New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan (fun books to read for adults .TXT) 📕

“. . . français. Je déteste français.”

There were scattered bursts of nervous laughter. I walked down the aisle and stopped beside his desk. He met my gaze, his chin jutting out. How to respond in front of Judy? A row of neat stitches marched along his sleeve, nimbly mending a rip, and reminding me of my conversation with his mother. Calvin Piercey would not be hauling wood on my watch.

“Non?! Tu détestes le français?” I put my hand to my heart as if in shock, then pretended to shed a few tears. “Oh, Calvin, quelle tristesse!” I was hamming it up now, mock-rubbing my eyes.

Something shifted. Calvin sat back in his chair and grinned. The boy behind him reached up and mussed Calvin’s hair. By the time I walked back to the front of the classroom, the air was full of waving hands and Judy was writing furiously in her notebook. By the end of the class, I had revised Judy’s assessment to: “Class responsive. Rachel undaunted.”

After school, I met Judy for a debrief. She was sitting at her desk drinking tea from a mug that read “World’s Greatest Teacher.” I wondered how many of those were kicking around.

“I was some pleased to see the great relationship between you and Calvin,” she began. “Not many of the teachers has that.”

I coughed to cover my surprise. Calvin and I didn’t exactly have much of a rapport.

“You know, Rachel, humour is an important teaching tool and you used it so effectively today.”

“I tried to have fun with it, I guess,” I said, as if that had been my plan all along.

Judy spent the next ten minutes reviewing my performance in the three classes she’d observed. She provided constructive comments on several areas that needed improvement, but said that overall things seemed fine.

As I was leaving her office, Doug was heading in. He suggested we meet for dinner to compare notes after our first review. “We’ll go to Tony’s,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

I gave him my new address and headed home, a bit giddy after my talk with Judy. I found myself wishing I could talk to Dad about my review. He would’ve been so interested. I would update Mom, of course, but it wouldn’t be the same.

When Doug arrived, his car lights lit up the living room and I ran out to meet him.

“Some cold, b’y,” he said, as I slid into the passenger seat. “Winter’s coming.”

Tony’s was busy, but the proprietor found us a small table near the back. The red and white tablecloths were identical to those at Luigi’s and I thought, with a pang, about Sheila.

After we’d ordered pizza and beer, I settled back in my chair and looked around. There was a bar on the other side of the restaurant where two women had their heads together, laughing. Their easy camaraderie made me miss Sheila even more.

“That lesson plan saved my arse today,” Doug said.

“What lesson plan? This morning you said you’d have to wing it.”

“I pulled out the big guns for grade eleven biology. My top-secret weapon.”

I snorted. “What are you, James Bond?”

A waiter arrived with our beers and we clinked bottles.

“To probation,” said Doug.

“To the end of probation,” I corrected him. “So, tell me about this secret weapon.”

Doug took a long drink of beer. “Ahh, some good. No more American watery beer.” He put the bottle down on the table and said, “It’s something I learned from my supervisor when I was a student teacher. You puts together a killer lesson plan and files it in your bottom drawer. It’s there, on tap, when you needs to impress someone. Golden.”

I had to admit, it was genius. “So you’re prepared for when you’re unprepared.”

“Exactly.”

The waiter came back with our pizzas and we were quiet as we began to eat.

“So how did you make out?” Doug asked after a few minutes.

“Calvin spoke French today, unasked,” I said. “So basically, I’m a goddess.”

“Nice.”

My pizza was delicious, but huge. I had a feeling I’d be having pizza for breakfast the next day.

Then Doug said, “Can I have a piece of your pizza?” and I saw his was all gone.

“God, you can eat. Help yourself.”

He slid a slice from my plate to his, smearing tomato sauce on his thumb in the process. He licked it off contentedly, then carefully picked off the mushrooms. He ate the slice, then looked with puppy eyes from me to the rest of my pizza. I nodded.

When he had finished the last bit of my breakfast, he patted his stomach. “The beast has been fed.”

“Beast is the word for some of the grade nines,” I said.

“Go on, girl, they’re not that bad.”

“No, they’re not,” I agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “Trudy and Calvin are the ringleaders; they stir the others up. Trudy was off sick today and I got lucky with Calvin.”

“Ba-dum-dum.”

“You know what I mean.” I told him about the habitual noise levels and inattention in grade nine.

“You needs to get on top of that right quick. Show them who’s boss.”

I reached for my beer. “Easier said than done.”

Suddenly, Doug stood up and came around to my side of the table, folding his arms. “Let’s go.”

“Hang on,” I said. “I’m not finished.”

He leaned down and put an arm on either side of my chair, moving uncomfortably close. “Rachel, get up now.”

Flustered, I looked away and caught the woman at the next table staring.

“Doug, what are you doing?” I hissed. “Knock it off.”

He leaned in close and I smelled a musky aftershave under the beer. Then he pushed himself back up and punched me very lightly on the arm. “That’s how I would get respect if I had to. You needs to find out what works for you. Want some dessert?”

“Dessert?” I practically screamed. “How about a knuckle sandwich?”

We compromised on ice cream. Afterwards, Doug offered to drive me home, but I declined. I liked the short walk past my new landmarks and seeing my little house, with the porch light shining its welcome, as