Chapter 14: Intensifying

To increase in power or strength.

Parma, Florida, August 26th. High 91 F, Low 77 F Barometric Pressure 28.98 inHg, Thunderstorms.

Both Edward and I watched Dr. Molina walk out of the room. I turned to Edward with what must have been a panic-stricken look. He smiled, "Don't worry, Miss Meteor. You've done nothing wrong."

"From what I understand, it doesn't matter in this case. Her parents are used to getting their way."

"That's true but, while Dr. Molina can be political, he won't let them bulldoze us. Just bring Lauren's grade printout, a copy of the detention, any other documentation you have and only answer the questions you are directly asked. Try not to take anything personally. They don't know anything except what their daughter has told them and who knows what that was."

"Okay. I'm so glad you'll be there with me."

He winked at me. "I am, too. Don't worry. We're in this together."

He left to get his things organized and I tried to do the same. I printed out a hard copy of Lauren's grades and the introductory paper Lauren wrote, as well as my copy of the detention she earned yesterday, and the anecdotal report of the incident I wrote up concerning it. My first class went by smoothly but that was probably because Lauren wasn't there to cast a pall over the place. My second period students arrived for class and after they got to work, an office aide came in to sub for me while I was at the meeting.

I walked down to the front office feeling as though I was on my way to the gallows. When I went into the Principal's conference room, Dr. Molina was already there.

"Did you bring any documentation with you?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." I handed him my paperwork and he read it over silently.

When he was finished he handed it back to me. "You've done well, Ms Swan. I'll do most of the talking today. Don't worry. I've dealt with these people in the past and I know how to handle them. They'll try to make you defensive and you have absolutely nothing to feel defensive about."

I sat down at the table and tried to calm my nerves. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to say much. Edward came in at that moment with the Mallorys right behind him.

Dr. Molina was all welcoming. "Hello, John and Becca. So glad to see you. Please have a seat." He shook their hands and nodded pleasantly at Lauren.

Edward took the seat next to me and shot me a reassuring smile. I smiled back, trying to appear the opposite of what I actually felt.

Once everyone was seated, Dr. Molina began, "Let me introduce my staff. This, of course, is Mr. Cullen. You'll remember him from past years as he was Lauren's English teacher. Beside him is Ms Swan. She is Lauren's English III teacher this term."

Mr. and Mrs. Mallory didn't even look in my direction, while Lauren's looks were sullen. I simply smiled pleasantly at her. She was such a little beyotch.

Dr. Molina said, "So, how can we help you today, Mr. and Mrs. Mallory?"

"We want Lauren's English teacher changed," Mr. Mallory demanded.

Lauren added, "To Mr. Cullen's English class."

I had a revelation. If Lauren was no longer in my class, my problems would be over. I thought that was a perfect solution. I looked hopefully at Dr. Molina but he said, "Why do you want Lauren pulled from Ms Swan's class, John?"

"Because this young woman is not qualified to be an English teacher. Our daughter is bright and we want her in classes with competent teachers. This is the year she starts taking her college boards * and we don't want her future blighted by an incompetent teacher."

Oh, Lord. It looked like the asshat parade was in town.

"I assure you, John, Ms Swan is extremely competent and an excellent instructor. If Lauren was willing, she'd benefit greatly from being in her class."

"Is she a certified teacher?" Mrs. Mallory asked.

"The state of Florida requires extra endorsements for English teachers but they are in areas that do not affect Lauren's education- teaching non-readers and non-English speaking students. As you know Becca, since you were a teacher once yourself, no teacher is permanently certified in Florida during their first year here. Florida has its own certification process that Ms Swan is currently participating in. However, she is highly qualified and fully competent in the areas she will be teaching your daughter. I selected Ms Swan out of hundreds of applicants for her position and recruited her to move here from Washington State. We are extremely fortunate to have her at Parma High and your daughter is fortunate to be in her class."

Wow. I was impressed and surprised by Dr. Molina's defense.

Mr. Mallory said, "Then why has our daughter come home complaining every day since the first day of school?"

I could answer that! Because Lauren is a spoiled, rotten brat and isn't interested in learning English as much as she's interested in drooling over Mr. Cullen, who incidentally is my boyfriend. Eat One, Mr. Mallory.

