Page 11 of Always Been Yours

Different organizations formed over the twelve years since High Tides opened, each one supervised by a different member of the faculty and many of the non-athletic ones were in favor of updating the computer systems this year.

I finally decided at the end of last year that we needed to push this at one of the committee meetings. Selena, an angel, has been helping me put this together all summer. It was a long shot I would even be approved to take the floor. As much as I love High Tides, the principal, Mrs. Gable, and I aren’t exactly on the best terms. Teachers, parents, and students from all grade levels love me though, so it really isn’t in her best interest to get rid of me either.

Applying to graduate programs in Educational Administration is on the list of things I need to do this fall. I’m only twenty-eight, but I’llbe the principal of this school one day.

To be fair, Mrs. Gable has done a lot of good for the school andhas been the principal since the school opened twelve years ago. She was head of the movement to expand to all grade levels and has pushed our athletic department into a fast growing and highly respected program.

Looking in from the outside, you would see that our school is continuously in the top fifty for test scores and graduation rates. Not just in charter schools but in all California schools. The yearbook I supervise has been nationally recognized three times since I started. The STEM club makes it to the finals in their competition every year but has yet to win. One of the more recent newspaper editors is now working as the editor forPrinceton Beat.

Our students are overflowing with talent, and the least we could do as their teachers is help them hone those skills.

Unfortunately, the budget has already been finalized—and I’m sure it includes brand new jerseys for each sports team just like every single year. I’ve wasted more than enough breaths trying to convince Mrs. Gable, and the rest of the council, to move updating the computer systems and software higher on the priority list, but it falls on deaf ears each year.

This year I’m taking a different approach: grants and fundraising.

It isn’t that I haven’t thought about it before but to replace every single computer will be a feat. The numbers we have ran multiple times, going as far as having my brother Hudson take a look at them as well, will barely cover the price of everything and that’s if we’re accepted by every single grant and can hit our goal through fundraising.

It’s all we have right now though, so we have to try.

I’m still silently hyping myself up when I hear Selena. “Vivi? Genevieve!” When I finally look over at her, my nervous hazel eyes connecting with her calm gray ones, she gives me a small smile. “Mija, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just going over everything in my head one more time.”

Deep breaths.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Repeat.

She gives my arm a comforting squeeze, knowing me just as well as if I was her own daughter. “We’ll need to go in soon, but let’s stay out here and get some air a little longer, okay?”

I nod. I hate public speaking but when it’s six against one, you buck up and do what you have to do for the greater good. In this case, the students and school.

That’s enough of a reason for me to put on my big girl panties and face the committee.

“We’ve gone over this a million times now,” Selena says quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. “You’rethe best choice for this,Roja. It was your idea and you’ve put the most work into the entire presentation. I’m really proud of you.“ I stand a little bit straighter and give her a nod, forcing more conviction into my movements this time. I don’t notice Selena’s attention snag over my shoulder until she says, “What are you doing here?”

I turn my head to look but I know who it is just from the goosebumps that break across my arms and neck.

Stupid, foolish, traitorous body of mine.

We don’t react to any man’s presence, I tell myself, but absolutely not Grady’s. Especially when all he did was walk into a room.

“Hey, sorry I tried to get here as soon as possible.” He sounds slightly out of breath like he ran to get in here. “I know there’s only about ten minutes until the meeting starts but I needed to show you this.”

My eyes are ping-ponging from Grady to Selena, but his eyes areglued on me.

“What are you doing here?” I repeat Selena’s question, ignoring the small knowing smile spreading across her face.

He takes a deep breath and looks like he’s contemplating running back out of here. “I didn’t learn about this board meeting until about a week ago.” That kind of surprises me, considering Selena has been helping, but everyone has always been understanding about us keeping our distance from each other. “The principle from the school I was working at in Phoenix was recently promoted to the district leader, and felt that she owed me a small favor. I finally cashed it in.” He gives a nonchalant shrug that makes me think there’s more to that statement.

“Grady, is that supposed to mean something dirty?” I blurt out but Selena’s surprised laugh makes me bite my lip to hide a smile.

“What?” He shakes his head and starts to blush. “No.”

“We only have a few minutes until the meeting starts. Can this wait?”

“No, it can’t, Vivi.” Back to business, he shoves a stack of papers toward me, and says, “Just—hold on. I looked at your presentation, and it’s good. No, it’sgreat.I wouldn’t have expected anything else. But you only found large charities. It will be harder to get approved, especially as a charter school in a middle-class neighborhood. Laurie, the district leader, got someone from her office to pull up records of different organizations the schools have worked with out there. She even reached out to some people she knows at the charter schools. I went through them already and only included the ones that are national. The highlighted ones work with charter schools specifically.”

Selena takes the stack from me, but I’m just staring up at him in shock. I shake my head, not knowing what to say or how to adjust my presentation to fit all of this.

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