Page 27 of Mess With Me
Gabby batted her big brown eyes. “He made the sexy eyes at you, Ms. Bloom.” The kids giggled and Gabby nodded sagely at her friends. “I heard my parents talking about it before.”
Heat crept up his neck. Was he that obvious that even a six-year-old could tell? And, geez, didn’t they hear a word he just said? What the hell was he doing here if they weren’t learning something important?
Someone started singing, “Cop and Ms. Bloom k-i-s-s-i-n-g!”
“Stop that at once,” Ally said sharply. “Sergeant Case is a friend of mine. Now I want to hear good questions on what he taught you. Remember not all strangers are bad. Safe strangers like a police officer or a teacher can help you. Now does everyone remember how to handle a dangerous situation?”
The kids were quiet. He’d said the phrase several times.No, Go, Yell, Tell.
He turned to her. “Maybe we could role-play a few situations.”
“Sure.” She stood and crossed to him.
“Could you help me feed my puppies?” he asked. “They’re in my van.”
She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. His heart kerthunked. “No!”
“Louder,” he told her.
“NO!”
“Now run away.”
She did a little jog back to her desk that had the kids giggling. He turned and gave the kids his best intimidating cop stare. They settled down.
“Then it’s okay to yell for help even if we’re inside or in a quiet place,” Ally said. “When you’re safe, tell a trusted adult what happened.”
“Yeah,” he chimed in. “Remember, a stranger adult shouldn’t be asking a kid for help.”
They did a few more scenarios minus the running away because he didn’t want the kids laughing. This was an important lesson. Ally did a fantastic job, really looking like she was thinking about some of the maybe scenarios, like when he said her mom asked him to pick her up. In some weird way he felt like they were connecting, united in a task, the give-and-take of the role play. He soaked in her bright blue eyes, her beautiful smile, the exuberant energy that seemed to radiate from her.
He had to force himself to focus. The kids were getting louder now, shouting, “No!” right along with Ally.
“I think they’ve got it now,” Ally told him.
“Yeah,” he said, surprised he didn’t want it to end. Normally these assignments were boring to him. “I’ve got a parting gift for everyone.”
The kids all started talking at once, wondering what it was. A boy piped up. “I hope it’s a video game.”
Damn, was that kid going to be disappointed. Ethan opened the plastic bag and pulled out a stack of coloring books. They were pretty good for a coloring book—superhero-themed lessons with lots of cool lightning bolts and bold zigzagging words to color in. “No video games. Coloring books.”
“I love coloring!” Gabby said.
“This sucks!” a boy in the back with messy brown hair proclaimed.
Ethan took in the boy’s belligerent expression, his faded black shirt with a hole in it, his unkempt hair, and felt a stab of recognition. His chest ached and he couldn’t get a word out through the tightness in his throat. Ethan was that kid—hand-me-down clothes, no mom to make sure his hair was combed properly, big chip on his shoulder.
“Nate!” Ally exclaimed. “That is not how we respond to a gift. Say thank you to Sergeant Case.”
The boy’s lip curled. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“She’s your teacher and you’ll treat her with respect,” Ethan barked. Holy shit. That did not just come out of his mouth. He wasnotthat asshole authority figure he’d despised as a kid. Was he? He wanted to be one of the good guys.
Ally shook her head at Ethan and walked to the back of the classroom, stopping to talk quietly to Nate.
Ethan ground his teeth, aware he’d stepped into her jurisdiction. She was the boss here, him barking out orders didn’t help her authority with the kids. He focused on counting out the right number of coloring books for each row. The kid in front automatically passed them back. He followed with the crayon packs. And then he couldn’t help himself, he walked back to where Ally was still with Nate and waited for her to finish up so he could apologize for stepping on her toes.
“I know I’m not your boss,” Ally told Nate in a patient, even tone that probably meant she’d already covered that a few times. “I’m your teacher. Draw your boss for me here.” She pointed to the blank page on the inside of the cover.
