grin at him, no remorse in my answer.
“Well, if that’s the case, you could play your cello for me tonight if you want.”
I look at him, my cheeks heating. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Think you liked it, too.”
Again, he’s not wrong, but I’m not going to admit it.
“I need to go in.” I sigh, looking at the front of the school.
“Have a good day. Be safe.” He leans over and gives me a quick but heated kiss.
I hear some of the kids laughing outside as he pulls back, a wicked smile on his face.
“You’re so bad.” I shake my head at him.
“Part of my charm.” He shrugs his shoulders, looking so carefree.
This Joker I want around more often. Don’t get me wrong, broody Joker, and intimidating Joker, and sarcastic Joker, and, and…I love them all. But carefree and happy Joker? Nothing better.
I walk into the building without stopping at the office like I normally do and head straight to my classroom. Part of me is afraid that I’m gonna run into Keith on the way, but logically I know he should be in the cafeteria right now. When I get to my classroom, I’m greeted by both Aubrey and Quinn.
Quinn breathes a sigh of relief when she sees me.
“I’m fine,” I promise her.
“I know you are. I just worry.”
“I appreciate your worry,” I tell her. “You okay this morning?” I turn to Aubrey.
“Fine. Dad’s losing his sh—tuff.”
I lean in close. “My dad would lose his shit, too, if he knew what was going on.” I share a smile with her before turning back to Quinn. “You aren’t on babysitting duty until later.”
“I have donuts.” She smiles, lifting up a box I didn’t notice earlier.
“I like donuts.” I smile back.
“I know you do. And they’re glazed with chocolate.”
“Should’ve led with that.” I laugh.
I open up the door to the classroom, and when we walk in I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s empty, no boogeyman here.
“So tell me the plan again,” Quinn requests.
“The plan is I go about my day and you all interrupt my classes and the students lose their shit and if anything happens, I’m supposed to push the button on the side of the watch, which starts recording and sends an alert. Aubrey is supposed to do the same thing if she sees anything, and…”
“And I’m supposed to do the same with mine and Joker will be here in five minutes or less if things go to shit.” Aubrey grins at being included and getting her own spy watch.
“Exactly,” I return the grin.
“The alerts go to my dad, too, to make sure the cameras are in the right place,” Aubrey adds.
“And Ranger, Tiny, and Davis all get them, too. The whole calvary will be alerted.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Quinn asks, a look of doubt on her face.
“I couldn’t turn him down. The look on his face…I just couldn’t say no. I just hope I don’t accidentally push the button while I’m peeing.” I make a face, which causes Aubrey to giggle.
“Could you imagine?” Quinn laughs.
“It would only be worse if she had to poop!” Aubrey doubles over, her giggles unstoppable.
“Teachers don’t poop. We need to run to the office.”
Aubrey’s eyes get huge and her mouth is hanging open. “Oh. My. Gosh. That makes so much sense now. I always wondered why Mr. Birch always had to go to the office after lunch!”
We try, but Quinn and I lose the battle. All of us are laughing when the first bell rings and students start to trickle in. Quinn promises she’ll be back later, and she and Aubrey leave for their own classes.
The class is buzzing this morning, and I try not to listen to the chatter of teenagers. When they bring up Lucas, I give up the fight and push record on the watch.
“Did you hear he threatened all the kids on the team yesterday?”
“Not Lucas. He loves baseball.”
“Yeah, Lucas. It’s why he’s not here today.”
“I heard he’s been kicked out and isn’t coming back.”
“I heard he got kicked out for threatening somebody.”
“Well, I heard that he like humiliated them all, and that’s why he got kicked out.”
“No, it was because he sent them to the hospital.”
“Then why is he the one not here but all of them are? And I didn’t see any bruises.”
“Obviously, the doctors were really good.”
“Bruises don’t work like that, idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot. Maybe all their bruises are under their clothes.”
“Where did you hear this from?”
“From my girlfriend’s friends.”
“Do you even have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah. I have a girlfriend.”
“Well, has anybody actually tried to text Lucas?”
“A couple of us did this morning. He didn’t reply.”
“Maybe he’s sick. Or hurt.”
“There’s obviously something wrong with him.”
“I say it’s something because he’s like a terrorist or something.”
At that point, I walk away, rolling my eyes. The way the teenage mind works gives me a headache. When the bell rings, I breathe a sigh of relief that I made it through the first period. And when second period starts, Linda shows up for her Ginny-watching shift.
Everyone loses their shit because there’s another teacher in here with us, and why is there another teacher with us today, and does that mean she’s teaching the music class today? I decide to make it a jam session, allowing each student to perform whatever they want, like an impromptu concert for their classmates. I have to admit, it goes over well, and I don’t have to play, so the watch isn’t an issue.
At lunchtime I meet Mrs. Weaver and we sit in the corner of the teacher’s lounge, away from everyone else. And I prepare myself to do very little talking.
“Oh, I’m just so happy that you could eat lunch with me today. I just feel like we haven’t caught up in so long. How was your summer? Was it okay? Was it bad?”
“It was fine,” I assure her.
“I’m so glad to hear that because you know all these people in this community. Just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and I mean, all they do is gossip.”
I smile and nod my head.
“I can’t believe some of the things that they were saying. I ran into one of the nurses who was working when he was brought in. She said that he was knocking on death’s door, and that he was just brokenhearted and inconsolable that you would walk out on him.”
“That’s interesting since he didn’t know I had left when he had the accident.”
Her eyebrows threaten to arch off her face. “Are you serious?”
“He was late. He hadn’t made it to the church, and no one knew yet,” I tell her, leaning in close.
“That son-of-a—” she cuts herself off. I just smile at her. “Well, wouldn’t that change the narrative?”
“Wouldn’t it, though?” I nod, agreeing.
