Her Imaginary Husband (Contemporary Romance) (5 page)

“I cannot tell you how nice it is to have a conversation that doesn’t revolve around something happening at Riverview. I mean, I love my job, but it consumes me!”

“Uh-huh.” Janna squinted and pouted at herself in the mirror before switching sunglasses for a more a blingy pair.

Nikki shuffled her feet, trying to work off excess energy. “It’s exhausting, but not physically, so then I have all this energy. I feel like dancing.”

“Now, you’re talking!” Janna stood straighter and blew a kiss at her reflection.

“Not on a school night.”

Janna tapped her sunglasses. “I’m talking about the sunglasses. Even I don’t go clubbing on a Wednesday night!”

“This is the first time I’ve been at the mall when it wasn’t swamped with teenagers.” Nikki grabbed a pair of white-framed sunglasses and put them on.

“Big surprise. You never come at all.” She frowned. “Don’t even try to wear those. Go gold or black.”

“Oh, I’m just goofing around.” Nikki pulled off the white frames and put on a sequined tiger stripe pair. “Oooh, now I could go prowling in these.”

Janna laughed. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m a wild thing, don’t you know?” Nikki pantomimed as if she were a slinking jungle cat.

“Aren’t you afraid someone’s going to see you?”

“There’s no kids here.”

“Your boss then.”

Nikki blew her hair off of her face with a big puff. “If he doesn’t think I’m a lost cause by now, I’m probably safe. I can’t believe how many protocol blunders I’m making. Too chummy with the kids, not schmoozing enough with the administrators.”

“You’re young!” Janna tossed her arms in the air. “Be free!”

Nikki roared playfully.

Janna grabbed Nikki’s collar and pulled her in close. “You’re also attracting the attention of the guy across the way.”

“What? Who?” Nikki spun, horrified and stared across the fake ferns and koi fountain.

“In the salon. The guy getting his hair cut.”

Nikki walked out into the thoroughfare, careful to keep herself behind the greenery. Peeking over the rim of the sunglasses, she searched the faces of the clients. Only one man. “Oh. My. Gosh!” She turned and ran back behind the accessory kiosk, dragging Janna with her.

“It is your boss?”

“Worse.” Nikki buried her face in Janna’s shoulder. “It’s Officer Ross, the campus cop. He catches me being weird
all
the time!”

Janna chuckled. “Like that’s hard.” She lifted Nikki’s head off her shoulder and peeked around the kiosk. “He’s kinda tubby.”

Nikki shook her head. “No, he’s not.” Joining Janna in a casual glance, she said, “He’s just wearing that smock thing. Everyone looks like a tent in those.” She put the sunglasses back on the rack. “So, did he really see me?”

“Yep.”

“Do you think he knew it was me?”

“I bet you’ll find out tomorrow.”



“So, did you end up getting the tiger frames?”

Nikki groaned and rolled up her car window. Officer Ross was leaning on her door, peering in at her with a wide grin. His mouth dropped open with surprise at her move, but he recovered quickly and opened the door for her. “Because I thought the black ones were better.”

“What is it about you that makes me act like a complete idiot if you’re within a certain radius?”

Ross let out a belly laugh. “Not at all. Life was boring before you came along.”

Nikki couldn’t help noticing he didn’t say,
Life
here
was boring.
What did that mean about his life off campus?
She glanced up at him, daring a flirtatious eyebrow to rise. “You must not have much of a life.” She slid out of the car, aware that this was her shortest skirt.

His smiling eyes stayed honorably on her face. “Eastmont’s not all that exciting.”

“Aren’t you a native of this bustling metropolis?”
Is my voice lilting?

“Nope. I’m originally from the capital.”

Nikki stood and shut the door. He backed up a step to give her space. “Well what brought you from the big city to little ol’ Eastmont?”

“The job.”

“There weren’t police jobs in the city? You could be doing big time investigations.”

For a fleeting moment, his face darkened. “I wanted to work where I could protect kids.”

Nikki felt something inside her bubble. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Not very ambitious, I know. I hear that all the time.” He looked away, and Nikki saw pain in the set of his jaw.

“I think that’s really cool. What’s more ambitious than taking care of the next generation?” Her hand went up to rest on his shoulder instinctively before she realized she had touched him. Blushing, she tugged at a curl behind his ear. “They missed a spot.”

“What—?” He breathed out a laugh, and she used the time to retrieve her hand. “Thanks. You’re the first woman over sixteen to say so.”

