Page 67 of Atticus
Deviant.
All of these words, all over a kiss.
I’m angry. It’s so difficult to mask, but I am. And I have every right to be. I’m angry at Carlisle for somehow making my personal life her business. I’m pissed at Renee for saying something to her. I love the kids here at Vautrin. I love Atticus. But a majority of the staff are on the verge of burning bridges with me, if they haven’t already.
“This is being blown out of proportion. I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about. The school won’t suffer from anything.”
“You’re right. It won’t,” Carlisle replies. “Atticus will be going home with another teacher tonight. We will also be phasing him out of your classes and assigning him to Bryant. You understand, precautions must be taken so that this doesn’t happen again.”
“That’s completely unnecessary,” I protest.
“It’s done. If you feel my decision is unfair, we could certainly bring it up to the school board,” Carlisle says. “If you prefer.”
Yeah, right. The school board. She knows I can’t go to them, not without being made a laughingstock. A sad, lonely woman who’s fallen so low she’s attracted to her robotic teaching assistant. She can’t separate fantasy from reality.
That’s a load of bullshit, but Carlisle is playing chess, not checkers. And I’m competitive as hell. “I understand.”
“Good,” Carlisle says. “Then that’ll be all.”
I leave her office. As I walk in the hall, I shoot Atticus a message.
Carlisle knows. Renee told her. I played it down as best I could, but she’s not convinced. She’s moving you to Bryant.
Atticus’s responses are instant, as he answers all messages directly from his optic feed, and has no need to type. His brain just...sends the message.
I’d apologize for kissing you on the ferry, but it wouldn’t be honest.
I wouldn’t have you apologize for it,I shoot back.I’m not sorry, either. We’ll figure this out, but for now, we gotta pretend we aren’t talking.
That will be difficult,he replies.
I know. I’m sorry for all this. Think I could’ve just told her to fuck off?
No. You’d be out of a job. Then who knows when I’d see you. I believe in you, Lucy. We’ll find a solution. Together.
When I enter my classroom, I remain quiet and let Atticus continue leading the lesson on Athenian senators.
“I’d like for you each to pick an Athenian senator and a Spartan warrior and write two paragraphs each explaining their contributions to their city-states. You’ll then give a short presentation. Remember, this will be due before Thanksgiving break.”
“I have an announcement,” I say before the kids start leaving. “Atticus is going to be moved to Mr. Bryant’s class indefinitely.”
Jack, Pearl, Hoseok, Vanessa, all the kids, begin talking over each other.
“What? Why?”
“It’s important that Atticus’s capabilities be fairly and equally spread among the staff,” I say, thinking to myself how political I sound, and how much I hate that. “I’ve had the pleasure of Atticus’s assistance for the first part of the semester. Now it’s Mr. Bryant’s turn.”
“But his class isn’t as interesting as yours!” Jack blurts.
“Yeah, he’s boring,” Hoseok mutters. “I mean, he’s nice but a total snooze fest.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not up for discussion,” I say. “It’s the principal’s decision. You’ll still see plenty of him, I promise.”
Atticus speaks up, and I appreciate his backing. “I often oversee study halls. If you have any questions about the work or material so far, you can reach out to me. I’m always happy to help.”
“Thank you, Atticus.”
He nods, and when I check my phone in between classes, there’s a message waiting for me.
