Page 12 of Wanting You

The room was rather grim and plain and bare.

Slowly, he walked around and took it all in, trying to hide his disdain. “There’s nothing here,” he said after several minutes.

“Our teachers tend to stock the room to get the year started and then send home wish lists to the parents for the rest of the necessities.”

“I get that, but…” Again, he glanced around. “There is seriously nothing here. No books, no posters, just…nothing.”

Chloe’s room had a reading nook that was overflowing with books. There was a colorful carpet on the floor and her cubbies were painted in bright colors. This room looked like it could have been a supply closet except all the supplies were missing.

“I understand that this is the first year that you’re having a second kindergarten classroom, but maybe Chloe can share some of those supplies. I mean…if the district supplied them to her…”

“Oh, the district didn’t supply 99% of what’s in Chloe’s room. The rest is all hers. There are some boxes in our storage room that you can go through and take whatever you’d like, and obviously we’ll be supplying everything you’ll need curriculum-wise, but the rest is really up to you, Tanner. I thought you understood that.”

Raking a hand through his hair, he seriously began to doubt his ability to pull this off. He had five days to decorate, stock, and plan. With the move and everything happening so quickly, he just assumed there’d be more for him to work with.

And he’d gone and turned down Chloe Donovan’s offer for help.

Nice work, genius…

Yeah, sometimes his ego got the better of him.

Like now.

“Okay,” he said after letting out a long breath. “Why don’t you show me what’s available and I’ll take it from there?”

Several hours and several dozen dusty boxes later, Tanner stood in the doorway to his classroom and was only slightly less horrified. Things were coming together, but the room lacked that bright, cheery tone he knew was important. There was no way he could paint the entire room, even if that was allowed, and he was feeling overwhelmed at all the things he needed to get just to cover the essentials. There was still the curriculum to look over and lesson plans to make.

So maybe he should take Chloe up on her offer and sit down with her and get a little…guidance. He didn’t need help—at least not in the traditional sense—but he certainly needed a little something to make everything come together.

Turning off the classroom light, he walked next door to Chloe’s room and stood in wide-eyed fascination. Now that he’d spent some time in his own room, he realized just how bright and clean her room was. Everywhere you looked, there was something that would make a young child smile. Her reading corner had books that were neatly organized, she already had cubbies labeled with her students’ names, and it looked like an entire class could walk in here right now and start learning.

His hands ran through his hair again and he realized he had messed up.

“Grovel,” he murmured. “Grovel if you have to so you can hopefully get whatever extras she has to offer.”

Walking out of the room, he made a beeline to the main office in hopes of catching her there. Susan wasn’t at her desk and no one was around, but he definitely heard voices coming from the principal’s office.

“I understand what you’re saying, Steven,” he heard Chloe saying. “But I just don’t see myself working with someone like that. He was rude and condescending. I’ll be professional, but I’m going to focus on my room and my students.” Then she paused. “Unless a student really needs me because I won’t let them suffer because their teacher is an arrogant egomaniac.”

Okay, wow…that was a little harsh.

“I’ll admit he was a little…um…abrasive,” Principal Kincaid said diplomatically. “But he’s new here, to both the school and the town, and we need to extend a little grace. We haven’t had any applicants for the position, so really, he’s all we have.”

And double wow because that stung!

“You know I’m going to always put the students and the needs of this school first,” Chloe said. “But I’m not going to be walked all over by someone who is desperately seeking approval. There are a lot of new teachers here this year, and none of them have behaved like he did.”

“Did you meet the new art teacher, Dana Perry?”

“I did! And she was such a delight! She loved the artwork I did for my room!”

“It really was impressive, Chloe,” he told her. “Such a fun and inviting atmosphere!”

“The unit where we work on emotions will really make the room come to life,” she explained. “It sort of inspired me.”

“You could teach a class on creating an environment that encourages learning. In fact, maybe at next year’s teaching retreat, you could!”

There’s a teaching retreat?

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