She laughs. “I really don’t like him.”
“You and me, both, friend.”
“I mean, he just always has this look at about him, like he’s gonna go off the rails any minute. I have to ask, was he mean to you?” she whispers her question.
“He wasn’t always nice.” I’m not trying to protect him, but the thought of putting myself out there like that is embarrassing. Letting people know I stayed in that kind of relationship is not something I want to talk about any more than I have to.
“Oh, I just knew it. I’m so glad that you got away from him.”
“I’m glad, too.”
“Now, if we could just get him out of this school. I think he’s detrimental to the children’s health.”
If only I could tell her how right she is.
She talks all the way up until the bell rings and I head back to my classroom. This time I’m not as lucky. I almost run directly into Keith, who’s standing in the hall outside the teacher’s lounge—almost like he was waiting for me to leave.
“So you showed up to work today?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” I ask.
“Well, it appears your little friend has the flu and how convenient is that?”
“I wouldn’t know, Keith, because I didn’t see him yesterday. Maybe he spiked a fever?”
He gets close—too close. He is definitely in my personal bubble.
He lowers his voice. “I think we both know you’re full of shit and you’re nothing but a fucking liar. I suggest you tell me where Lucas Ashley is. I need to go have a little talk with him.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Mr. Brown. My guess would be he’s at home, with his uncle.”
“I’ll make you give me information,” he tries, grabbing my wrist and squeezing until I wince.
And every ounce of pain he inflicted on me flashes in front of my eyes. I’m not the woman who left the church the day of our wedding. I’m not the pushover I used to be. He’s not going to hurt me ever again.
“If you don’t remove your hand from me immediately and back the fuck up, there will be hell to pay.”
He looks at me and narrows his eyes. “Well, aren’t you ballsy today?”
“What if I am? You don’t get to dictate my actions anymore, Keith. I’m not going to put up with your shit ever again. My only regret is that I did it for so long. Now, back the fuck up and remove your hand from my body.”
He doesn't remove his hand, but his face morphs into one of fake sorrow. “I didn’t treat you any way but wonderful, Ginny, and it wounds me that you thought otherwise.”
“Is that how you view it from your warped mind? Because wonderful doesn’t even register on the scale of you. You did nothing but put me down. Attack my insecurities. Alienate me from my friends and family. And when that wasn’t enough for you, you fucking hit me.”
“You deserved it!”
He squeezes my wrist, causing pain to shoot up my arm.
“Fuck you!” I shoot back, louder than intended, but I don’t care. If we draw attention, I’ll tell everything I just said. “This is the last time I’ll say it. Get your hand off my fucking wrist, and back the fuck up, or everyone in this building will know all about you. And wouldn’t that make you look like a fool? The good and virtuous vice principal found to be an abuser and a user.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Willing to try me?”
He stares at me for a moment before doing exactly what I told him to do. He backs the fuck up, and I walk away as quickly as I can and directly to my classroom. My heart is beating wildly and I can feel a panic attack starting. I pace the room, taking as big of a breath as I can and blowing it out, shaking my arms out, and bobbing my head until it passes. As soon as I do, I send a message to Joker. It appears that when Keith grabbed my wrist, he activated the stupid watch.
Ginny : I’m fine. Don’t panic.
Joker : You weren’t supposed to be alone.
Ginny : I was in the hallway! There were other people around!
Joker : Fine. Don’t go to the hallway alone again. I’ll see you in a little while.
Ginny : Can you see my eyes rolling from where you are? Because I really want you to know they are.
Joker : Be safe. Also, you telling him off like that? Huge fucking turn-on.
I grin as Nicole joins me for her planning session. I fill her in on what just happened, and we enjoy the jam session of that class. Quinn’s up for babysitting duty next, and it’s more of the same. I’m so ready for this day to be over.
Aubrey is with me for the last two hours of the day. Her mom Rebecca showed up last night with more desserts than I think I’ve ever seen in one place. When we filled her in on everything, she wanted to take Aubrey away. I think her dad was on board with that plan until the young lady pointed out that having a student around would help our cause. After all, she’s more likely to hear the good stuff about a teacher. And when Joker presented Aubrey with a watch of her own, Rebecca burst into tears and pulled him in for a hug.
“Are teenagers really this bad with gossip?” she asks when she walks into the room. She’s the only student I have this period. It’s technically my planning period, but she’s like a TA for me, and we practice. Except not today. The watches.
“With age comes perfecting the perfect gossip chain,” I assure her.
We survive the last two hours of the school day, and I help Aubrey pack up her cello to take home. I’ve promised her that she can use the classroom instruments the next couple of days.
On our way out, I ask her, “Would you like to come over next week to practice since we’re out of school?”
“I’d love that!”
I stop and talk to her dad, who agrees to the practice plan. He also tells me there’s a broody man waiting behind us.
He’s standing at the passenger door of his truck, staring intently at me, a scowl on his face.
I wave to Aubrey and Roger and make my way to Mr. Grumpy.
“Why the face?” I ask, walking around him and climbing into the truck.
“You were supposed to come straight to me when the bell rang,” he grumbles.
I wait for him to climb behind the wheel before I answer. “You could see I wasn’t in any danger, Joker. I was talking to Aubrey’s dad. Ten feet away from you.”
“It’s not safe.”
“What’s he going to do? Make a public scene? I don’t think so.”
He reaches over the center console and picks up my hand, turning it over and looking intently.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure that fucker didn’t leave any marks.”
“ Harrison , I’m fine.”
He looks at me long and hard before letting out a big sigh. “Fine. You’re fine. I’ll drop it.”
“Please do.” I smile at him, flipping my hand over and squeezing his.
“I have steaks at home and a grill calling our name. You up to it?”
“I like steak.” I grin.
“Then, that’s the plan.”