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Her eyes dim as she thinks about her dad, and without thinking, I grab her hand and squeeze lightly.
“You can look back, but remember to stay in the moment,” I recall words that were recently said to me. I give her hand another squeeze before letting it go.
When we reach the open field where my class is, the kids are already gathered and waiting. They start to whisper when I approach them with Penny at my side, but this time, I don't introduce her to the rest of the class.
As I’m teaching, half of my attention is on Penny, who is sitting on the bench a few feet away, watching me. I know this topic well, but her full attention is causing me to stumble with my words. I’ve had Patrick, parents, and a few of the other instructors watch, but Penny is the one who makes me feel self-conscious.
“Mr. O’Connell?” A kid named Boris interrupts and raises his hands. “I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Who is that?” He points in Penny’s direction, and I hear the entire class start to murmur. My mouth is suddenly dry as I turn my head to look in Penny’s direction. I meet her gaze, and my heart starts to race. Guess I’m not the only one who’s having a hard time focusing with Penny here today. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Before I can speak, Janet comes to my rescue. “She’s not his girlfriend. She’s his friend.”
“Thank you, Janet. I—”
“How do you know that?” Boris asks Janet and then turns to me. “Why did you bring her with you if she isn't your girlfriend?”
Penny approaches us, her arms raised in pacification. “Hi there. My name is Penny, and I’m Mr. O’Connell’s friend,” she says. “I’m sorry; I should’ve introduced myself before we started.”
The kids grumble and narrow their eyes.
She smiles brightly, and continues. “Wanna guess why I’m here?”
“Why?” They all ask. She has their full attention, and I’m standing in complete awe of how quickly she was able to get them to focus.
“Because this topic is my absolute favorite one. Mr. O’Connell is an amazing teacher, and I want to learn from him.”
“Really?” They ask in surprise.
“Yes.” She purses her lips. “Do you want to know how Mr. O’Connell knows so much?”
The kids nod and as Penny takes center stage, they get so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. “When Mr. O’Connell and I were young, we loved hiking with my dad…”
As I realize the story she’s about to tell, I roll my eyes and work to swallow my laughter.
“So on this particular day, we were walking a forest trail with my dad when Mr. O’Connell…” She glances at me with a playful wink and continues. “Thought it was a good idea to pluck a random leaf from a vine and play with it.”
The kids’ eyes widen as they lean forward to listen better. “Unfortunately for him, it was poison ivy.”
The kids burst into laughter, forcing a laugh out of me. “Before we knew it, Liam was screaming and rolling in the dirt!”
The kids double over with laughter, and I cross my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes at her. “I didn’t scream or roll in the dirt. Stop exaggerating.”
Penny giggles. “I didn’t exaggerate. If I did, I’d have told the kids you cried all the way home, but I didn’t.”
The kids roar with laughter again, and Penny turns to face them. “It was that day when Mr. O’Connell decided to learn all about plants so he could avoid a situation like that from happening again. It’s the same reason he wants to teach you, so you won’t go about plucking leaves that are potentially dangerous.”
“I want to learn!” One of the kids shouts. Soon, they are all chanting. “I want to learn!”
Penny and I exchange a glance, and I smile gratefully at her as she returns to her bench so that I can continue my lesson.
Chapter 18
Penny
As Liam moves from poison ivy to oleander and then to poison sumac, I can’t stop the smile stretching my face. I didn’t lie earlier when I said he was a good teacher. Watching him right now, I hope the kids realize how lucky they are.
