Page 11 of Scythe (Devil Daddies MC #2)
W innie hoped no one could tell how different she was as she walked into her building fifteen minutes before the requirement.
Seeing her principal again standing inside the door distracted her slightly from her life-changing experience.
Lorraine placed a mark on the clipboard as Winnie entered.
How many mornings was she going to patrol the entrance, hoping to catch Winnie arriving late?
“Good morning, Miss Oberson,” Winnie greeted her pleasantly.
“Good morning, Winnie. I’m glad you’re on time this morning.”
“Are you arguing with me, Winnie?”
“No, ma’am. I just thought it was an interesting fact,” Winnie assured her. “I’ll get ready for the kids.”
Walking into her classroom, she listened for the telltale clatter of Lorraine’s heels on the linoleum in the hallway.
As she suspected, a few seconds after she turned on her computer, her principal left her position at the door to the faculty parking lot.
The bitch had waited to try to punish her for being tardy for a second time.
She didn’t care about the others who were delayed on a consistent basis.
Winnie sat down and typed out a message to the faculty union rep. She’d been too embarrassed on Monday to admit she’d gotten in trouble for arriving late because of her car problems. Now that she was sure Lorraine was out to get her, Winnie knew she needed help.
Elizabeth McGower, the building faculty representative, appeared in her doorway two minutes later with her notebook.
She listened carefully and took notes. “I would normally suggest a meeting with Ms. Oberson, but she’s already told me you are on her list not to rehire or to transfer to a different building.
I was on my way down to talk to you when your message popped up on my computer. ”
“Why? I’m never in trouble.” Winnie looked at her in complete disbelief.
“I’m not sure. If I had to guess, she has a friend who wants your position,” Elizabeth said.
“Can she do that?”
“She can transfer you to another building without stating a reason. That would allow you to keep your job. If she can fire you, then no one will be around to ask any tricky questions. Make sure you are following each rule she establishes. Be aware her secretary is posting new ones on the office bulletin board almost every day. Go down there before and after school to check.”
Winnie shook her head, unable to believe this was happening. She had promised to tell Scythe if she had any problems today. He was going to flip when he heard this.
“Hi, Miss Bradley!” Her first student arrived and rushed forward to hug her.
“Hi, Dakota! I’m glad to see you!”
The faculty rep waved and headed out the door, saying, “Keep me updated.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth.”
Winnie followed her out the door to supervise the halls around her room as the kids streamed inside.
She wanted to send Scythe a message, but Ms. Oberson stood at the hallway intersection blatantly watching.
Winnie already had that rule memorized. Teachers were forbidden to use their phones during the school day.
What else could the principal throw at her?
She twisted the doorknob to make sure she’d locked the door when she’d come inside. If a shelter-in-place drill occurred, she would be in trouble if her door was unlocked. Winnie breathed a sigh of relief when she found it secured.
When the bell rang, she quickly took attendance and submitted it on her computer while the kids attacked their bell work.
One sweet student who had some health problems requiring frequent bathroom breaks signaled her, and Winnie handed over the bathroom pass from her desk drawer.
When Winnie walked into the hallway to supervise her on her way, she discovered her principal leaning against the wall, typing furiously on her phone.
“Good morning,” Winnie greeted her before addressing the student. “Go ahead, Taylor. Hurry back.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bradley,” the student said and raced through the hallway.
Ms. Oberson roared, “Stop running!” Taylor jumped before cupping her hand frantically over her crotch. That shout had scared her student, and as a result, Taylor had an accident.
Winnie scurried to the girl’s side and told her quickly. “I’ll get someone to clean this up. You go on to the nurse’s office. I’ll alert her you’ll need some help.”
“She shouted at me,” the child said, with tears coursing down her cheeks.
“Ms. Oberson didn’t understand, Taylor. She wouldn’t have yelled if she did. I’ll explain.”
“Do you not train your children to follow the school rules?” Lorraine Oberson demanded as she joined Winnie at the puddle on the floor.
“There’s a medical issue involved here with a special requirement. Taylor must hurry sometimes to get to the bathroom. Would you mind standing here so no one slips while I notify the office to call a custodian?”
“I’ll take care of that, Ms. Bradley. You’ve left your class unsupervised for too long. Come in tomorrow morning at eight for a meeting with me.”
“Of course. I’ll bring Taylor’s health plan and ask the nurse to attend as well,” Winnie said quickly.
“We will not address the accident, Ms. Bradley. I wish to discuss your extended absence from your classroom.”
“You mean now as we’re talking in the hall?”
“Obviously.” Lorraine turned and stalked off, leaving the mess.
Winnie stared at her stiff spine in disbelief.
If the administrator had simply left everything alone, Taylor wouldn’t be mortified in the nurse’s office.
Not trusting that she would take care of the hallway puddle, Winnie returned to her room and grabbed the trash can.
With it stationed close to the fall hazard, she returned to her room and called the office.
The secretary was extremely surprised. Lorraine had not reported it.
Two hours later, Lorraine waltzed in to sit in a chair at the rear of the room.
She scribbled notes as Winnie taught. This was obviously an unscheduled teacher evaluation—which was fine, of course, with Winnie.
She’d never had a principal spend ninety minutes in her room.
Usually, they appeared for at most a half hour.
Combining these events together made it obvious that Lorraine was out to fire her.
At lunch, the other teachers who had the same lunch schedule gathered in her room. The treatment she had gotten appalled everyone. Winnie tried to play it cool, but inside she was a total mess. She fled to the teacher rep’s room immediately after school to share what had happened.
Elizabeth promised to be at school with her the next morning for the meeting. She would take notes, and with luck having an observer would curtail Lorraine’s targeting. Winnie didn’t have much hope.
Returning to her room, she phoned Taylor’s mother to inform her about her daughter’s accident. Lorraine had already contacted her and placed the blame on Winnie.
“Ms. Bradley, I thought we had a system in place.”
“We do, and I followed that. Taylor was startled and had an accident,” Winnie explained.
“Because you yelled at her.”
Winnie opened her mouth to explain but heard Taylor’s voice in the background. They must be in the car on the way home. “No, Mommy. Miss Bradley sent me immediately when I asked. It was that mean lady who yelled at me to stop running.”
“Miss Bradley didn’t yell at you?”
“Oh, no. Miss Bradley wouldn’t ever do that. It was the principal. She’s mean.”
“It appears I received some incorrect information. My apologies for speaking harshly. I have appreciated all you’ve done for my daughter this year.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m glad we got everything straightened out and Taylor is in good spirits. She had a wonderful rest of her day. I’m amazed at how good she is at math,” Winnie complimented.
“She does love math. Who do I report the principal to?”
“I have no idea. The superintendent, perhaps, or the assistant superintendent in charge of elementary education,” Winnie suggested, crossing her fingers.
“Thank you. I’ll investigate,” Taylor’s mother said before disconnecting.
Winnie typed up the information and sent it to the faculty rep.
She wasted more time making notes for herself and starting a file off the computer.
After tucking the printouts of everything into her bookbag, Winnie double-checked her lesson plans for the following day.
Lorraine would be back to evaluate her tomorrow.
Her administrator wouldn’t give up until she found something to use against Winnie.
When Winnie reached her car in the parking lot, she checked her phone and saw a bunch of messages from Scythe. She didn’t have a few minutes to linger and read them. She barely had enough time to get home before Belinda would need to leave. Crossing her fingers, she hoped Scythe would understand.