38. Skylar

“I can”t believe you’re getting married!” Leslie squeals, bouncing on her toes. She reaches for my hand, examining my ring.

“There’s something else you should know…” I trail off.

I hate this. It’s not that I want to hide my pregnancy, because I don’t, but I don’t want anyone to judge me. I know Leslie won”t, though. She’s too sweet to judge anyone… but every other staff member here will.

“What? Tell me!” Leslie smiles at me, melting the rest of my resolve.

“I”m pregnant,” I say softly.

I never know who might be walking past my office and I definitely don’t need someone figuring out my news before I”m ready for them to.

“Really? Oh my gosh! Congratulations!” She throws herself into my arms, hugging me tightly against her.

“Thanks, Leslie. I don’t think everyone else will be nearly as excited as you are.”

“Who cares about any of them! Tell them all to fuck off. If you’re happy, they should be too. Now, let’s get this staff meeting over with.”

Leslie drags me down the hall to the room we use for staff meetings. She pushes me inside and shuts the door behind us. The two of us settle into chairs at the head of the large conference table and the rest of the teachers sit around the other three sides.

“Next week I want to do something special for the kids. I think each day we should have a different theme for them. One day do a sports day and have the kids dress in their favorite sports team’s jersey. Maybe pajama day. I”m open to any suggestions, but I want to make this fun.”

The teachers glance around at each other, none of them seeming to think about my idea at all.

“What? Can someone just spit it out?” I settle back in my chair, more than frustrated already. “I really want to focus on this meeting and if you’re all going to stare at me like that instead of helping, we won’t get anything done.” I fold my arms over my chest, making my annoyance clear for them.

“Are we going to ignore the rock on your finger?” Mrs. Meyers arches a brow. Her and Mrs. Goods have been best friends for as long as I can remember. I”m sure she’s going to take over with the snotty comments now that Mrs. Goods can”t.

“Do you have an issue with my ring? I happen to like it.” I hold my hand out in front of me, staring at it like a brat.

“Are you engaged?”

“Yes.” I keep my answers simple. If they want details they’re going to have to ask.

“I guess Tucker Donahue finally grew some balls.” She chuckles, rolling her eyes.

Everyone’s gaze bounces from her to me and back again. I”m sure word has spread about what happened between Meredith and I. In this town, you can always count on your dirty laundry being spread for everyone to enjoy.

“Excuse me? Do you think it’s appropriate to speak about another person like that at a staff meeting? Mr. Donahue is the father of one of our students. I’m sure Mr. Green would love to hear the way you talk about parents or the principal for that matter.”

“Seriously, Skylar?” Mrs. Meyers huffs.

“It’s Miss Barren.” Leslie glares at her.

“I”m not calling her that. She hasn’t earned my respect and I won”t give it freely.”

“Congratulations, Miss Barren. I wish you and your future husband all the luck in the world.” Miss Gilbert winks at me, a grin playing on her lips.

She’s never liked Meyers or Goods. I remember her trying to piss them off when we were younger.

“Thank you, Miss Gilbert.” I scan the room, letting out a long sigh. “I’m going to get all of this out in the open before you hear it around town. Yes, I”m engaged to Tucker Donahue. I”m sure that isn”t a surprise to all of you. I’m also pregnant with his child.”

Gasps can be heard around the table. Wide eyes stare back at me, but I just smile. I”m not hiding this time. I”m an adult and I”m not going to act like their opinions matter.

“I”m shocked it took this long for that to happen,” Mrs. Goods mumbles under her breath, making a few of the older teachers chuckle.

“I”m so happy for the two of you. I hope you’ll be returning to the school after the baby is born. You’re doing a great job and the kids love having you as their principal,” Miss Gilbert gushes.

“Thank you. I haven’t figured things out yet, but I”m hoping to return soon after the baby is born.”

“Isn”t that against the rules? You can”t sleep around with a parent of one of your students. I”m sure the school district would have issues with that.” Mrs. Meyers folds her arms over her chest, a scowl directed at me.

“I cleared it with the school board before Tucker and I started dating. They didn’t feel there was an issue given the fact Tucker and I have known each other for so long and this isn”t the first time we’ve dated. Mr. Green agrees that any issues involving Riley Donahue will be taken to him so that there isn”t a conflict of interest. That is why Mr. Green has been so involved in issues that have risen between Riley and a certain teacher at this school.”

I keep Mrs. Goods’ name out of it, but every eye snaps to her. She doesn’t keep her hatred a secret, in fact, I’ve seen her rant on and on about it in the teacher’s lounge.

“You could’ve told me that!” Mrs. Goods jumps from the table, anger radiating off of her. “You set me up! You’ve been out to get me since you were a child and now, you’re getting your revenge. This is insane! I’m a good teacher and I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Mrs. Goods, I believe we should speak in private about your concerns. I’m sure you don’t want everyone knowing the details of this issue.”

“No! Anything you have to say, you can say in front of them! I”m not going to let you blame me for things I didn’t do!”

“Fine. You want to talk about this right here, right now?” I raise a brow. When she nods her head, I continue. “Ok. Let’s lay it all out there then. You’ve done plenty wrong. First, you let a little boy put his hands on Riley several times on her first day of school. So many times, that Riley felt the need to protect herself. Then, you blamed her for getting sick and throwing up on you after you wouldn’t let her go to the nurse. You also wanted her removed from your class for writing on the dry erase board with a permanent marker, when all of your markers are kept together on your desk. And let’s not forget when you wanted her to be punished for spilling paint on the desk… in another teacher’s class.”

“Meredith! I told you that was an accident!” Mrs. Niles gasps. “Billy tripped Riley and she fell into the desk, knocking over the paint. How can you blame her for someone else tripping her!”

“That’s interesting. Mrs. Goods left that part out. Thank you, Mrs. Niles. I appreciate you telling us the truth. I think it’s clear if anyone is out to get anyone else in this school, it’s you, Meredith, trying to get back at Tucker and me for our behavior when we were children.”

There are several teachers muttering under their breaths, all of them horrified at Meredith’s actions and responses.

“The poor girl! She’s such a good child.”

“She didn’t stop another student from touching Riley?”

“Who keeps permanent markers with their dry erase markers?”

Leslie snorts with laughter at the last comment. “Sorry,” she whispers, ducking her head to hide her laughter.

“Now, if we’re finished with this conversation, I’d like to finish this meeting. I want to go home and be able to spend some time with my family.” I fold my hands on the desk, waiting for them all to quiet down.

You’d think since this is a teacher’s in-service day and they can go home as soon as it’s over, they’d want to get out of here faster. I know I just want to get home to my family.