I fold my arms over my chest. “And would you have shared this information with anyone within our faculty?”
Sticking her chin in the air, she says, “I’m afraid to say this is an abuse of your power and I refuse to partake in it. Excuse me.” She blows past me, quick, short steps until she’s gone.
Staring at the door Keiko just blew through, I conclude one thing: she’s involved. The question is, who’s she working with? No. Not just who. Why? Why have I become the object of ridicule?
Chapter Seven
GREER
Greer: Abort. Abort. Keeks cracked.
Gunner: What? How?
Romeo: When? Did she name names?
Greer: Yesterday, teachers’ lounge, by the water cooler. Arlo muttered something about blue pee and her incessant need to give facts had her crumbling in seconds. She said she didn’t name any names and removed herself as quickly as she could.
Gunner: Damn her brilliant mind.
Romeo: But no names were listed?
Greer: No. But she said he looked really suspicious. I think it’s only a matter of time.
Gunner: Shit.
Romeo: I don’t think we have anything to worry about. For being the educated man he claims to be, he’s been clueless this entire time.
Gunner: That’s true. A little Google search would have helped him out with a lot of his problems.
Romeo: We’re good. Everyone just calm down and, whatever you do, act cool.
Gunner: Like we did yesterday when he approached us about his blue pee.
Greer: What? You’re supposed to report back.
Romeo: Sorry, it was at lunch and then we had a PE disaster to attend to.
Greer: What on earth could constitute a PE disaster?
Gunner: One of the kids got into our sex ed cabinet and was sprinkling condoms all over the gym.
Greer: Huh . . . yeah, that does sound like a disaster.
Romeo: Boys were laughing, girls were horrified, lewd gestures were made, it was mayhem.
Greer: Glad you made it out alive. Now tell me how he reacted to the blue pee. Clearly that’s more important. LOL.
Gunner: Pissed off and confused. Pun intended. Called us into his classroom for man issues. Romeo and I had to have a good laugh before we went in.
Romeo: Pretty sure we’ll be winning Academy Awards for our performance.
Gunner: It was painful not to bust out laughing from the concerned look on his face.
Greer: Was he really distraught?
Gunner: Worse than all the other pranks.
Romeo: There’s always great cause for concern when you mess with a man’s prized possession. Anything that deals with the dick and you figuratively have him by the balls.
Gunner: Well played, Gibson.
Greer: Well, I think that was the grand finale on the pranks because with Keiko on the verge of short-circuiting, I can’t possibly do anything more.
Gunner: It was a good run while it lasted.
Romeo: I think you could throw something in closer to winter break just for the hell of it. Maybe something close to spring break, too, you know, keep him on his toes.
Gunner: That’s a great idea.
Greer: We’ll see. In the meantime, thank you, boys, for your service. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Romeo: Oh shit . . . he just walked into our office.
Greer: Abort. Abort.
Romeo: From the look on his face, I’m going to guess this won’t go over well.
Greer: Do not crumble. Protect my name at all costs. Do you hear me? ALL COSTS.
Romeo: It was nice knowing you, Greer . . .
Greer: Romeo . . . GUNNER!
Greer: Do you hear me?
Greer: ALL COSTS
“Oh, sorry, I thought this was Arlo’s classroom. Unless, is it?”
Startled out of my intense texting, I glance up to find a beautiful woman in a lovely red sundress with capped sleeves, standing with a bag of food in her hand and a smile on her face.
“Arlo is next door.”
“Hmm, that’s what I thought, given the jailcell classroom, but he said he was in there and he’s not.”
“Oh, I think he went to go tell Romeo and Gunner something. You can sit in here and wait if you’d like.” I tap my ham sandwich. “Just squeezing in a quick lunch.”
“Sure, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” I gesture to the seat in front of me. “Have a seat. I’m Greer. I teach English.”
“Ohhh.” She smiles. “You’re the new English teacher here, right?”
“Yes, that would be me.”
She nods slowly, taking the seat across from me. “My brother has said many disgruntled things about you.”
“Arlo is your brother?”
She nods. “Yup, I’m Coraline, by the way. Cora for short.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “Arlo’s mentioned you. He struggles to—”
“He hates me.” I roll my eyes. “I’ve heard.”
“Did he tell you?”
“Pretty much.”
She sighs heavily. “That’s my uptight brother for you. He has zero filter and doesn’t bat an eyelash about it.”
Zero filter runs in the family.
“Yeah, he’s shown zero remorse for his comments.” The night we played pool is still at the forefront of my mind. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that night and the things he said.
“Fortunately, his behavior doesn’t run in the family.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me I’m a not an educator but rather a babysitter?”
Her expression morphs into shock. “He said that to you?”
“Yeah . . . which . . . ugh, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. He’s your brother—”
She points her finger at me, her eyes stern. “You listen to me, Greer. I love my brother, but he’s an asshole. If he’s being an asshole to you, I need to know about it, so I can be an asshole to him. Us girls have to stick together.”
I chuckle. “I guess so.”
“Anyway, I could use some friends. Living with Arlo has taken a toll on my social life.”
“You’re living with him?”
She waves her hand. “Long story, but yes. I was living in New York City but moved back home a little over a month ago. All my friends are either knee-deep in diapers or have moved away from here. I’m in desperate need to start a book club with a few girls.”
“You like to read?”
“Sort of.” She shrugs.
“Sort of?” I laugh. “Then why start a book club?”
“Because it’s code for let’s drink a lot of wine and talk about our lives.”
“Ohhh.” I laugh some more. “I could use one of those. Right now, all I have is school and volleyball. But nothing outside of school. I bet Stella and Keiko would want to join the club.”
“Keiko Seymour? God, I love her so much. She’s brought Arlo down a peg or two a few times. He’s told me all about it.”
“You mean to tell me he actually admits defeat?”
“It’s rare.” She adjusts the gold bracelets on her wrist. “But when he does admit it, he goes into great detail to prove why someone bested him. And I’ve heard a story or two about Keiko bringing my brother to his knees. Which means . . . I’m going to need to meet this girl.”