The Veil (22 page)

“Matthew, come to me.” She was embarrassed to say it aloud in her car. She thought the other people in the cars would think she was crazy talking to herself. She placed her Bluetooth in her ear.

“Matthew, come to me.”

She was nervous sitting at the red traffic light. She looked at the cars on her left and right to see if anyone she knew was looking at her or if anyone was looking in her car. The man in the SUV on her right waved at her and smiled. She quickly pressed the gas pedal as the light changed to green. She screamed out loudly in her car, “Matthew, I command you to come to me in the name of Jesus.”

A sense of peace came over her. It was the same peace she had when she knew she was walking in the will of God. Satisfied she had done what God told her, she hoped Matthew would show up soon and she could go forward with her life.

Two weeks had passed since Misha got her grandmother's sewing machine and the quilt. During this time, she enjoyed the Easter holidays with her family and spring break at college and at Westdale. She was returning to school early for a teacher's meeting before school. She expected the same thing, the “preparing for exams” speech, at school. However, this meeting was different.

Mr. Davis informed the teachers they would have a report on Mr. Heckler's findings and they would meet with some of them to discuss how they could improve their teaching skills. He said this would end Mr. Heckler's time at the school. He would continue to analyze his findings and, after discussion, have a complete report for the State.

The sound of that man's name made Misha grimace. She disliked him even more than she disliked Roger. He never quit asking her out and sending her things. He even began sending her notes without signing them. She knew they were from him and not Roger. She knew Roger's handwriting and she compared it to the sympathy card she received from Mr. Heckler.

He started saying things to her that were inappropriate, not only for work, but for her as a woman. She was relieved his work was complete and he would be leaving the school soon. This announcement made her day. This was an answer to her prayer. Now, she only wanted to get rid of Roger.

After work, she called Judy with the good news that Mr. Heckler would be leaving soon. However, her joy was erased when she learned Judy had to go back to the hospital for premature labor. She rushed to the hospital to be by her friend's side. When she arrived in the room, Judy looked like she was really worried.

“Hey, girl. Your mom told me you were here.” She walked to Judy's bedside.

“Just wanted to get out the house.” She slightly laughed as she leaned back on the bed with her eyes closed.

Misha looked over at Randy, who was sitting in a chair near the window. When she looked at him, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Hey, Misha. I'm glad you came. We've been here all day. They're just watching her now. They gave her something to stop the labor. I told her to stop doing all that work around the house. She's hardheaded. Maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

“You've been here all day? Have you eaten?” Misha asked Randy.

“I skipped lunch. I didn't want her to be here alone.”

“Why don't you go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. I'll stay here.”

“How long do you plan to be here?”

“Well, how long do you need me to be?”

“I need to run home and get my computer to do some work. We kinda left the house pretty quickly. I also need to check on the kids and get Judy some stuff.”

“I can stay until you get back. Go ahead. Take your time.”

“Thank you, Misha. I'll get back as soon as I can. Honey, tell me what you need.”

Judy rattled off a list of items she needed and her husband left them alone. Judy offered Misha a seat. A nurse came in and checked the long printout coming from the machine that sat on a table on the right side of the bed. She asked Judy several questions. She adjusted the IV and left the room.

“How are you feeling? What's going on?” Misha asked.

“I started having contractions this morning. They gave me something to stop them. I haven't had one since this morning. The doctor is going to keep me in here a couple of days anyway.”

“What kind of work were you doing?”

“Nothing heavy. I was so bored. I had to do something.”

“You know you're supposed to stay off your feet.”

“I know. I know. Please, don't you start too. I've heard it from everybody today. It was one simple mistake.”

“Okay, I won't get on you. I'm worried about you.”

“I've learned my lesson. I didn't have these problems with the other kids. I don't know about this one. I just don't know.”

Misha looked at her friend lying back on the bed with a look of worry on her face. She didn't want her to be down. Silence filled the room. She prayed to herself, asking God to show her how to cheer Judy up.

