Page 40 of Shelter for Morgan

"Hey, Benji," she smiled at them both, "time to get inside."

The officer leaned in and whispered something to the boy before he dropped his arm and walked away.

The student tried to dash past her and into the classroom.

She'd intended to ask him about the interaction before he went inside but she could see how uncomfortable he was. Morgan decided to wait and pick another moment.

Besides, she was still struggling with her own moment involving Officer Munder.

She entered the classroom and smiled at the rush she felt.

The students were talking and unpacking their bags, a few students had paused midway to their seats to talk to others.

Morgan still couldn't believe that this was her life.

"You've got about sixty seconds to take your seats before the bell rings."

A chorus of comments followed and then a spate of laughter.

Morgan turned around and rolled her eyes happily.

One of the boys who had been notably silent her first few days was walking toward the door with his chair in his hands.

"Tomas?"

He stopped short just a few feet short of the door and gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, Miss Rafferty?"

She wanted to smile at him, but she tried to mold her expression into something approaching stern. "What are you doing?"

Tomas turned and looked at the rest of the room.

It made it harder for her to hold back a smile for the answer she knew was coming.

When his gaze fell back on her, he shrugged. "You said we had to take our seats."

A few students laughed softly.

"I was just wondering where you wanted me to take it."

There was a devilish kind of intellect in him. Nice to know.

"Well," she addressed the whole class, "I was wondering what the class thinks."

Morgan stepped in front of her desk and leaned back against the edge. "What are the rules of class?"

She had no doubt that they knew them since the rules had been in place from the beginning of the year and even though this was a freshman class of students, they'd had more than enough time to memorize the rules.

One of the girls raised her hand.

Morgan's memory clicked in with her name. "Maribel?"

She pretty girl proved her own bit of sass with her answer. "Raise your hand and wait to be called on before speaking."

Morgan's soft chuckles prompted the rest of the class to respond in kind.

"Excellent, Maribel. Anyone else?"

"Miss?" She turned, hoping it was Benji, but it was the student just in front of him who'd spoken. "Tanner."

---