by ID Johnson
Still half asleep, Sandra entered her bedroom, her eyes glued on the floor as she pushed the door closed behind her, leaving only a crack for Tiger should he decide to make an appearance. Turning toward the bed, she looked up, and froze. In the center of the room, near her bed, a dark shadow loomed, towering well over six feet. At first, she thought she was seeing things, like a dark floater had caught in the center of her vision. It appeared as if all the light from the room was sucked into the inky blackness, and she couldn’t fathom there was actually anything there, but then, she noticed the hand, and her heart caught in her throat.
It was clear to her then, as he beckoned her forward, the paleness of his hand contrasting in the darkness of his cloak, who he was and what he wanted. The scythe he held in the other hand was also a giveaway—of the dead variety. “Who… who are you?” she said, quietly, though she didn’t need to ask.
His voice filled her mind, and if his lips moved, she couldn’t see as they were surrounded by the blackness of his hood. “It’s all right, Sandra. I’m here to take you home.” His voice was sweet, sincere, calm, reassuring.
At sixty-two, Sandra still felt young, despite her bad hip and the gray hairs. She was lonely, though, so very lonely. If it wasn’t for Tiger, she’d spend most days without speaking to anyone at all, except for herself. Even though the thought of passing on hadn’t been a consideration up until this moment, something in the tone of his voice made her believe now was as good a time as ever.
Yet, she hesitated. Who would take care of Tiger? What if they didn’t find her for days? What if she lay in a heap on the floor of her home for weeks and the rats got to her?
As if he sensed her conflict, he said quietly, directly into her wavering mind, “Come along, Sandra. Paradise awaits.” She didn’t move, still unsure of the situation. Slowly, with his free hand, the one that had beckoned to her, he reached up and pulled the hood off, revealing his face. Sandra gasped. It was not at all what she was expecting, and yet, she couldn’t help but smile. His green eyes, so deep, so kind, she couldn’t help but walk toward him, reaching for that hand, the same one that had gestured for her before. He reached for her, and her knees folded beneath her, falling to the floor, still entranced by the most beautiful face she’d ever seen.
Chapter 7
“Okay, class, if you will go ahead and put away your notebooks, it is time for music!” A quiet round of “yays!” filled the classroom as twenty-two students slipped their science notebooks into their desks. “We will line up at the door whenever you are ready.” Ru waited for all of the students to show her they remembered her rule and were going to be able to walk down the hallway quietly, in an orderly fashion. Everyone looked ready except for Ira. He was having a little bit of difficulty this morning, and she could see him self-stimulating because he was struggling. His arms were moving back and forth rapidly, but he was smiling at her, and she knew he was doing the best he could. Smiling back at him, she said, “You may line up.”
Twenty-two children stood, pushed in their chairs, and politely walked to the door. She was so proud when they courteously let others in front of them with no pushing or arguing. Most of the time it took at least a month for her students to get these routines and procedures down, but this time, it was happening much more quickly. It was only the second week of school and they seemed to be pros. Ru smiled to herself. It was going to be a good year.
“You can get in front of me, Ira,” another student, a sweet girl named Naomi, said, and Ira happily got in line in front of her. He didn’t say thank you, but Naomi didn’t seem to mind. Most of these students knew and loved Ira, having been in class with him before.
“All right, Jake,” she said signaling to her line leader, “you may proceed.” The students began to wind their way down the hallway, and Ru walked alongside them in the middle of the line until they reached the music classroom.
Mrs. Jenkins, an older woman with thick glasses, stood outside of her door, ready to welcome the children in. “Good morning, Ms. Roberts. This is quite a class you have here.”
“Thank you,” Ru said, not able to control her smile. “They are amazing. It’s going to be the best year yet.”
Mrs. Jenkins welcomed the kids in, and they each took a seat on her colorful carpet, except for Ira, who wandered over to the percussion area and tried out a few instruments before his classmates reminded him where he was supposed to be.
