Page 13 of The Friend Game

“Indeed he is,” George confirms. “I suppose you could say Grace Canyon church and school is a bit of a family affair with me as principal and him as lead pastor.”

Right. Luke is the pastor here. This is all starting to make sense now. Although why George thinks the two of us have met is beyond me. He said himself that I got banished from the museum before Luke was located and reconnected with Bo.

“Can you see now,” George goes on, “why I’d like you to have this job? Bo shouldn’t have lied to you that day, but goodness me, touching that T. rex was a huge win for him in the midst of so much worry for his mom. He was so excited about it. And not only that, but he kept talking about the nice museum lady who’d talked to him about dinosaurs for twenty minutes before taking a picture with him.”

My chest constricts with emotion and, okay, a little vindication too. I totally did the right thing thatday letting him touch that dinosaur bone! Take that Brooke and Jill! I lost my museum job for an excellent cause. I’m basically that shoemaker guy inJumanji, the one who got fired because that kid put his shoe prototype in the machine and broke it. IYKYK.

“Hannah, you okay?” George asks, and I realize I’ve let my imagination take me far away from this room again.

“Yes,” I say quickly. “Just still reeling a bit.”

“Understandable.”

“And,” I add, “while I appreciate the job offer and the gesture behind it, I’d feel awful if you’re only offering it to me out of a sense of obligation.”

“Hannah,” he looks affronted, “I wanted to offer you this job yesterday before I’d even made this connection. The students loved you! I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I got multiple phone calls and emails from parents asking about the art teacher their kids were talking so much about. Plus, I’ve seen your transcripts from UCLA, and you’re quite well-versed in many different art mediums. Not to mention I saw your pottery pieces that were featured in the Arizona Fine Art Expo last year.” He pulls another paper from his stack and holds it out to me. I stare at the familiar array of colorful bowls and mugs and my stomach twists with longing as I remember the feel of clay between my fingers. I shake it away though. The memories ofthat art show are not something I want to revisit. “Quite stunning. You are more than deserving of this job. The only favor I’m doing for you is overlooking the small matter of your lack of teaching certification.” He says it like all I’ve done is show up to a test without a pencil, but it’s no big deal because of course the teacher has extras.

“Small matter?” I query.

“Like I said, nobody ever looks into the teaching certification but me. Not even Luke does, and as head pastor of our church, he’s typically part of the hiring process. Parents like to know the teachers being hired share their same faith, and that’s where Luke comes in.” He pauses. “You are a Christian, yes?”

I nod. “Born and raised.”

George nods approvingly. “Good, good. Worried I put the cart before the horse for a second there.” He pauses again. “And uh,” he picks back up a little nervously, “speaking of Luke, it would probably be best if you don’t mention the whole not being certified thing. Not that he’d care per se, but given his role as pastor I’m sure he’d be uncomfortable with our, uh, little deception.” He shakes his head. “Deception is a strong word actually. Let’s call it our little bending of the rules.” He taps the desk. “I just don’t want to put him in a position where he feels like he’s not being honestwith the board of trustees and the school families in general.”

I feel like alarm bells should be ringing as he’s talking, but my brain is choosing to focus on the words he’s saying that I like. This is just a little rule bending, not like we’re breaking a federal law or even a state law. Besides, I don’t even know this Luke guy, so it will be no biggie not to tell him. And sure, mere minutes ago I professed to be a Christian, and now I’m agreeing to this act of subterfuge, but maybe we should all just pause and take a look at Esther. The very story I read this morning. Mordecai told her not to mention her lineage to the king so she didn’t. Therefore she too was engaged in an act of subterfuge. An act of subterfuge that God then used to save the Jewish people. And fine, I’m probably not going to literally save lives like she did, but maybe I’ll save these elementary students from some other potentially subpar art teacher. MaybeI amhere for such a time as this!

The parallels are uncanny really. I’m Esther. George is Mordecai. The board of trustees is the less bloodthirsty version of Haman. And Luke is, well I suppose he’d be the king in this particular parallel. Although obviously I’m not going to marry Luke. I don’t even know him.

“So what do you say, Hannah? Do you accept the job?”

I blink away thoughts of Esther. “I do,” I say seriously, sitting up in my chair and squaring my shoulders. “And if I perish, I perish.”

George gives me a funny look.

“Sorry,” I say hurriedly, “guess I got a little caught up in the drama of it all.”

“You’ve got spunk.” George laughs. “I can see why Luke thought you’d be a good fit for the position.”

I smile and thank him, even though I’m starting to worry he’s a bit senile. "I haven’t met your son," I want to tell him, but he just gave me a job I’m not technically qualified for. If he told me my hair was pink, I’d nod along, then go buy some hair dye. Anyway, I’m supposed to meet Luke any minute now for the rest of my interview, so what does it really matter?

“George?” The school secretary knocks lightly on the door then sticks her head in. “Just wanted to let you know, Pastor won’t be able to join you after all. Rick Fillmore called and asked him to come over. Linda passed this morning.”

George closes his eyes. “Oh my, I’m sorry to hear that, but thankful for her eighty years on this earth. Thank you for relaying the message, Susan.”

She nods and ducks back out the door.

“Well,” George says, “no matter. He already approved of me hiring you. So I suppose I’ll see you on Monday. Unless, of course, you’ll be joiningus for our Harvest Fest on Friday evening? I know your sister and her family usually attend. Might be a nice way to kick off your employment here at Grace Canyon.”

“Oh, uh, yes. I’ll be there,” I say, because it’s clear that’s the correct response.

“Perfect. See Susan on your way out then. She’s helping coordinate volunteers for it, so you can sign up with her.”

The guy is good. Five minutes later Susan has me all signed up to work the cakewalk from 5 to 7 on Friday night.

It’s fine though. I have a job!

Chapter 7

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