Page 29 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
“I’ve never given it a thought,” Tami hedged. “Don’t theycome as a pair?”
“They do at that. And they work together to make sure everyone of our kids is noticed and known. Thanks to them, we don’t have manytroublemakers here.” Pointing to a cartwheeling Kip, Mrs. Dabrowski cheerfullyadded, “One could argue that he’s our worst—and best—one.”
“We’re lucky to have them,” Tami murmured.
Flootie’s fondness was plain on her face. “Landmark wouldfall apart without them.”
THIRTEEN
How to Treat a Lady
The maintenance room was about theonly place on school grounds where Ash was sure he was safe. But Tami hadstarted dropping by for their “special committee” meetings, which were reallymore like extended coffee breaks. He did try to focus on the business aspectsof these sessions, but it wasdistractinghaving her in a place heconsidered private—and therefore intimate.
What troubled him most was the fact that he was getting usedto her little invasions. Maybe even looking forward to them.
“… they keep doing it, and it’s driving me crazy. Whatever they’regiving him, it’s too small for me to see from a distance.”
Kip burst out laughing, and Ash snapped to attention. He’dlost track of the conversation about the same time he realized that Tami hadpierced ears. Her hair was usually down, but an upswept style exposed facetedstones that dangled from each lobe. They drew his attention to the shape of herear, the curve of her jaw, the line of her neck.
“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” asked Kip.
“Go ahead,” he murmured, not even sure what they weretalking about.
“Paperclips.” Kip spread his hands wide. “The kids arepassing him paperclips.”
Tami’s gaze swung his way. Ash sighed and fished in thepocket of his coveralls, coming up with half a dozen paperclips—two silver, onegold, a pink, a green, and one with black and white stripes.
“But why?” she asked.
Ash said, “It’s Kip’s fault.”
The redhead held up both hands. “Hey, it was an accident.Sort of.”
Tami settled back in her chair. “This should be good.”
“Could be worse,” Ash conceded.
Kip rolled his eyes. “You love it, and you know it.”
Ash simply grunted.
“As principal, I need to know what’s happening on mycampus.”
“Pulling the principal card?” Kip made a helpless gesture.“What can I do, Ash? She’s the boss.”
He sighed. “Stop making a big deal out of nothing.”
Kip jumped right in. “Okay, so this was a few years back. Imayhave given a couple of first-graders the impression that Ash likes shinyobjects. Was it at Christmastime?”
“Valentine’s,” Ash corrected. As if he didn’t remember.
“But that was a mistake, because for first-grade girls,shinymeans glitter. And Ash has an unholy dread of glitter.”
“Gets everywhere.” The stuff was almost impossible tobanish.
“So to spare my good friend from hallways doused insparkle-dust, I thought fast and offered a more palatable alternative—thehumble paperclip. Word spread. Fast.” Kip shrugged. “The kids have been giving themas tokens of affection ever since.”
Ash shifted restlessly. “It’s harmless.”
