Part 88 (1/2)
”I'm sure it wasn't.”
Jennifer glared at her.
”I have big news,” Rachel said.
”What?”
”Kazmeyer put in his notice. He's cas.h.i.+ng in his sick days. His last day is in February.”
”He's retiring?”
Rachel nodded. ”You know he's tried to get me fired, like, three times? Me? You know what the last one was about?”
”What?”
”I dared to show the old Romeo and Juliet movie in cla.s.s. You know, the one with b.o.o.bs. It's one scene.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes. ”Did you send the release home?”
”Of course I did. I still got written up for it, but I have tenure. Now you do, too. You should let your hair down a little.”
Jennifer sighed. ”I think I'll just stick with my lesson plans.”
”Good for you,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes. ”How's it going this year? Any problems?”
”I wish I didn't have the freshmen after lunch.”
”Before lunch, after lunch, they're all thinking about their cla.s.smates naked and producing excess body odor. Don't worry, we can shove them all off on Kazmeyer's replacement, whoever they can find.”
”I'm looking forward to it,” she said. ”Though I sort of like freshmen. Sometimes.”
Rachel snorted.
”You love them,” Jennifer said.
”No, I just lost my mind in my fifth year.”
The bell rang a moment later. Jennifer said h.e.l.lo to some of Rachel's freshmen as they came in. She had her own to tend.
The freshmen were docile, and the advanced placement cla.s.s went smoothly enough. The conversation focused on the a.s.signed reading. By the time it was over, she was exhausted. She sat behind her desk during Advisory and looked busy.
That didn't stop Krystal, who sidled over, dragging her chair noisily across the floor.
”What?” Jennifer said, doing her best to sound terse. Despite everything, she felt light, somehow.
”I heard you got a ride from Mr. K.”
”So he's Mr. K now,” Jennifer said. ”I'm sure he'll be overjoyed.”
”You're not denying it,” Krystal said.
”Have you ever considered journalism school?”
Krystal grinned and s.h.i.+fted in her seat.
”What about you and, um...” Jennifer glanced at the table.
Krystal sat next to Cole, the boy from the fight. Jennifer wondered how that happened, but she was happy to see it.
”What about us?”
”Us, is it?”
”I don't know. He asked me out. I haven't said yes.”
”Far be it from me to advise,” said Jennifer.
”I think I'm going to.”
”I'm thrilled.”
”Are you going out with Mr. K?”
Jennifer looked at her. ”Don't you have work to do?”
Yawning, Jennifer stretched until her back and shoulders popped, then swung her legs out of bed. A ride was just the thing for a Sat.u.r.day morning. The forecast said it would barely top eighty degrees today.
She brushed her teeth, then plucked at her eyebrows. Any makeup would smear from sweat, and she rarely wore it anyway.
Riding back and forth to school in the sun brought out her freckles, and they were especially darker under her left eye. They dotted her neck and shoulders, too. She wound her hair in a bun instead of her usual braid to prevent it from swinging behind her as she rode. After dressing quickly in an old t-s.h.i.+rt and shorts, she put on pads and her helmet.
Her ring itched.
We're just riding bikes. That's all.
She sat on the edge of her bed to lace up her sneakers when she heard a thump downstairs, and the doorbell chimed. She tied the laces and darted down the stairs.
She pulled the door open without looking through the peephole. Jacob wore ragged cut off jeans and a black t-s.h.i.+rt of high performance weave that fit him like a second skin. The tight muscles of his chest and stomach flexed as he breathed.
”Hi?” he said.
Jennifer stared at hi m.
”Oh, hi,” Jennifer shook her head. ”Um, I-”
”Ready to go?”
Jacob insisted on lifting her bike down the stairs to sit next to his. She expected something elite and expensive, but it was a battered three speed with fading paint that he might've bought at a toy store. He walked his bike down to the road beside her. There was no sign of his car. He must've ridden down to meet her.
”Where are we headed?”