Aidan and Katie Ch. 04

I was immediately embarrassed, "I apologize, I shouldn't have used that language in front of you Richard."

Big Dick surprised me next by laughing, "Don't apologize Ms. Cunningham, you just said what the rest of us were thinking. Richard, what the hell was all this about, then?"

Richard turned as red as a fire truck and mumbled, "I don't know, I guess was just trying to impress her. She's the prettiest, smartest teacher I've ever had. She makes me work for my grades and doesn't put up with my shit. I was just doing what I do with other girls to make them like me." He finished, looking at the floor.

I was nearly speechless. "Richard, speaking for my gender, beyond star struck high school girls, no woman likes a jackass."

His dad started laughing again. "Your mother tells you that every day, doesn't she, son?" He looked at me, "I'm sorry; I've been an even bigger jackass than he has been, both he and his brother will be perfect gentlemen from now on. Isn't that right, Richard?"

"Yes sir," Richard said, "I'm really sorry Ms. Cunningham."

"OK, Richard," I said, "Please remember; that's all I ask."

"I will, I promise." He said.

Big Dick looked at Dean Anderson and asked, "So, what now?"

The dean stood there for a moment and thought. "OK, here goes, but hear me out. I cannot have students cursing at teachers, so I'm going to uphold the in-school suspension."

Father, son and coach groaned, but didn't say a word.

"However, I don't want to punish Coach and the basketball team by keeping Richard from playing." He said and the three other men started celebrating. "I'm not done." All three became still. "Richard, I'm going to impose a community service kind of thing. I want you to find a grade school athletic program and volunteer after the basketball season. Help kids become better at sports, become more confident. I think it'd be good for you and for the kids. Is that acceptable?"

I think the three guys had been holding their collective breath, because it escaped in an audible whoosh. "Absolutely Dean Anderson, I'll do it."

Big Dick stuck out his hand, "I'll help, too and he and his brother will be there. Thank you, Dean, and I apologize for my behavior. Can we go now?"

Dean Anderson nodded and motioned for me to stay. They left and I sat down. He closed the door and started laughing. "That was unexpected."

I laughed, too, "Yeah, no shit."

He sat down behind his desk, still chuckling. "You know, I really didn't want to fight that guy. He's huge."

"Bob, you would've kicked his ass." I snickered.

"Maybe," he snorted, "I just hate dealing with big bullies." He paused, and then looked seriously at me. "Katie, what were you thinking?"

I covered my face with my hands. "I don't know. I knew it was wrong, but he has been driving me crazy and just for once I guess, wanted to wipe the smirks off his and his brother's faces." I knew I had screwed up, for a brief moment during the confrontation, I thought I might not get in trouble, but now it wasn't looking good.

"I shouldn't let this go, and if it were anybody else, I wouldn't, but it's only fair that since I let Richard off lightly, I should let you off, too." Bob didn't look happy.

I hadn't been in trouble before, so I wasn't certain of the punishment. "OK, Bob, if I was somebody else, what would you do?"

"I'd write you up, suspend you for three days, then you'd appeal through the union, and we would settle on a reprimand in your file." His expression hadn't changed. "But, I don't want anything in your file. You're a good teacher that loves her kids..." He had a rueful smile on his face, "...most of her kids. You put in a lot of extra hours helping kids out..." He noticed the surprise on my face and smiled a nice warm smile. "Yes, I see that you're here late a lot of nights, sitting with kids, showing them what they need to do, helping them understand. I just wish I had a hundred of you. Anyway, I don't want one lapse of judgment to ruin a spotless record." He smiled again, "Let me warn you though, the next time, if there is a next time, I will make an example of you."

"That's fair. Thanks, Bob, I appreciate it." I said as I stood and stuck out my hand, "Nothing like this will ever happen again."

"I know that," He smiled, "See ya, Katie."

I left his office and went back to my classroom. It was empty, other than Chloe, who was waiting for me.

"Chloe?" I said, worried, "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, obviously worried. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't in trouble."

I smiled and hugged her, "No, I didn't get into trouble. The Dean wasn't happy, but he let me go...basically with a warning." I giggled, "If I get in trouble again, though, he's gonna throw the book at me."

"Oh, good," then she stumbled, "Oh! Not good that he's gonna throw the book at you, good that you're not in trouble!"

