Page 49

Not a hair is out of place as Nora steps up to the microphone. Sharp pains shoot through my chest, and I grab onto Luke’s hand, holding my breath as she starts to talk.

“Hello, board members, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak with you tonight.” Her smooth, cultured voice booms from the speaker system, and she sounds just as put together as she looks.

“It is with great sadness that we are here tonight in the matter of Emerson Pierce. I first met Miss Pierce when she was a student teacher at Nester Fox and she worked with me in my classroom. She was a great student who showed a lot of promise and was very enthusiastic about her job. However, even back then, she had problems with boundaries and forming relationships with students and their families that crossed the line we as educators must value.”

Keisha pulls out her phone and starts tapping away as she hisses something that sounds a lot like “dumb lying bitch” beneath her breath.

My grip on Luke tightens as I listen to her spew lie after lie.

I came in tonight thinking she was just an asshole, but watching her say all of this crap with a straight face, I’m thinking it might be something much more sinister.

“We offered her a permanent position at Nester Fox when she received her teaching license. Learning how to create healthy boundaries with students is something we all have to learn and I was hopeful Miss Pierce would learn hers once she was in the classroom.” She takes a shaky breath and wipes an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye.

“Unfortunately, this year she’s shown us that not only has she not learned how to respect her students’ families, she’s actively causing harm by having an affair with the father of one of her current students.

This has resulted not only in gross favoritism inside of the classroom, but she even wormed her way into this student’s birthday celebration, picking out her pet even though this student’s mother desperately wanted to be involved. ”

Now Luke’s the one hissing something under his breath.

“Instead of focusing my time and attention on important school matters, I’ve been fielding calls from angry parents.

The mother of this particular student no longer feels comfortable with her daughter in Miss Pierce’s class.

This is all very upsetting, but I’m sure you can see how this has been a distraction and violation worthy of dismissal.

I hope that in her future teaching positions, Miss Pierce will learn from these mistakes and be the teacher I know she’s capable of being. Thank you.”

Nora returns to her seat and the quiet whispers grow into a rowdy rumble.

“Thank you, Principal Stone,” Levi says. “Miss Pierce, if you’d like to speak, now’s the time.”

I stand from my place between Luke and Keisha, my knees weak with fear and regret as humiliation burns hot across my skin. I keep my head down as I approach the microphone, but I can feel the searing gazes of those casting their judgment on me.

“Thank you, board members, for providing me with a space to defend myself from the dishonest claims brought against me by Principal Stone.” I grab onto the podium with shaky hands and try to steady my voice.

“I hate that it has come to this. I’m embarrassed to be standing in front of you today, wasting your valuable time so Principal Stone can seek revenge and spread her lies. ”

I hear a sharp intake of breath from my right and without looking, I know it’s Nora. I don’t know if she’s putting on an act for the room or if she’s genuinely shocked that I’m not letting her get away with this, but either way, it incenses me so much that I forget to be nervous.

“The truth of the matter is that Miss Stone has been abusing her power as principal and has been doing so for years. Outside of being the principal at Nester Fox, Miss Stone is one of the top consultants for Petunia Lemon, a multi-level marketing company that sells skincare products. She uses her influence as principal and knowledge of how much her teachers make to convince them to sign up under her for this company. She goes on to profit immensely while the teachers lose money each month. And when a teacher voices concern about Petunia Lemon, or worse, decides to leave, Miss Stone punishes them at school as well.”

“That’s a very serious claim, Miss Pierce,” says Isabel, the board member sitting in the far-right seat.

“I’m aware.” I reach into my purse, pulling out witness statements from all of the teachers I managed to track down while I was on leave.

“These are all statements from teachers who have worked for Miss Stone and have either quit because the work environment became so unbearable or were forced to resign when Miss Stone threatened to blackmail them. I am here today not because I started a relationship with a man over the summer, who I discovered later happened to be a parent of my student, but because I worked with this parent to expose the lies and fraud happening at the hands of Miss Stone. When she found out that I was a source behind an article about Petunia Lemon, she told me she would fire me if I didn’t get the article retracted.

Obviously”—I gesture to the conference room—“I didn’t do that and here we are. ”

Chairs rustle behind me as whispers turn into yells.

Nora pushes her way back to the podium and snatches the microphone away from me. “She’s lying!”

“Miss Stone!” Levi calls her name, wearing the same shocked expression as the rest of the board members. “Please take your seat!”

Nora always has an air of superiority about her. It’s in the way she holds herself, how she looks down her nose at everyone around her. She never gets flustered because she always thinks she’s the smartest person in the room. But right now, that person is nowhere to be seen.

“No!” Her face is red and her movements are erratic.

