Into Magnolia (Sandy Cove Series Book 3) Page 2

  “Great,” she said with a smile. “Now let’s look at the behavioral standards at the top of page two.”

  The sound of papers flipping filled the air as the students moved to that section of the handout. While the class read through the rules, she noticed the gum chewers return to their slouched postures, attempting to hide behind the rest of the students.

  “Summer’s over, but I’m sure it’s hard to leave some of the pleasures of that season behind. If you are chewing gum right now, please deposit it in the nearest trash can.”

  Several students stood and followed her directive. She noticed that one of the girls in the far corner of the back continued to chew defiantly. She glanced at the name on the seating chart. Amber Gamble.

  Looking directly at her, Michelle said in a clear but kind voice, “Amber, would you mind getting rid of your gum, too, please?”

  All eyes turned to look at the culprit. Amber rose slowly to her feet and meandered over to the wastebasket. She clutched the gum between her front teeth then pulled it with her fingers, making a long strand of the sticky substance extend from her mouth. Then she chomped the string of gum, chewed a few more times, and finally spit it out.

  “Thank you,” Michelle said evenly. “While you’re up, would you mind grabbing a stack of those literature books for your row, please? And if each student at the back of the rows would do the same, we can get these books passed out to you today.”

  By the end of the period, all the students had their three books – spelling, literature, and grammar – and they had their first assignment – to go over the syllabus and behavior guidelines with their parents that night, getting them to sign the bottom of the second page and provide their daytime phone numbers and email addresses.

  As quickly as the period had passed, the subsequent classes also seemed to rush by in a blur. At 3:00, Michelle looked out over the empty room, smiled a weary smile and sighed. Day one. She had survived.

  Michelle’s husband, Steve, arrived home that evening to find little Maddie at the kitchen table earnestly at work on a crayon drawing. “How’s my favorite girl?” he asked as he bent over and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

  “Oh, Daddy,” Maddie replied without taking her eyes off of her artwork.

  Michelle shut off the water in the kitchen sink and turned to face her little family. “Hi, hon.” Her eyes sparkled but her lopsided grin revealed a weary woman.

  “How was your day?” Steve asked, pulling her into a hug. He felt her cling to him tightly for a moment before pulling away.

  “It was great. Seems like most of my classes will be good. First period has a few kids who will be a challenge. But overall, I’d say everything went smoothly.”

  “I’m proud of you, babe. Those kids are lucky to have you.”

  Michelle looked up and gave him a kiss.

  “Look, Mommy!” Maddie’s voice demanded. “I’m finished!” She held up her drawing of a brown triangle sitting on grass with some lollipop trees in the background.

  “Wow! That is great, honey,” Michelle replied.

  “What’s the picture for?” Steve asked.

  “Well, Daddy, it’s my homework assignment. We had to draw a picture of something we did this summer. See? Here’s our tent in Yosemite.”

  “Oh, yeah. I see it. Good job.” He patted her on the back, his heart swelling with love for their little girl.

  Michelle smiled at them both and announced, “Time to wash up, guys. Dinner’s in five minutes.”

  “Let’s go, pumpkin.” Steve took her little hand in his, and they headed to the restroom to wash up.

  By 10:00 that night, Michelle was exhausted. Thankfully Steve had taken over the kitchen clean up while she bathed Madison and got her settled in bed. Three bedtime stories and two Eskimo kisses later, Maddie had succumbed to a deep and needed sleep.

  “I’m beat,” Michelle said as she picked up a few stray toys and books in the living room.

  “Me, too. Let’s call it a day.”

  They walked upstairs together, their cat Max bolting ahead as if racing them to the bedroom.

  “So, do you have everything ready for tomorrow?” Steve asked, as they got ready for bed.

  “I think so,” Michelle replied, slipping between the sheets. “Oh, this feels so good!” she added with a smile, sinking down into her pillow. As she closed her eyes, she found herself thinking about the group in the back of first period. Somehow she had to figure out a way to reach those kids.

  “What was that sigh about?” Steve asked, cuddling up against her.

  “Oh, just thinking about that first period class.”

  “You’ll figure them out.” He kissed her gently then turned out the light.

  But Michelle couldn’t shake an unsettling feeling. Amber Gamble was going to be a real challenge.

  CHAPTER TWO

  As Michelle stopped by the office the following morning, she noticed Amber sitting on a chair near the door to the assistant principal’s office. Michelle looked from Amber to Daisy, the receptionist at the front desk. Daisy’s raised eyebrows acknowledged Amber’s predicament as she nodded at Michelle and sighed. Apparently Amber’s reputation was off to a poor start at Magnolia Middle School.

  Retrieving her mail from her cubby, she headed to class.

  When first period began, Michelle noticed that Amber was not in the room. “Does anyone know where Amber is?” she asked.

  “Probably got suspended,” one boy remarked. Several students laughed in response.

  “It’s a bit early in the year to be getting suspended,” she replied skeptically.

  “Not for Amber,” someone in the back popped off.

  “Okay. Let’s get started,” Michelle said, pointing to the board. “Here’s your warm up activity. Please take out a piece of notebook paper and begin writing.”

