Page 17 of Secret Love

When I walk into the front office on Monday morning, Mr. Hanson is chatting with Mrs. Davenport and he smiles and says hello. He’s an attractive man of an indeterminate age, possibly because every time I’ve seen him, he’s wearing a cardigan.

I make an effort to not be a Petty Patty and smile too smugly at Mrs. Davenport over the fact that I was called back in to work here.

But it’s hard.

“Right on time,” Mr. Hanson says. “Come on back.”

He ushers me into his office and holds his hand out for me to have a seat.

“I’ve heard great things about you from the kids,” he says. “It sounds like you were a hit with the English students.”

“Well, that’s great to hear. Thank you.”

“Thankyou. I’ll cut to the chase. I would like you to consider taking this job on a more permanent basis. Would you be interested in that?”

There’s no hiding the huge smile that takes over my face. “Yes, I was hoping for a full-time job, and I’m loving teaching English here so far.”

“Excellent.”

He goes over a few details about the job and the school, and he mentions my salary. It’s nothing spectacular, but I’m so happy to have a full-time job in Silver Hills. This, combined with the extra money from the dance studio, and I should be able to get by.

We discuss how I will get up to speed on everything since Mrs. Carboni will not be coming back. I’ll have my hands full getting caught up, but I could not be happier about this job. Before we’re done, I mention my work with Dr. Mathison in college and my thoughts on Cassidy, just to be sure I’m not stepping on any toes if I pursue a few tests with her.

“This is desperately needed here,” he says. “We’re short-staffed, and if you’re willing to put in the extra time, I welcome it. I’d appreciate if you keep me in the loop.”

I nod, my excitement building. “I will.”

Once I’ve signed more paperwork, it’s official.

“We’ll make an announcement over the next week that you’re our new English teacher, but the job is yours now. Welcome aboard.” Mr. Hanson stretches out his hand and I shake it.

I get to the classroom,myclassroom, and look around the room with new eyes. Sometime over the weekend, Mrs. Carboni must have come to collect her personal belongings because there are things missing from the walls and desk. I make note of what we might need and what could make the room cuter, and the list grows throughout the day.

Between classes, I look at the students’ projects again and grade a few that were still left hanging. When I get to Cassidy Ward's paper and remember her project still hasn’t been graded, I think about the interaction with Cassidy and then Henley.

Something still doesn’t sit well with me about the whole thing.

There’s a section from the bookWonderthat I love and the kids read it aloud before we discuss it. During Cassidy’s class, I ask her to start the passage. After she read for me one-on-one, I’m hoping she'll be more comfortable reading in front of the class, but instead, she freezes and stares at me in horror. Her cheeks get two bright red splotches on either side and her eyes fill with tears. Brandon, who is often talking during class to Luke, the guy next to him, says something that I don't hear, and Cassidy’s cheeks bloom even redder.

“It's okay, Cassidy, take your time.”

She starts reading and stutters through the first sentence, stopping when she hears laughter behind her. I look around at the classroom and frown.

“Don't be rude, please. Everyone listen carefully. We’ll be discussing this section afterward, and when it's your turn, you wouldn't appreciate it if someone was laughing and being a distraction in the background. We treat each other with respect, got it? Go ahead, Cassidy.”

She gets through the next few lines, but it's painful to hear and I regret ever asking her to read. I interrupt when she pausesbefore starting the next paragraph and say, “Elise, can you continue where Cassidy left off?”

I make sure to only have everyone else read one paragraph as well, so it doesn’t seem like I stopped Cassidy due to her poor reading. But it bothers me long after we’ve moved on, and before the bell rings, I ask Cassidy to come see me before class is over. She walks up to my desk reluctantly and I try to give her a reassuring smile.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk after class?” I ask.

“Um, sure,” she says.

Once everyone has left the class and it's just Cassidy and me, I try to put her at ease.

“I just wanted to ask a couple questions, if that's okay.”

She nods and stands there waiting.

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