CHAPTER 2

Audrey wiped sweat from her forehead and continued scribbling in her notepad. The air conditioner was off; she didn’t think writing down everything the school needed fixing or improving would take her this long.

She’d been at it for over twenty minutes now.

The first impression is what counts.

She’d visited the place, seen pictures, got a list of important tasks to be handled when she arrived. But before she started working on that, she wanted to first cover everything she noticed at first glance, when the students were there.

“East wall covered in graffiti,” she carried on, the list growing larger and larger, “paint falling off on facade, windows broken...”

And that’s only on the outside. She put the pen in her mouth, looked out at the students near the premises. They seemed to be all right, at least.

Gangs used to prowl these streets.

“Things are much better now,” the School Board administrator told her when they met, before she really accepted the offer. “No violence in years.”

Let’s try to keep it that way.

The bell rang and droves of students poured out of the building.

This is it.

She knew the moment wouldn’t last long. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. The excitement of a new start flooded her. She was anxious to go in.

The school needed a lot of work, and she had her plans all ready to go. She dreamed of turning Jefferson High into the best school in the country. This was the moment before putting her plan into action.

She could pretend everything would go perfectly, but you have to be realistic, nothing ever goes perfectly.

She cleared her throat and exited her sedan. She was supposed to begin work tomorrow, but first wanted to have a short meeting with the teachers, and have some time to roam the school, get a feel for it.

I’ll get a feel of the place.

It looked better than she imagined, though. “The worst school in the district?” her friends said when she told them she was moving to Oregon, “why would you wanna go there?”

I like the challenge, She said, eight months ago.

She crossed the street and walked up the steps into the building. No one paid her any attention, she could be a kid's mom for all they cared.

The hall choked up with people. Old, faded lockers adorned every step of the way to her side.

Darn it, we’re going to have to start in here.

The floor was dirty, it looked like it hadn’t been swept nor mopped in days, she held a gasp as she walked through a big patch of stickiness.

Relax, this can be fixed easily—

The rank, sour smell of trash and dirty bathroom stalls almost made her gag.

“Damn,” she blurted out, covering her nose.

“I said the same thing this morning,” a deep, baritone voice, said behind her, raising goosebumps on her arms, as if the sound vibrations passed through her and rattled in her skin.

She turned around and felt her heart stop for a second. An impossibly tall, ripped-as-hell hunk of a man, smiled at her. She looked small compared to him —and she wasn’t the least bit small— but his broad shoulders and thick, strong arms made him look like an ancient gladiator.

For a second, she worried about his shirt ripping apart at the seams.

Who is this man?

He stepped forward, she had to look away from his hazel eyes, she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.

He stood out from the crowd, as if the latest fashion model just climbed out of a magazine and got lost in the most inappropriate place for him to be.

The man picked up the trash bags just outside the toilets.

She didn’t remember him from the staff profiles the School Board sent her.

Then he smiled.

Oh, shit.

“Larry hasn’t started on the bathrooms yet,” he continued, tying a knot on the plastic bags so they wouldn’t spill, “I’ll take care of this, don’t worry.”

“Is he the head janitor?”

“Head... janitor?” the man repeated, his face turning from surprise to holding back laughter.

“Yeah, I mean...” she signaled at the floor she’d just walked, “needs a little mopping, don’t you think?”

“I agree. But the school’s too big, we give him a break, he can’t be everywhere at once.”

“Wait. You only have one janitor?” she asked, taking a step away from the man.

He shrugged, looking around at the connecting hallways, the big bag of trash still in his hands, “I guess he’s busy somewhere else. He’s a good guy, though.”

Audrey’s mouth fell wide open.

“Careful,” he said, grazing her chin with his finger, “we try to keep our cool around here. These kids are ruthless.”

She immediately closed her mouth, realizing how dumb she must have looked.

“I’m Enzo Gallagher, by the way,” he said extending his hand to her.

She raised hers to shake it.

“Oh wait,” he said, pulling it back, “it’s all dirty now.”

Yeah, he held a big bag of trash.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Not really.”

His green-brown eyes bore deep into her, trying to understand.

“Then why...”

“I’m Audrey Rodriguez, the school’s principal.”

His smile quickly disappeared, he couldn’t hide his astonishment even if he tried.

“Oh,” he said, straightening up even taller, he coughed and cleared his throat, then, in a much more professional tone, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I’d meet you like this.”

She smiled.

“No need to worry, I don’t bite.”

He looked at her up and down, without saying a word.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“I just, I didn’t think you’d be so...”

She put her hands on her waist, defiantly.

“So what?”

“Young.”

She chuckled.

“You’re saying I can’t do the job?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I thought you were someone’s mom or something, I’m glad you’re here.”

She nodded, smiling.

“What do you do here, Mr. Gallagher?”

“I’m a—”

“Miss Rodriguez!” Darcy shouted from the distance, waving at her, holding a bunch of papers under her arm, hurrying towards them.

Audrey took a quick look at Enzo, and waved back at the secretary.

She didn’t want to blow her cover yet, even if some students were already eyeing her, wondering who she was.

“That’s Darcy, your assistant—”

“I figured. I’ve talked to her on the phone, but hadn’t seen her before, how did she know—”

“She probably found your profile online, she loves doing that.”

Audrey nodded, she’d have to be careful with her.

Darcy adjusted her glasses and shook Audrey’s hand.

“You’re here early! So glad to finally meet you!”

“Thank you, Darcy, you too.”

“I see you’ve met our school counselor.”

So, he’s not a teacher.

Audrey took a brief glance at him, he didn’t look like a psychologist, or like any other counselor she’d met before: in the two schools that had a male one, he’d been a smaller, quiet, less imposing kind of person. More friend-you-can-tell-your-problems than barbarian-who’ll-rip-you-apart-if-you-don’t.

Not that I’m complaining. She thought, and immediately pushed the idea aside.

He saw her.

Relax, girl, you’re so tense. There’s important business to be done.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Enzo said, “I gotta put this away, happy to have met you.”

She nodded and saw him stride away, his perfect butt finishing up the image of a perfect man.

You did not just think that.

Darcy patted her on the shoulder.

“So what do you want to—”

“Give me a tour of the school,” she interrupted her, “but first, we need to find Larry.”

“Sure, Miss Rodriguez.”

“Just Audrey,” she said, “and please, tell me how you knew it was me.”

“Oh! I...” Darcy blurted out, not admitting she stalked her on social media.

“I’m just kidding,” she said with a laugh, “come on, let’s explore.”