Least Likely to Fall in Love (2 page)

For the first time since she’d known he was on his way, Lindy was relieved. She’d asked the question, afraid of the answer. But loving his daughter no matter what and agreeing it was wrong for anyone to face name-calling or worse was entirely correct. “Honestly, being a teenager is just hard sometimes, no matter who the kid is. Bullies will find a way.”

They shared a look before he murmured, “You make a good point.”

Lindy said, “Besides, Maddie’s a target because she’s new here. She’s different and that’s what these boys focused on. That’s the worst insult two immature boys could dream up.”

“It’s easy to pick on the new kid.” Ryan stared hard at the nameplate on her desk, and she thought it might be a sign that he felt some remorse over doing just that. She’d been the new kid when she’d been assigned to tutor Ryan Myers. And she’d made the tremendous mistake of thinking the way he suffered her for their few tutoring sessions made them friends. Approaching him at the lunch table to discuss his homework had been a monumental mistake, one he never let her forget.

“It is. Blake did just transfer in, but I haven’t heard of any other incidents. I taught Rob English. I can still remember a poem he wrote and read in class about his dog. This is so out of character, and I can’t imagine what would bring that on.” Lindy tapped her fingers nervously until she realized she was doing it, then she clenched her fists to stop.

Obviously she needed to talk to Rob to find out more about why he’d been involved. Here that seemed as important as what had taken place. “So, Mr. Myers, we need to talk about what happens next.”

Ryan shook his head. “Can’t you call me Ryan? We aren’t strangers.”

“No, I really can’t. You should think of me as Principal Mason. I don’t want you to be tempted to call me anything you used to call me.”

Ryan stiffened in his seat as if she’d slapped him. The jab was satisfying. “I know you have no reason to think better of me, but at least give me enough credit to expect me to afford you common courtesy and respect.”

One corner of her mouth tilted up, and Lindy raised an eyebrow. It took every bit of patience she’d learned teaching grammar and punctuation to the disinterested, but she managed not to tell him just exactly what she thought he deserved from her: a swift kick in his no doubt nice rear end.

Ryan Myers angry because he didn’t get what he wanted was to be expected. “Fine.” With a careful nod, she said, “Since you insist, we can be Ryan and Lindy when we’re alone.” She snorted. “For old time’s sake and our
friendship
. How’s that?”

The tic in the side of his jaw said Ryan was gritting his teeth. But he must have known he didn’t have much of a leg to stand on, so he finally nodded.

“Okay,
Ryan
, here’s what I propose. Because this is the first offense for both boys, Rob Daniels and Blake Stewart will serve detention four days a week with the school custodian. On the fifth day, they will meet with Bob Thompson, the school guidance counselor. They will do that for four weeks. Any attempts to get out of either will lead to immediate suspension. And another incident like this will lead to expulsion and notification of the police if it’s warranted by the severity of the action.”

She pulled the cuffs of her suit jacket. “What do you think?”

Ryan collapsed back against the hard chair. “I’d like to take the little shits out and beat some consequences into them, but your way is probably better.”

“Probably?” She could understand the impulse but was surprised he wasn’t more understanding.

He waved off her question. “You are the professional educator, after all.”

Biting back a few different hateful responses, Lindy reached over to pick up the phone. “I ought to let Coach Ford know that he’s going to be missing a couple of players.”

She paused with her hand over the phone. “Unless football players ought to have some special consideration.”

His father had been the football coach at Lincoln High while they were in school, and Ryan had been the star wide receiver. Back then the Lincoln High Lions football players had swaggered in the hallways like kings over a tiny kingdom, certain the rules didn’t apply to them. But not today. No one was above the rules in her school. There was no way on God’s green earth they were going to get a lighter sentence, but she wanted to test Ryan.

“Of course I don’t think that.” When he frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, she dialed the number.

