Forever With You (Bayou Dreams Book 5) (6 page)

“Of course I’ll work with them,” Gabe answered. “You’re going to be amazed at the results. Just wait.”

“There’s Mrs. LeBorde,” Principal Williams said. “You need to hear about some of the things she’s added to the sixth-grade math course. Gabe, can you meet us in my office in about twenty minutes? Superintendent McCabe has something else to discuss with us.”

Gabe told himself that the hint of unease he heard in the principal’s voice was just a figment of his imagination.

“Yes. Of course,” he said, forcing himself to sound as normal as possible, despite the apprehension sweeping through him.

Had news of the disgruntled parents reached the school board? Were they going to tell him that they were hiring a new permanent assistant principal, someone who hadn’t pissed off everyone in the community?

He needed to get control over that rumor about the Lock-In as quickly as possible. This interim assistant principal position was a major stepping-stone on the journey to completing his ultimate goal, and he would be damned if he allowed some false rumor to kill it. He’d worked too hard for this.

Gabe turned and spotted the woman who could be the potential key to putting him back in the parents’ good graces.

Leslie stood in front of the table covered with pamphlets highlighting upcoming summer programs. She was chatting with a couple of other parents. For a moment he considered approaching them, but then thought better of it. They had not agreed on just how much she was willing to help him clear up that rumor. He didn’t want to pressure her into defending him if she still had lingering doubts about it.

But then she looked directly at him and gave him a slight nod.

That was all the encouragement Gabe needed. He strode up to the group and greeted them with a smile.

“Good evening,” he said. “I hope you all don’t mind me intruding. I know most of you, but wanted to introduce myself to those of you I haven’t met yet. I’m Gabriel Franklin, science teacher and interim assistant principal.”

If the parents in this group had heard the rumors floating around about the Lock-In, they didn’t let on. They spent several minutes discussing different events that would be held throughout the remaining six weeks of the spring semester, and Gabe even received verbal commitments from several of them to sign up as volunteers. Some of the anxiety that had plagued him since Tristan had told him about the rumors began to dissipate.

Kyle Dorsey, the only male parent in the group, and a mechanical engineer who Gabe had just convinced to come talk to his fifth-grade science class, pointed out that it was after eight o’clock, which meant Parent/Teacher Conference night was officially over. They all bade each other farewell, but before she could leave, Gabe caught Leslie by the hand.

The spark that shot between them rendered him momentarily speechless.

She had to be interested.
Had
to be. Energy like this just didn’t exist between two people for no reason.

Her gaze dropped to where he held her hand and then traveled back up to his eyes. Something told Gabe to let go, but he ignored it. Letting go of her amazingly soft hand was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Unfortunately, she took the choice out of his hands. Literally.

She slowly extricated her delicate fingers from his hold and took a step back.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, Gabe said, “I wanted to thank you for whatever you said to the parents before I came over. I didn’t expect that to go so smoothly.”

“Actually, I didn’t have to say anything. The rumor doesn’t seem to be as widespread as you first thought.”

“That’s a relief.”

“However, it
is
still out there, and some
do
believe it.”

“Yes, I know,” he said, running an aggravated hand through his hair. “Which is why I still need to figure out a way to clear it up. I’m hoping we can set up a meeting with the PTO. It’s obvious that I’ve gotten off on the wrong foot with some of the parents, and I want to rectify that as soon as possible. I
need
to rectify it. It will be very difficult to do my job if the parents aren’t behind me.”

“I can put you on the agenda at the next PTO meeting,” she said. “We meet on the third Wednesday of the month.”

Gabe winced. “That’s still a couple of weeks away. Look, I know I’m new to Gauthier, but I’ve been here long enough to recognize the potential damage this rumor can cause if it gets out of hand. I need to nip this issue in the bud, and the sooner the better.”

“Oh, believe me, I know,” she said. “Of course, you could clear the air instantly by just sending an email through GEMS Connect.”

