Page 54 of A Dish Best Served Hot

“Good morning, Miss León,” an enthusiastic little voice yelled.

Grateful for the interruption, Lola turned. “Good morning, Trevor.”

Trevor Wright had to be one of the coolest little kids she’d ever known. He was as sweet as a spoonful of sugar, as smart as a whip, as outgoing as a puppy, and as cute as a button. Seriously, he had the best personality and the Gymboree ad face to go along with it.

He came running to her and wrapped his arms around her hips for a big squeeze. He looked up at her with bright hazel eyes surrounded by a tawny brown face. “I’m so happy to be back at school. I missed you so much,” he said with such feeling that it seemed he hadn’t seen her for years, rather than the previous day.

Lola felt her heart melt. “I missed you too.” She returned his hug. God, she loved this kid.

“Trevor, be careful with your new shirt please. Yesterday you came home looking like you’d played paintball with no protective gear.”

If only she felt the same about his mother, Heather. Lola sighed before letting go and looking up. “Good morning, Ms. Blake,” she said to the impeccably dressed and super made-up woman in front of her.

“Call me Heather. How many times do I have to tell you, dear?” She gave a tight and completely fake laugh.

Lola’s jaw tightened at the condescending way the younger woman said “dear.” Heather reminded Lola a lot of the parents she’d worked with at a magnet school in San Diego. They tended to forget that they weren’t in expensive private schools where their money and their background talked for them.

Heather continued. “Sorry we were almost late.” She held a white hand up to her chest and newly manicured nails flashed in the light.

Were those rhinestones? They were. Each claw-tipped nail featured a different design on top of a nude base color.

“Trevor spent ten minutes trying to figure out if he wanted to bring his best friend Rosie a banana, an orange, or some grapes.”

He’d befriended Rosie at the beginning of the school year, before Lola had taken over the class, and worked hard to maintain their friendship despite Rosie’s lack of communication.

In the time she’d been in the class, Lola got a kick out of watching Trevor maintain both parts of the conversation while Rosie just sat there. He’d just chatter away asking her questions and then answering them himself as if he’d read her response right out of her head. Rosie didn’t seem to mind. She stayed close to his side when she could and played with him silently.

“Oh no, Miss León. Don’t tell me you’re sick. You poor thing.”

Lola frowned in confusion. “No. I’m perfectly well.”

Heather’s green eyes looked her up and down. “Oh. You just look a bit under the weather.” She motioned to Lola’s face. “Eye shadows.” She dug around in her purse for a second and pulled out a tube of bright red lip gloss. “Here.” She handed it to Lola. “This is our newest shade. It’s called Popped Cherry. I’m a little bit paler than you are, but this shade should work well enough. At least it will distract.” She cackled. “Oh, and whenever you want my help picking out concealer, just let me know. Our stuff is good enough to cover up tattoos, so your freckles would be completely gone. We got your back, girl.”

The “we” referring to Heather’s small makeup brand that she ran with her mom and sister. “Uh. Thanks.”

The bell sounded and Lola encouraged the students and their companions to say their goodbyes for the day. Companions were welcome to follow the children into the classroom, but she wanted to foster an environment of confident independence.

As always, Rosie maintained an iron grip on her aunt despite Trevor bouncing along beside her and telling her everything that had transpired since they last saw each other seventeen hours ago. When they reached the classroom door Lola unlocked it, pushed it open, and stood to the side to let the students enter.

Everyone filed in except Rosie, who actively began trying to pull Kamilah the other way.

“Come on, Rosie. Not today please,” Kamilah begged. “I have to get back to the restaurant.”

Rosie pointed toward the exit and then tugged Kamilah again.

“No, mi amor. You aren’t leaving. You’re staying here and I’m going to work.”

Rosie shook her head vehemently.

“Today is the last day before spring break and I bet you’re going to be doing a bunch of fun stuff today.” Kamilah looked to Lola pleadingly.

Lola took a deep breath and prayed her interference didn’t cause things to escalate. “It’s true. I have a bunch of fun activities planned and we have a special school-wide assembly.”

Rosie was unimpressed. She pulled Kamilah’s hand again.

Lola walked over and held out a hand. “Come on, Rosie. Let’s go eat breakfast. Then you can help me take attendance.”

Rosie eyed the hand then looked back at Kamilah.

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