and Nick came stomping in. He slumped into the first seat he came to, dropped his backpack and propped his feet on the chair in front of him.
“Good of you to join us, Mr. Holden.” She stood and walked over to him. “You can work on your homework for the next hour.”
“I don’t got none.”
“You do know I can call your teachers and check, right?” She really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“They already went home.” Defiance came across loud and clear.
She debated arguing with him. Part of her was tempted to let him sit there and be bored for the next hour. It would serve him right. She owed it to her staff to encourage him to get his work done.
“You ain’t my mother, you know.”
Thank God. “No, I’m not. I’m your principal. Almost the same thing.” As a teacher, she’d often spent more time with some of the kids than their parents did.
He glared at her and, with a heavy sigh, reached for the backpack. The rasp of the bag’s zipper was loud in the quiet room.
“Thank you,” she said and returned to the desk. The other kids were watching, a fact she didn’t acknowledge. Ryan’s eyes were wide, though, when Nick pulled out his phone. “You know the rules, Nick. No phones. Put it away. Now, or it’s mine.”
“But I don’t have anything else to do.”
“Sorry, that’s the way it is. Kindly, put it away.”
Ryan watched closely as Nick sullenly shoved the phone into a side pocket. She could see Ryan wanted to get up and help her out. Thankfully, he didn’t. That protective streak. She wondered if he’d gotten that from his father.
Marcus Skylar’s face came to mind, and she found herself curious about him.
He’d done a good job with Ryan. The boy was a good kid. She’d done some investigating after they’d left her office. Paul Hudson had been more than happy to fill her in on what he knew. He’d defended Ryan, but didn’t know the complete details. She’d get them, she knew. She just had to find the right person to tell her. If it wasn’t for the school’s no-tolerance policy on fighting, she wasn’t sure Ryan would be here right now.
The hour dragged by. Even Ryan ran out of work to do and started fidgeting in his seat before it was time to leave.
“It looks like most of you finished your work,” Addie finally said. The looks she got were almost comical. She could tell they were hoping she’d let them go early. Not a chance, but they didn’t have to know that. She looked at the expectant faces. With the exception of Nick, these were all pretty good kids.
“Let’s talk about a couple of things.” She walked around to perch on the front of the desk. “How many of you are looking for summer jobs?” Eighth grade—the year before high school—was usually the year kids started to seriously think about jobs, about spending money and getting out of the house to hang out with their friends.
Three of the five students shot their hands up. Nick ignored her, and Ryan shrugged. “Ryan?”
“I don’t know. We just moved here.”
She nodded. “That can be a challenge. Does anyone have any ideas to help Ryan get to know the area?”
“What part of town do you live in?” Melissa asked.
“In Sommerfield. Over by the baseball fields.”
That wasn’t far from where Addie lived, and where she’d grown up. “You could see if the parks department is hiring,” one of the other boys offered. “They take care of the ball fields. Use kids to do it sometimes.”
“That’d be cool.” Ryan grinned and nodded. “I’m hoping to play baseball this year.”
Nick paid attention to the conversation for the first time. “Yeah, like you could throw a ball.”
Addie speared him with a glance. “You like being in detention, Nick?” she asked him. “That wasn’t polite.” She looked over at Ryan, half expecting to see either anger or hurt in his eyes. The boy was standing, hard determination on his face. “Sit down, Ryan. Nick, apologize.”
“Sorry,” Nick mumbled.
“As an apology, that could use some work.” It had been a whole lot easier when she’d had to deal with her three brothers. At least then she’d had the final weapon—Mom.
Sighing, she chose to take the win with the other kids and ignore Nick’s behavior. “Back to our conversation. Anyone have other ideas to help Ryan? Each other?”
“There’s a strip mall east of there that has lots of shops,” the other boy offered. Everyone, except Nick again, nodded.
“Lots of good ideas,” Addie said. “Here’s what I’d like you all to think about. As the principal, I get people contacting me who are looking to hire students. I hear about opportunities. I’m more than happy to share that information with anyone who shows potential.”
Four heads nodded. “But...” She looked at each kid, holding their gazes for a long moment. “Detention doesn’t show potential.” Nearly every gaze fell. “So, think about your actions, about what you do through to the end of the year. You stay out of here for the rest of the year, and I’ll seriously consider sharing any job information with you.”
“Thanks, Ms. Hawkins.” Melissa smiled. Like the others, she wasn’t a bad kid—she just needed to engage and want to work at school.
Addie made the same offer to any of the kids who were in detention. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes they just needed a little nudge in the right direction. Other times, nothing worked. She glanced at Nick.
“Okay, everyone. The hour’s up. You can leave, but remember what I said.” The noise of everyone gathering their belongings filled the room. “See you all here tomorrow.”
She or one of the teachers would, anyway.
Ryan stopped at the door and looked back. “Ms. Hawkins?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a sorta personal question?”
“Uh, yes. Not sure I’ll answer.” She’d learned to hedge her bets a long time ago.
“How long have you lived in Austin?”
“Most of my life. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just curious. We lived in Chicago before we came here. It’s different.”
“I’d expect it to be. Do you miss Chicago?”
He thought about it for a minute. “I miss some of my friends, but my dad’s happier here. I like that. Have you ever been to Chicago?”
Her answer seemed to be important to him. He must have a strong sense of pride for his hometown. “No. But I’d like to.”
“Are you sure?” he asked urgently.
“I think I’d have noticed.”
“Oh.” He looked a little crestfallen.
Addie frowned. This seemed a bit more than hometown pride. Her answer seemed to confuse him. “But I promise, if I ever go, I’ll be sure and check with you to see about what I need to see.”
“There’s a lot of cool stuff.” He nodded, though his smile didn’t return. “You gotta try the pizza.”
“I’ll remember that. You’d better hustle so you don’t miss the bus.”
“I walk home. It’s close enough.”
She nodded. “Healthier, too.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” And when he was gone, the silence of the room suddenly