He shook his head. Gabe had considered the school-wide email system used to communicate between parents and faculty, but using it in this instance would be too impersonal.

“This is something that needs to be handled face-to-face. Email leaves too much up for interpretation. I also want to bounce some of my ideas off parents so that they’ll know I want their involvement. Please, Les...Mrs. Kirkland.”

Her brow rose at his slip, but she didn’t comment. Maybe there was hope for them eventually working their way to a first-name basis after all.

“I really need your help with this,” Gabe continued. “You’re the PTO president. Parents trust you. I’ve explained my motives to you. You know now that I never had any plans to disrupt the way things are done here. Please help me to get the parents on my side.”

She stared at him with a thoughtfulness that made it seem as though she knew her decision could very well affect his entire future. And it could. If the higher-ups in the main school-board office thought he was alienating parents, they wouldn’t hesitate to pull this interim-assistant principal position right from under him.

“I’ll send an email to the other officers on the PTO board tonight and see what day would work,” she said.

Gabe’s shoulders sunk with gratitude. “Thank you.”

He reached for her hand but pulled back. He was still feeling the effects touching her soft skin had caused during their encounter in his classroom. He didn’t want to invite the kind of reaction touching her again could possibly evoke.

Yet, Gabe couldn’t stop himself from staring at her, even though he knew she might deem it inappropriate while they stood in the middle of the school cafeteria, surrounded by at least a dozen parents and school staff members still lingering.

He
should
stop, but he couldn’t. Not even if his life had depended on it.

There was a warmth to her, a light that radiated from her compelling eyes. It pulled him in, made it impossible to do anything but look into their rich brown depths. He just could not look away.

Finally—
thankfully
—she did it for him.

She glanced toward the door. “I’ll be in touch,” she said.

“Great,” Gabe replied.

Don’t say it.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Dammit. He’d said it.

Gabe braced himself for her reprimand. He experienced a mixture of confusion and encouragement when it didn’t come. Was she softening toward him? Had she finally decided that he was an actual person and not just her daughter’s teacher?

Should he go for broke and ask her out?

“Good night, Mr. Franklin,” she said. And, as if she sensed what he was on the verge of doing, she quickly turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

Gabe ordered himself to look away, but it didn’t work. He just continued his inappropriate staring for several moments after she had exited the cafeteria.

Once the school had been emptied of parents and faculty members, Gabe found himself in Mr. Williams’s office, sitting in a tweed chair that he would bet was as old as he was. Principal Williams occupied the matching chair opposite his, while Superintendent McCabe perched on the edge of the desk, a clear assertion of his position of authority.

Gabe tried to read the body language of both men, but he was getting nothing. Of course, he’d never been demoted before, so he wasn’t sure what signs he should look for.

The superintendent leaned forward and clasped his fingers together.

“It’s pretty late, so why don’t we just get to it,” he said. “Now, what I’m about to share with the two of you is strictly off-the-record until the official announcement is made, but since it affects your schools—and careers—I thought you should know about it.”

Gabe held his breath, preparing himself for the blow.

“I’m sure you both have seen the progress that’s been made on the new high school being built on that land the school board purchased on Highway 421 between Gauthier and Maplesville.”

That was not exactly how Gabe had expected this conversation to start, but anything that didn’t begin with
we’ve hired a new assistant principal
was okay with him.

“The facility is one of the most advanced designs in the country,” McCabe continued. “Eighty percent of the school will run on solar energy, there’s an on-site water-treatment plant and the technology in the classrooms will blow your minds. We already have school administrators from around the country asking for permission to tour it.”

“What does this have to do with GEMS, Patrick?” Principal Williams asked.

“This is the exciting part.” The superintendent rubbed his palms together. Such drama. “I was approached by the Department of Education about a program they want to test. They would like Maplesville’s and GEMS’s middle-school students to be a part of the pilot study. The plan would combine the middle schools in Maplesville and Gauthier into one state-of-the-art campus.”