  The prompt on the board asked the students to write about their bedrooms. It encouraged them to use as many descriptive words as possible and to be specific. “Paint a picture with your words so I can see your room in my mind,” the final sentence read.

  Michelle watched as most of the students opened backpacks, pulled out binders, removed paper and began to write. Several nudged others around them to borrow paper or a pencil. Then the room got quiet as they began to write.

  A few moments later, Amber showed up. She dropped her backpack with a loud thump and slumped down into her desk.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Amber. We’re doing a quick write for our warm up this morning,” Michelle added as she pointed to the board.

  Amber rolled her eyes, tapped the girl next to her and asked for paper and a pencil, then started to write. A minute later, she raised her hand.

  “Amber?”

  “I’m finished.”

  Michelle could feel her irritation rising as Amber stood and strolled to the front of the room. She tossed her assignment on Michelle’s desk, turned, and slowly sauntered back to her seat. Smiles and uneasy laughter replaced the quiet and focused atmosphere of the room.

  Michelle glanced down at Amber’s paper — I don’t have a bedroom. THE END.

  “Amber, I’d like to see you for a minute after class,” she said.

  Amber shrugged and rolled her eyes.

  After collecting the warm up quick writes, Michelle asked the students to clear their desks. She began distributing a pretest for grammar. “This test will not go into the grade book,” she reassured them. “It is a measure of how much you already know, so I can create a plan that will best fill in any gaps. If you finish before the end of the period, you may begin working on your homework for tonight – pages 3-4 in the grammar workbooks.”

  Later, when the bell rang and the class poured out of the room, Amber managed to escape with the masses. Michelle thought about calling the office or sending a call slip to Amber’s next class, but the busyness of the daily schedule swept her away. It wasn’t until the end of the day that she realized she had not addressed Amber’s defiant d
isappearance.

  Gathering up the stack of 180 quick writes and the students’ pretests for grammar, she stuffed them into her canvas bag and erased the board. Her cell phone buzzed, and she noticed a text message from Steve.

  Still in court. Can’t pick up Madison.

  On most days, their close friend, Kelly, would be getting Maddie at the end of the school day and taking her to their house until Michelle could pick her up. Kelly’s little boy, Luke, was a year and a half older than Madison and the two little ones, Lucy and Logan, were four and two. But today Kelly had an appointment, so Steve was planning to pick up Maddie.

  Michelle sighed, added her lesson plan book to the paperwork in her bag, and headed for the office, punching Maddie’s school number into her cell phone to let them know she would need to go to daycare for about half an hour.

  As she turned in her roll sheets, she ran into Ron Black, the assistant principal.

  “Hi Michelle,” he greeted her with a smile, unable to disguise the fatigue in his eyes.

  “Hi, Ron. Long day, huh?”

  “Yep. It’s starting early this year,” he replied. “We usually get at least a week or two’s reprieve at the beginning of September, but we started out with a bang this morning. One of our girls was caught smoking in the bathroom.”

  “Amber Gamble?”

  “Yeah. How did you know?”

  “She’s in my first period class. I saw her sitting by your office before school.”

  “That girl is a handful, Michelle. Keep an eye on her. She’s got lots of baggage.”

  Michelle nodded.

  “You should check her file when you get a chance,” he suggested as he turned to go to his office.

  She glanced down at her watch. 3:30. Better get over to pick up Madison at the after-school daycare. Amber’s file would have to wait.

  The evening disappeared before she knew it. At 11:30 that night, she finally pushed aside the stack of quick writes and tests, glanced over the details of her lesson for the next day, and headed for bed.

  Steve was sound asleep when she slipped in beside him. She almost forgot to set the alarm clock before drifting off to sleep.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Michelle was startled awake by the shrill buzz of the alarm. Forcing herself out of bed, she shuffled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. “Steve, can you get Maddie up?” she called out to her husband who was now getting out of bed himself.

  “Okay, babe. I’m on it,” he replied.

  After quickly getting dressed, Michelle began applying her makeup.

  “Mommy, I don’t feel well.” Maddie stood at the door of the bathroom hugging her teddy bear.

  Michelle turned and looked at her daughter. She appeared to be fine with good color in her cheeks, although her hair was in complete disarray.

  “What’s up, honey? Does your tummy hurt?” she asked.

  Maddie nodded her head, squeezing her bear tighter to her chest.

  This was Madison’s typical response to stress. Her stomachaches were the red flag that something was bothering her.

  Michelle took a deep breath. She wanted to get to school early to pull Amber’s file. Looking up at Steve, who was now standing behind Maddie, she gave a silent plea for help. Their cat, Max, was pacing back and forth at the entrance to the bathroom, crying for attention himself.

  “Hey, pumpkin. Let’s go downstairs and feed Max. Then we can sit together in the big chair for a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” Madison replied softly, her eyes downcast.

  Michelle nodded her gratitude at Steve and hurried to finish getting ready.

  Steve cradled his oversized baby in his arms as they snuggled in the soft rocker recliner in the family room. “How’s your tummy, Princess?”

  “Better, Daddy,” Madison replied, resting her head against his chest.

  “Everything okay at school?”

