Once again, the scenes switch around...

Renee POV:

"Let's start with the reports…me first," Mrs. Newton murmured.

"Okay…" I agreed, sharing another look with Carmen.

"So…Nessie refrains from working with peers, she is in constant need to talk with adults, especially her 1:1 Aide in the afternoon, Mrs. Swan. She likes listening to classical music rather than children's songs, she does not like loud noises, and she says the kids make fun of her, and call her a retard. She is constantly with Mrs. Swan at lunch,"

Carmen raised her hand calmly, but I knew her blood was boiling. "The kids do make fun of her, she comes home crying about that to me every day, and her only friend here is one of my best friends, Renee Swan, who just so happens to be her aide. Nessie was telling me the other day that she'd rather be in Ms. Platt's second grade class, because the kids in her class are more accepting of Nessie, and so is Ms. Platt. Never mind the fact that Mrs. Swan is best friends with Ms. Platt, but clearly, Mrs. Newton has no clear understanding of our daughter," she pointed to both herself and Eleazar, "and I'd like to see what Mrs. Crowley and Mrs. Stanley have to say,"

Karen rolled her eyes, and I put my hand under the table so I could slap Carmen's palm with mine.

"Okay, so I think she'd be better off in a second grade classroom, because the kids in my class are too smart for her. But the problem with putting her in Ms. Platt's class is that she's too nice and she'll let Nessie follow her around like her own personal stalker!" Mrs. Stanley reported.

"Esme is not a pushover!" I argued, standing up and banging the table. "Stop talking about my best friend that way!"

"This isn't about you, Renee. This is about Nessie and her accommodations! We're trying to get her out of her comfort zone!" Mrs. Crowley squawked.

"Honestly, I don't know why he hired her to work here," I heard Karen whisper to Jennifer.

"Do you wanna get cut, bitch?" Carmen shouted, and Eleazar pulled her back down in her seat.

"Down, chica," Eleazar said gently.

"Anyway…why would Nessie need to sit at the front of the board? She hears fine, she sees fine…" Mrs. Stanley continued. "And more time on tests…do you have ADD or something?"

"I just do, okay, Mrs. Stanley? And those kids talk too much in the back row! I'd never do that, that's why I never go to detention. And yes, I would love more time on tests, because I'm slow! I'm slow and stupid!" she cried and got up to leave the room. Carmen hugged her around the waist and brought her back to sit down while glaring at Mrs. Stanley.

"Shame on you," Carmen mouthed to Jennifer. "But you need friends," Carmen said quietly to her daughter.

"Pero mamá, por favor! Los niños no les gusta pasar el tiempo conmigo! Ellos piensan que soy rare!" Nessie shot back in fast Spanish that made them all bewildered. I knew she was saying the kids didn't like her because they thought she was weird. I knew Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Maggie, and Jasper didn't mind her, though.

"Cariña, por favor, estar en silencio y escuchar a los mismos. Podemos hablar de esto en cassia," Carmen replied. She was telling Nessie they'd talk about this later, and Nessie nodded in agreement.

"Maybe she communicates with her teachers rather than her peers because they don't call her names. And I know some of her friends-Emmett, my son, and Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, and Maggie," I put in.

"They are not her age," Mrs. Newton explained.

"Has it ever occurred to you that she has the mental capacity of a five year old?" Eleazar asked.

"Dad!" Nessie whined. "You're embarrassing me! I don't act five!"

"Think about it, mija. You get along with those three five year old girls just fine, and you're smart enough to hang out with Emmett and Jasper, which makes you able to be in a second grade class. Ms. Platt is a lot of fun,"

"Yeah, I know…I'd rather be in Ms. Platt's class. I'd have more friends. Ms. Platt would never allow that nasty word to be used in her classroom,"

That worked out just fine for me, Eleazar, and Carmen, and Esme would be happy too. The three losers just signed the IEP without argument, because they now knew that Carmen and I had hot tempers which couldn't be messed with, when you messed with our family or friends. We stuck together like glue.

Esme POV:

"So, if I had a whole pie with eight slices, and I took a fourth, how many slices would I have left?" I asked my class, and Jasper raised his hand. Smart kid.

"Six!"

"Yes, that's right, does everyone agree?"

"Yes!" they chorused. Right at that moment, Rosalie and Alice came barreling into my classroom like bulls in a china shop. Emmett and Jasper shot them worried glances, and I knelt down to their levels.

"What's wrong, girls?" I asked, giving them a hug. I saw fear in their eyes, but Alice replied, "Nothing, Mommy,"

Rosalie couldn't speak. She only held onto my wrists for dear life, and Alice kept flickering her eyes from me to behind her, as if she were expecting something.

"Something is wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have come in like this," I said, wiping away a tear that had escaped Rosalie's eye. "Tell me, honey. Is it because Renee's not there? I know subs are hard to get used to, but it's not worth crying over. She'll be back tomorrow,"

Suddenly, Alice's eyes widened and Rosalie's hands gripped my wrists tighter than before, so hard that it actually hurt. Her little handprints indented themselves into my skin, and I gently shook them free, mouthing "Ow," as I did so.

"Problem, ladies?" a gruff voice asked, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I put my hand to my heart and looked up at a man. "Oh, god, sorry, just had a fright," I said, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. "Nearly had a heart attack," I murmured to myself.

Alice and Rosalie crawled to the back of the room for some reason.

"Let me help you up," the man said, offering his hand. I took it with both my hands and he pulled me up to my feet. Then, he kissed my hands and said, "Enchanté," as the kids wrinkled their noses and widened their eyes. "Eeeeeew!" they said in unison. I pulled my hands back, sort of disgusted that a complete stranger would do that to me, and wiped them on the back of my jeans.

"What's your name? I'm Royce King, principal of Forks Elementary," he said, reaching his hand out to mine to shake it.

Reluctantly, I took his sweaty hand again. "Esme Platt, second grade teacher. I just started,"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Sorry, I'm engaged," I said, throwing him an apologetic glance.

"You're way too beautiful to be engaged. Is Alice your kid?"

"Yes, she's so lovely,"

"Hot mama! What's a pretty young thang like you doin' with kids?"

I hit his arm lightly. "You flirt! Well, I better get back to teaching. Bye," I waved as he started to go. He pulled me into his arms and leaned his lips towards mine, but I pushed him out the door and locked it, breathing hard. That was a close one.

Well, if the boss made a pass at one of his co-workers, then who could I tell? It wasn't exactly illegal, so I'd just have to stay far away from him as possible. Alice said we had to go home at lunch, and I agreed with her for once. Renee substituted for the last half of the day, and I spent the rest of the day with the girls.

Read and review, please! Next chapter…Lily stirs up trouble, that's all I'm gonna say!