“What about the elementary-school students?” Williams asked.

“They would remain here.”

“They want to break up GEMS?” Gabe asked.

Williams straightened in his chair. “The elementary and middle schools have always been together.”

“That’s because the student population has never been large enough to justify having a separate elementary and middle school,” Superintendent McCabe said. “But if the student body is combined with that of Maplesville Middle School, we would have over six hundred students. The campus is currently designed to accommodate just over eight hundred, and it sits on enough acreage that there’s room for growth for years to come. This is a golden opportunity, John,” McCabe said. “This school would be a model for schools around the country.”

Gabe was still trying to figure out how this affected him. “What grades would attend the middle school?” he asked.

“Sixth, seventh and eighth grades.”

“Our eighth graders go to the high school,” Williams pointed out. “You know how the kids are here, Patrick. They look forward to attending high school in eighth grade. It’s one of the things that makes Gauthier unique.”

“Again, it’s because of the low student-body count. We could combine both schools in Gauthier and make it a K-through-twelfth-grade campus and there still wouldn’t be enough students to fill an entire school. It’s a miracle we’re able to keep them both open.”

“Don’t start that,” Principal Williams said.

“I know, I know.” The superintendent raised his hands. “Don’t worry. The schools in Gauthier are safe.”

Safe? What were they talking about?

“A merger will be a hard sell to the community,” Williams said. “And, technically, that campus is within Maplesville city limits. You know darn well how the people around here will react to that.”

“John, we cannot allow small-town politics to get in the way of this. If we agree to take part in this pilot program, it would mean more federal dollars into this school system than we’ve seen in the twenty years I’ve been a part of it. And it’s not just the school system’s bank account that would benefit. This is good news for both of you, too.”

Finally
.

School politics had never interested him, although Gabe knew eventually he would have to play the game if he was going to make it in school administration. Right now he didn’t care about the politics behind this new merger; he was more concerned with how it would affect his career.

“John, you’re number one in line for taking over as principal at the new merged school,” the superintendent said. “You have seniority, and I think you’re better equipped to handle a school of that size. Shelia Melancon would move over from her assistant principal position at Maplesville Middle.”

“What about Grayson?” Principal Williams asked of the principal at Maplesville Middle School. “Where does he fit in?”

Gabe had yet to hear his name mentioned. He was more worried about where
he
would fit in.

“Grayson will move into your position here.” The superintendent turned to Gabe. “Mr. Franklin, with all the personnel swaps that would have to take place, the school board has decided that bringing in someone from outside of the school system to take over the assistant principal position here at GEMS would just disrupt things. It makes more sense to have you take over the position permanently.”

Excitement began to pump through Gabe’s bloodstream like a locomotive on speed.

“That...ah...that would be fantastic,” he said.

“Even though you’ve been here less than a year, you would still have seniority over whomever we bring in,” the superintendent continued. “You have the academic credentials,
and
you already have a relationship with the community, which is vitally important.”

Gabe had never been one to hyperventilate, but for the first time in his life he felt close to it. He surreptitiously sucked in a couple of deep breaths and told himself to calm down.

But how in the hell was he supposed to remain calm? He had so much riding on this it kept him awake at night.

Being in a position to bring about change in the education system was important to him, but two main driving forces had been behind his decision to go back to graduate school and get his master’s in school administration: making his high school science teacher, Mr. Caldwell, proud and making enough money to help his family back in Houston.

Gabe hated to be all about the dollar, but with the increase in his salary he would be able to help his baby sister, Daniela, as she entered college in the fall and he would be able to send his baby brother, Elias, to private school for his final two years of high school. Getting Elias away from his current high school was at the top of Gabe’s priority list. He didn’t want his brother wandering down the path he’d been on at that age. Elias didn’t have someone like Mr. Caldwell to save him from himself the way Gabe had.