Of course, I just sat there and didn't say anything. I simply tried to look highly qualified and competent and totally unaffected by the raging assholes sitting across the table from me. I felt Edward's leg bump against mine under the table. It was reassuring - and sort of sexy. That got me thinking of other things completely inappropriate to have in mind during this meeting. I pressed my leg back against his. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him bite his bottom lip. Maybe he was thinking of other things, as well.

Dr. Molina asked, "What specifically has Lauren been complaining about?"

Mrs. Mallory spoke up then, "She says that Ms Swan is unfairly targeting her, has no control over her class and is an ineffective teacher. My daughter has always earned high marks in English and at this time she's barely passing."

"Let's address each complaint individually," Dr. Molina said. "First off, how is Ms Swan unfairly targeting your daughter?"

Mrs. Mallory sniffed, "This is Lauren's third year at Parma High and until Ms Swan's discipline referral yesterday, she has never had a problem."

Dr. Molina responded, "Actually, Ms Swan wrote a lunch detention for Lauren's tardiness and insubordination yesterday. Not quite as serious as a referral but an appropriate consequence for being late and showing disrespect."

"Disrespect?" Mrs. Mallory asked as though she was surprised.

"Yes. Lauren behaved disrespectfully. She was rude and she lied when Ms Swan asked her point blank if Mr. Cullen wrote the pass. Lauren is lucky she didn't suffer worse consequences.

Edward spoke up, "Actually, Mrs. Mallory, I was the one to write Lauren a referral yesterday. I was very surprised at having to do it but the violation she committed was pretty serious." He pushed the note Lauren forged across the table so that her parents could see it. Lauren looked hurt to hear that it was actually Mr. Cullen who wrote the referral.

"Just before first period started yesterday, Lauren was in my room which is next door to Ms Swan's. I warned her not to be late to class but she continued to loiter. When the tardy bell rang, she left. I didn't think anymore about it until after that class was over. Ms Swan came to me and showed me that note you have there. As you can see, it is a pass to Ms Swan's class and supposedly signed by me. However, I never signed a note for Lauren. I had no choice but to write her up for forging my signature."

"Lauren, did you forge this note?" Mr. Mallory demanded.

"I…I…I don't know."

"You don't know? Where'd you get it, then? Who signed it? It wasn't Mr. Cullen."

Lauren didn't answer.

Dr. Molina interjected, "Forgery is hard to overlook. School policy for that offense is five days of Out Of School suspension."

"But that will hurt Lauren's chances for college!" Mrs. Mallory moaned.

"Becca," Dr. Molina asked, "are you trying to imply that your daughter was not in the wrong for forging Mr. Cullen's signature and she doesn't deserve consequences for it?"

"We haven't ascertained that she did forge his signature."

Okay. So this lady probably also believed that Denial was a river in Egypt?

"Lauren, did you forge Mr. Cullen's signature?" Dr. Molina asked directly.

There was silence for a long while, then Lauren said, "I was just trying to help."

"Help? Help who?" Dr. Molina asked.

"Mr. Cullen was busy and I didn't want to disturb him, so I helped him by writing my own pass."

"Lauren, you've been in school for eleven years, you know better than that. You also know better than to expect us to believe you," Dr. Molina said.

Edward spoke again, "Besides, Lauren, at the beginning of class yesterday my students were doing seat work. I wasn't lecturing, so your excuse that I was busy won't wash. I am positive that you knew I wouldn't write you a pass and perhaps you weren't counting on the very competent Ms Swan to check on it."

Ha, ha! Edward called me competent. I bumped his leg again. Actually, I rubbed it with my leg - sensuously. I saw his lips quirk just a bit.

"So, Lauren has admitted to forging Mr. Cullen's signature. Now let us go on to your next point; you say Ms Swan has classroom management problems?"

"That's what Lauren has said," Mr. Mallory responded.

"Lauren, give me an example of a time that Ms Swan's class was not on task."

She paused a bit and then said, "Uhm. I can't remember."

"We've only been in class for two days, Lauren; surely you can remember specific incidents that have occurred that would indicate that Ms Swan is not in control of the learning environment in her class room."

She was silent.

"I think we'll give that a pass as you cannot come up with specific examples. Let's move on. Becca, you say that Lauren's not doing well in Ms Swan's class so far?"