Nikki furrowed her brows skeptically. “That’s crazy.” She opened the back door of her car and grabbed the stack of papers and folders. “It’s awesome that someone cares about these kids. Obviously, I do!”

“You sure do.” His smile spread wider. “I bet you don’t even complain about the pay.”

Slamming the door shut, Nikki eyed him. “Are you kidding? I’ve been making jo-jos for the last four years. I feel rich now.”

“Yeah?”

“Besides, who goes into teaching for the money? You do it to make a difference, right?” She tilted her head towards the building and began walking.

Ross followed with easy strides. “That’s right. Some things are worth more than a big paycheck.”

She raised a finger. “Friendship.”

“Service.”

“Honor.”

“Happiness.”

Ross sighed and stopped walking so that Nikki barely heard him add, “Love.”

Two young men sauntered in, their cowboy hats proudly contrasting with all the designer jeans and shoes in the room. Adam Irving and Cody Dean didn’t subscribe to the campus hero worship of the football players.

As Nikki passed out the worksheet for an upcoming essay, she saw Adam cram his hat further on his head.

Josh, one of the star football players, poked Adam’s shoulder. “What’s the matter, Tex? Do you need someone to read the instructions to you?”

“Shut up, Josh.” Adam’s voice was quiet, like the hum of an electric fence.

“Is this essay going to be too hard for you?”

“Shut up, Josh.”

“What’s the prob—?”

Adam spun in his seat and thrust a finger in Josh’s face. “Some of us are up at 4 a.m. every morning
working
, and then after school,
working
for another five hours. If I have a lot of homework, I don’t get to sleep!” He turned to face the front, his voice a low growl. “Not all of us get to play video games and hang out at the pizza place.”

Good for you, Adam,
thought Nikki. At the same time, a part of her ached to think that the boy had no real fun time.

Josh, however, did not appear impressed. “That’s what you get for being a farmer, Adam.”

“Shut up, Josh.”

“Face it. You’re just a farmer.”

Something in Adam’s body language told Nikki it was time to intervene. “All right, boys. Don’t make me come over there and get all old school on you two. I’ve got a ruler, and I know how to use it.”

The negative energy diffused with a few chuckles, and Nikki began her explanation of the assignment. As the words flowed from her mouth, she fretted the notion that if she ever ceased to be funny, she would lose control of her students. Humor was her way of keeping things on her terms.

When the class settled in to start their assignments, Nikki walked over to Adam and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Josh noticed, of course, and watched her closely.

“Adam, can I talk to you for a minute?”

He sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Out in the hall?”

Adam bristled, but rose to follow her. Once outside the door, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Am I in trouble, Ms. Fallon?”

“Not at all,” she said, studying him with a wash of maternal pride.

He glanced up from under the brim of his hat. “So…what do you want?”

“You’re president of the FFA,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you want to be a farmer when you grow up?”

“I’m a farmer now,” he said, standing taller.

Nikki smiled, acknowledging her mistake. “You’re absolutely right. Sorry.” Meeting his eyes, she asked, “Is that what you want to do all your life?”

Adam shrugged and his mouth twisted in a bitter frown. “I’m just a farmer, right?”

Nikki’s eyes narrowed. “What Josh said? Is that what you think?”

“It’s what everyone thinks,” he said plainly.

“It’s not what I think,” said Nikki.

There was a long pause, and Adam cracked his knuckles. “I love farming. I feel free out there.”

“Even with all the work?”

“I won’t always have to spend eight hours a day here.”

“Good point.” Nikki tried to not to feel disappointed that he viewed school as a distraction. Remembering that it was because he wanted to work made that easier. She clasped her hands and thought for a second. “I’m an English teacher, so I get all excited about words. That word ‘just’ is simply not true.” When he squinted, she went on. “When Josh says, ‘just a farmer’, it implies two things: one is that you are a farmer and nothing but a farmer. The other is that being a farmer is somehow…less.” She shook her head and looked at him intently. “Neither of those are true, are they?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a farmer, and a leader, and a scholar, and a good friend, and who knows how many other things?”

“I play guitar and fix cars, too.”

“See what I mean? You’re not ‘just’ one thing. You will be many in your lifetime.”

“Yeah. But that’s what people see. The farmer. They think I chew hay and hang out with cows in the barn.”

Nikki wagged her head. “No offense, but that’s what
highschoolers
see. Riverview High isn’t forever, and when you’re in the adult world, people will see
all
of you. And you already have an amazing work ethic in place. You’re not ‘just’ anything. You’re awesome.”

