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Kenna took that to mean they’d start calling substitute teachers, the few who lived in the area, to see who could take her classes. She really didn’t want that. Her students could fall behind.
And in the back of her mind, she worried that she could be fired and permanently replaced. “I’m a good teacher,” she reminded Patrice, feeling like she needed to defend herself. “My class test scores are 20 percenthigher than all the other teachers.” Test scores were all that administrators cared about sometimes.
“I know you are a dedicated teacher. To me, you’re irreplaceable.”
That made her feel good.
“It’s not just that your students test well. You empower them. You make them feel like they can achieve anything. You go above and beyond, helping them apply for scholarships, getting them interested in STEM programs that will help them succeed in life. I see that, Kenna. The other teachers recognize it. Some of them try to emulate it. Others are just jealous that your students love you so much, even though you’re considered the toughest teacher on staff, too.” Patrice sighed. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. Hopefully the situation will be resolved quickly.”
If she could get her brother to turn himself in, maybe. But that felt unlikely, given he’d gone into hiding. And practically made her do the same.
“Ms. Arnett is subbing for you right now. Maybe she can stay on another week or two. In the meantime, I’ll look for someone willing to take a long-term temporary position.”
Kenna sighed, grateful Patrice was trying to work with her. “Thank you for understanding. I’ve emailed lesson plans to you, along with assignments for the students. I’ve covered the next month, just in case, but I hope to be back sooner than that.”
And if not, she planned to throttle her brother for mucking up her life like this.
She’d lost so much. Marcus. Her apartment. Her freedom in some ways. She didn’t want to also lose the one thing she loved and had left. Her job.
“We’ll take it a week at a time. Two of which coming up, the students will be off for winter break. So I’ll have more time to find someone to take your classes in January if that’s even necessary.”
She hadn’t thought about the upcoming holiday.
How would she buy her friends and family gifts?
Would she get to even see her parents?
There’s no way she could intrude on the Wilde family’s holiday and ruin it for Max.
Once she ran out of sick days, she wouldn’t be getting paid. Her savings would quickly dry up.
Overwhelmed by the stress of it all, she closed her eyes and tried to take a steadying breath that didn’t work at all.
“You’ll keep me posted, right?” Patrice asked.
“I will. Of course.” She hoped the feds would keep her apprised of their investigation and the time frame for how long this might drag out, but doubted it.
Patrice cleared her throat. “We’re holding a memorial rally tomorrow before lunch. I think the kids would really like to see you. And since you were so close with Marcus, I thought maybe you could say a few words, even lead the ceremony.”
“I’d love to do that, but it’s too dangerous for me to come to school.”
“I’m thinking we set up a video feed and you do it remotely. I know you can’t tell the kids everything, buthearing from you, the person who was with him in the end, I think that would go a long way to helping them heal. Many of your students have expressed how worried they are about you.”
That touched her deeply. She was close with a lot of her students, since she taught them multiple years in different math classes. “Yes, absolutely. Whatever I can do to help. I have an idea for something the students can do collectively to honor Marcus.”
“The photography club put together a collage of images for the ceremony, along with video clips of Marcus speaking at other rallies and coaching the basketball and softball teams. I’ve seen portions of it. It’s really touching.”
“His family will appreciate it.” She hadn’t met his family officially as a girlfriend. Their relationship hadn’t reached that level of commitment and introductions. But she knew them in passing, like you knew a lot of people in a small town.
“I was thinking you could get all the students pins and yellow ribbons to help the kids show their respect and remembrance of Marcus. It would be something they could hold on to in his honor as well.”
“Brilliant idea. We’ve done ribbons for other events and to bring awareness to causes. I’ll get right on that and enlist the basketball and softball teams to help, so they feel like they’re doing something productive for him.”
Kenna felt a little better herself, participating in this small way. “Great. I’ve got my laptop. I can connectwith you tomorrow and you can put me up on the big screen in the gym, so I can make my remarks.” They’d done this in the past to have guest lecturers from other states address the children.
“Sounds like a plan.” Patrice sighed again. “He was such a good man. Someone I could count on. I don’t know what I’ll do without him, or how I’ll replace him.”
“He can’t be replaced. If you choose someone who has the kids’ best interests at heart, you might come close to someone like Marcus.”