“Guess what?” Misha tried hard to make her voice sound cheerful.

“What?”

“Mr. Stalker Heckler is leaving.”

Judy sat up in the bed and adjusted the head of the bed so she could sit up comfortably. “What happened?” She listened as Misha filled her in on all the information they received in the meeting, including some juicy gossip one of the teachers told her. Judy started laughing when Misha told her one of the counselors said Roger was telling everyone Gloria was stalking him and Gloria had gone off on him in the office in front of everybody. She threatened to go to Mr. Davis and tell him about all the lies he told on Misha. “What goes around comes around,” Judy said.

“Girl, it's a big mess. She hasn't apologized to me. I don't expect her to. I'll pray for her.”

“Pray for her? Remember, you're the one who prayed for the truth. When truth is revealed, people involved are affected and guilty parties are uncovered and always get hurt. That's God's vengeance. Now if she comes to you, it'll be up to you how you handle it. You can do the ‘I told you so' thing or you can forgive and minister to her. It's up to you.” Judy adjusted herself in the bed as she spoke.

“Look at you, Miss Teacher. I thought you were sick.”

“I don't know where that came from.” She leaned back in the bed. “You better listen. Have you forgiven them?”

“A long time ago.”

“Good, so if she comes to you, you can receive her in love.”

“Preach on my sista.” Misha laughed and Judy threw a pillow at her. She caught it in midair.

“Oooo, stop making me laugh. It's putting pressure on the baby.”

“I'm sorry. What's wrong?” Misha jumped up and ran over to the bed. “Are you okay? Should I call the nurse?”

“Calm down. I'm fine. Put that pillow back behind my head. I needed to laugh.” She smiled as she leaned into the pillow. “Misha, sometimes you have to go through some pain to give birth. It can be at the beginning, end, or even during the process. Either way, you're still going to have pain when you're pregnant. This is the order of things if you want to birth something important. I'll get through this. This child is special. We both know that.”

Misha sat down in the chair, listening to Judy minister to her at a time when she needed ministry.

They continued their conversation until Randy came back into the room. Misha left the hospital, inspired by the words Judy said. She taught her a lot that night about enduring pain and hardship.

The next morning Misha walked into her classroom and was greeted by a note from Mr. Davis stating he wanted to meet with her during her planning period. She was prepared to be called into the office because of Roger and Gloria. She prayed for both of them before she started her day and asked God to help her minister when the time came.

She walked to the office confident that the truth had been revealed and she would be vindicated of all the lies that were told on her by Roger and Gloria. Instead, she found Mr. Heckler and Mr. Davis waiting for her in the office. Mr. Heckler looked and acted very professional as he greeted her when she walked into the room.

“Hello, Ms. Holloway. Come on in. Close the door behind you,” Mr. Davis requested.

Misha did as instructed and sat down in the chair closest to the door. She looked around the office at all the plaques on the wall and the large desk she was too familiar with this year. She glanced over at Mr. Heckler dressed in a black suit with a light green shirt with French cuffs. She stared at the emerald beetle bug-shaped cufflinks that protruded from underneath his sleeve.

“Ms. Holloway, as I informed y'all Mr. Heckler and I would be talking with some of you about his findings. Today, we want to go over your reports.”

“Is that what this is about? I thought you wanted me for something else.” Misha relaxed in the chair.

“Really? What?” Mr. Davis looked puzzled.

Misha waved it off. “Never mind. Go ahead with what you were saying.”

Mr. Davis paused for a moment as if he was trying to think of what she may have been talking about. Then he continued talking. “I'm going to let Mr. Heckler go over his report with you.”

“Ms. Holloway, how are you today? You look nice,” Mr. Heckler noted.

“Thank you. I like those cufflinks.”

“These?” He held up his forearm. “Can you believe I found these at an estate sale? This is the first time I've worn them.”

“Well, they're nice.”

