The Collected Horrors of Tim Wellman by Tim Wellman

graders."
    "Demons all," the other man said.
    "Oh, you haven't met the other teachers yet," he
said. "This is Steve Cross. He taught your girls in first and
second grade. But, after we found we were getting you late last
school year, he got to move back to his original position as first
grade teacher for this year."
    She held out her hand and he shook it.
"Pleasure. Call me Steve. Or, the first grade class's human
sacrifice."
    "Call me Evelyn," she said.
    "That's better," he said. "I can't imagine
anyone calling you a crone ."
    "So, you were advancing with your students?" she
said with a chuckle.
    "Yes, but apparently I failed second grade," he
said.
    "Well, I'll leave you to your childish
flirtations," the Principal said. "Got to wolf down some
nourishment."
    "What?" Evelyn said. "No!"
    Steve chuckled. "Don't mind him," he said. "Hey,
they've got corndogs in the cafeteria today, let's have lunch."
    She shrugged. "OK." He opened the door and waved
her through and they walked together toward the small cafeteria.
Kids were busy shuffling in, but there was also a faculty entrance.
"Oh, uh, Steve, can I ask you something?"
    "Sure, anything at all," he said as he opened
the cafeteria door and waved her inside.
    "My girls all brought their lunch and stayed in
the classroom," she said. "But, it seems all the other kids are
eating here."
    "You want two corndogs?" he asked. She hunched
her shoulders and nodded. "Four dogs, please," he said to the cook
and she slid two trays across the counter.
    "Ya want mustard er ketchup?"
    "Mustard," Evelyn said.
    "Same for me, gorgeous," he said with a smile
that made the old cook giggle.
    "Ya charmer, you," she said. She dropped several
mustard packets onto each tray.
    "These tables are for the teachers," he said as
he pointed Evelyn to a chair around a small, round table in the
corner of the room.
    "So, you didn't answer my question," she
said.
    "I'm sorry, I forgot what we were talking
about," he said. "Ask me again."
    "My girls?" she said as she squirted the
condiment onto a corndog. "They're eating lunch in the
classroom."
    "Oh that. Well, I guess some of the other kids
aren't completely comfortable around them and so they think it's
best to give the other kids some space."
    "What is there to be uncomfortable about?" she
said. She took a bite. "These are tough as shoe leather!" she said
with her mouth full of barely edible food.
    "Yep, took 'em years to perfect their technique,
but they finally succeeded at creating the very worst food in the
country," he said.
    "Fine, fine, you two seem to be hitting it off,"
the Principal said as he stopped by the table holding his tray.
    "Oh, join us Mac," Steve said.
    "And what was the conversation I interrupted all
about?" he said as he sat down at the table.
    "Miss Crone here was just inquiring about why
her students eat lunch in their classroom instead of with the other
students," he said.
    The Principal waved at someone across the room
and stood up. "Y'all excuse me, I gotta talk to Miss Johnson about
the Entrance Rally." He hurriedly walked away.
    "Have you talked much to your girls, yet?" Steve
said. "Getting to know them?"
    "Oh, I suppose so," she said. "One little girl,
Susan Napier and I had an interested conversation."
    "Did she offer you a discount at the store?" he
said with a grin.
    She smiled and nodded. "Yes. Yes she did."
    "Susan is a good kid, she's just an only child
and never played much with others," He said. "Her father was very
strict and thought she should be better than all the other kids in
town so he kept her locked in the house most of her life. Now,
she's just over-compensating by trying to buy friends."
    "Well, she said I couldn't have anything for free ," Evelyn said and laughed.
    "Well, she's still a Napier ," he
said.
    "What happened to her father? What changed?"
    "Oh, he was with the boys," Steve said. "Didn't
Mac tell you?"
    Evelyn shook her head. "No, just about what
happened to the boys."
    "Larry Napier owned the old coke