Quietly, Mrs. Jenkins leaned over to Ru and asked, “How is he today?”
“It’s been a good day so far,” she replied, nodding. “He’s a little over stimulated, but he’s taking care of it himself.” Even as she said the words, she noticed Ira rocking back and forth. “I actually have his IEP meeting right now, during my planning period.”
“Oh, okay. Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do in my classroom.”
“Thank you,” Ru said, nodding and letting Mrs. Jenkins get back to her kids. Ru hurried back down the hallway to grab the things she’d need for Ira’s meeting. She’d had students before on the autism spectrum, but Ira was a little different than any of them, and she remembered someone mentioning in a training that, “If you’ve met one kid with autism, you’ve met one kid with autism,” which meant that none of them were the same. She was finding that out, but Ira was precious, so smart, and an excellent artist. She just needed to figure out how to reach him. Hopefully, this meeting would help.
She passed Cutter in the hallway and waved at him. It looked like he was coming back from dropping his kids at PE. Glancing at the clock, Ru saw she had about three minutes to make it to the office. Her lips were dry and had been bothering her for the last hour or so, so she definitely needed to grab some lip gloss, along with her student notebook for Ira, a pen, and a bottle of water.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Cutter asked, stepping into the doorway.
“Good,” Ru called over her shoulder, pulling her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. “And you?”
“Drowning,” he admitted. “Teaching four subjects is really hard.”
She remembered he’d only taught math before, and gave him a sympathetic look as she dug through her purse. Where was her lip gloss? “It’ll get easier.”
“I sure hope so,” he replied. “Is everything okay?”
Ru realized she was frantically looking through her bag. “Oh, yeah. It’s just… I have an IEP meeting in a minute, and I can’t find my….” She cut herself off. He didn’t need to know what she was looking for.
“You have a what?”
She looked at him a bit puzzled. How could he have been teaching for longer than her and not know what an IEP meeting was? “An Individual Education Plan meeting. For Ira.”
“Oh, right,” he said, nodding. “We called them… something different at my old school.”
Ru nodded, but she thought he still should’ve known what an IEP was. Surely, he’d had a student with special needs before. Regardless, she couldn’t find her gloss and needed to get to the meeting so she looped her purse over her shoulder, grabbed the other items she’d set aside, and headed for the door. Cutter stepped out of the way as she got there. “If I can help with anything, let me know,” she said as he fell into step beside her.
“Thanks,” he said, and she could tell by his expression he’d likely take her up on it.
“Ms. Roberts!”
The sound of Jane’s voice grated on her last nerve as Ru stopped and spun on her heel to see what her team leader could possibly need. “Yes, Ms. Owen?”
“I need you to move your car.” Jane’s smile was fake, as usual, and plastered on her face.
“What’s that?” Ru asked, not sure she understood.
“Yeah, my brother will be here in a minute with the new cubbies he built for my classroom, and your car is in the perfect spot for him to unload. So… if you could just move it, for a few minutes, that would be great.”
Ru’s eyebrows arched. Why did he need to pull into a parking spot for that? “I
have an IEP meeting. Right now.”
“Well, it’s really very important. I’m sure Mrs. Long won’t mind if you’re a few minutes late.”
Jane was a stickler for being on time herself, and she couldn’t imagine she would ever be late to an IEP meeting. It wasn’t just Mrs. Long who’d be waiting—it was the parents, the diagnostician, the special education teacher, and likely a few other specialists. “I don’t have time,” Ru replied, taking a few more steps toward the office.
“Ru, I need you to move your car!” Jane shouted after her.
Still frazzled, Ru turned to face her, crossing her arms, mimicking the stance the other teacher had taken. “And I told you, I don’t have time.”
“Tell you what, you go on to your meeting,” Cutter said, giving her a gentle nudge toward the office, “and I’ll run out and move your car.”
