in place, eating the banana hed packed for dessert, while more and more students rushed over to see the suicidal birds.
Five
Although Linda arrived at school over an hour early and figured shed be the first person on campus, Jody was already there. Not only that, but the principal, instead of being in her office, was standing alone at the far end of the empty hallway when Linda went upstairs to her classroom. The sight of the other woman gave her a start, and Linda laughed to cover her nervousness. I didnt expect to see anyone here, she called out.
Jody said nothing but stared silently for another beat, then turned and walked down the stairs to her right.
Weird, Linda thought. But as far as she was concerned, the principal had been acting weird ever since this charter thing had come up, ever since that school board meeting. It was as if the open, flexible, easygoing woman with whom shed been working for the past several years had been replaced by an identical clone, a soulless pod person, an evil twin. She thought of how Jody had looked at the opposite end of the hallway, surveying the corridor before her. It reminded her of something, and as Linda unlocked and opened the door to her classroom, she figured out what it was: a prison warden. Standing solemnly against the far wall, the principal had looked like a warden inspecting rows of cells in a jail, and although the school year had just started, Linda wondered if that might prove to be an apt metaphor.
She walked over to the windows and looked down at the quad below. On the sidewalk between the trees, she saw Jody striding purposefully toward the office, looking neither left nor right but keeping her focus straight ahead. The campus was empty save for herno other teachers, no students, no staffand Linda was glad that the two of them worked in separate buildings. She did not want to be alone with that woman.
As though sensing her thoughts, Jody suddenly stopped walking and swiveled around, looking directly up at the window. Linda blanched and backed up, not wanting to be seen, afraid of being seen, though she knew such a reaction was stupid and childish. It was only when she reached her desk that she realized shed been holding her breath, and she let out all the air in a great whoosh.
Her heart was pounding crazily, as if shed just had an encounter with some deadly beast, and she could barely hear over the thumping of blood in her temples. She was trying to listen for the sound of doors opening or footsteps in the building, worried that Jody might be coming back.
Worried?
Why should she be worried? She was in her classroom, doing her job. The mere fact that she was hiding, trying to stay away from the windows, listening for footsteps, was ludicrous. Frank would be laughing his ass off if he could see her right now.
But try as she might to see the ridiculousness of the situation, she could not fully disengage herself. She did not know why, but she was nervous, frightened, and it took her several more minutes to gather enough courage to move forward and look out the window once again. She half expected Jody to be standing in exactly the same spot, unmoving, staring up at her, but when she glanced down, the quad was empty.
Her gaze moved on to the small one-story building housing the office. Even before today, the vibe in the office had been strange this year. Although it was not something she would ever admit to anyone, she felt uncomfortable just going in there and checking her mailbox each morning.
Most of that was due to Bobbi. The secretary acted almost like a coprincipal these days. Shed gotten a title change and a subsequent pay bumpofficially she was now administrative coordinator rather than secretaryand it had definitely gone to her head. Her job was still to answer phones, type memos and act as Jodys toady, but she seemed to
Five
Although Linda arrived at school over an hour early and figured shed be the first person on campus, Jody was already there. Not only that, but the principal, instead of being in her office, was standing alone at the far end of the empty hallway when Linda went upstairs to her classroom. The sight of the other woman gave her a start, and Linda laughed to cover her nervousness. I didnt expect to see anyone here, she called out.
Jody said nothing but stared silently for another beat, then turned and walked down the stairs to her right.
Weird, Linda thought. But as far as she was concerned, the principal had been acting weird ever since this charter thing had come up, ever since that school board meeting. It was as if the open, flexible, easygoing woman with whom shed been working for the past several years had been replaced by an identical clone, a soulless pod person, an evil twin. She thought of how Jody had looked at the opposite end of the hallway, surveying the corridor before her. It reminded her of something, and as Linda unlocked and opened the door to her classroom, she figured out what it was: a prison warden. Standing solemnly against the far wall, the principal had looked like a warden inspecting rows of cells in a jail, and although the school year had just started, Linda wondered if that might prove to be an apt metaphor.
She walked over to the windows and looked down at the quad below. On the sidewalk between the trees, she saw Jody striding purposefully toward the office, looking neither left nor right but keeping her focus straight ahead. The campus was empty save for herno other teachers, no students, no staffand Linda was glad that the two of them worked in separate buildings. She did not want to be alone with that woman.
As though sensing her thoughts, Jody suddenly stopped walking and swiveled around, looking directly up at the window. Linda blanched and backed up, not wanting to be seen, afraid of being seen, though she knew such a reaction was stupid and childish. It was only when she reached her desk that she realized shed been holding her breath, and she let out all the air in a great whoosh.
Her heart was pounding crazily, as if shed just had an encounter with some deadly beast, and she could barely hear over the thumping of blood in her temples. She was trying to listen for the sound of doors opening or footsteps in the building, worried that Jody might be coming back.
Worried?
Why should she be worried? She was in her classroom, doing her job. The mere fact that she was hiding, trying to stay away from the windows, listening for footsteps, was ludicrous. Frank would be laughing his ass off if he could see her right now.
But try as she might to see the ridiculousness of the situation, she could not fully disengage herself. She did not know why, but she was nervous, frightened, and it took her several more minutes to gather enough courage to move forward and look out the window once again. She half expected Jody to be standing in exactly the same spot, unmoving, staring up at her, but when she glanced down, the quad was empty.
Her gaze moved on to the small one-story building housing the office. Even before today, the vibe in the office had been strange this year. Although it was not something she would ever admit to anyone, she felt uncomfortable just going in there and checking her mailbox each morning.
Most of that was due to Bobbi. The secretary acted almost like a coprincipal these days. Shed gotten a title change and a subsequent pay bumpofficially she was now administrative coordinator rather than secretaryand it had definitely gone to her head. Her job was still to answer phones, type memos and act as Jodys toady, but she seemed to
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