"Yes. She currently has a D minus,*" Mrs. Mallory said again.

"Ms Swan, how many graded assignments have you given so far."

It was my turn to speak, "Just one."

"And what was it?"

"A letter of introduction. I gave my students examples of letters of introduction that people used in throughout history and asked them to introduce themselves to me in the same manner. It was a way for me to get to know them as individuals and also for me to assess their writing abilities."

"What did Lauren earn on that assignment?"

"She earned a D minus as Mrs. Mallory indicated. I returned the graded papers yesterday and gave my students a chance to remediate, if they wished. Lauren chose not to."

"I can't believe her writing was so poor that you only gave her a D minus," Mr. Mallory said.
I said nothing more. I just passed a copy of Lauren's paper to everyone at the table. "Here is a copy of her assignment. Here is the rubric I used to evaluate it."

I knew Lauren's words would speak more loudly than anything I could say.

Dear teacher that I won't do any work 4,

The only thing you need to no about me is that 1 day I'm gonna have Mr. Cullen's babys.

Lauren Mallory CULLEN

There was a silence at the table as everyone digested what Lauren had written. I had written a few suggestions in the margins as I was grading it: 'I hope that one day you and I will enjoy working together.' 'Using the numbers 1 and 4 in place of one and for, is not considered appropriate outside of texting, and even then...' 'In this case the word is know, not no – they are homonyms. They sound the same but have different meanings.' 'Gonna should be going to.' 'The pural of baby is babies."

I didn't comment on the substance of her letter except to write, 'I would like to learn more about you, Lauren. For instance, where were you born? What are your hobbies? What's your favorite book and why? Tell me about your family.'

I actually wrote more in my comments than she had written when she did the assignment.

Dr. Molina said, "Lauren, you do realize that this letter fell far short of the mark. I am surprised Ms Swan could find enough points to give you a passing grade. I certainly don't understand why you didn't redo the assignment and take advantage of the chance to earn a better score."

Then the principal leaned back in his chair and said with a stern look, "Besides, I'm appalled that you'd write about something so ludicrous. What were you thinking?"

"I want to be in Mr. Cullen's class."

I was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with Lauren's brain.

"The last class you should be in is Mr. Cullen's. Besides he's teaching seniors this year and you're only a junior."

"I don't care."

"The state of Florida would care. You can't take a senior level course before you have passed the junior level course. If you did, you wouldn't graduate according to state standards. I will not permit you to jeopardize your diploma."

"Can't Lauren do independent study in Mr. Cullen's room?" Mrs. Mallory asked.

Dr. Molina looked incredulously at the woman and said, "After the unhealthy obsession your daughter has admitted to, you still want her to be in Mr. Cullen's class? I'm really surprised at you, Becca."

I later learned that Dr. Molina and Mrs. Mallory went way back. They had been students together at Parma High years ago.

"We know Mr. Cullen's a good teacher," Mr. Mallory said.

"He is one of my best teachers but I wouldn't put him in that position. As a matter of fact, I think Lauren having a class on the second floor of building two is too much of a distraction for her and would feed into her evident fantasies. I am going to move her into another English III class on the first floor of that building. Do you have any more questions?"

Mr. Mallory hadn't said much since he read Lauren's paper but he was very red in the face. He looked at her and said, "Did Mr. Cullen ever give you any indication that your 'having his babies' was even possible?"

Oh, shit. Oh, shit. The worst thing that could happen to a teacher was occurring right in front of my eyes, and to my Edward. He was being indirectly accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. And this asshole father was going to put credence into everything his lying daughter said about it. Oh. Shit.

But maybe the saints and angels were listening because Lauren looked at her father, then looked abashedly at Edward and then looked down at the table top, "No, he never did."

Dr. Molina spoke then, "So why did you write such an absurd statement on your English assignment?"

"Because I was mad that I was in Ms Swan's class and I wanted her to know that Mr. Cullen was mine."

Oh, shit for another reason. How did she figure out my attraction for Edward so quickly?

Dr. Molina scribbled on a pad of paper as he said, "I am writing a note to your guidance counselor to have you switched from Ms Swan's class to an English III class that meets on the first floor of building two. Also, I am assigning you five days of out-of-school suspension for forging Mr. Cullen's signature. If you write Mr. Cullen an apology for forging his signature and Ms Swan an apology for your insubordination, I will cut it down to two days."

