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“Yes!” He beamed. “9th through 12th grade will now have the honor of seeing a Broadway show in New York City. I couldn’t have done it without the dozens of phone calls you made to the grant committee.”
“The students are lucky to have you, Mr. Brycen.”
“Thank you, truly, for all of your support, Mrs. Jenner.”
He took his seat as the rest of the faculty strolled in. She stepped to the side to finish discussing last-minute change with Keegan. Once everyone had their breakfast, Keegan got right to business.
“And with that little tidbit about the missing cookies from the cafeteria,” Keegan finished the last information on her agenda, “Dr. Jenner will catch everyone up on the more important items today.”
Julia took the podium and began her spiel. She congratulated those who held everything together during their staff shortage and welcomed the new teachers while praising their previous accolades. She promised more substitutes in the Spring–that little note sending an applause through the crowd.
Then it was to the point she dreaded. She watched numerous eyes roll and almost inaudible sighs permeate the room as she described the purpose and intentions behind the board’s choice. She could tell all they heard was an outsider would be invading their space and scrutinizing their teaching.
“This could really inform our instruction,” Julia’s speaking voice was loud and commanding as she projected to the near hundred educators before her, “and as we strive for excellence here at Kleinton, we should continue to be open to constructive criticism as we always have been. I know you will welcome whomever arrives later today and reach out to them with any questions you may have on ways we can better serve our students. You will also see their face in some of your classrooms as we share the responsibilities of each of your annual evaluations. I’ll be sending out the name of the McSellen representative as soon as I have that information, along with a schedule of available time for you to work with them one-on-one.”
There was always something about the way she spoke. She could convince a group of apes to work together if she had to. She knew how to talk, to spin words in such a way that people felt responsible for the outcome. That’s what made her such a good administrator. People looked up to her, trusted her, and knew she would fight any battle she had to for them.
Julia was about to wrap up with a note about the Broadway grant as well as an appreciative thank you for their consistent hard work as she did every meeting, when she caught the eye of someone leaning against the doorway.
Her white heels perfectly matched her blouse. Black pants hugged her hips, stopping just above her ankles. A silver diamond-wrapped pearl hung between her cleavage, drawing Julia’s eyes. A navy blazer hung effortlessly off her shoulders, caressing her in all the right places. She stood so confidently, one hip leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed in front of body. Gleaming brown hair caught the light, just like last night.
Imposing. Dominant. Alluring. Completely unavoidable.
They locked eyes and Erin pursed her lips, fighting what looked like a grin. Julia pulled her gaze away, but all she could think about was how it felt when they melted together–the fireworks that exploded in every nerve of her body.
Julia forgot to breathe. Her mind spun in a million different ways and it all landed on one thought: what is she doing here? She coughed lightly as she took a sip of her coffee. The flush that started in her chest began to creep to her cheeks. She wouldn’t have been as flustered any other time, but this was her work and that was the woman who sauntered into her very short dreams last night.
“As always,” Julia rushed to continue, holding onto whatever composure she had left, “thank you for your time today and every day. What you do here matters, and it’s seen. Please take some snacks on your way out!”
Everyone applauded–not for her motivational speech, but more for the food–as they gathered to grab another donut or pastry before heading out to the start of their classes. Julia attended to the concerns and questions of those who caught her attention on their way out. Her presence was a revolving door of I’m still working on that, I will add that to the schedule, of course we can move that meeting to Thursday, and so on.
“Mrs. Jenner, I’ll meet you back at the office!”
By the time Keegan’s voice traveled to her, she was halfway down the hallway with two teachers following. She looked up to see Keegan’s back as she walked away, accidentally catching Erin’s eyes before turning back to the last teacher in front of her. That wasn’t noticeable, right?
Erin’s eyes seemed to turn downward, her smile running from her face. She moved towards the back of the room, her heels tapping on the floor–isolated in Julia’s head like the tick of a clock in an empty room. Erin waited for the last of those who were still picking at pastries from the table to leave.
Julia couldn’t focus. She nodded, agreed, and offered appointments to those who needed more of her time, but after they left, she couldn’t remember for what or who. She said anything to get the rest of them out of that room, out of the view of how her eyes landed on Erin no matter where she moved. The only thing she could focus on was the heat in her cheeks, the sweat pooling in her palms, and the thought of Erin’s eyes on her.
It was supposed to be one last kiss. One last kiss for her to look back and think about how she could have, should have, made the choice to not leave. Not one last kiss for that woman to be standing before her, torn between wanting to do it all over again and jumping out the second floor escape window to avoid the inevitable conversation coming next.
As the last teacher walked out, Julia desperately rushed her papers into a pile without ever looking up. She heard Erin’s heels tap closer on the floor behind her, slowly approaching the podium she hid behind. This could not be happening. It can’t be her, and it most certainly can’t be here.
“You can’t be here,” Julia whispered under her breath.
Erin remained silent, confusion and amusement tingeing her face. Julia returned to her futile attempt at organizing the scattered papers before her, avoiding eye contact at all costs.
“Good Morning, Mrs. Jenner,“ her voice rang. “My name is Erin Calanis.” She sounded as unsteady as Julia’s hands. “I’m the lead evaluator of the McSellen Corporation for Education Reform.”
Julia’s jaw dropped, and not in the metaphorical sense. She stood there dumbfounded, her mouth agape, unable to form a coherent response. She turned her body to see Erin’s hand outstretched, her calm face not matching the shake heard from her voice. Even at that moment when she wished she had a hole to crawl into–a deep dark place to hide until she forgot what Erin’s lips tasted like–she didn’t want to be looking at anyone else.
“Hello.” Julia took her hand and gently shook it, goosebumps forming under her jacket from the softness of her familiar skin. “I’m Dr. Julia Jenner, Superintendent of Kleinton High.”
Her voice was strong, fighting to the death to hide any hesitance. She had nothing to be embarrassed about. She was a grown woman, and it didn’t matter with who or where she spent her time, even if it was a stranger. As long as they could move past everything, forget they ever met before, it would be fine. Right?
“So, management, huh?” Erin’s grin reappeared, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.
Julia glanced around, aware that a few teachers still lingered in the hallway. She leaned closer and whispered, “do you think we could have this conversation at another point?”