Mr. Davis cleared his throat. Misha and Mr. Heckler looked at him. “Mr. Heckler, the report.” Mr. Davis pointed to the notes Mr. Heckler held in his hand.

“Yes, the report. Miss Holloway, your students seemed to be doing well in your courses. I did an average of your tests scores and your students were in the upper percentile in both your class grades and standardized testing.”

He gave Misha a copy of his report showing the averages in her classes compared to the school, state, and nationwide averages. They allowed her time to briefly read over the report. She was proud her students were scoring well on the tests despite their lack of real interest and enthusiasm in the classes. Mr. Heckler continued discussing her scores as she read the report.

“Miss Holloway, why do you think your scores are so high compared to others?”

“Well, Mr. Heckler, I take time with my students. I encourage them to study and be creative in their assignments. I don't want them to remember only dates and events. I want them to know how it affected history and things around them. If they learn that, then they're more likely to remember the information. Looks like it's working.”

“A little too well,” Mr. Heckler said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, in comparison to your classroom tests scores, your students shouldn't be scoring so high on standardized testing.”

“What are you saying?” Misha watched as Mr. Heckler stood and began walking the floor like an attorney interrogating a witness.

“Well, based on your classroom scores, your students should be scoring significantly lower on the tests. Can you tell me how that is?”

“What are you suggesting? Are you saying I'm coaching my students with the tests?”

“I'm not saying that.”

“What he's saying is it appears there are some discrepancies in your report. We are not accusing you of anything,” Mr. Davis chimed in.

“Why do I feel like you are, Mr. Davis?”

“I have no reason to think you're cheating for your students. Mr. Heckler will talk with some of your students about your teaching methods and add their comments to his report before he submits the complete report to the State. We wanted to make sure you were aware of this.”

Misha looked at both of them. They were suggesting she may be cheating on standardized testing. She never cheated. She could not explain why her students did better on the standardized tests than her classroom work. She concluded they were probably looking at the pop quizzes she gave her students on a regular basis to make sure they were studying. This could have been the cause of the lower test scores in her class.

“I feel you are questioning my integrity. Mr. Davis, I have never given you any reason to believe I would stoop to cheating on tests.” Misha inched to the edge of her chair.

“We're not saying that you're cheating. It could be you have a lot of pop tests that many of your students don't do well on and that lowers your students overall grades,” Mr. Heckler said. He knew that was exactly the problem.

“Are you suggesting I stop giving pop tests? That's the only way I know to make my students study.”

“There are other ways to teach them other than giving pop tests,” Mr. Heckler responded.

“What do you suggest? Are you a teacher? How many years of teaching do you have?” Misha fired back.

Mr. Heckler returned to his seat. “I don't have to be a teacher to know how to teach children. The State hired me to do a job. Based on research, there are more effective ways of teaching,” he said.

Misha's breathing deepened. She felt as if she were strangling trying to keep what she felt on the inside. Deciding not to argue with them, she stopped commenting on everything they told her. She was being ganged up on. Remembering God told her it was time to leave her job, she tried to relax. This was part of the process, but she did not want to get fired. If this was the way God had arranged it, then she would have to submit herself to His will, even if she did not like it.

“I will start talking with some of your students tomorrow,” Mr. Heckler informed her.

“Thanks for telling me. Will there be anything else?”

“No. You may leave,” Mr. Davis said. Both of the men stood as Misha stood to leave the room.

Misha left the office fuming mad. She looked at the report she held tightly in her hand. She decided to analyze the figures for herself when she got home. She was convinced it was only Mr. Heckler getting back at her for not going out with him. She was determined to find problems with his report.

The next day, Misha came in armed with notes she made about the report. She was prepared to discuss her findings with Mr. Davis and Mr. Heckler. When she entered her classroom, Mr. Heckler was looking out the window.

“Hello.” She hesitated. “Didn't expect to see you here this morning,” she said. He turned around. Misha walked to her desk and placed her bags on her desk. “Can I help you with something?”