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Regina walked into her classroom after releasing her students and ensuring they were picked up or loaded on buses. The worksheets and books were stacked and placed in the children's cubicles. The chairs were tucked under the tables.
With her lightweight vacuum, she cleaned the floor from their cutting exercise. Small pieces of stray paper were sucked up. In a habitual afternoon routine, she moved from sweeping, mopping, wiping counters and desks, to erasing boards.
At her desk, she moved her lesson plan to the next day and began to prepare for her next group of activities. Camden Elementary had turned out to be the place for her. It settled her nerves and she was starting to feel settled in. Henry was forming relationships.
Though it didn't stop her from looking over her shoulder, she did start feeling as if Simon would be easy to see in a place this small. In other cities, there were too many people and he could easily blend in. Now, she was surrounded by familiar faces.
It was her duty to memorize the places, stores, routes to and from work, shopping, and the woods. Behind her house there was a patch of dark green trees against the sky. During her Sunday stroll, she'd scouted the trails and noted the secrets it held.
A broken-down shack had been hidden, but after inspection, it had been easily dismissed. Empty and full of dirt and destruction.
As she worked, she thought of the way the green light shimmered under the canopy of trees and the slivers of light had shone in. The birds chirping, squirrels jumping, and the music of life in the woods.
It had formed a comfort to her to know what hid in that peaceful place. To know what the town held and how hard it would be for Simon to slip in and hide. Letting her fears go, she smiled as she planned a lesson around the woodland animals here in Camden.
After an hour, she heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Roland standing next to his father.
"Well, hello there." With a bright smile, she put her pen down and stood.
"Hi, Regina." Roland's dimpled cheeks were bright and the sadness she'd seen a few nights before had long disappeared.
Robin had a zipped binder under his arm, "Did we interrupt?" His eyes darted to her unfinished work.
"It's alright, I figured I'd get a jump on tomorrow's work. It can wait. I set up a station for Roland while we talk."
Robin glanced at the table in the corner and noted the toys and blocks. A few blank pages and cups of crayons were set on the table.
"Can I, dad?" Regina enjoyed the excitement in his face. The innocence of children who were happy with the slightest rewards.
"Yea, just keep it down. Daddy and Regina have some work to do."
When Roland ran off to sit at the table, Regina offered him an adult chair next to her desk. "It might be more comfortable than the small chairs."
"Thanks." When they sat, he glanced at what she'd been working on. "Not the traditional farm animals," he commented.
With a shrug, she was amused, "I don't go for the traditional. Kids have an amazing imagination. Might as well play on it."
"I suppose you're right. So, where do we start?"
Regina set aside her work and pulled out a large orange folder. "I pulled out some of my graduate-level work. I figured showing you what I have would be better than telling you."
"Smart woman," he nodded.
Ignoring the warmth burning up her arm at his brush of fingers, she cleared her throat. "This is the curriculum, rough at least."
Robin opened the folder and pulled out the cover page. "Run it through for me."
In her comfort zone, she gave him a report. "Our basic lessons are outlined with culture, social studies, reading, writing, science, and art. I've devised a plan to incorporate music and movement. Kids need to stand up and get energy out. By listening to music, it helps them focus. Body movement helps to focus the mind the same way exercise does for us."
Pausing, she noted she had his undivided attention.
"The key factor for the curriculum was to devise a playlist and use it throughout the day. I have a few CD's or online files that play on a loop as we move through subjects."
Robin creased his brow, "How do you mean? You play it all day? How can they focus on that much noise?"
With a smirk, she explained, "Easy, it's all about structure and strategy. When the kids come in, you start with something lively and upbeat. You want them excited to come to school. Then you move into transitions."
Pulling out a few CD's, she let him scroll through the song list. "Transitions are played only for thirty seconds or so. It's like our calendar notifications. Hearing the music prepares them for what is next."
Glancing at Roland, she watched him scribbling in the corner. Satisfied that he was occupied, she turned back to Robin.
"Okay, so where does the movement come in?" He was interested in how she was able to come up with this.
"Well—" She pulled out a diagram of dance moves in multiple levels of movement. Small footsteps showed the direction to move and when to move. The number of beats per step and the full movement of the dance.
"Sophisticated stuff for elementary kids," he muttered.
"It's really not that hard. Here, let me show you." Pulling an iPad from her bag, she scrolled to a video and turned it toward him.
The music shot through the room and on the display, he watched her in front of a classroom full of kids.
Her hair was different, and her face seemed younger and less guarded. The grin on her face appealed to him. The kids were following the dance moves. He watched them move with purpose and sing out math and science.
"I see what you mean, make it look fun. Make it more pleasant for learning and in turn, they get plenty of energy worked out."
Satisfied, she smiled, "Exactly. It also proves to change behavior issues and calm kids down."
Turning it off, she slipped it back into her bag and pushed the folder to him. "Here, you can have a look at this. It's a number of lessons and assignments I kept throughout the years."
While sifting through the pages, he said, "The dark hair suits you better."
She froze, "Excuse me?" The tone of voice and the smirk put her back up.
"The video, you had sandy blonde hair. The dark suits you better. Your eyes, your skin, the dark compliments it." His eyes hadn't landed on her, he was still involved with looking at the pages.
Heat spread through her chest and embarrassment took root. With her brows creased and her eyes on him, he finally glanced up. The first thing he saw was a frown, then the wariness in her eyes. "I'm sorry, did I offend you with my compliment?"
The teasing in his voice made her blink. "I'm not used to flattery or compliments. You'll have to forgive me for not responding to your liking."
He sat back and met her gaze, "It was just a comment. I didn't mean anything by it. I really like this curriculum. I figure if we come up with a good proposal, it'll be hard to turn down."
