Lanie
South Seattle High School was bigger than it was supposed to be.
At least that’s what I thought as I stood outside looking at it on my first day. Had it been so gargantuan when I had gone in for my interview?
I didn’t think so. Although, maybe the fact that I didn’t feel intimidated at all that other morning led to me being confident and getting the job.
This day, though, I was anything but sure. I felt like it was my own first day of high school as I navigated the swarm of students in the main hallway, none of who gave me so much as a second look. Right then, I was just another adult to them, someone whose name they thought they wouldn’t remember in five years.
I hoped to change that. South Seattle had over a thousand students, which meant there had to be hundreds of kids there who needed help in some way or another. Luckily, that’s what I was there for. Hopefully, by the time these teenagers left high school, they’d be at least a little more adjusted, thanks to me.
Really, I didn’t even care whether they ever remembered my name or not. I just wanted to have as much of a positive effect on them as I possibly could.
At the main office, I rapped on the open door. A middle-aged woman behind a desk glanced up, her half-hooded eyes looking bored with me already. A thread of anxiety wound its way through my heart, and I once again felt like the new kid—unsure and afraid no one would like me.
“Hi. I’m Lanie Jacobs. I’m the new counselor.” Despite my feelings, I smiled like it was the best day of my life.
She opened her mouth, but a male voice filled the room instead.
“Good morning, Miss Jacobs. How are you doing?”
It was Principal Stafford, sidling through a doorway on the other side of the office. He smiled at me, nodding as if in approval. “It’s so good to have you here.”
“I’m excited to be here.” I clasped my hands together and nervously squeezed—then quickly dropped them at my sides. The only thing worse than being anxious was everyone knowing you were.
Principal Stafford cleared his throat. “This is, uh, Joyce.” He motioned at the woman behind the desk and, as a second employee came in, her as well. “And Robin.”
Robin was younger than Joyce and seemed to be more pleasant since she at least gave me a wave and a smile.
Joyce and Robin. Joyce and Robin. I repeated the names in my head, sure I would only be able to remember half the names I’d learn that day but eager to try regardless.
“I’ll take you to your office.” He swung his arm in excitement, and I followed him back into the hall.
“Principal Stafford,” a boy sang out as we passed him by the bathrooms. He held his hand out for a fist bump, and the principal complied. The guy in charge of the school seemed kind of young for a principal, maybe a little more than ten years older than me, but he was very nice. If a softie like him could make it at South Seattle High School, that left a lot of hope for me.
“Here we are.”
He stopped at the very end of the hallway, past where the wings branched off. The office was small, but it was at the corner so had two windows. A filing cabinet, a desk with a computer that was at least ten years old, and three chairs were all it contained. Not one plant or poster.
“Feel free to decorate it as you see fit. With, uh, within reason, of course.”
“Of course,” I agreed.
The bell rang as we stood there, signaling the start of the first period.
“Student records are in the cabinet.” He pointed. “Once you use your ID to link to the school board’s site, you’ll be able to see all the kids’ current schedules. We don’t usually print that out unless it’s needed, it changes so much. Ah, let’s see. What else? School policies and tax forms are in that folder on the desk. Let me know if you need anything.”
Having been nodding the entire time he talked, I forced myself to stop. “I will. Thanks again.”
“You’ll like it here. Yes. I’m sure you will.”
“Principal Stafford, if you—”
“You can call me Tim if you like. All the teachers use first names here.”
“Right. Tim. Thank you. I was just wondering, why did the last counselor leave?”
I hadn’t thought to bring it up in the interview, but the school replacing staff a month into the semester was odd.
“Oh, she was, well, she had a lot going on. Stress and all. Wanted to make a career change. But don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
Principal Stafford smiled. Standing side-by-side, I noticed he was only a few inches taller than me, which is saying something considering my lack of height had always been a source of irritation for me. I wondered how he kept the kids in line with such a small stature. Likely he connected with them on a friendly level, if what I saw in the hallway was evidence.
