It's Chemical: A Chamberlain Academy Rom-Com (Chamberlain Academy Rom-Coms) by Becca Wilhite

Author:Becca Wilhite [Wilhite, Becca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Published: 2022-09-26T23:00:00+00:00

15

GINGER

Every semester, teaching at Chamberlain Academy gets better. I know my content. I know the kids. I know the Chamberlain practices and procedures. I know what I’m doing. But I remember the dread and the exhaustion that came with those first few years of teaching. Any minute, I was sure, they’d figure out I was making this all up as I went along.

Not the science. At least that was consistent. Just . . . the rest of it. Being the teacher. Being the adult. In charge. In control.

I almost laugh at the thought. Control is such an illusion.

I wonder how Ty’s doing.

It’s almost four o’clock, and I haven’t heard from him all day. I’ve heard about him, though. Over and over. Everyone seems to know he’s here, upstairs in the Copernicus room, which, somehow, they know all about, even though I spend all day every day in this building and didn’t even know the room existed until last week. How many more secret rooms are there on Chamberlain campus?

I set the last few items for tomorrow’s lab and lock up my room. It’s only polite to go up and check on him. It’s what any friendly coworker would do.

Yeah. Right.

If I walk into his classroom and there are fifteen teachers standing around ogling him, I’m going to turn around and walk right back out.

There aren’t fifteen teachers. There are two kids, and they’re both lying on the floor on their stomachs with piles of index cards in front of them.

I watch Ty, sitting at a kid desk, bent over his own pile of index cards, before I knuckle the door frame. “Hey,” I say. “School’s over.”

He looks up, that amazing star-quality smile on his face. “Hello, Ms. Rogers.”

Zing, zing. My entire body is tingling.

He glances at the desk in front of him and then at the kids on the floor. “We have a little homework,” he explains. “Grab a seat.”

I set my coat and bag on a desk near him. “Need help?”

“In fact, I do.” He leans close and whispers, “But I didn’t think you’d be eager to get in on this. It’s a puzzle you’ve already solved.” He indicates the cards in front of him. “312 area code?”

I laugh. He’s got kids staying after school to decode my cell number. Lying on the floor. Surrounded by notecards.

I point at them. “Are they being punished?”

He shakes his head. “They’re hackers. I’m reverse engineering coding and decoding. On paper. It will make their online game stronger.”

“I hope you at least offered them a sandwich.”

At that, both their heads swing around. “Do you have sandwiches?” one of them asks.

“Sorry. No. I could probably find a stick of gum in this bag if you’re desperate.”

They both go back to their task.

“Are you actually going to call every number in the 312 area code?” I ask.

“Of course not. That would be silly. I can eliminate everyone with a 4, 6, or 7.”

I laugh. “Or I could just give you a few hints.”

Without even a second’s pause, Ty claps his hands together and says, “All right, you two.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.