I laughed, "I knew what you meant. Is that all, sweetie? Do you need help with something?"

She blushed, looked down at her feet and kind of kicked at the floor. "Could we go somewhere private to talk? I have something I'd like to talk about and I don't want anybody walking in. I trust you and I would really like to know what you think. Would that be OK? Pleeeaaase?"

I was startled; Chloe was a confident, mature student who had earned honors and a scholarship to Stanford. She always seemed to be in control of her emotions and whatever situation she was in. To see her vulnerable was a little disconcerting.

"Sure, sweetie, let me get my stuff and we can go to a little coffee shop that's nowhere near here. Is that OK?" I was very concerned with her discomfort. "Let's get through your class and then we can go. OK?"

We went to class and there were excited rumblings all through it. I ignored it mostly because I was concerned about Chloe. This class was always a joy, the kids were into it and we generally had fun. It took a little longer than I anticipated because a couple of kids had questions. Chloe waited quietly in her seat. Finally, everyone had left and we could go.

"Are you ready? I asked.

"Uh-huh..." she mumbled.

Her lack of enthusiasm bothered me. "I would like you to tell your parents that you're leaving school with me." I said, "I don't want any misunderstandings, particularly today."

She looked miserable, but agreed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Mom? I'm gonna go get some coffee with Ms. Cunningham. She's gonna help me with some stuff." She paused, listening. "We're gonna go in her car and she wanted me to let you know." She paused, listening again. "OK, here she is..."

She looked at me, "My mom wants to talk to you."

I shrugged and took the phone. "Hello, this is Katie Cunningham."

Her mom said, "Hi, this is Miranda Thurman, Chloe's mom. How are you?"

I smiled and said, "I'm fine and how are you?"

Miranda said, "I'm very well, but curious."

"OK, I'll do whatever I can to answer your questions." I said and Chloe frowned.

"Why are you taking my daughter out for coffee?" Miranda asked pointedly.

"Well," I said, "Chloe asked if we could go somewhere away from school to work on her task where we would not be interrupted. I suggested a little coffee shop that is far enough from the school that it's unlikely that we would be interrupted by other students. I wanted her to tell you so that we would not have any misunderstandings about what we were doing."

"Oh!" Miranda said, obviously surprised. "What's her task?"

"I have no idea, but Chloe is one of my favorite students and if she needs help, I'm here for her." I answered honestly.

"Will you call me afterwards and tell me?" Miranda asked.

"Mrs. Thurman," I said, "I will not do that, any questions like that are between you and your daughter. Like I said, I have no idea what this is about and if this is personal, I will not commit to telling you what it's about, especially if she asks me to keep it confidential. That's not my place. If you do not want me to talk to your daughter about whatever this is, I will respect that and we will not go." I was a little frustrated and let that frustration creep into my voice. I looked over and Chloe's eyes were huge. I reached over and patted her hand to reassure her.

"Oh, OK," Miranda said, and hesitatingly continued, "but if she's in trouble, I have a right to know."

"If she's in trouble, real trouble, I'll bring her home and we'll all talk about it," I said reassuringly. "But, I don't get that impression. Anyway, my definition of real trouble may differ wildly from yours."

Miranda laughed a genuine laugh, "That's true. OK, I'll trust that you know what you're doing and not trying to take advantage of my daughter."

I sighed, "Mrs. Thurman, nothing could be further from my mind. I'm merely trying to help a good student and a good kid."

She laughed again, "I'm sorry, it's just my overprotective motherly streak gets the best of me sometimes."

I smiled, "That is nothing for which you should apologize. I wish all of my parents were as concerned as you. If there's nothing else, I going to give you back to Chloe."

"OK," she said, "thanks for your honesty, good bye."

I said goodbye and handed the phone to Chloe.

"OK, Mom," Chloe said, "I'll be home before dinner."

Chloe hung up, looked at me and blushed, "I'm sorry about that."

I laughed, "I was serious when I told your mom that I wished all of my parents were that concerned about their kid's wellbeing. It's OK. Are you ready?"

She nodded and I grabbed my stuff and we went to my car. I drove to Stella's Coffehaus, my favorite coffee shop. It's an eclectic little place and it had a number of places where we could sit and talk undisturbed. Chloe was very quiet in the car and I didn't push her, I wanted her to tell me whatever she wanted to tell me in her own time.