Nobody Girl (6 page)

“Not Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise or Tom Brady or even Tommy Lee Jones. It’s Thomas Bennett the White House Press Secretary. My two Political Science major roommates have a crush on him.”

“Really?
But he’s like sixty,” Delia said, trying to get a glimpse of him on the TV.

“Age doesn’t matter,” Shannon said. “Besides, look at him. He’s gorgeous.”

“And he’s decent and noble and brilliant. He’s been married for thirty-three years, you know? Never cheated on his wife and he
has
six kids. We’ve been following his career since he worked as mayor of Annapolis, MD,” her sister added.

“His wife doesn’t know how good she has it. If she ever leaves him I’ll be next in line.”

“You’ll have to fight me for him,” her twin sister teased.

“Okay, really, you two are like stalkers.” Donna Lee grabbed Delia’s duffle bag and headed out the door. “Let’s go, Dee.”

As they descended the steps of Donna Lee’s apartment toward the parking lot, Delia wondered what it would be like to be happily married for thirty-three years. That was something she would never be able to relate to. 

Delia took a deep breath and decided that it was all behind her. She was starting her new life.

Why was she nervous? She was 25.
A grown woman.
How could a room of teenage high school students make her nervous? Delia had been there and done that. But then again her own high school experience could have been part of the reason she was so nervous.

She never really blossomed in high school.  She had been skinny, nerdy, and shy. The other students only talked to her if they needed help with their homework.  In college, she began to come out of her shell somewhat, but she was never as popular as Donna Lee.  Her sister never spent a Friday night alone to say the least. Delia didn’t even have her first date until Jason asked her out during their senior year of college.

Well, it was
her
senior year. She was never quite sure how long Jason had been in school. He was kind of the perpetual student, enrolled year after year, but never any closer to a degree. After they started dating, Delia got him on a schedule to finish his schooling and finally graduate with a sociology degree.

She remembered the countless nights they spent studying and writing papers. Well, now that she thought about it, she did most of the studying and the writing of papers. Jason mostly flirted with her and complimented her and came up with reasons as to why they should work together on one project or another. At the time, Delia was just delighted to be in his presence. The sexiest man in all of George Washington University, perhaps in all of D.C., wanted to spend time with her and she hadn’t been about to ask why.

Delia let the students file into her classroom as she pretended to arrange papers on her desk while avoiding eye contact with them. Her first class was trigonometry, one of her favorites in high school. She looked forward to showing them all the wonderful applications math could have in the real world.

When the bell rang, Delia stood and began her rehearsed spiel about the expectations of the class while trying not to sound too rehearsed. Then she passed out the syllabus and the student textbooks. When she looked at her watch, she noticed that she had finished her forty minute presentation in just
under
twenty three. She was more nervous than she thought. Now she had to figure out a way to occupy the rest of the class time.

“Um, so, like I said, I’m Delia James, um I mean Clark.” The students eyed each other skeptically. They were either confused as to why she wasn’t sure about her own name or confused about why she was starting her rehearsed speech from the top again. 

Delia didn’t want to have to explain the name thing. Her divorce wasn’t final so technically, she was still Delia James. But soon she would be Delia Clark again, so she decided, in order to avoid further confusion, she would start the school year as Clark. But James was so ingrained in her mind that she had made the error and now didn’t know whether to go take it back or not.

She decided to kill time by trying some math. After writing the problem on the board, she went to her roster and randomly selected a name.

“Ian
Landgren
,
would you like to give it a try?” she asked, holding out the marker for him. A tall athletic boy with a shaved head approached the board and took the marker from Delia all the while smiling politely.

“Um, Ms. James, Clark, whoever you are, you’re new here so you probably don’t know this, but this is the dumb class.” Two or three other students giggled while a few more voiced their agreement. “And I’m the dumbest of the dumb. The only reason they let me into this school is because I can knock people over really good on the football field. That and my
daddy’s
rich.”

Ian smiled at his willing self-effacement. He didn’t seem the slightest bit embarrassed by the fact that everyone thought he was dumb, including himself. In fact, he seemed quite content with the realization. His complete acceptance of his academic failings incensed Delia. She could relate to how Ian had obviously been told something so many times that now he believed it.

Just like Jason had told her that no one else would ever want her. He had told her that so many times that she believed it and it prevented her from leaving him sooner. But she knew he wasn’t right. She had the memory of being wrapped in Chase’s arms to remind her that she was wanted. For a brief moment, she thought about trying to find him and continue their relationship, but decided it was probably best to just leave it in the past. Maybe she would seek him out next summer and rekindle the passion.

