Page 51 of The Teacher

The cheeky bastard. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how much he’s annoying me with his little antics here.

“Hi, Tom. Hi, James.”

“Hello, Miss Finn,” they both say in unison.

The bastard’s not getting away with teaching my kids.

“Can I speak to you outside, Skipper?” I ask. “Alone.”

“Sure thing.” He winks at the boys and spins around, following me into the hallway. I close the classroom door behind him so that my two troublesome students can’t hear.

“What’s going on here? Why are you teaching my students?”

Skipper chuckles and places his hand on my shoulder. It’s annoying but I make no effort to shrug him off. His face is very close to mine and, despite what I want to do, my body starts to go weak at the knees for him. “You told me on the surfboard yesterday you were having trouble with these two boys, and I thought I might be able to help,” he explains with his trademark smile.

“I don’t need your help.”

“Well,” he continues. “Please give me some credit, I’ve got them sitting down together and talking, and now we’re onto Shakespeare. It’s a lot more than what you’ve done.”

“A lot more than what I’ve done?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. I’ve got James and Tom to chill out and listen. Give me some credit on that at least.”

“They’re my students.”

“They need my help.”

“Really?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“They have the exams coming up and I know how to talk to teenage boys. Look at the progress I’ve already made in just an hour, they’re listening to my every word.”

Oh, he’s being really cheeky now.

“Really?” It’s my only comeback I can think of on the spot, I’m sure I’ll think of one in bed later when it’s much too late. As usual.

Skipper just keeps on smiling. “I can clearly see you’re annoyed with me, so how about a deal?”

“A deal?”

“Yeah, and this one isn’t a drinking competition.”

“Right.”

“How about we do this together?”

“Together?”

“You heard me.”

“You mean, teach the boys together?”

“Yeah. I like them,” Skipper says. “And I like you. It sounds like a good deal to me.”

This man.

But he is right. He has got Tom and James to sit down together and listen. He has been able to explain the whole plot of Romeo and Juliet to them without any fights breaking out, maybe I do need his sorry ass to help.

What else can I do? I’m probably gonna lose my job in a few weeks thanks to Miss Tweed.