Lindy rifled the pages of her desk calendar and did her best to ignore the weight of Ryan’s stare as the phone rang. She also thanked her lucky stars that his father, Coach Myers, had retired three years ago. Having this conversation with him would bring back old memories of her dodge ball and rope-climbing PE failures. Not a great position of authority. She had no idea what to expect from the new football coach, but at least he wouldn’t remember her in a sobbing, snot-blowing meltdown.

Not yet, at least. That might still be coming.

“Coach Ford here.”

Lindy cleared her throat. “Uh, hi, Coach. This is Principal Mason.” She checked over her shoulder to make sure Ryan caught her professionalism. “I wanted to let you know that you have two players who will be missing football practice for the next four weeks as they serve detention for bullying another student.”

The coach heaved a gusty sigh. “Yeah, I knew Rob and Blake been involved in something today, but I didn’t know what. Bullying.” Lindy pulled the phone away from her ear as the coach grunted loudly with disgust. “I hate that. I hate bullies, too, but I gotta say the team’s going to miss them both. If they don’t practice, then they can’t play. There goes the solid part of our line. And if they don’t play, Rob’s dad, Carl, will hit the roof but Blake’s, Matt Stewart, will take out a contract on both of us.”

Lindy nodded. “I understand, Coach. I figure there will be some angry phone calls headed your way, so I wanted to give you warning.” She refused to back down from the right thing, even if it meant unhappy parents. That was a promise she’d made herself when she took the job, and it had been the hardest one to stick to.

“I appreciate that.” After a brief pause, Coach added, “I don’t suppose you’d let me offer an alternative, would you?”

Lindy glanced at Ryan and then spun around in her chair to stare out the grimy window of her office. “Coach, I’ll be happy to listen to what you have to say, but I don’t think you can change my mind.” And it would be a horrible precedent to set. She couldn’t imagine his punishment would be all that strict.

“I don’t want to let them off, but what if they work for me for six Saturdays? They can do some work on the field and in the field house. I had planned to have a work day for the whole team right before the homecoming game, but this will kill two birds with one stone.”

Lindy smoothed the crease on her brow. “And you’d be willing to supervise them?”

“You bet. They did something stupid, and they ought to make amends.” The loud squeak that followed indicated Coach had just leaned forward. “I just don’t want the rest of the team to pay, too. And to tell the truth, I’ve got a lot of people demanding wins. I’m going to need those two.”

She understood what he meant. He was new in the job. And the parents and boosters were anxious for results. “Fine. That’s a good alternative. I’m going to insist one of each of the boys’ parents is there, too.”

Coach Ford chuckled. “You aren’t scared of anything, are you? That will not go over well. I’m glad I’m not the one breaking the news to them.”

Lindy smiled. “That’s what they pay me for, Coach. I’ll tell them to report to the field house at ten on Saturday.”

“Sounds fine, Principal Mason. Thanks for the heads-up.”

Lindy spun back around in her desk chair and hung up the phone.

“I don’t imagine the coach was happy, was he?” Ryan’s elbows rested on the arms of the chair.

Lindy cleared her throat. “He had a better suggestion, one that will allow the boys to continue to play but also make amends for what they’ve done.”

Skeptical, Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Really? I wouldn’t imagine a football coach is too concerned over bullying. I spent enough time in locker rooms with football coaches to know that they are some of the biggest bullies around.”

The tension in the air thickened again and Lindy wanted to ask about his father. Was he the coach Ryan was referring to? Was that where his son had gotten the idea?

Still, she was no therapist. And it didn’t matter much now. High school was long gone. Maddie Myers was her priority now and she had no fear of her father or his responses. If Coach Myers had taught his son to pick on weaker kids, Ryan had successfully avoided passing it on to Maddie.

The intercom buzzer startled Lindy again. “Yes, Sue?”

“Matt Stewart’s about to have a conniption. Are you ready to see them yet?”

Hoping Mr. Stewart wasn’t standing over her shoulder or wrapping his hands around Sue’s neck at the insult, Lindy said, “Send them in. And please keep an eye on Rob and Blake.”

