Page 11 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

My head spun while I tried to organize my thoughts.

“Why weren’t we told before now that we would be competing?” Cooper asked, speaking to the Headmaster as though I weren’t in the room.

Richmond tugged on the lapels of his jacket. “You were both aware that you would be performing a one-semester trial period. It’s immaterial that there is a second candidate.”

That sounded like a lot of bullshit to me, and a glance at the abs-hole confirmed he was thinking along the same lines. This weak explanation of Richmond’s cagey behavior made me wonder what else he might be hiding.

“How is that immaterial?” I asked at the same time Cooper said, “What are her qualifications?”

I huffed in irritation, completely distracted from my previous train of thought. “I was summa cum laude at Columbia—”

“That’s nice,” he said dismissively, turning his sharp gaze directly on me. “But where did you teach? What grades? How many years of experience do you have?”

My lips pulled into a thin line, and I discreetly wiped my palms on the sides of my dress. “I volunteered at Walden High School as part of my curriculum.”

“You have no teaching experience?” he asked, incredulous.

My cheeks were on fire now. Before I could respond, Headmaster Richmond stepped in again.

“That’s quite enough, Mr. Cooper. Ms. Burke’s qualifications are more than sufficient to equip her for this role. You both have unique talents that you bring to the position.”

In general, I preferred to fight my own battles, but I was touched by Richmond’s kind words. He really believed in me. I smiled warmly at him.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” I said. “I look forward to making the most of this opportunity.”

For his part, the antagonistic abs-hole looked somewhat cowed.

“Of course, Headmaster,” he said. “I didn’t mean to question your judgment.”

“Never apologize for questioning authority. That’s what a good scientist and a good teacher does. Regardless, I expect my decision at the end of term will be very difficult, indeed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Cooper said smoothly, though his fists were clenched at his sides.

“Now, on to the particulars. There are two chemistry courses offered—Fundamentals of Chemistry and Advanced AP Chemistry—each with two sections.”

I sat up a little straighter as my enthusiasm returned.

“The person who attains the role will be responsible for leading all four sections. However, for the purposes of this trial, each of you will teach one section from each course. That way we will be able to compare apples to apples, so to speak.”

My eyes flashed to Cooper as both he and I nodded.

“The learning objectives of each course are established,” Richmond continued, “but you will need to coordinate on lesson plans, homework assignments, and exams for the sake of consistency.”

The situation was not ideal—far from it. This job was supposed to be my chance to spread my wings. I was supposed to mold young minds and help them find their path.

But no. I would have to share my classroom with a guy that had been surly, rude, and generally unpleasant every time we crossed paths.

“How will we be assessed?” Cooper asked.

I hadn’t thought of that. I looked at Richmond expectantly.

“Test scores,” Richmond replied. “This is an institution, and unfortunately test scores are a fact of life.”

I tried not to look as disappointed as I felt. Test scores were a horrible metric for rating the effectiveness of an educator for a myriad of reasons.

“I will also be performing classroom observations, and the students will complete an end-of-term evaluation.”

I bit my tongue to keep from protesting. Student evaluations were an even worse metric than exam scores. Richmond had to know.