Page 76 of Here and Now
Just when I thought we weren’t going off the rails. Lois fights back a grin, and I wish I could flip her off—lovingly. “As you can understand, we wouldn’t be able to accommodate that request. Dogs, whether working or just regular house dogs, aren’t allowed in classrooms.”
“You’re the Bulldogs, are you not?”
“Yes.”
“Then how can you support an animal and not allow them to be a part of your learning environment?” Stephanie asks.
“Because ... that’s our mascot, not our educational focus. If we were a dog training facility, then, yes, we could make concessions for that. I’m going to be up front now and let you decide if this is going to be an issue, unless your dog is a service dog for a specific need that you have, we won’t be allowing you to bring Gianna in here either.”
Stephanie nods once before gathering her bag off the floor and getting to her feet. “I wish you much luck, Mr. Anderson.”
I rise and extend my hand. “You as well.”
Lois escorts her out and then stands in front of me, fighting back a laugh. “That was ...”
“Please tell me they get better.”
“Probably not.” She hands me the next résumé.
We get through four more. I don’t know how because I’m pretty sure these were a joke. One guy apparently had a typo on his résumé when he put his graduation year, because he was older than Gran. That wasn’t happening.
Then we had another who told us about her ten-year plan, which included moving by year three—yeah, hard no.
“We have a break, what do you need? You’ve eaten all the doughnuts,” she informs me.
“I had no choice after that last interview.”
She bobs her head. “Yeah, that was a shit show, but I wanted that last doughnut and would’ve fought you for it.”
“I would’ve won.”
“And I would’ve found a way to win later.”
If there’s anyone whose threats I worry about—it’s her.
“I need you to go get another coffee.”
“Let me guess, it has to be cold brew and only from Penelope which you’ll toss when you get it?”
“Yes, can you please do that for me?”
Lois sighs deeply. “Fine, but you’re buying me lunch tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
I grab my notepad that Eloise gave me—it saysWorld’s Okayest Principal—and write a note to her.
Go out with me tomorrow night. Coincidentally at least.
I grin, knowing she’ll probably roll her eyes and laugh, which makes the rest of my day slightly bearable.
I walk out as Lois is grabbing her purse. “Here, give that to her for me, please.”
“Now I’m passing notes? You know you run the high school, Miles, not attend it.”
“I’m aware, it’s cute.”
She chuckles softly. “Oh, you men, you’re all the same. I’ll hand your note to the girl you like.”