Lindy met Ryan’s stare. “Either the coach understands why Rob and Blake need to be punished or he’s too afraid of me to argue.” And she seriously doubted it was the second option. Lindy leaned her head to the side. “So, can you be calm about this? Remember, they’re teenage boys. A lot of teenage boys make mistakes.”

He met her gaze and nodded again deliberately.

When the door swung open again, Rob’s mother and father walked in followed by Matt Stewart.

Lindy stood and moved two chairs up to the desk. “Please, won’t you all have a seat?” As she walked back around her desk, she motioned at Ryan. “This is Maddie Myers’s father, Ryan.” Lindy pointed as she finished the introductions. “Carl and Monica Daniels. Matt Stewart.” No one shook hands. “Maddie’s the student that Rob and Blake bullied this afternoon. I wanted him to be involved in the discussion of what we do next.”

The temperature in the room dropped as the men shot angry glares at each other and the only other woman in the room teared up. Blake’s father went on the offensive. “I can’t believe you called us into the office for something as trivial as this. When I was in high school, this was just a normal day. Some kids pick on other kids. So what, the boys called her names and emptied her backpack. They didn’t mean any real harm by it. That’s just the way the world works.”

Lindy pulled out her phone and showed them the picture. Matt Stewart said, “So she’s gay. That may be different, but Blake’s still just a kid.”

Ryan’s angry color had deepened.

“Mr. Stewart, it doesn’t matter what Maddie’s sexual orientation is. It doesn’t matter what she looks like or how smart she is or that she’s just a girl unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one deserves to be the target of a bully. There is no acceptable reason for bullying. And I won’t have it in my school no matter who is responsible.”

When Ryan opened his mouth, Lindy shut it with a glare. “That’s not the way the world works at Lincoln High School. In fact, in today’s world, bullying has serious implications, sometimes even life and death.” She met his glare head-on. “It’s a different world and it’s up to us to teach your children how to live in it. If Rob and Blake cannot show respect to every student, then they’ll have to find a new school.”

Monica Daniels spoke up. “Please, you can’t be serious. You wouldn’t expel them after the first incident, would you? Rob’s never been in trouble before. Something like that will have a permanent effect on his record.”

Lindy nodded. “Yes, you’re correct, Mrs. Daniels. Expulsion is something that will stick with them. I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to go to the police. Mr. Myers is willing to let in-school punishment stand at this point, but I want to be crystal clear.”

Lindy waited until every eye in the room was focused on her. “They don’t get any more strikes. This is their one strike. If I find Rob or Blake involved in any violence or bullying of Maddie Myers or any other student, I will contact the police and I will suspend them. There will be no negotiation at that point.”

When the tension in the room made it difficult to breathe, Lindy rested her elbows on the desk in front of her. “My original punishment was four days of detention served afterschool with the custodian and a meeting with the school guidance counselor on the fifth day for a period of four weeks.”

Matt Stewart interrupted. “You can’t do that! They’ll be off the team if they don’t practice and they’re both starters.”

Mrs. Daniels added in a shaky voice, “We’re counting on Rob to get a football scholarship for college. We can’t afford to send him otherwise.”

Lindy grimaced as the glint from the monstrous diamond on Mrs. Daniels’s hand nearly blinded her. “I understand the rules of sports participation at Lincoln High School.” She eased back again. “That is why I called Coach Ford to explain the situation. Coach understands and so do I that these are kids and sometimes kids make mistakes. He has generously offered to let them serve detention for six consecutive Saturdays working to clean up the stadium and field house. They will miss one day due to required meetings with the school guidance counselor, but that will not prevent them from dressing out or playing.”

She tried to evaluate Ryan’s feelings while the other parents in the room relaxed, but his face was unreadable. “And to show your appreciation to the coach, I volunteered your help. At least one parent needs to work with the boys each Saturday.”