Chapter 5

"Well, you made it home in one piece." Yvette grinned. "You must have had a good day, even if you look a little tired." She kissed him on the lips as Sam passed through the kitchen looking as if he had little energy left.

"A little?" He stopped in his tracks. "Yeah, I think I've already figured out who the bad kids are. Whether they're part of a gang or just taking the initiative to be unruly, well, that's for me to work out another day." He let out a long sigh. "I'll be upstairs in the office, getting a lesson ready for tomorrow."

"Want me to bring up your dinner?"

He smiled. "Thanks, honey. Boy, I tell you, I would not want to do this full time! It would be nice to come home and just relax, play with my kids, and spend time with my wife. But tonight, I have to work."

"On the weekend, you can catch up and get the next week's lessons done so you'll have your nights free."

"Until I have to test these kids or make them write papers." He shook his head. "I wish Mike would go back to work. It was a lot easier than this!"

Yvette laughed and stroked his cheek lovingly. "You'll get used to it."

"I hope this is resolved before I get to that point."

"Don't rush it. Get it done right." She hugged him, and he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"You know me, I won't cut corners. It'll get done right."

"I know." She turned to the counter and returned with a glass. "Here, have some iced tea, and I'll be up in a little bit with your meal."

"Where are the kids?"

"Samuel is playing in his room, and Espie is doing her homework, grudgingly. Maybe if she sees her daddy doing his, she'll knuckle down and get it done!" Yvette smiled, kissed his cheek, and turned him toward the living room and the stairs. "Good luck!"

"Thanks."

Sam buried his head in the textbook and a series of web sites that helped him come up with his plan for the next classes. At one point, Esperanza came into the room to ask him something, but she saw his intensity and stopped herself. When Yvette brought supper to him, she pointed toward the window seat and he turned. They saw their daughter lying on her stomach, just as intent on her studies as he was.

"I guess this isn't all bad," Sam whispered to Yvette. "Thanks, honey." He kissed her and went back to his work, taking a bite now and then. Most of his meal went cold, but by the time he dragged himself to bed, he was satisfied with what he'd put together for the next few days. This was the mother of all lesson plans, and it would get him through the rest of the week.

He laid his head on the pillow, dozed off for a moment, and came to with a start as he realized that Yvette wasn't beside him. The phone rang, and after a few rings, she picked it up. She called up from downstairs. "Honey, it's Jack!"

"Got it!" He rolled over to the nightstand and picked up the phone. With a start, he noticed that it was almost nine. It seemed a lot later, but exhaustion warped his sense of time. As he spoke, he rolled to his back. "Hey, Jack, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see how things went with Mr. Axe's first day at school." Jack chuckled.

"Buddy, I am beat!"

"I heard you threw your weight around a little."

"Yeah, probably bought myself a lot of trouble."

"No, if anything you gained a lot of respect. Some kids don't understand anything but force, and you were cool and forceful at the same time. That's why I thought you'd be a good fit for this assignment!" His voice was cheerful and full of hope. "I didn't get a whole lot to work with today, but I think what you did intimidated enough of those kids to get them to try something. Then we'll nail them."

"I think Nick Spencer is one to watch. He's a weenie, but push him hard enough, and he tries to fight back. But he's still a weenie."

Jack laughed. "There's another kid, Joel Hagen. I don't think you've met him yet. He's, uh, let me see here..." He paused and Sam heard rustling papers. "He's been out supposedly sick the past couple of days, but they're expecting him back tomorrow. He's in your third period history class."

"Yeah, I missed him during roll call." Sam yawned and ran a hand over his face. "Jack, when you were in high school did you ever give the teachers this much trouble?"

"I plead the fifth on that one," he replied with a hearty laugh.

"Glad you're not in any of my classes. I would have kicked your butt to the principal's office." He yawned again. "Oh man, I'm gonna have to call it a night. You got anything else for me?"

"Nope. Just keep your eye on this Joel kid. Spencer's got nothing on him. He's already been suspended for drug possession once this year. Got detention for fighting. He's one tough customer."

"I'll be on my toes. Night, Jack."

"Night, Axeman. Hang in there."

Sam replaced the phone on the cradle, lay on his side, and fell asleep within minutes. When Yvette came into the room she found him dead to the world, curled up on his side of the bed, fully clothed. She covered him with a blanket and slipped in under the covers. If he woke up during the night, he could rearrange himself then. He must have had a rough day! Poor baby. She leaned over, kissed his cheek softly, and settled in under the covers.

The next day, Sam prepared himself for having to deal with Joel, but the kid was AWOL from his classes again. The day went smoothly, the kids behaved themselves, and even Nicholas kept his smart remarks to a minimum and participated in gym class.

As the class dispersed and headed to the locker rooms, he called Nicholas back.

"Yeah, what do you want, man?"

"Just wanted to tell you, you've got a good arm, Nick. Have you ever thought of trying out for the football team?"

"What? Me?" He looked at Sam as if he'd lost his mind.

"Why not? It's not like there's a lot of competition, if that's what you're afraid of." Sam narrowed his eyes, challenging him.

"It's not that. I'm just not into sports."

Sam shrugged. "Okay, I'm just sayin'. I was a quarterback in high school, and it got me a scholarship into Annapolis. I know a good arm when I see one, kid, and you're just going to let it go to waste."

"I got better things to do with my time than throw a stupid ball around. Later, Teach." Nicholas walked toward the locker room, shaking his head.

"At least he didn't throw a punch at me. Maybe that's progress," Sam muttered.