Chapter 29

Twenty-Nine

Ohana, we truly are one family, and we are so pleased to be able to offer an additional new resource for students. We’ll be having some visits, both classroom and one-on-one, with music therapy students from the university. A huge thank you to Mr. Bell for bringing us this opportunity.

NOLAN

As we arrived at school on Monday morning, the girls were unusually glued to my hip instead of immediately scattering to find their friends. I was about to ask what the deal was, but said friends, along with half the school, were loitering around the choir room. Indeed, I’d never seen my section of the hall so crowded.

“Look, Mr. Bell, look!” Liam K. looked ready to climb the row of lockers as he stepped away from my door.

“What the…?” I’d practiced my dramatic voice and head tilt for any number of auditions. In fact, I considered showing surprise one of my better acting talents, but I’d never delivered a more shocked gasp. Gone was Mrs. Crenshaw’s nameplate, a beige plastic rectangle with white lettering, undoubtedly a holdover from the prior century. In its place was a gleaming wooden gold star. The sort of large sign seen on the Hollywood Walk of Fame or on an old-school dressing room door. Mr. Bell. My name was in a cheery black font, so large one could likely now read it from the opposite end of the hall.

Wood. Perfectly sanded edges. Blocky letters. A prickle raced up my spine. Could it be?

“Mrs. Crenshaw is gonna be pissed. ” One of Liam’s friends whistled low. “Replaced her sign with a major upgrade. Ice cold.”

“She’s not coming back, doofus.” Liam gave his friend a good-natured wallop.

“Yeah, Mr. Bell’s here now.” Kaitlyn tugged me to the front of the crowd. “Now, open your door!”

“There’s more?” The nameplate was a spectacular surprise, so I couldn’t imagine what else awaited.

“Oh yeah. Lots more.” Legend sounded like a balloon about to gust around the room, like he’d been waiting for me to arrive. That suspicious prickle returned. And there was Merry, lurking near the twins. My insides quivered.

His mere presence didn’t mean he was ready to move forward with dating, nor did the sign, but as far as gestures went, this was a pretty epic one.

And then I entered my classroom. Gone were the drab putty-colored walls and flickering fluorescent lights and that darn bucket for the leak. The room smelled of cleaning supplies and paint, but no more trace of mildew. The walls were a subtle light gold now and the ceiling fixtures added to the warmth.

“It’s…” I looked around. “How does it glow like there’s a window?”

“Optical illusion.” Merry gave a sheepish shrug, all but admitting he’d had a hand in this. “The right wall color and lighting help, especially since Principal Alana nixed the idea of adding a window.”

“Permits, Merry, permits. I’m just impressed with what you pulled off in a single weekend.” She swept into the room and gestured at the walls, which now featured sound baffles for better acoustics. “And while Mr. Winters was the real magician, can we all admire the soundproofing tiles my wife found at a home construction resale store?”

“I love it.” I was pretty sure I was a scant few breaths away from levitating. Magic indeed. In addition to the sound baffles, the walls were brightened with several large posters, all from musical theater productions.

Wait. I stepped closer to one particular action shot from Pan.

“That’s… me .”

“Yeah.” Merry nodded. “Turns out you weren’t lying. You can fly.”

I hadn’t been lying about way more than my ability to perform in a harness, but we could start there.

“How’d you get that picture?” I asked as I moved on to other posters, and yes, all were from shows I’d either been a part of or particularly beloved favorites of mine and my grandfather’s. “Make that, how did you get all the pictures?”

“I know a guy.” Merry offered a smug smile.

“ Craig. ” Of course he’d remember which productions I’d most enjoyed.

“And Cara helped too.” Merry stepped closer.

“And I picked the gold poster frames,” Ryder added from behind Merry.

“I found the desk.” Legend was not to be outdone as he gestured at my new desk that had all four legs and a fresh coat of seafoam-green paint. “Someone at the apartment complex was gonna throw it out!”

“Well, I helped paint.” A twin war was about to break out.

Merry made a calming noise, and I spoke fast.

“You both did wonderful. I love the whole room.” I turned so I could meet Merry’s hopeful gaze. “Why did you do all this?”

“Because you deserve a proper classroom to teach in.” He made it sound so simple, almost like we hadn’t had a big it’s complicated sign over our friendship for the last few weeks. “You’re doing a lot for these kids and this school, Nolan. You deserve it.”

“So you believe me now that I’m going to finish the school year?” I stepped closer so I could use a more pointed tone. “You don’t think I’ll be on the next plane out or gone by Valentine’s?”

“Kinda hoping you’ll be here on Valentine’s.” Even the tips of his ears flushed dusky pink.

“Are you now?” The classroom transformation was incredible, but I wasn’t inclined to let him off too easily. “Thought you didn’t want to date?”

“I might be in the market for a valentine.” Gaze lowering, he studied the colorful rug under my new desk. “Or, more specifically, in the market for a you .”

“Until I jet back to New York in June?” I surprised myself with how much irritation I felt. He’d done this beautiful thing, but I wasn’t sure anything had truly changed.

“No.” He shook his shaggy head as he fished a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s a link to the school district job listing for the permanent position starting next year. It just went live. I’m hoping…” He trailed off, only to swallow hard and try again. “Maybe you’ll apply?”

“Because…” I prompted.

“Because you’re good at this job. One of the best teachers I’ve ever seen. And even if you don’t want to date me, the kids deserve a teacher who cares like you do. Also, selfishly, I don’t want to plan the next holiday festival without you.”

“We did make a good team,” I said slowly as the bell rang to start the school day.

“We made more than a good team,” Merry countered as the kids scattered for their lockers and correct classrooms. “I need to get to class, but I’d like if we could have dinner sometime.”

“Like as colleagues planning next year’s festival?” I was committed to making him earn that valentine he was apparently seeking.

“Like dating. Like you wear the shirt I didn’t appreciate enough on New Year’s Eve and I take you to a place a little fancy to finish saying sorry.”

“I suppose I could allow that.” I gave a haughty sniff reminiscent of Belinda Masters. Not surprisingly, the math teacher had been nowhere to be seen in the great room reveal. “I might allow it on Friday.”

“Friday. So far from now.” He groaned, then brightened. “But that’s enough time to summon my mother for overnight Grandma duty.”

“Already planning for a sleepover at my place?” Shaking my head, I put a hand to my chest in fake horror. “Bold, Mr. Winters, bold.”

The second bell rang, signaling we were all supposed to be in class by now. And I, for one, was right where I was meant to be. And despite giving Merry a hard time, I was totally counting down to Friday.