Fixer-Upper (Spinning Hills Romance 3) by Inés Saint Page A

nervous smile washed over Marissa like a balm.
    Marissa pointed to a huge map on the wall and held her hands up as if to ask, Where are you from? The girl said, “Bosnia.” She handed the girl a bright red thumbtack while leading her to the map.
     
    Johnny stepped into the classroom next door and introduced himself to a petite brunette who appeared to be in her late forties. He coached himself to act present and attentive, even though he was mostly going through the motions. His mind was reeling more than he could handle at the moment.
    The teacher introduced herself as Amy Jared, and she was saying something about teaching math to English Language Learners by working on a special project, and by using everything in their immediate environment. Johnny dutifully glanced around and made an effort to pay close attention so he could revisit it all later, when his head was clear.
    But before long, he found himself actively listening and becoming invested in the teacher’s ideas. “I’ll be working with Marissa Medina. She and I met last year, when she was here for an interview. She had the idea back then, but it took all this time to get her position here approved. It almost didn’t make it on to this year’s budget, either. It was very last minute, so we haven’t had time to pull it all together. Mrs. Simmons and I held a parent meeting at the end of the school year and parents of the kids who signed up for these two classes were required to sign permission slips and commitments in case we’re finalists.”
    “Finalists?” Johnny echoed.
    “In the Mosaic Marathon. It’s a national competition. Finalists get to present a play or musical at the Mosaic Fair in Denver, Colorado, at the end of July, and Marissa and I need all the support we can get. We’ll be building props and applying for grants in case we do make it to the finals, and we’ll also need help recording our progress and uploading time-stamped videos for people to vote on”—she bit her lip and glanced at the clock—“and I’m making a mess of explaining it all. Can you meet with us sometime this week, maybe before or after school? Or during lunch?”
    A musical. This was what Marissa had been talking about in the elevator. Johnny couldn’t wait to hear the details. So far, it sounded exciting. “Any day and time work for me. Ask Miss Medina what time is best for her, and let me know.” Students began filing in and Johnny took one last look around, trying to see the world through Amy’s eyes. He hadn’t gotten the chance to do that with Marissa.
    Whatever they were planning, it was big. The very act of having a group of students enter a national competition had the potential to boost school pride and morale, and both went a long way in improving student engagement.
    When he walked out, Marissa was standing at her door, smiling brightly, obviously eager to meet her new students. Two boys came in and one of them said, “Dang, she hot,” loudly, while looking Marissa up and down. He had a round, friendly face, but his eyes held a small spark of defiance. The second boy halfheartedly smiled and high-fived the first boy, while carefully avoiding looking at Marissa. Marissa threw Johnny a warning glance, silently telling him not to intervene.
    Johnny caught her look and said, “It’s your classroom. I wouldn’t dream of it,” before continuing down the hall. Seeing Marissa again pulled him back into confusion. Dozens of thoughts raced through his head, but now wasn’t the time to catch and study them. Kids were filling the hall and filing into both Marissa’s and Amy Jared’s classrooms, and Johnny was focused on zigzagging through them, making him feel as if his head was playing catch-up with his body.
    The first thing he did when he got to his small office was to close the glass door, lean against it, and try to get his thoughts in order. The girl at the masquerade party was Marissa! How had he gotten everything so confused?
    And could