Page 73 of The Boyfriend Swap

After we hung up, I finished the last round of Alphabet Soup and turned the classroom into the Lane Discotheque. I let the kids choose a popular earworm from the radio, played it on my iTunes, dimmed the lights, and let them dance freestyle. The Lane Discotheque was a student favorite. I usually reserved it for special occasions, like holidays, student birthdays, and the last day of school, but I feared I might not see the precious faces of these twenty-three kindergarteners when they advanced to first grade next year. I wanted to remember them happy in case my remaining lessons were tainted with the knowledge I wouldn’t be returning to the school. I knew I was getting ahead of myself, but between the rumors heard by Lynn and the strange conversation Lance heard in the teachers’ lounge, it was challenging to remain calm and optimistic.

I turned off the music two minutes before class was officially over to give the kids time to calm down in advance of being picked up by the kindergarten teacher.

A little while later, I knocked on Principal Hogan’s open office door.

He looked up and smiled at me. “Come in, Robyn.” He gestured to the guest chair on the opposite side of his cluttered desk.

I sat down, careful not to knock over any of the photos of his picture-perfect four-person family that lined the outer surface of his desk. Besides his multiple diplomas, the walls of his office were almost entirely hidden by pictures students had drawn for him over his years as a teacher, vice principal, and now principal. The students loved him, and he seemed to genuinely like children and his job. I felt very fortunate to work with him after all the horror stories I’d heard about school administrators while I was still getting my degree. The cynics, of which there were many, argued that only in his early forties, Hogan was still too young to be jaded.

“Did you have a nice holiday, Robyn?”

It was a loaded question, and I bit back a giggle picturing his reaction if I answered him honestly. What would he say if I told him I’d brought someone else’s boyfriend home and pretended he was mine? The temptation to laugh disappeared as soon as I remembered how much I missed Will, and I answered with a simple, “It was nice. How about you? Your daughter’s a Christmas baby, right?”

Hogan’s light blue eyes widened in surprise. “Yes. My son was born on Valentine’s Day and my daughter on Christmas Eve. You think we should try for Thanksgiving with our next?”

“If you can make that happen, you might end up with your own reality show.”

He scratched his wavy brown hair. “On second thought, I think we’ll try for June. No holidays in June.”

“Smart,” I said with a laugh.

“I heard you had a little disruption during your holiday.”

I blinked in confusion. How could he possibly know what happened?

“I’m referring to Aimee Clay’s unauthorized phone call.” He leaned forward.

“Oh, yes. She was so upset about her polyps. It broke my heart.”

Hogan nodded. “Mine as well. But her parents said she felt much better after speaking to you. I wanted to personally commend you on how you handled the situation.”

I smiled timidly. “Thank you. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It was a brilliant idea suggesting she work as your assistant. A plan both her parents and I support wholeheartedly. I also appreciate you telling her you’d need to check with me first.”

“Of course.” I planted my feet securely to the ground to stop my legs from shaking in anticipation of Hogan’s next words.

“Keep up the good work.”

I stared at him. “That’s it?”

He smiled. “Was there something else you wanted to discuss?”

I licked my lips. This was it. I could either face my fear by asking him straight out, or I could leave his office and continue to toss and turn at night waiting for the delivery of my pink slip. “Can I be blunt?”

He looked at me strangely, presumably because it was a strange question. “Shoot.”

I let out a long exhale. “Is my job in jeopardy?”

Hogan jerked his head back. “I certainly hope not. You’re one of the favorite teachers here.”

I was too nervous for the compliment to register. “I’m not so much worried about me as I am about the music program in general. There’s been talk about budget cuts.” My heart raced just saying the words.

Understanding washed across his face. “You’ve heard the rumors, huh?”

I nodded, resisting the urge to chew on a fingernail.

“Between us, therewasa danger due to an increased interest in foreign language curriculum at the elementary level. We were discussing possible work-arounds to avoid a complete shut-down, but it won’t be necessary. At least not in the immediate future.”

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