I was here, but I turned it around by threatening to put foot to ass with any of my teachers whom I felt had funky attitudes. I did not literally kick them, but I made it clear that heads would roll if they did not start assessing the students who were struggling and offer them additional assistance. I did not care when they did itâbefore school, during recess, or after schoolâbut if they truly cared, it should not have been a big deal. Teachers customarily have a shorter workday than most and get summers off so it was what it was.
I was about to eat my vanilla crumb muffin and drink the coffee that I had purchased at a local organic market on my way to work when my cell phone rang. It was Tevin. This was going to be a test to gauge how he received being neglected via text messages. Honestly, he was about to get a piece of my mind.
I smirked and answered the phone. âGood morning.â
âGood morning, Jemistry. Itâs Tevin.â
I acted as if his number wasnât already saved in my phone, rather less already embedded in my memory. âOh, hey. I didnât recognize the number. How are you?â
âIâm fine. I take it that you arrived home safely last night. I sent you a text.â
âWow, did you? I didnât see it. Iâm not too hype on texting. It seems kind of detached and impersonal to me.â
He got quiet for a few seconds. âI see. Well, I wasnât sure if I should call you that late. I didnât want to risk waking you up.â
âThen your plan worked because I was sleeping like a baby.â I took a sip of my coffee. âBut in theory, the chime from the text message could have woken me up as well.â My tone reeked of sarcasm. âIâm just saying.â
âTrue. Anyway, Iâll keep in mind that you are not a fan of text messages.â
âLet me ask you a question, Tevin. Before there was text messaging, how did you communicate with people who were not right in front of you? How did you let them know you were thinking about them? That they were special to you?â
âWell, I would call them like Iâm doing right now.â
I played with my muffin, which looked and smelled delicious, but I didnât dare put even a morsel in my mouth. I didnât feel like we were at the point where I wanted to be eating on the phone while we spoke. That was kind of a trifling habit, but with my schedule, it was not unusual for me to engage in it.
âThatâs how I would communicate,â he continued. âAs for letting a person know that I am thinking about them, I would probably send them flowers with a card letting them know my sentiments.â
âI like flowers, so maybe Iâll receive some one day.â
âMaybe you will.â
Both of us got quiet, as though we were searching the caverns of our minds to come up with a topic. We had spoken for hours the night before, so it was quite awkward.
âIâd better go check and make sure the hallways are empty, except for security guards. Some of my students will do the most when they think they can get away with it.â
âYou have a lot of students play hooky?â
I giggled. âYeah, there are some usual suspects. Most will straighten up once I alert their parents and they get in trouble. The ones with parents who donât care are a different issue.â
Lilibeth was knocking on my door.
âCome in!â I winced when I realized that I had screamed in Tevinâs ear. âSorry for yelling.â
âItâs cool. Iâll let you go so you can go hold down the fort. I have some patient files to look over. My first surgery isnât until around noon.â
âSounds good.â I gasped when Lilibeth entered with a bouquet comprised of a few dozen roses and several clusters of babyâs breath. âOh my goodness!â
âWhat happened? Is everything okay?â Tevin asked from the other end of the