He went on to say, "You know Lauren, it is impossible for you to consider Mr. Cullen in this romantic light. You're a student, he's a teacher and I've never met a more professional educator in my whole career. He would never consider you in that light. Never. He knows and you should understand there's a huge difference between a student and a teacher that forbids the sort of relationship that you are fantasizing about. I want you to understand this and put your ridiculous, childish expectations out of your mind entirely. Now, teachers can have the kind of relationship that you envision because they are equals, peers, but not students and teachers."

Dr. Molina's glance shot between me and Edward and my heart stopped. What did he know? Had Eleanor broadcast our status to the world already? Did she have Facebook? No that couldn't be, she didn't even have internet service before I moved in.

Lauren listened to this with her head bowed and her bottom lip jutted out. I wasn't sure that she was buying what Dr. Molina was saying.

I know I didn't breathe during the last part of this interaction and I was beyond ready for this meeting to be over.

Dr. Molina turned to the Mallorys and asked if they had any more comments or questions. They seemed to be embarrassed over their foolish daughter and so they quietly got up and left. There wasn't any kind of apology from them for Edward or me, not that I was actually expecting one. I watched them walk out of the room and drag Lauren, who was now crying, with them.

Edward and I soon followed. We walked most of the way back to our rooms in silence but when we entered our hallway, Edward turned to me and said, "That was rather interesting."

I said, "It was horrendous." I suppose the shock of it all had worn off and tears welled in my eyes.

"Oh Bella, it's all okay."

He looked around and pulled me into Diane's classroom that was unoccupied at the moment. She had mentioned something about taking her classes to the library. Edward shut the door and gathered me into his arms. "Don't be upset. You did fine and they took Lauren out of your class which I think was a bonus." He reached over to Diane's desk, pulled a couple of tissues out of her dispenser and handed them to me.

Taking them and dabbing at my eyes, I said, "No, Edward. The things her father was inferring about you – that's what has me so upset. How could he even think such a thing?"

He shrugged. "How could Lauren think such a thing? She's been indulged ever since she was a baby and doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'no.' Her father was looking for a reason to justify her execrable behavior. It all ended about as well as it could. I will just make sure I am never in Lauren's vicinity again."

"Dr. Molina handled everything well, I thought."

"Yeah. He's a good guy. Now, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you so much, Edward." I smiled at him.

He reached up and touched my cheek, "What are your plans after school tonight?" he asked.

"I was hoping to spend some time with my boyfriend."

His eyes glinted in pleasure and he squeezed me, "That sounds like a good plan. How would you like to have dinner over at my apartment? Rosalie's fixing steaks and she suggested I bring you."

"Wow! That sounds great. Er… I can bring the coffee." I smiled, slightly ashamed at the still shrunken condition of my larder.

"That's great. That was good coffee last night. I can see why your Seattle friends gave it to you."

Suddenly, my heart was filled with an incredibly intense feeling. Were my cockles warming up again? I gazed up at Edward, knowing that my cockle-warmed heart was in my eyes. "Edward, you make me so happy."

"The feeling is mutual, my Miss Meteor," and he leaned down and kissed me. It was delicious - pure joy, and also I have to admit, plenty of desire, too.

"I don't think we're acting very professionally right now," I whispered.

"Well, sometimes our relationship has to take precedence."

"Are we going to tell our students?"

He shook his head, "It's best to leave it in our private lives. Kids get squirrelly about this sort of thing."

I nodded. I really didn't want anyone gossiping about us but that probably was an impossible hope. "It was weird how Dr. Molina looked at us when he was talking about teachers having a relationship."

"That's because he knows about us."

"He knows!" I was shocked.

"He's no gossip, Bella. But when I recognized how I felt about you, I told him. I thought he should know since I am your department head."

"When was this?"

"Within a day of learning that my Miss Meteor was also Ms Isabella Swan, the new English teacher in my department."

Oh, so he spoke to Dr. Molina soon after he met me?

"Was he unhappy?" I asked.

"No. He wished me luck." Edward was grinning now and I believe I grinned back at him.

"We'd better get back to professional behavior, Mr. Cullen."