  “I guess.” She snuggled deeper into his arms.

  Steve hesitated. Madison had never complained about anything at school in the past, but he could tell from the resignation in her voice that something was not right.

  “Tell me about Mrs. Tucker.”

  “She’s okay. She put my Yosemite picture up on the bulletin board.”

  “That’s great, honey. She must really like it,” Steve added, giving her a squeeze.

  Madison nodded and was silent for a few moments. “Daddy?” she asked.

  “Can Mommy take me to school today?”

  “I don’t think so, Maddie. She has to be at school early, remember? We talked about that this summer – how Mommy will have to leave for school before the bus comes.”

  She sighed and nodded, then pushed herself upright and looked into Steve’s eyes. “Mommy’s really busy.” Her voice cracked.

  He could tell she was trying not to cry. “Yes she is, honey. Let’s give her a little time to get settled into her new job. Maybe it will be better after that.”

  “Do you think so?” Madison asked, a glimmer of life returning to her eyes.

  “I hope so, sweetie,” he replied. “Let’s go upstairs and get ready. We’ll let Mr. Bear come with us to the bus stop today,” he added, patting her bear on the head.

  Madison giggled. “You’re funny, Daddy! His name is Teddy.”

  Warmth rushed through Steve’s heart as he looked at the smile on his daughter’s face. To think he almost missed this moment. He shot up a quick prayer of thanks for the gift of their daughter. Two years of infertility had almost robbed them of this precious little girl. But that was seven years ago, and now they were off to kindergarten.

  Michelle only had a few minutes to rifle through Amber’s file. A red folder marked CONFIDENTIAL was inserted into the back. She quickly pulled it out. There was a court order regarding the temporary placement of Amber and her brother Jack into the care of the state foster system.

  “Foster care,” she said quietly under her breath.

  “What?” Daisy asked from her desk. “Did you ask me something?”

  “No, I’m just talking to myself,” Michelle replied. She glanced at her watch. There was no time to read the enclosed report by the social worker. She’d have to come back to the office and pour over it later. Seemed she was always in a hurry. This was going to be a hectic year.

  After entering her classroom, she quickly wrote the date and the day’s agenda on the board, then sat down at her desk to record the quick writes and pretests into her grade book. She flipped on her computer, scanned the school emails, and noticed one from Ron Black. The subject matter: Smoking Incident.

  Michelle clicked on the email and began to read.

  Yesterday morning, a female student was caught smoking in the girls’ bathroom. Please report any tobacco smell you notice to the office. I would appreciate it if the female teachers would periodically stop by the girls’ bathrooms, and the male teachers the boys’ bathrooms, to check for smokers.

  Unfortunately this is becoming a problem at Magnolia, and we want to nip it in the bud. Any students caught smoking must be brought directly to the office. This is an automatic referral. Please help us send the message that our district has a zero tolerance policy for smoking on campus.

  The email ended with a reminder about the staff meeting that day after school. Michelle groaned. After Steve told her about his conversation with Madison, she’d wanted to try to slip out right after school and surprise her daughter with a trip to the ice cream shop. Instead, she’d have to text Steve and let him know that she would be home late. Hopefully he could break away and pick up Madison.

  The bell rang as Michelle closed the email. Soon students filtered in, and Michelle remembered that she’d have to address Amber’s failure to stay after class yesterday. As the period began, she directed the students to the front board.

  “Please take out a piece of paper and copy the sentences on the board, making all the necessary corrections in punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.”

  The studen
ts unzipped backpacks and clicked open their binders. Then the room fell silent as they began to work. Michelle walked between the rows looking at the various students and their work. She ended her tour at Amber’s desk. Tapping her gently on the shoulder, she signaled Amber to follow her out the back door.

  Once they were out in the hall, Michelle spoke softly to Amber. “You did not stay after class yesterday.”

  “Oh, yeah. Guess I forgot.” Amber stared into her eyes unblinkingly.

  Michelle could feel her heart racing. “Listen, Amber. I want to get us off to a good start this year, but I need your help.” Michelle prayed silently as she returned Amber’s stare.

  No response.

  “Do you understand, Amber? I want us to get along, but it takes two to do that. You do your part as a student, I’ll do mine as a teacher.”

  Amber looked off to the side as if fixing her gaze on something behind Michelle. “Whatever,” she muttered.

  Michelle gently rested her hand on Amber’s shoulder, and the girl looked back into her eyes. “I really care about you, Amber. I mean it. Let’s give this another try.”

  Amber paused and replied, “Whatever you say.”

  Michelle withdrew her hand and gestured toward the door, following Amber back inside the classroom.

  That afternoon during her conference period, Michelle slipped the red confidential folder out of Amber’s file. Sitting down at the worktable, she began flipping through the pages. The heading, SOCIAL SERVICES REPORT, at the top of the third page flagged Michelle’s attention.

  The report began with some basic information about Amber’s parents’ divorce and the court-ordered custody arrangement granting Mrs. Gamble physical custody of both of the minor children, Amber and her brother Jack. It detailed the rights of Mr. Gamble to have visitations with the children during their school breaks and for one month during summer vacation.