Page 28
“Right up your alley. You must have loved teaching.”
She laughed. “I wasn’t teaching then. I scrubbed a lot of toilets and mopped a lot of floors before that happened. After a few months, I was hired to work a few hours in the gift shop. I volunteered with the summer groups, and that eventually led to a job with the teaching team. It was incredible.”
Her voice and smile proved that, but Burke’s heart ached at how many jobs she’d had to work to find her dream. And she’d done it all without support from family, from anyone.
Once again, Burke realized how damn lucky he’d been. He’d had loving parents, great siblings, and a grandfather who’d loved them through the grief of losing their parents. While he’d worked his ass off too, he’d had people who loved him supporting him and telling him to slow down and enjoy life.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Rissa continued. “Eventually, I was brave enough to suggest some tweaks to the current lessons. When they accepted a unit I’d created on viscosity, I danced the entire way back to my room.”
Room, not apartment. “Sounds like they realized what a treasure you are.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then a tornado wiped out the center, and I was back to square one. I started writing out the lessons I’d come up with, then all the ones I’d dreamed about. I bought a domain and learned how to build a website. It took more than a year, but eventually I had enough content to launch the site. It was terrifying to publish the website and send out notices to school boards and schools.”
“Who was the first to buy one of your lessons?”
“Mrs. Abbas from West Virginia.”
He laughed. “I knew you’d know that.”
She grinned. “It felt like I’d won the lottery, and in a way, I did.”
Burke hugged her to his side. “Supporting yourself through a job you love is an incredible feeling. And creating that job yourself? That’s top-notch living, Rissa.”
She leaned into him with a smile. “Thank you. It’s more work than I expected, but I love it.”
“That’s obvious from the way Charlie talks about what he’s learning through you. Are you continuing with the same topics from last week when you return tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “Not for most of the lessons, although I’ll loop back to the robotics and coding once we finish up on levers, fulcrums, and loads. We’ll put it together and have a little robotic building competition once we’ve got the basics conquered.”
“Sounds more fun than most of the science we did in school.”
“I hope so. Everyone’s different, but I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t learn better when they have a chance to try out their ideas and find out what happens firsthand.”
The sparkle in her eyes and her voice drew him like the magnets she probably used in some lessons. He moved his gaze from her eyes to her lips and back up again. “I have an idea I’d like to try out.”
Her smile widened. “Experimentation is encouraged.”
Chuckling, he leaned in. “How about hands-on learning?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Even better.”
And it was.
Chapter 9
Learning New Tricks
The week passed in a blur for Rissa. Burke drove her to the school in the mornings and stayed with her during the day, so she put him to work with the kids.
From her perspective, he had a blast, especially with the shy kids who weren’t the first to find groups or partners. He drew those kids out of their shells, and soon their laughter drew the envious eyes of their peers.
Just as he always had, Burke took care of others. He’d been an incredible older brother who’d never minded hanging out with the younger kids. He’d been an outgoing and confident teen, and that hadn’t changed now that he was an adult.
Unlike cocky people, he didn’t mind making mistakes as long as he could learn from them. When he lost control of his robot and crashed it into the wall, he laughed and started again.
The kids adored him, and Frizzle followed him around the room where they’d set up their stations.
When they spent one icy day playing with bubbles outside, he didn’t complain about the temperature. He also quietly handed out the extra mittens and hats she’d brought for those who didn’t have any.