She appreciated his redirection to their work, but her back was up. "I agree. I drafted this up yesterday."
A white folder held a proposal already typed and labeled DRAFT.
Roland walked up to her relief, "Look what I drew." He handed the paper to Regina and she looked at the small crayon drawn image.
Green trees along the side of the page with a dark pink and orange sky. A woman by the water in dark hair and a long burgundy gown. A man in dark pants and a green shirt faced the campfire. It was impressive for a four-year-old.
It reminded her of her walk through the woods. "That's a great drawing. Can you tell me about it?"
Robin watched the amusement in her eyes. He knew his son was a bit of an artist.
"It's from my dream. That's my mama and my dad. The river is slow, and the fire is warm. The camp at night and hear the frogs at night. Then, they go to the water to fish. In my dream, they cook it on a fire and eat it."
Frowning, she watched this clever boy and wondered why it seemed so normal for him to dream of such things. "That's an interesting story. Thank you for showing me."
He turned to his father, "This can go with the other ones, right?"
Robin nodded, "Yes. Give us a little more time to work."
When Roland returned to the table, she said, "He's got an amazing imagination and amazing talent."
"You don't know the half of it," he laughed.
"It reminds me of Henry at that age. When he was about three, he'd tell these creative stories about his stuffed animals. It branched out when he came up with alternate storylines of his favorite shows."
"Kids…Roland spends a lot of time alone. I guess it's a way for them to make sense of the world." His easy manner made her comfortable.
She looked down at her hands, "Henry and I have that in common."
"Why is that? You seem social enough." The energy suddenly changed.
Trying to brush it off, she shrugged, "I guess I'm a homebody. So, maybe you can read the proposal and let me know what you think."
Concerned about her abrupt shutdown, he watched as her body tensed and relaxed. Her hands fidgeted before she hid them under the table.
As he read over the proposal, he made notes and was able to dive in and shoot ideas off her. It was their comfort zone to dive into a project that would benefit their school.
An hour later, Robin sat back with his red pen and glanced up at Regina. She was typing on her laptop. "Done. I made a few adjustments and added to what you had. I hope that's alright."
Her fingers covered her eyes and pressed lightly. He noticed she kept checking her phone and typing through their meeting.
"Let's see," she took the page and looked over his work.
Robin turned to see Roland had crawled onto the mats and fallen asleep. Smiling to himself, he pulled his phone out and snapped a picture. "Poor fella."
"There are blankets in that cabinet there. Middle shelf. It's a bit chilly in here."
Sliding his phone in his pocket, Robin took the blanket and draped it over his sleeping son.
When he sat back down, he noted Regina had a green pen and was writing over his red.
"I like this idea of the cue cards. I had a proposal I created two years ago. I just never got around to doing it. It was a built-in file system for the curriculum."
He frowned, "What sort of filing system?"
Regina pulled her files up on her laptop and turned the screen towards him. "This is a rough diagram of what I had in mind."
The screen held a file system with lesson plans and weeks categorized into a file folder. Binders were drawn and a case with CDs sat next to them.
"See these binders have all the information you need. You grab the card you use for the lesson. It has all the activities right there. One-stop-shop. When you finish with the lesson, you put it in the back of the box and grab a new one."
It was brilliant. Easier than the system they were using now.
Regina's eyes brightened, "I really wanted to implement it at my last school, but it never seemed to be the right time. Then, we moved, and I lost my chance."
"Everyone deserves a second chance, Regina. There's no reason you can't do that here. This is a sold plan. What did you mark in green?"
"What?" She was distracted by the topic and looked down at her notes. "Oh, I was just adding to it. I'm a stickler for detail. I'll type this up and we can submit it for review. It's late and you should probably take Roland home."
Taking the copy, he gave her, he slid it in his binder and zipped it up. "I'm sure you wanna get home to Henry."
It had her looking at her phone again, "He's at a friend's house for the first time. I know I shouldn't worry, but I can't help it. New place, new worries."
He was confused, "What do you have to worry about? Camden is perfectly safe. The crime rate here is low. To my knowledge, the teenagers are stupid with vandalism. That's about it."
She hoped he was right because Camden was turning out to be a comfortable place. "I'm a little overprotective. I have to be."
He felt he'd pried enough. Standing, he thanked her for the meeting. "It's been a pleasure. I'll see you tomorrow, Regina."
Leaning down, he kissed her cheek in a habitual gesture. To all his friends, it was normal.
The tense reaction he'd gotten wasn't expected and he'd tried to ignore the fear in her eyes.
"Goodnight, Robin."
Taking Roland in his arms, he rested the boy's head on his shoulder. With good conscious, he walked Regina to her car before heading home.
When he arrived, he managed to change Roland into his pajamas, get him to brush his teeth and slipped him into his bed. Checking his phone messages, he was surprised to hear his wife's voice.
"It's me. I'm sorry I haven't called, it's been crazy. I just wanted to let you know I'm safe and work is great. Mommy misses you, Roland. I hope you're not giving daddy too much trouble. Robin… call me when you can. Bye."
Anger bubbled in his throat. She only called when it was convenient for her. It made him sick. Roland was finally getting to a place where he accepted that his mother was gone.
He wasn't about to play this for him and deal with his devastation all over again. Pressing the delete button, he felt satisfied. Let her come crawling back if she cared so damn much. When he climbed into bed a few hours later, his mind was full.
Marian, work, his duties the next few days, and finally the fear-filled eyes of Regina.
Turning into his pillow, he breathed deeply and tried to block it out. Too much on his plate, he decided.
Closing his eyes, he drifted into dream letting his stress go.