For now, she decided to concentrate on being the best teacher she could be. That included walking Ian through the current math problem and building up his confidence.

***

After the first day of school, Principal Samuel Howard had a meeting with all the new teachers. He was new as well and he just wanted to make sure everyone was adjusting all right.

Delia sat in his office alongside the five other new teachers and eyed him uncomfortably. Something about Principal Howard’s appearance didn’t work. His features seemed far too young for the full head of grey hair and grey mustache he sported. If he dyed his hair, he could easily pass for late thirties, but he seemed as though he purposely tried to make himself look older. Why would anyone want to do that?

“As you know, this is my first year as a high school principal. Last year I worked at
Greenbury
Boarding School as an Assistant Head of School, and I am very happy to have been offered the position as interim principal here at Saxon Arms while Principal Harris is on sabbatical.”

Principal Howard coughed into his fist then continued. “I called this meeting because I just wanted to see if any of you had any problems that I can help you with. I know this is your first year as teachers and I wanted to let all of you know that I’m here for anything you need.”

Delia sat quietly as the other teachers asked mundane questions about the tardy policy, the grading system, the dress code. All questions that could have been answered if they’d read the school handbook given out to the staff last week.

Next, Principal Harris went into his spiel about what he wanted to see at Saxon Arms. Once again, something they could have read in the handbook.

“I want Saxon Arms to be the leader in progressive education.
A school in which the students not only learn, but experience knowledge.
I will be looking for you to create new and provocative learning techniques to make our students the most educated and qualified candidates entering the college market. I also want you to really get to know your students. Find out what is going on in their lives and what really affects them. You each will receive a list of ten advisees. Your goal with these students is to bond with them, become their guide and mentor. Take them out for coffee or visit them at home if necessary. Maybe this way we can avoid some of the problems we’ve seen at other schools.”

What problems
? Delia thought.

An hour later, she waited in front of the building for Donna Lee for a special first day of school dinner.

“Mrs. James?” a voice said from behind. She turned around to see who would be calling her by that name and found a young white guy with dreadlocks approaching her.

“Clark,” Delia corrected him. “I’m Ms. Clark.”

“Right,” he said. “Sorry, that’s why I was confused. I’m Locke Williams.” He stepped close enough to shake her hand and that was when a grotesque smell accosted her senses. She tried to smile politely while not inhaling as she shook his hand. “I’m the technology specialist here and I was trying to set up your network space and the name change threw me. So, you’re officially going by Clark then?”

“Yes, officially.”

“That’s cool. I’ll just change the name in the system. Stop by my office tomorrow and reset your password.”

Delia cringed at the idea at having to go to his office. If he smelled this bad, what did his office smell like?

She couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She let out the air in her lungs and had to suck in more. Her stomach turned from his odor. “Why don’t you just pick something and let me know? I’ll change it myself when I get a chance.”

“You sure don’t need me to show you how?”

“I’m sure. I can figure it out.” Her eyes started to water from the stench. How did this guy keep his job? Didn’t anyone ever tell him of his pungent smell?

“Because the network is a pretty complicated animal.
I end up having to have two or three training sessions a year before people really understand it.” Locke took a comfortable stance by leaning against the door as if he was ready to give Delia the details of the inter-workings of computer systems right there in front of the building. She looked over her shoulder willing Donna Lee’s car to arrive.

“It’s actually a fascinating structure. I designed it myself. You
see,
each teacher, student and parent has their own entry procedure which allows them secure access to the personal information.  Teachers can write tests, enter grades, even upload lesson plans from home and it’ll be waiting for them when they get to school. Students can find homework assignments, offer or receive homework solutions, or even find their grades if teachers have posted them.

“And parents have the ability to keep an eye on the progress of their child in all their classes. And everything is completely encrypted and … and … and … that is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” Locke’s focus suddenly shifted to something or, someone rather, behind Delia. He couldn’t even finish his computer ramblings. She turned around to see who had captivated his attention. It was none other than Donna Lee.

“You ready, Dee?” She called from the car.

“Definitely.”
Delia scurried into the front seat and left Locke staring with his mouth agape.

“Good God, what is that smell?”

“Don’t ask.”

***

The rest of Delia’s first week went off without a hitch. She felt like she had definitely made the right decision by going into education. She could really make a difference in these children’s lives. There was one student in particular that Delia was drawn too, a shy junior named Lena Fischer.