Sage nodded to me and I knew they’d get her home. I blew out my breath and dug my keys out of my jacket.
I had to get Wes in bed anyway. He’d be all sugared up after playing with Laurie.
Sometimes responsibilities were a bitch.
Five
I straightened my freshly ironed khaki skirt, then pushed up my sleeves of my baby blue sweater set. Principal meeting wear, I liked to call it. I usually went with a far more kid-proof outfit when actually teaching. But today was a good day to bring out the one cashmere sweater set in my wardrobe.
I wasn’t gonna lie, it was mostly for armor. Who could hurt you in cashmere?
It was a delusion I was willing to live with.
I held my hand up to knock.
“Come in, Miss Ford.”
I swallowed then turned the knob. You’d think I was in the principal’s office as a student. I put on my sunniest smile. Principal Gentry still wore an abbreviated version of her habit. As if a suit and a nun’s habit had a baby. “Good morning.”
“Have a seat, Kelsey.”
All right, so we were getting right down to it. I perched on the edge of my chair and folded my hands.
“We’ve had a few things change for the school year. Unforeseen things which have required me to juggle a few classrooms.”
My stomach pitched. Oh, God. I wasn’t getting sacked, was I? They just hired me on full-time.
She held up her hand. “Don’t worry, I didn’t invite you here to let you go.”
That was me, poker face of the ages. I swallowed a hysterical laugh. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“But there’s been a shift in enrollment for our kindergarten class. I no longer need a second teacher as I did last year.”
I gripped my fingers until I couldn’t feel them anymore.
“However, I do need a first grade teacher due to yet another change. Most of the children from kindergarten stayed on. You’re the newest teacher with us, so you haven’t gotten into planning your curriculum much.”
So she thought. I’d planned out the first half of my year already.
“And from the information I have on you, you have training in all elementary education arenas.”
“Yes, Sister.”
“Good, good. That makes this much easier. Your classroom will have twenty-three students. Fifteen boys and eight girls. I think you may know one of them. Alison and Seth Hamilton’s daughter, Laurie.”
“Oh. Yes, I do.”
“I expect that your personal relationship won’t make a difference?”
“Oh, no. She’s a delightful girl, but I fall in love with all my kids. Doesn’t stop me from controlling the classroom when necessary.”
“Good to hear. This particular class has quite a bit of energy. I know you’ll do very well with the changes.”
That sounded like a canned response. I wondered how many other teachers were shuffled around? But now I needed to start over with my teaching plan. First graders needed a lot more structure than the half day kindergarteners. They had to learn how to deal with an all-day class.
Nothing like tossing me into the deep end on the second full day of my first full year as a member of St. Agnes.
“You may join the assembly with the rest of the teachers for the rally. We’re very glad to have you here, Kelsey. But I’m not going to lie. Catholic schools are having more issues with registration. We have to make sure our classrooms and teachers are the best in the county, if not the state.”