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Chapter20
HARPER
Aria, Phoebe, Oscar, and Sebastian circled a boy almost twice their size. The quartet tapped their feet. And from the looks of it, they were tapping out a boatload of profanity.
“They’re using the tap trick on Grover,” Charlotte announced with a devious smirk, which was odd for the woman. Out of their foursome, Char was the sweet one.
“Who’s Grover?” Landon asked.
“Grover Cleveland Schulte. He’s a bit of a bully and not kind to mermaids,” Charlotte answered.
Landon turned to her. “Mermaids?”
“Long story,” Mitch replied with a wide grin, then wrapped his arm around Charlotte.
“The kids are holding their own,” Raz said, crossing his arms. “Grover looks ready to crap his trousers. Nobody’s throwing punches. As a former professional boxer, I say we let it play out.”
“Give them back to us, you,” Aria hollered, then tapped three times.
Rowen glanced at Landon. “What’s Aria’s word?”
“Douche nozzle.”
“She’s not far off the mark with that kid,” Mitch murmured.
“She’s using a strategy to control her anger,” Libby remarked.
“And she’s got more self-control than Harper did at that age,” Penny teased.
But her friend had spoken too soon.
Aria lifted her tapping foot and reared back. Aiming at Grover’s shin, the kid was seconds away from making contact when Oscar dove in front of her and absorbed the blow.
“That was unexpected,” Mitch uttered as a young woman with a clipboard walked up to the group.
“I don’t think he wanted Aria to get into trouble,” Charlotte replied.
Penny sucked in a tight breath. “Oh, boy, here we go. That’s Carrie Mackendorfer. She’s the kids’ second-grade teacher.”
Rowen pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll make another donation to the school.”
What a way for Aria to make a first impression.
Still, the girl wasn’t one to get angry for nothing. Grover must have been asking for it.
They watched as Miss Mackendorfer pointed to Grover’s hand. The kid huffed, then handed something small to each child. The teacher spoke to the bully, then the boy bolted toward the playground.
“What did Grover take from the kids?” Charlotte asked.
“I don’t know,” Libby answered as the teacher escorted the badass tappers toward them.
“Hi there, I’m Carrie Mackendorfer. You must be the parents and guardians of Phoebe, Aria, Sebastian, and Oscar.”
“We are. Is everything okay?” Libby asked. “We noticed there was a bit of a scuffle.”
“We’ve got it sorted,” the teacher answered warmly.
And thank goodness this educator seemed pretty chill.