Adam smiled, revealing a heretofore hidden dimple. “Thanks.”

Slapping his back to usher him back into the room, she whispered, “And personally, I’m very fond of eating, so I’m grateful for farmers. We’d all die of hunger without you.”

He jerked his chin in agreement. “You got that straight.”

She nudged him and murmured, “If you ever need an extra day to get an assignment done, let me know. Let me know in advance, and I’ll give it to you. Just…don’t tell the whole world, okay? I understand you have more on your plate that most of us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. He strode back to his seat, ignoring the curious stares, and Nikki thought maybe she had handled that all right.



The young couple walked in late to sixth period, and Nikki stopped and stared. The boy was the over-pierced, pink Mohawk kid from the mall, and the girl looked like she’d spilled a bottle of Elmer’s glue in her jet black hair before falling asleep.

“Hello?” Nikki watched them head straight to the two vacant chairs in the back of the room. “And you are?”

Mohawk kid smiled. “Justin Earl.”

Another boy in the room called out, “Yo, Justin!”

Nikki remembered the name from the roll sheets the first day, but hadn’t paid attention once she’d assigned the attendance-taking task to the girl in the front row. She wondered if she should have held on to that part of her job for at least a week to learn names faster.

“Welcome. Glad you could finally join us.” Nikki gave a questioning look at the girl, but received only a scowl. “And you are…?” The girl didn’t answer. Instead, she slid into the desk and folded her arms belligerently across her Goth-garbed chest.

“That’s Amanda Zane,” said the roll-taker.

“Amanda Zane. Cool name,” said Nikki, hoping to break through the girl’s gruff exterior. “A to Z in one name.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Like I’ve never heard
that
one before.”

Nikki decided being nice wasn’t working, so she’d be official. “You have tardy slips for me?”

“I didn’t know I needed to bring a gift,” said Amanda.

Ah, a real charming one,
thought Nikki.
I guess the lucky streak of nice kids was too good to last.
“You’ll need to go get one, or the absence that was already marked will stand.”

“I don’t actually care,” said Amanda.

Justin looked sympathetically at Nikki. “P.E. ran long,” he said. “Mr. Carlin gets all excited about the game, you know. Forgets to give us time to shower.”

Nikki took a deep breath and resisted a tactless response about the obvious lack of water either of their heads had seen in at least a few days. “Okay, I’ll talk to him later and get that cleared away. Thanks.”

There was a pause while everyone looked at Nikki expectantly and Amanda feigned sleep. Nikki decided she’d let it go for now and talk to Gayle and the others for advice on how to deal this kind of behavior.

With a forced grin, Nikki asked, “Ready for a pop quiz?”

“What?!”

“No way!”

Agitation of various degrees rumbled through the room until Nikki laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not ready, either. But you may wish we’d had one after we tackle this next bit.”

Relieved murmurs mixed with open-mouthed stares.

“I can’t believe you did that on the first day,” said Justin.

“
Your
first day, sir. We’ve been enjoying this party since Tuesday!”

He tried to sneer, but humor shone in his eyes. Nikki suspected he might not be a jerk.
Amanda?
Well, she’d just have to see.

“You all know what a Venn diagram is, right? Please say ‘yes’.” Several students responded with mock enthusiasm. “Great. Tell me what it’s used for.” She drew large overlapping circles on the chalkboard.

The class began the tedious process of comparing and contrasting Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” with Puritan writings. As Nikki cited a line from the famous sermon, Amanda sat up and yelled, “Hey, we’re not supposed to do religion in the schools. Separation of church and state. You’re violating my Constitutional right not to believe in God.”

Coughing snickers sounded, and Nikki struggled to keep a straight face. “I’m glad to see you’re up on your American Government. You do realize that I’m not trying to convert you to anything, right?”

“You’re talking about God.” said Amanda flatly.

Nikki resisted groaning. “We’re studying the literature of the time period. That was what they talked about in those days. Science fiction and reality shows came later.”

“We’ve moved on. I don’t want to hear about it.”

“You’re welcome to go back to sleep, Amanda,” said Nikki.
Oh dear. I learned her name already. And not for being the smart kid.
Amanda continued to frown, so Nikki matched her look and added, “Or you could just go sit in the hall where you can’t hear this offensive lesson.”

Three seconds later, Amanda was out the door, and Nikki doubted she had handled that conflict very well.