Before Ru could argue or even agree, Jane was gushing. “Oh, thank you, Cutter! I’ll go let my brother know he can go ahead and bring it up.”
Fuming, Ru spun back around and continued on her way. She hadn’t even called him yet and wanted her to move her car? She tried her best not to get too upset at Jane because they had to work together, but sometimes, she wore on her last nerve, and right now was one of those times. Thank goodness it was Friday.
Ru walked into the conference room. “So sorry,” she said, not even glancing at the time.
“No, you’re fine,” Mrs. Long smiled. “We’re just waiting on the speech teacher, Mrs. Flores, and she’ll be back from the copy room in a moment.”
Ru said hello to Ira’s parents, a nice couple in their mid-thirties who were always willing to do whatever they could to help their son, and took a seat. She set her belongings down in front of her and rested her purse on her lap while she searched for her lip gloss. She finally found it right next to her car keys. Car keys, she thought. How was Cutter going to move her car if she didn’t give him her keys? She turned to look over her shoulder at the door, wondering if she had time to run them down to him, but Mrs. Flores was coming in, and the meeting was starting. Oh, well, Ru thought as she applied her lip gloss. I guess Jane will just have to find another solution.
The meeting lasted a little over half an hour, and when it was over, Ru had to rush off to get her students from the music teacher. She was in a good mood; they’d come up with some solutions that should help Ira. She saw Jane in the hallway, on her way to retrieve her class from art, and she was smiling, which surprised Ru. She thought she’d be angry at not getting her way with the parking spot.
Returning to her classroom, Ru got her students started on their math assignment before taking a moment to look over her notes for Ira, who seemed to be much more calm now than he had been earlier in the day. She knew how much he loved music, and she’d even requested he be evaluated for music therapy services, which she thought would really help him. This really was going to be the best year ever.
At the end of the day, she sent each of her students out the door with hug, handshake, or high-five, their choice, and then took the three students in her class who were walkers down to meet the other students who walked home. Her after school duty for this semester was to help them all get safely across the street. The crossing guard was already there, but it never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes. Once they were all safely headed home, Ru breathed a sigh of relief. Two weeks down, more to go than she cared to count.
“So, how’s it going?” Hannah West asked as they walked in together. Hannah had walker duty for third grade.
“Great,” Ru smiled. “I’ve got the best class.”
“Yes, you do. You’ve got some of mine from last year.”
“That’s right,” Ru nodded, approaching one of the side entrances to the building. She let Hannah get a step ahead of her so she could unlock the door with her key card. Hannah’s long red hair looked a little more frizzy this afternoon, and Ru wondered what kind of a class she might have. “You had Ira, didn’t you?”
“I did,” she replied, smiling. She popped the door open and held it for Ru who thanked her as she stepped inside. “He’s a good kid. Just needs a little more time than everyone else, extra attention, and some patience.”
“I love him,” Ru said, meaning every word. “I’m really excited to see what he can teach me this year.”
Hannah patted her on the shoulder. “That’s such a great attitude. We need more teachers like you.”
“Thank you,” Ru said, blushing a little at the compliment. Hannah had been teaching for at least twice as long as she had been, and it made her proud to have someone so seasoned say something like that. “How’s your class?”
“Uh… challenging,” Hannah admitted. “But we’ll get there.”
“I’m sure you will,” Ru reassured her. She saw Cutter down the hallway and waved at him. He looked tired, even from here.
“Now, that’s a teacher I wouldn’t mind mentoring,” Hannah said, winking at her.
Ru couldn’t help but giggle. “I think he’s getting lots of help from teachers in all grade levels.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Hannah said, her voice teasing. “Seriously, how do you concentrate in Jane’s boring meetings sitting across from—that.”
“Uh, I don’t know,” Ru replied. “I mean… we’re friends, so I don’t really think about him the way everyone else does, I guess.” She meant it even though she did have her moments. She wondered why he was still standing in the hallway, and as they approached the turn where Hannah would veer off toward the third grade hall, she assumed he was waiting for her. Probably to remind her that cars take keys.
