Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” Carol mouths silently with a newly answered phone pressed to her ear.
“You’re the best,” Mona says and pats me on the shoulder. This kind of praise isn’t new, but I’ll tell you, it never gets old.
“Hey, Betty, can you make sure Gunnar Kelly is waiting here for me after school? His dad asked me to help him get home today.”
“Sure thing, honey,” Betty agrees readily, the smoothness of her caramel macchiato dulling the normally sharp edges of her personality.
I’m just about to ask Mona for the latest tea when a grating voice trills from behind me.
“Mr. Houston, is there a reason you’re in a crop top and a backward baseball cap like some kind of teenage influencer this morning?”
Principal Dana Harris is standing behind me, her right shoulder resting on the doorframe of her office. I glance down at my post-gym attire—black shorts, sneakers, and a black tank top that reveals nothing but my biceps. I think me baring my midriff might be wishful thinking on her part.
“Principal Harris, if I were a teen influencer, I’d be in Costa Rica riding the waves this morning instead of talking to you.”
She narrows her eyes at me.
“I fit in a workout every morning before I come in,” I explain further. “I’ve tried doing it in a parka, but I passed out thirty minutes in.”
“You’re like this every morning?”
“He also brings us Starbucks on Fridays,” Mona inserts on my behalf. “So don’t start messing with our Mack Daddy, Principal Dana. We finally got him trained to be a good boy.”
I laugh at that. Mona is sixty years old, happily married with kids and grandkids, and one of the cougar-iest women you’ll ever meet. She’s nice, but she’ll eat you up, Hall & Oates style. You know?
“I also shower and change in the locker rooms before classes start,” I add, and Principal Dana just purses her lips. “I’m aware of the dress code, and more than willing to—” I pretend to cough “—loosely follow it.”
“You’re lucky you have good hair and no split ends. If Barry tried to pull this at seven in the morning, I’d fire him. That man’s hairline makes me cringe.”
Barry—otherwise known as Mr. Koch—is one of Calhoun’s history teachers. He’s fifty-five and the proud owner of an OG dad bod and receding hairline. He’s a suit kind of guy. No tank tops or crop tops or any other tops besides ones he can accessorize with a tie are part of his wardrobe.
“You know, Principal Dana, I know I have great hair, but I don’t think it’s considered professional to threaten to fire anyone who’s not so fortunate,” I state through a knowing smile.
“You know, you’re right,” she responds and crosses her arms over her chest. “It was very inappropriate of me, and I think you need to call the actual principal of this school and let him know so he can take proper action.”
My smile is big and uninhibited, and the ladies behind the desk don’t bother to hide the roll of their eyes either.
Dana Harris is our temporary principal here at Calhoun Elementary. Her father, Donald Harris, had to take a medical leave of absence after he suffered a heart attack a few months back. He’s on the mend now and doing very well, but he had to put his daughter Dana in charge, despite her desire to not be in charge. She’s been trying to get fired ever since.
It might seem like a real nepotism type of situation, but in reality, no one else wanted the job either. All of the staff and teachers are happy with their current positions and aren’t looking to take on any extra responsibility. Our salaries are decent already—livable in New York, at least, which is truly saying something—and the Harris family is known for taking care of their employees by respecting workload, classroom size, and giving us the autonomy to make our own lesson plans. It’s a teacher’s dream. Which is why the turnover rate here is so low.
And since Calhoun Elementary is a privately funded institution in New York City, and has been in the Harris family for generations, Donald was able to handle things how he wanted, which included keeping the principal position in-house until he’s able to come back next year. This ensures his school will keep running the way he intended, without undergoing changes from some hotheaded, big-egoed new guy.
Though, I don’t think Dana was his first choice. She’s thirty-eight, used to be the administrator over our support staff, and has a long history of putting things like facial appointments above work. Not to mention, last year, she took night classes and graduated from cosmetology school because she’d planned to officially switch careers and follow her passion for hair.
Her father’s unfortunate medical emergency combined with her administrative certification really fucked up her plans.