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“You’ve been playing on the basketball team, too, I see,” Mrs. Smith, the Algebra teacher, says while pushing her glasses up her nose.
“Yes, I went to Blairwood on a basketball scholarship. I’ve been a starter since I was a sophomore and team captain my junior and senior year.”
A few people nod their heads, making me breathe a little easier. More questions are thrown my way from different sides.
Why are you interested in becoming a P.E. teacher? Why do you feel physical education is important for the school curriculum? How would you motivate students who seem uninterested in physical activity?
I answer everything the best I can, trying not to show my nerves or seem too eager.
“One last question.” The principal’s eyes meet mine as he leans into his chair and crosses his arms over the desk. “Why do you want to stay in Blairwood, Mr. McLannister?”
I shift in my seat, feeling the tie I put on earlier tighten around my neck. Fighting the need to loosen it, I clear my throat. “As you pointed out, I’ve been living in Blairwood for the past four years, and while yes, most of my classmates have moved on, I like it here. Blairwood is the first place that felt like home in a long while,” I admit, voicing the words out loud for the first time. But they’re true. I hadn’t had a place I belonged in for a long while, and it felt good to have a place to finally call home. “Blairwood has given me so much, and I would really like to stay here and help guide and teach generations to come.”
The committee looks at me quietly for a moment, and I can feel the sweat clinging to my skin; still, I don’t look away.
“It’s good to see that some young people want to stay and make this place a home,” Mr. Muller, the English teacher, says.
An image of Vanessa sleeping in my bed, the sunshine making her hair shimmer in the morning, pops in my head.
I know it’s too early for my mind to go down that road. She wants just a summer fling and probably thinks I’ll be moving away before the start of the school year.
“Okay, let’s talk terms, shall we?”
Half an hour later, I’m walking down main street. I haven’t had anything for lunch, so I figured I might grab something quickly. Hell, maybe I’ll even grab something to-go and go to the community center. I can try to coax Vanessa to have lunch with me.
Yeah, I like that idea.
I’m about to grab the door when it opens, and a familiar brunette exits the restaurant. She looks up from her phone, a bag with the bistro logo in her hand. “Quinn, hey.” She gives me a once-over, a grin spreading over her lips as she lets out a soft whistle. “Where are you going so dressed up, Boy Toy?”
I chuckle, moving to the side to let a couple behind me pass. “I just finished with a job interview.”
Kiara quirks her brow. “How did it go?”
“Good, I think. I did my part. Now, I just have to wait for them to decide.”
And possibly change the course of my future.
“That’s great.” She tilts her head toward the bistro. “Grabbing lunch?”
“Yeah, I was too nervous to eat anything before, and now I’m starved.” I rub my hand over my stomach. “I was actually planning on getting something to-go and take it to Vanessa.”
Kiara’s smile grows even bigger. “You’re a keeper. You know that?”
“Let’s hope she sees it like that too.”
Kiara places her hand on my forearm and gives it a squeeze. “She will. Vanessa…” Kiara sighs, her hand falling down by her side. “We didn’t have the best childhood, and after everything that has happened with her ex, she has an even harder time trusting people than she did before. Be patient with her.”
“Noted.”
I didn’t mind being patient as long as it would get me where I wanted. Get mewhoI wanted—Vanessa.
“And if you really want to be all fancy, grab her that chicken club with mushroom and sour cream sauce, and she’ll love you forever.”
I laugh. “Chicken club with mushroom and sour cream sauce, got it. Thanks, Kiara.”
Her phone buzzes, and she scowls at it. “Damn, my boss is so annoying. I should go back before he blows up my phone.”
“Actually… I wanted to ask you something.” I glance at her still buzzing phone before lifting my eyes to her face. “If you have time, that is.”
