Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Liza

I hang up the phone with so much excitement that I can't contain myself. Instantly, I think of calling Eli, but then remember I'm literally watching his game on TV right now, and he's standing on the pitcher's mound.

The thought makes me laugh before I jump off the couch and run to the kitchen to tell Aunt Heidi.

"I have an interview!" I say before I even enter the area.

"That's wonderful! Do you know for which school or age yet?"

"It's for Leighton River school district actually. Mason Creek said I'd probably sub until one of their teachers went on maternity leave in November, so I thought I should reach out to Leighton River to see if they had something more permanent, and I got an interview!"

She comes from around the counter and wraps her arms around me. "I'm so proud of you. I know they'll love you."

"Thanks, Aunt Heidi."

I take a moment, breathing in and nodding my head, overjoyed at the possibility of having my own classroom, when I hear cheering from the other room, making my eyes open wide.

"Eek, I forgot I was watching the game!"

I run back into the living room to see what just happened.

"What's the score?" Aunt Heidi yells out.

"Two to one. The other team just scored."

I plop down on the couch, intently watching the next at bat, then laugh to myself. Never did I think I'd leave Stockton or be watching a baseball game because I actually wanted to. Yet here I am, loving life so far away from home and really enjoying the game of baseball.

Who knew how thrilling it could be?

Once the game is over, I send Eli a text message.

I got an interview!

That's my girl! I knew you would.

I swoon at him calling me his girl . I've never been so proud to be someone's girl. I've never liked labels or to feel like I'm being claimed, but with Eli, I want to scream from the rooftops that I am indeed his girl.

I'm surprised later that night when my phone rings with a FaceTime call from Eli. Normally, when he's on these trips, we only text because his coaches don't allow them to sit on their phones, saying it's time to be with their teammates.

I get why they feel that way, so I don't mind. I've learned that if this is going to be his life, then I need to get used to it.

My overjoy from him calling might come off as a little too much though when I singsong into the phone, "OMG, hi!"

His smile is my everything when he responds smoothly, "Hey, it's good to see your face."

I sit back on the couch so I can hold the phone and see him better. "You too. I thought you couldn't call."

"I snuck away. The team is downstairs in the lobby, just hanging out. I told them I didn't feel good. Really, I just wanted to tell you congrats on your interview."

I know he's got a lot going on when he's at these tournaments, and the thought that he's thinking about me and something I told him hours ago makes me unbelievably happy.

"Thank you for calling to tell me. Fingers crossed!" I cross my fingers in front of the phone with the cheesiest grin across my face, making him laugh.

"No need to cross anything. You'll get the job, no doubt."

"Congrats on winning the game today!" I say, remembering how good of a game it was.

He grins. "Thanks. Cody came in clutch at the end," he says, talking about his teammate who hit the last run in for a walk-off.

"I think your home run had something to do with that too."

He grins. "Yeah, maybe."

The score was three to two, so his solo home run definitely helped.

A loud noise comes from his side, and he drops his head against the wall where he's rested on his bed. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Eli!" I hear a few guys yell as they come running into the room and jump on the bed.

The phone jolts around with his movement. All I can see and hear is the commotion of it all, but I can't tell what's going on.

"Is this her?" I hear someone ask as the phone is yanked out of his hand, and a guy comes on the screen.

"Sup. I'm Seth," the guy says, looking into the phone. "This is Nate, Jack, and Kaden." He shows them all to me. "We're here to steal our boy. We knew he was full of shit, saying he didn't feel good, and was coming up here to talk to you."

They show me Eli, who's sitting with his head rested back, still looking up to the ceiling in annoyance, which makes me laugh. These guys are obviously a handful.

He tosses the phone back to Eli, who faces it toward him so I can see him again.

"See what I mean?" he deadpans.

"You talking shit about us?" I hear one of them yell out, making me laugh out loud.

"Yes, fool, I am," he responds, then rolls his eyes at me playfully.

I know he's half kidding. He's talked about how much he likes playing with this team and these guys, but I can see how they can be a little much for him though at times since he's more of an old soul.

"Come on. We're heading out, and Coach says you have to come too," I hear one of them say.