The hair that was so flawless when she walked in is disheveled as she runs her hands through it again.

“She can’t be trusted! I brought the father’s wife today, she can tell you how much damage Emerson has done to her family. She can prove that Emerson is a liar!”

Any respect I had for Nora flitted away long before I stepped into this room, but it’s still hard to witness her come apart at the seams like this.

The group of women who walked in like human shields avoid looking at her, and Jacqueline ignores her request, instead sinking into her seat and hiding behind a curtain of blond hair.

Desperation permeates the air as understanding begins to sink in for Nora.

“All you had to do was get the article removed.” Rage turns her silky voice unrecognizable as she aims her furious glare toward me. “Why couldn’t you do that? This never had to happen!”

I’ve thought about coming face-to-face with Nora more than I’ve thought about anything else this week. I’ve run through exactly what I wanted to say to her, how I would scream and yell, proving to the world what a terrible person she is.

“You did this to yourself, Nora.” But now, looking at her standing in front of me, the anger is gone and all I feel is pity. “I hope one day you’ll be able to get the help you so obviously need.”

I gather the papers I brought as proof and tuck them back into my purse before I walk away, leaving a hysterical Nora behind me—literally and metaphorically.

The room buzzes around me, and urgent whispers turn to shocked yells as curious eyes follow me back to my seat, but amid the chaos, I only see one person.

Luke watches as I walk to him, a gentle smile pulling at the corner of his mouth and green eyes radiating pride. I’m barely back to our row when his arms pull me into his chest and he’s whispering in my ear, “Would I be wrong if I said that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen?”

The stress of the last few weeks melts away, and I laugh, actually outright laugh, at the hearing where I thought I might lose my job. “I would never fault you for your feelings.”

“Alright then,” Levi says into the microphone.

The poor guy looks like he’s been run over by a bus.

“In light of everything that has been presented to us tonight, it is clear to the board that Miss Stone has been abusing her power and prioritizing her own well-being over that of her students and faculty. The board has come to the unanimous decision to remove Miss Stone from her position as principal at Nester Fox Elementary.”

The room goes wild again, and Nora’s angry screams rise above the rest before her entourage circles around her and escorts her out of the room.

It’s very dramatic, and I have to wonder if this is a common occurrence at school board meetings.

If so, I might need to come more often. If it wasn’t my job on the line, this could’ve been fun.

Once Nora has been removed, and the room has settled down, Levi gets on the mic for what I’m hoping will be the final time of the night.

“We usually end these hearings with witness statements, but since a decision has already been made, they aren’t necessary. However, if there is anyone who has something they’d like to say, the floor is now open.”

I’m sure I’m not the only person ready to call it a night and forget this entire thing ever happened, so color me surprised when Luke stands and moves to the podium.

“Good evening, my name is Lucas Miller. I’m the father of Miss Pierce’s student, the author behind the Petunia Lemon article, and the very proud boyfriend of the wonderful woman who stood before you tonight.

” His deep voice calls the attention of the entire room, and my heart explodes in my chest. “When I met Miss Pierce, I had no idea she would be my daughter’s teacher.

I had no idea how much she would change my life by simply walking into it.

To know this woman is to know love. She dedicates her days and her money to making sure her kindergartners begin their educational careers in a way that will foster a love of learning for the rest of their lives.

She puts her entire being into her students and making sure they know the classroom is a safe space for them.

She encourages the kind of curiosity, kindness, and authenticity that has made my daughter and all of her classmates excel in and out of the classroom.

“When I found out about these outrageous claims, I knew I couldn’t be the only parent appalled by such vicious lies.

Miss Pierce is too humble and would never want to impose on the parents in her class, so I took it upon myself to reach out to them.

” He nods at Keisha and she runs to the back of the room.

She pushes open the doors and all of a sudden, parent after parent enters the conference room.

“Every parent in my daughter’s class is here tonight, along with parents from previous years as well.

I talked to over fifty parents, guardians, and loved ones and not a single person declined coming tonight to attest to what an amazing teacher, advocate, and human Miss Pierce is. ”

“Mr. Miller,” Levi says as he takes in the never-ending parade of parents still making their way inside of the room, “you do know these meetings have a two-and-a-half-hour limit, don’t you?”

“Sorry about that, sir,” Luke says. “But when it comes to this woman, I’ll spend forever making sure the entire world knows how amazing she is.”

Luke goes blurry and the room disappears around me as the tears I’ve been fighting since I walked out of Nester Fox, uncertain if I’d ever return, finally begin to fall. Only now, they’re not from sorrow.

They’re falling because I not only found the love of this gorgeous man who will stop at nothing to make sure I know how loved I am, but because I know I’ll get to love him for the rest of my life.