Page 16 of Key Of Dreams

“Babe, you keep being this cute, you’re going to be late on your first day,” I tell her. That gets her revved. She whips her head toward the clock and scrambles to untangle herself from the sheets. She dashes like a wild woman to the bathroom, taking her cup with her.

Christ, she’s perfect in every way.

* * *

Maya stares down into her oatmeal with nuts, berries, cinnamon, and maple syrup, then glances over into my bowl. I keep mine simple: peanut butter and banana slices. She takes a bite of her own yet keeps staring at mine.

“Want a bite?”

She beams her pearly whites at me, fills her spoon with my oatmeal, and eats it. Her eyes open wide. “That’s so good!” she exclaims. “I love peanut butter, but never thought to put it in oatmeal.” She looks back down into her bowl, but doesn’t seem all that impressed with her selection. I switch bowls and take a bite of hers. “You don’t have to do that,” she says, shaking her head.

“It’s oatmeal. Now, if this were a triple-grade-A Angus steak, you might get a bigger fight,” I tease.

“But you’d give me some anyway,” she says with a grin.

“Yeah, I would.”

“Street cred. I won’t say a word,” she whispers like it’s a big secret.

* * *

Maya

Bull walks me down to my car and waits for me to drive away before getting into his vehicle. He’s coming by tonight after work, and this time, I insist on cooking. I drive into the school parking lot with enthusiasm.

The main office is at the front of the building, and I report directly to Principal Doyle. He’s been in charge of the school for over five years and has made a huge difference in creating a positive place for kids to learn. When I met him at the interview, he was open and honest about his expectations, which I appreciated greatly. It helps that English was what he taught in his early years and the passion still shines through. Principal Doyle is in his late fifties and reminds me of my Uncle Don in some ways. They have the same smile and dry sense of humor, although my uncle is six feet tall with a full head of hair, albeit white, whereas Principal Doyle is balding and slightly over five feet seven.

“Miss Randell, I see you made it in bright and early this morning. A fresh start to the new school year is always exhilarating. Let’s get you settled into your classroom, and I’ll introduce you to your teaching partners. Lily Ames is going to show you around until you settle in,” Principal Doyle says as he guides me down the long corridor that continues into another wing of the school. He knocks, but doesn’t wait for a response and opens the classroom door. A pretty brunette pushes away from her desk and comes to greet us.

“Hi, you must be Maya. I’m Lily,” she says. “I hope we’re going to be great friends. I teach English for the senior classes and history for the junior classes.”

“That’s great. I’d love to have some planning dates together when you get the chance.” This is so great. I’m assigned to the junior levels for English and the seniors for history. Basically, we’re teaching buddies. It’s a wonderful way to plan and prepare the students as they move on to higher grades.

“Most definitely.” She turns to Principal Doyle. “Have you shown her to her classroom yet?”

“Not yet. I thought I’d let you do the honors,” he replies. He looks at me. “Your class lists are in a file on your desk. You know where to find me if you need me. Please reach out anytime. With it being the first day, I have a lot to see to, but I know I’m leaving you in capable hands,” he says before leaving Lily and me alone.

Lily’s so bright and cheerful, it’s contagious. She walks me to the classroom adjacent to hers. “Ta-da! We’re right next to one another.” I take it all in.Myclassroom. The walls are pretty bare, but that’s okay. It means that I can make it my own. “It’s a little stark at the moment, but once you’ve decided how you want it to look, I’ll be glad to help you.”

“I love it,” I whisper, walking over to my desk. Lily smiles and joins me. For the next half hour, she goes through the attendance process and takes me for a quick tour of the faculty lounge and introduces me to the teachers we meet along the way.

Just as the bell rings and the hallways are flooded with eager young minds, Lily says, “We both get a break after second period. I’ll come by, and we can chat some more.”

* * *

True to her word, Lily comes by to check on me. The morning has been crazy busy. Most of the kids are great, but I have a couple that I can already tell are going to test my patience. It doesn’t help that most of the boys in the class are taller than me. That’s when I had to use the “teacher tone.” Mom used to say I would get the authoritative voice whenever someone was giving me a hard time.

Unfortunately, two of the seniors in the History class, Josh Walker and Calvin Martins, were testing their limits with the new teacher in the school. Several times, I had to reprimand them for their behavior, although it fell on deaf ears. I hate that for them. They’re missing out on the great teachings of our past, and those lessons are what can either stop us from making the same mistakes or help us make better choices for society.

I’m hoping for a calmer afternoon with the junior classes for English, but I discover that Josh is in this class too. He isn’t nearly as rowdy as he was in history, telling me that the instigator of the two is Calvin.

First-day chaos includes students with attitude, locker issues for three of my kids in my homeroom, and one fistfight just outside my door. I called for help and attempted to break it up on my own, but that earned me a nasty bruise on my arm when I was shoved back against the lockers.

Call me crazy, but it’s the best chaos ever! I love my job.

Chapter9

Never Late

---