He sighs and looks at me. "I got to go. Congratulations again."

"Thanks. Have fun."

He raises his eyebrows. "Oh, it will be a blast," he says sarcastically.

I blow him a kiss, and he does the same, which only gets him more shit from the guys.

After we hang up, I'm still giggling. It's amazing how he can make me so happy.

I was a nervous wreck all weekend as I waited until Monday for my interview. Add in the anxiety that Eli's games caused, especially when they made it to the championship game, winning three to one, and my stomach was in knots the past two days.

Today is a new day though. My interview is at eleven, and Eli comes home at two. It's crazy just how excited I am to see him. He's only been gone for five days, but it feels like an eternity.

I enter the Leighton River school district office, wearing my most professional outfit of dress slacks and a nice top, feeling like I'm ready to face anything and everything as I repeat in my head, Have confidence. You deserve this job. You're ready for this job.

I'm greeted by an older woman, who gives me a genuine smile as I enter the office.

She stands and holds out her hand to me. "You must be Liza."

I'm kind of taken aback by her knowing who I am before I even say anything. The few times I went to the Stockton school district, nobody knew or gave a damn who I was. In a town of over three hundred thousand though, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. The amount of people coming in and out of that office all day long must be staggering compared to this place.

"That's me," I respond, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"I'm Elaine. It's so nice to meet you. Come on back. Mrs. Epperson is expecting you." She motions for me to step through their half-wall entrance and follow her to an office in the back.

A woman in a floral dress stands from her desk as we enter. "Liza," she says warmly as she holds her hand out to me, and we shake.

"Hello, Mrs. Epperson. It's so nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Please, call me Susan. Have a seat."

We talk for over an hour about anything and everything. It's not even all about my schooling or teaching in general. We just talk, getting to know each other. It's the best interview I've ever been on only because it doesn't feel like an interview at all.

"So, as you can tell, I like to get to know you as a person more than anything during these interviews," she says when there's a break in our conversation. "Teaching has two aspects—the technical side and the personal side. The technical side can be taught and guided. The personal side can't. You either have the social skills or you don't. To teach, you need to be able to reach the kids on a personal level. I can tell you have that."

A huge smile grows across my face now that I understand what was really going on. Here I thought, we were just lost in conversation, and this entire time, she was judging just how well I could converse, especially with a stranger.

She continues, "I'd love to offer you a position here at Leighton River. I have two openings and two candidates. The more we sat here and talked, the more I thought you would be great for our high school position, whereas the other candidate fit well for the elementary position."

My eyes open wide. "High school?"

I guess I never really thought about teaching the older grades. I kind of saw myself as a second or third grade teacher, but I'm not opposed to the idea.

"We have an Econ teacher who is retiring. He has a great curriculum that he's willing to pass on to the new teacher, so really, we just needed someone who could connect with the kids, and I really think that could be you."

Excitement rushes through my body, but I try to contain it so I don't look like a fool, wanting to get up and jump for joy.

I love that not only is she hiring me, but she also believes I can help these kids. That's why I want to be a teacher. If I can help just one life, then it's all worth it. I think about some of the kids I went to high school with and how there were some kids who shone and some who got lost in the noise.

I want to silence that noise.

I know people have different struggles here than they do in Stockton, especially when it comes to socioeconomic stuff, but teenage issues are the same wherever you go, and, yeah, I think I can connect with them because I'm not too far removed from that world. I know what it is to grow up with social media and everything being shared with the click of a button. I remember my teachers not understanding that because they didn't live it.

I did.

The thought fills me with hope.

"I never really thought about high school, but, yeah, I'm liking that idea."

She claps her hands together once with a big grin. "Fantastic. I'll set up a time for you to work with Mr. Shaw, the teacher who is retiring. We still have a few weeks before school starts, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare, and he said he'd be available to you anytime throughout the year if you needed it."

"Great!"

"So, you accept?" she asks with a laugh, which makes me laugh too.

"Yes, I accept!"

"Glad to hear." She stands. "Let's get over to HR and get you all set up."

I follow her in absolute glee. I can't believe I'm going to actually be a teacher!