Page 22 of Dreaming at Seaside
Chapter Six
BELLA STRUGGLED TO remain focused Monday morning and to not let her mind wander to Caden. She wasn’t the type of person who usually moved that fast with men, but with him, she couldn’t stop herself. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it was shameful and that she was sending the wrong message to him—no commitment, but ravish me, please—she couldn’t. What they did didn’t feel shameful. It felt incredible, passionate. Right.
She forced her attention back to Dr. Wilma Ritter, the superintendent of Nauset Regional High School. Wilma was tall and willowy, with salt-and-pepper hair that she wore in a messy bun. She had a limp handshake, and based on the fact that they’d been walking around the school since Bella had arrived, the inability to sit still.
“We’ve been pushing for this type of program for years, but there was never enough budget, or the right person to head it up, or…” Wilma waved her skinny hand in the air. “I’m just glad you’re giving it a shot.”
They walked down a long corridor lined with lockers. Wilma rattled on about how much red tape was involved in doing anything with the school system.
“It’s the same everywhere,” Bella agreed. “In Connecticut we had the same trouble. It’s amazing to me that professional sports teams have more money than they could ever spend, and our educational system barely scrapes by.”
Wilma pushed open the heavy door and waved Bella through. They were behind the school, facing a grassy field that led to a thickly wooded area. Bella followed Wilma down a sidewalk, along the side of the brick building.
“I have a list of businesses that I’ve been putting together since they hired you. Companies that might have an interest in supporting the program, both nonprofit and for profit.” She stopped walking and nodded toward the edge of the woods. “This is what I wanted you to see. Every year we have a few kids who tend to get into trouble. For whatever reason, that spot has become a gathering place for them.”
“What do you mean a gathering place? Do you mean that any kids who hang out there are high-risk kids?” Bella didn’t see any kids hanging around the area.
Wilma nodded, then took Bella by the arm and guided her back toward the double doors. “Well, it would be irresponsible of me to lump them together definitively, but for the most part, yes. Why they come here during the summer, instead ofanywhereelse, is beyond me, but they come by every few days. It would be great to get those kids involved in something to occupy their time. During the school year, the good kids avoid that area like the plague.”
They went back inside the school and walked back toward Wilma’s office.
“What kind of trouble, exactly? And if you’re sure they’re getting into trouble, can’t you speak with their parents?” She wasn’t quite sure why Wilma thought it was imperative to show her that area instead of just mentioning it.
“Oh yes. We’ve taken all of the appropriate steps. People like to think that parents can control their teens, but we know better.” She nodded knowingly at Bella. “There’s only so much parents or teachers can do, which is why I hope your program might help get those kids and others like them involved in something more productive.”
“That’s the driving force behind it, and the hope.”
“You asked about the type of trouble they get into, and that’s a little hard to define. They’re the kids who bring tension into the classrooms. You know the type. They interrupt class with jokes; they’re generally disinterested and sneer at the kids who are trying to actually learn. They jaywalk, too.”
“Jaywalk?” Bella stifled a laugh.
“Don’t scoff. That’s where it all begins. It doesn’t take much to move from breaking small rules to landing in jail.”
Bella followed Wilma into her office and refrained from telling her that it was that type of thinking that also led kids to trouble. If they were assumed to make bad choices, they often felt a need to live up to the assumption or to walk farther down Bad Decision Alley.
Wilma leafed through a file cabinet and withdrew a manila folder. She handed it to Bella.
“This is the list I mentioned. There are also companies noted that you might want to stay away from.” She whispered, “Unsavory business owners.”
As Bella headed to her car, she didn’t know what was worse, knowing the high school was run by a busybody like Wilma, who appeared to be looking for trouble and willing to spread gossip based solely on her opinion, or the fact that she couldn’t wait to go home and share her own gossip with her friends. She hadn’t known what Wilma was like before she accepted the summer position, but it wouldn’t have curbed her enthusiasm any more than it did now. She was in this for the kids and the intellectual challenge.
Back at her cottage, she changed into her bathing suit, gathered her laptop, phone, a notebook, and the manila folder, and headed down to the pool. She’d rather go to the beach, but without Internet, she’d have no hope of getting any research done.
She found Tony and Jenna lying in the sun. Tony’s hands were clasped behind his head; his sculpted body was already evenly tanned. Jenna wore a string bikini that was in danger of splitting at the very thin seams.
“You two shouldn’t be allowed out in public with bodies like that,” Bella teased.
Tony squinted against the harsh sun. “You’re not so bad yourself. How was your first day of school?”
“More importantly,” Jenna interrupted. “I didn’t get to talk to you last night after the barbeque. Wanna spill on the mysterious twenty minutes when you and Officer Sexy disappeared into your cottage?”
Bella glanced at Tony and said, “The school was a fact-finding mission, and it was interesting.” She sighed at Jenna. “Twenty minutes in heaven.” Bella set up her laptop on a glass table and shifted the umbrella so she could see her computer screen.
Jenna held her hand out to Tony. “Five bucks.”
Tony reached for his wallet. “You guys get more action than I do.”
“We didn’t dothat, so don’t pay her.” Bella stretched out on a chair beside Jenna in the sun.