With another nod, he went, leaving me alone in my new office. I hovered in the doorway, taking everything in. The last counselor had quit because of stress. In no universe did that sound like a good thing.
Actually, it was pretty freaking ominous.
Had it been the kids that got to her? My heart thudded faster, and I bit the inside of my bottom lip. Oh god. What was I getting myself into here? Maybe I should have stayed in kindergarten after all.
Was it too late to go back there? They’d already replaced me, yes, but there were other schools.
“Calm down,” I whispered out loud. “You’re freaking out.”
Slow breath after slow breath, I took a seat at my new station. The chair wasn’t the best, but it had padding. And the desk, one of those long ones that a couple of people usually work at, came to just the right level. It was an environment that could definitely be worked with.
Flipping through the files on my desk, I made a mental note of what I needed to take care of that day and of what could wait. In the desk’s top drawer were a few files, all of them pretty sparse. Whoever had held the position before me must not have been there for very long. Either that or they didn’t like compiling notes.
Opening the folder marked “Urgent,” I found a picture of a beautiful blond girl with sharp, green eyes. It was a school portrait, and even though the teenager was posed in the stereotypical way, head cocked, shoulder to the front, defiance lived in her eyes.
A firecracker, for sure.
And probably my first challenge.
Lanie Trailing my finger down the page, I found the girl’s stats. Raven Marx. Seventeen. A senior at South Seattle. Had some disruptions the previous year, including skipping classes and talking back to teachers. The last few weeks, though, things had gone further south. She’d taken to cussing in class and threatening other students with harm. Moving past Raven’s file, I read the few other ones in the folder. Just judging from the family information on the other pages, I got a sense of why the kids were likely having troubles. One boy’s father was in prison, and another’s parents were going through divorce. There was more information on all the kids, but I left the detailed reading for another time and moseyed my way down the hall. There were coworkers to meet. Too soon, the teacher’s lounge was in front of me. With sweaty palms, I opened the door and went in. Two women not much older than me stood talking in the little kitchen area, and a man with salt-and-pepper hair hunched over
Andrew Dead silence filled the boardroom. I let the door fall closed behind me as I stood there, finding all eyes where they were supposed to be. On me. “Well?” I barked. Kyle cleared his throat, and the four other employees sitting around the table all looked anxiously at him. “Mr. Marx, it appears there is an issue with an account. Houghton Graham. There is, uh, twenty thousand dollars missing from the account.” He pressed his lips together hard, probably waiting for me to yell. “Then find it,” I simply answered. “No need to call a meeting. You.” I pointed at Carolyn. “Go through the statements from the last few months.” “I already—” “Do it again. And you.” I nodded at Kyle. “Make sure this doesn’t get out. Don’t notify the client until we know exactly what’s going on. The rest of you, make yourselves busy. And if you lose one more damn check, you’re all fired.” With a string of curses checked but rumbling in my throat, I turned around and left the boardroom, Maggie trailing
Lanie The piercing scream shook my bones, making me jump in my seat and drop the scholarship papers I’d been looking over. Heart thudding, I left the papers on the floor and rushed to the door. Someone fainted? Or brought a weapon to school? A dozen awful possibilities ran through my head. Cracking the door the slightest bit, I looked down the hall. Near the front office, a girl with long, blond hair stood with clenched fists. “It’s not fair!” she yelled. “Miss Marx,” a female voice said from inside the office. “Have a seat. Now.” So that was the infamous Raven Marx. My second day at school and she already had a run-in. Not surprising in the least. “Why?” Raven shrieked. “I didn’t do anything. Nothing that the bitch didn’t deserve.” I cringed at the harsh words. Everyone up and down the hall had to hear Raven. The other voice said something I couldn’t make out, and Raven stood there for a few more moments, her chest heaving up and down. I took the time to inspect her closely.
