Chapter 14 #2
Haddie stood and pretended to check on the rest of the pods.
But she made a point to glide past Levi’s pod more than was necessary, especially with Piper at the helm.
She watched from a distance as Levi’s group of children gave him his own precut and folded section of paper towel and showed him how they were laying it horizontally and then coloring each edge with six one-inch bars of color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
“You have to color all the way to the end,” Piper told him. “And it’s okay if it gets on the desk because it washes off, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to color on the desk on purpose.” She gave him a stern look.
Levi nodded once. “Got it, Boss. Color to the edge, but don’t color on the desk on purpose.”
The girl next to Piper giggled. “She’s not your boss!” she told Levi.
Levi’s mouth fell open in mock surprise. “She’s not?” he replied. “Well, then who is?”
“Miss Martin!” the whole pod answered in unison.
They all glanced toward Haddie, who was of course already staring at them, which meant she was caught red-handed. So she simply shrugged and then busied herself straightening piles of papers on her desk.
Levi got back to work among his giggling cohort.
Piper nodded toward the small plastic cups of water in front of him.
“Do this,” she began, demonstrating with her own rainbow-edged paper towel.
She laid the folded towel over the side-by-side lips of the cups, gently dipping the rainbow edges into each respective cup but leaving the white middle flat and facing up.
“How did you know what to do?” Levi asked, sounding genuinely awed at the small girl who was effectively teaching the activity.
Piper shrugged. “I’m table leader this week.
And for all table activities, Miss Martin lets the table leaders help out when she does her demonstration so we can show our tables what to do.
But next week? I get to be line leader, which is even better because I get to lead the class through the halls and to our specials classes.
Specials means music, art, library, and physical education, in case you didn’t know. ”
Levi nodded sagely and followed his table leader’s directions, as did the rest of the group. Once she’d assessed that the other pods were doing just fine, Haddie meandered among her clumps of students until she stopped at Levi’s clump.
For several seconds, they all simply stared at the nothing that was happening on the paper towels. Haddie knew what was coming, but they didn’t. And she loved seeing students’ reactions to a new lesson, especially when it went according to plan and wasn’t a teacher Pinterest fail.
A moment later, a collective gasp rose from the members of the pod, Levi included.
“The colors are moving,” he stage-whispered. “So freaking cool!”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to say ‘freaking,’” the boy to Levi’s right accused.
Levi waved him off. “It’s okay,” he assured the kid. “Last time I checked the policy and procedures handbook, ‘freaking’ was not a swear.” He glanced up at Haddie and gave her a conspiratorial wink.
The boy relaxed into his chair and stared at his own rainbow as it started to grow from the outside in. “So freaking cool,” he parroted, and Levi’s mouth fell open.
Haddie returned his wink with a glare that she hoped conveyed, I’m going to have fun fielding that parent phone call this afternoon.
“But maybe only say it here?” Levi amended, and Haddie really hoped the kid would take him up on the suggestion.
For the next several minutes, the whole class seemed to watch in rapt silence as tiny rainbows bloomed from equally tiny glasses of water.
A phone timer sounded, and Haddie practically leaped toward the front of the room. “Okay, my little scientists,” she called. “Clap once if you can hear me.”
The whole class—Levi included—clapped once.
“Clap twice if you can hear me,” Haddie said this time.
Everyone—Levi included—clapped twice.
“Good job, scientists,” she told them. “But it is time to head to music! You can leave your rainbows where they are and let them continue to grow. After music, we’ll talk about weather and storms and how—even though storms can sometimes sound scary—when they’re done, we get to see the amazing effects of refraction, reflection, and dispersion. Or…what I like to call a rainbow!”
The class cheered and clapped as they stood, pushed in their chairs, stormed toward the door, and filed into one very impressive line.
Levi climbed to his feet, and Haddie caught him wincing as he put weight on his left. Did he hurt his knee? Was he not supposed to kneel?
“Do you have a second?” she asked, bruising past him as she followed the kids to the door.
“I just need to walk them to the music room, and then I’ll be right back!
” she called over her shoulder. Then she stepped past her students and out into the hallway, holding a finger to her lips as a silent reminder to… well…stay silent in the halls.
In unison, each student mimed zipping their lips and tossing away the key.
And while some of them giggled not silently as they filed through the door, Haddie couldn’t help but feel proud of how her students behaved with their unexpected visitor.
She was also a little proud of herself, having already fallen into a groove with new students in a new school in an equally new town.
Things were…good, and Haddie couldn’t help smiling as she led her students the rest of the way down the hall and to the music room.
Levi was facing the windows, inspecting the All About Me posters when Haddie quietly strode up behind him.
“It takes a lot to earn a spot on a poster like that,” she said softly over his shoulder.
Levi nodded, his eyes landing on what they both knew was the poster in question.
“Does anyone ever add to their posters at a later date?” he inquired.
Haddie hummed her contemplation. “I haven’t seen it happen yet, but it only takes one to set a precedent.”
They were both quiet for several seconds before Haddie spoke again.
“I was mad at you when I made that poster,” she admitted.
The corner of Levi’s mouth twitched. “I know.”
“And I barely knew you back then.” She let out a nervous laugh. “We barely know each other now,” she added.
Levi nodded. And then finally, he turned around.
“Aren’t you wondering?” he asked.
Haddie’s brows furrowed. “Wondering what?” she asked.
“How long it will take to earn the coveted spot of being one of my favorite people.” He flashed her a sly grin and then brushed past her as he pivoted and backed toward the door.
“I’m already one of your favorite people, aren’t I?” she asked, crossing her arms and feigning a confidence she hoped he believed.
“Definitely too soon to tell,” he deadpanned. “Oh, we do have a color printer across campus, and I’ve got an Uncrustable with my name on it waiting for me at my desk, so I better head out.”
Haddie shook her head and laughed. “That is a child’s lunch.”
Levi shrugged. “Doesn’t make it any less delicious.” He paused in the doorway. “Thanks for letting me watch you in action. That rainbow activity is definitely a favorite.”
Haddie rolled her eyes. “And I am…?” she drawled.
“A great roommate.” He tapped the doorframe twice and then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I look forward to your email and attachment, Roomie.”
“Guess I walked right into that one.” Haddie laughed. “Goodbye, Roomie!”
He spun on his heel and headed back toward the library and the hallway Haddie knew led to the secondary campus.
I’m already one of your favorite people, aren’t I?
She was already wading into dangerous waters by asking the question, even in jest. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it was that she so very much wanted it to be true, which meant she might have already plunged into the deep, and the question was, would she sink or swim?