"Yes. Diane's class is going to be back soon and I'm sure our classes are wondering where we are."

We quickly went back to work. The rest of the day passed smoothly. I had lunch duty again and this time I brought some of my papers out with me to grade. It was pretty quiet in the bus loop and I got a lot done. When I returned to my room for my planning period, I saw a folded note on my desk:

Dear M³,

I have a brilliant idea. Instead of you driving over to my place, I will pick you up at 5:30 this evening. That way, we can spend more time together. Maybe we can make a little detour on the way back from dinner and take a walk on the beach? There's a full moon tonight. I want to share it with you.

Love,

Edward

He wrote 'love!' My heart leaped.

Stupid heart. I wished it would quit over-reacting. I was worse than a middle school girl with a crush on Justin Bieber. He wrote dear, too, but then so did Lauren in her letter, so I wasn't putting much stock in that.

I decided to wear a sun-dress that evening. I wanted to be as pretty as I could be for him. I took extra time with my makeup and hair and I put on my favorite perfume. As I checked my reflection in the mirror, I was pleased that I looked passable.

When Edward arrived at my house, I lured him in for a moment because I …well, I couldn't keep my hands – and lips – to myself any longer. The moment the door was closed, I threw myself at him. Honestly, being held in his arms was heaven. Kissing him was bliss. He grinned down at me, with those beautiful soft eyes and my heart pounded in my ears.

And then I did it. I did a stupid thing. I did the dumbest thing I could've ever considered doing. But I was overwhelmed with emotion so my mouth jumped into gear before I realized I was even talking. "Edward," I said, "I'm so in l…l…like with you."

WHAT DID I ALMOST SAY?

Oh, shit. My heart was full, yes, but now my stomach was queasy. I was really… crazy. I'd never said 'I love you' to any guy in the past but I'd never felt this way before, to be honest. It made me feel incredibly vulnerable and needy and mortified. I looked up at him aghast at my verbal fumble.

Edward held me closely and smiled, "Bella, I'm so in l…l…like with you, too."

He was teasing me. I know my face was aflame and I'm sure my eyes looked panicked. He immediately picked up on it. "Bella, don't be scared. I'll never hurt you, not on purpose. If I ever do, tell me and I'll do whatever it takes to fix it. Don't be afraid of this – of us. We're in it together."

He said the same today at school before we went into the Mallory meeting. I guess he meant it more ways than one.

"It's hard not to be scared, Edward," I whispered.

"Yeah, but it's good to know we aren't in it alone, you know?"

He hugged me tightly and held me out to look me over. "You are so beautiful, my Miss Meteor. If Rosalie wouldn't kill us both for ruining her dinner, I would be tempted to stay here a little longer enjoying our alone time but I value my gonads a little too much."

Laughing, he led me out to his car and soon, we were climbing the stairs to his apartment.

When we got inside, Rosalie was standing in the doorway of the kitchen staring at the television that was on in the living room. She waved the wooden spoon she was holding at us in greeting and then turned back to the weather report that had got her attention.

"…it looks like the Gulf Coast of Florida may be in for some rough weather next week. The tropical storm now hovering in the gulf is showing signs of intensifying and I predict that by tomorrow it will likely be upgraded to become Hurricane James."

AN

College Board Exams measure a student's academic achievement and are one of the factors used by post- secondary educational institutions to admit or reject potential students. The two most popular exams are the SAT and the ACT.

Grading. I hate grading/grades because they really DON'T give you a good idea of exactly what level the student is functioning at. This is hypothetically what it stands for: A is excellent work. B is very good. C is average. D is below average and F is failing. In our school system there are percentages associated with the letters. A 90-100, B 80-89, C 70-79, D 60-69 and below 60 is failing. I realize I could write a diatribe on student assessment but I won't. Parma High's AN aren't supposed to be my soap box.

A Rubric is a quantifiable rating system to follow when evaluating something.

Out of School Suspension – OSS. The most severe form of punishment that schools can inflict short of expulsion. The student is not allowed to make up work missed and it impacts their grades during that time. Usually punishments are plug and chug, i.e; you commit this offense, you serve that punishment.

Thanks to Kris, my wonderful friend and beta who weeds my garden of words here.

And thanks also to QuantumFizzx who wrote The Plan. She gave me encouragement when I truly needed it. :)