Andrew I curled my fingers around the golf club, the new gloves Maggie had ordered just for this occasion clinging snugly to the grip. Sinking into my stance, I pulled back, set my eye on the ball, and swung with precision. The club’s head hit the ball with a satisfying smack, sending it flying through the air and onto the grass, about five feet away from the hole. A booming laugh echoed across the green. “Well done for a man who says he’s rusty.” I grinned at Paul Nordmeyer, polo shirt stretched tight across a bulging belly and neck red from the sun. “Guess I’m a natural.” “Beginner’s luck,” he good-naturedly mumbled through his caterpillar mustache. “You’ve been away for so long, you might as well be starting over. How long did you say it’s been?” I shrugged. “About a year. Used to play all the time, though.”“All the time” was an exaggeration, but what Paul didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. I stepped to the side, watching as Paul took his turn. The course was close to empty, with
Andrew Inside the country club was a little busier than outside. People chatted quietly over small tables, and the shiny, wooden bar only had one customer—an older woman drinking what looked like tea. “A whiskey,” I told the vested bartender as I took a seat. “Neat.” He set the tumbler down in front of me, and I took a long sip that burned my nose and throat. It didn’t help any. My problems were still there. What was I going to do if the meeting with the counselor led nowhere? Take Raven to see a specialist outside of school? What if that didn’t work? She never talked about school, but that had to be the problem. Home was fine, somewhat. Nothing went on there. Come to think of it, maybe that was the issue. It had been years since Raven had a friend over. That wasn’t normal. When I was her age, I was practically glued to my friends. If South Seattle wasn’t working out, I could take her out of it. Her senior year had only just started. She could get in at another school. Not priva
Lanie I took a deep breath and stared in the mirror, turning one way and then the other. Was the black eyeliner too much? Yes. Too loud. I was going to work at a high school, not to a nightclub. Grabbing a makeup wipe, I went to rub it off, then remembered it was liquid and would smear all over the place. “Shit,” I murmured, dropping the wipe in the bathroom trash. Heart racing, I adjusted the little strands of hair around my ears and frowned. The look would just have to do. At least I was dressed somewhat conservatively in a button-up and wool sweater. Checking the time, I grabbed my purse and keys from the hook by the front door and locked my ground-floor apartment behind me. There was still plenty of time to get to work, but with my nerves making me shake, I knew I’d be more comfortable once I got into my office. This was the day. In less than an hour, I had my first parent-teacher conference. Hopefully, I’d make it through the meeting without vomiting. I’d had plenty of pa
Lanie “Y-yes,” I sputtered. “Come right in. Mr. Marx, I assume?” “That’s right.” “Have a seat.” He walked over to the chairs opposite my desk, tight shoulders and sculpted rear-end moving with controlled precision. Realizing I was staring, I quickly took my own seat. If I’d hoped meeting Mr. Marx face-to-face would help ease my anxiety, I was sorely wrong. The man sitting across from me was perfection, in possession of the kind of face that could give any professional male model a run for their money. Now, not only was I worried about how well I would perform during the meeting, I was once again worrying about how I looked. Was my makeup still holding up? How was my hair doing? I resisted the urge to touch it and see. Remember the steps. One at a time. Placing my palms on the desk, I smiled. “Thank you for coming to meet with me. I know you’re well aware of Raven’s recent, um, acts.” I checked a cringe. This wasn’t the speech I’d prepared at all. Mr. Marx’s face darkened, an
Andrew Those curves. Not the ones of her hips or breasts. I’d hardly gotten a look at the school counselor’s figure, but she seemed pretty thin beneath the sweater and jeans. No, it was the curves of her lips. They were the perfect Cupid’s bow, slanting down in a delicious, inviting way. Who got to kiss those lips at night? Without warning, jealousy seared through me. Damn the man I’d never even met. Or woman. Maybe Miss Jacobs was gay. How the hell could I know? But at least she wasn’t married. I’d already clocked the bare wedding band finger. Damn, though, the things those lips could do. I could tell just from looking that she was a great kisser. More than that, probably. It was always the reserved, prim women who were the most passionate in bed. “Mr. Marx, who lives at the home?” I rubbed the back of my neck, unable to shake the annoyance. Did we have to talk? I would have been fine with staring at the woman all day. She was that breathtaking. “The two of us.” Karen, thou