“Well, you have a good weekend, hon,” Hannah said, patting her on the arm.
“You, too,” Ru said. The fact that she would have all weekend to relax and unwind made her smile. Just her and Piper with no commitments to her mother or anyone else.
Cutter was still standing in the hallway between their doors. “How was your meeting?” he asked as she approached.
“It was good. We came up with a lot of good strategies.”
“That’s great. I guess if I have any meetings like that coming up, someone will tell me?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “You’ll get a message on your calendar, and you can confirm your availability.”
“Cool.” He had a strange look on his face, and Ru wasn’t quite sure what was going on. He opened his mouth and then closed it.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, uh, can I talk to you in your room for a moment?” he asked.
“Sure,” Ru replied, wondering what this might be about. She walked into her classroom, proud that her students had cleaned up so nicely, and turned to face him. “What’s up?”
“Well, I was, uh, just wondering… if you’re not busy….”
“It’s Friday!” Candice shouted, sticking her head into Ru’s doorway. “Yeah!”
“Yeah!” Ru echoed, though not half as enthusiastically. She raised her fist in the air and pumped it a few times. Secretly, she hoped Candice would leave so Cutter could finish his sentence. What in the world was he going to ask her? It couldn’t be what she thought it was going to be when he’d first started the sentence—could it?
Candice invited herself in and began to talk about how difficult her class was this year. “I mean, I only have twenty-two, but I swear to God, they’re all the bad ones. It’s like having forty. And I’m constantly telling them to keep their hands to themselves, you know?”
Ru did know. She also knew Candice needed to get out. “Well, I actually have to hurry and get out of here today because I have… an appointment.”
“You do?” Candice asked, looking surprised.
Ru realized she couldn’t really lie to her because Candice knew everything. If she really had an appointment, she would’ve told her. “Yes… with my mom. I have to hurry home and call her. You know how she is.” She hated lying to her friend, and she hated using her mother as an excuse. But it might be the only way to get Candice out
the door. And she really wanted to know what Cutter was about to ask her.
“Seriously?” Candice said, her voice squeaky. “That mother of yours. I swear to God, you’d been better off if you’d been adopted by a pack of wolves.” She started to walk toward the door.
Ru ignored her comment. Not many people knew she actually was adopted, but Candice did. She glanced at Cutter, and if the remark seemed odd to him, his face didn’t reveal it. “Have a great weekend, Candice,” she called as she stepped over to her desk and started gathering up her things, trying to make her exodus believable. She had planned on getting out the door quickly today, since they could leave as soon as the kids were gone on Fridays, but she wasn’t in quite the hurry she was pretending to be.
“You, too,” Candice called. “Come on, Cutter.”
“I’ll be right there,” he called, swiveling to look at her, though his hands were still shoved deep into the pockets of his khakis and he didn’t pick up either foot.
As soon as Candice was gone, Ru set her purse down on top of her desk. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”
“Don’t you have to go?” The way he asked the question let her know he was in on her ruse.
Shrugging, Ru said quietly, “She likes to talk about how awful her class is and how lucky I am that my kids are good. I really don’t need to hear it again.”
He chuckled. “I think your kids are good because you have routines and procedures in place, something the rest of us are still struggling with.”
“Thank you,” Ru said, emphatically. She crossed the room so she was standing a foot or so from him. The scent of his cologne wafted through the air. He smelled like sandalwood and the deep woods. It could’ve been intoxicating if she’d allowed herself to think about him as anything other than a friend—a good friend. “Anyway….” Was he ever going to finish his question?
“Right. So, uh, tomorrow night—are you busy? Do you want to have dinner or something?”
Ru felt her jaw drop open and realized she probably looked like an idiot. Every fiber of her being wanted to say yes, but he was a colleague. She couldn’t possibly go on a date with him.