Chapter 17
After a few more hours of sleep, Sam felt more like himself, and once he had something to eat, he was ready to face the day, even if it was almost half over. He and Yvette sat at the kitchen table sharing the last of the coffee while Samuel sat in a chair between them and scribbled in a coloring book.
"So, I suppose now that you're up, you're going over to the loft to help Michael?" She held her cup in both hands and looked over the rim at him with a disapproving gaze.
"No, actually, I wanted to stop by the school and give Carl the keys to the classroom and the desk. I'm sure they probably have duplicates, but I want to make sure he gets them back." He glanced out the window, the scenery the last thing on his mind.
Yvette smiled. She knew the real reason he wanted to visit the school. "If you want to catch the kids in third period, you better hustle."
He turned his eyes to her and smiled. "Nothing ever escapes you, does it?"
"Not when it comes to knowing you and your thought process." She laid a hand on his. "Go on, I'll see you later."
"Going anywhere today?"
"Nope, I'll be here. Maybe Samuel and I will start trying to clean up that TP from the tree." She laughed.
"Don't worry. It'll get taken care of, one way or another." He stood, kissed her temple, and moved toward the door. "Bye, Sammy. You be good for Mommy!" He ruffled his hair and left the house.
He drove with the window open, arm resting on the door, the sun beating down on it. It felt good after being cooped up in the hospital. The high school wasn't far from their house, so it took very little time to get there, but Sam had one stop to make before he arrived. He parked in the visitors' lot and went straight to the office, passing a hall monitor on the way.
"Nice to see you up and around, Mr. Axe," the older man said as he waved and smiled at Sam.
"It's good to be up and around, believe me!" Sam waved to him and kept going. The halls were empty, as they should be at this time of day. The office was also empty, except for a couple of teens sitting in chairs near the door waiting to visit their guidance counselors...or the principal.
"Mr. Axe! This is a surprise!" Mr. Larkin's secretary greeted him cheerfully. "It's good to see you looking well."
"Thanks. I just stopped by to drop off these keys." Sam held them up and dropped them into her hand. "I, uh, hope that things are going well in the class. Mr. Hamlin wasn't too upset about my change in curriculum, was he?"
"No, he just went back to the usual plan that he's been teaching for years."
Sam nodded. No wonder my coming in was like a breath of fresh air for those kids! "Well, if there's nothing else...I guess I'll be off."
"Actually, Mr. Larkin did ask me to hold you up for a minute if you came in. He wants to talk to you." She glanced at her watch. "He'll be in a consult for another ten minutes or so, if you'd like to go visit your classroom for a few minutes..." She grinned at him.
"Yeah, I would. Thanks." He returned the smile, turned, and left the office. He had to keep himself from hurrying down the hall the short distance to the room, not just because he wanted to see the kids one more time. He had something special for them.
The door was closed, but he could see through the large window that Mr. Hamlin stood in front of the desk lecturing. His voice droned through the door. Sam glanced to the left and spied several of his kids looking as if they were about to nod off. Then one of them saw him. Her face lit up and she waved. Mr. Hamlin saw her reaction, said something, and followed her line of sight. He scowled at Sam and strode to the door.
"Sir, you have to check in at the office..."
"Mr. Axe!" Several students exclaimed when they saw him.
Sam grinned from ear to ear. "Sorry, Mr. Hamlin. I was your replacement when you were out. Sam Axe."
"Oh yeah, the private muscle that Larkin brought in." Hamlin looked him up and down with growing disdain. "I had a handle on my classroom, I didn't need some outsider stirring things up even more."
"Yeah, well, Mr. Larkin hired us and we got the job done. You should be grateful things have settled down in your classroom." He paused. "They have, haven't they?"
"Yes, everything is fine now."
"Mr. Axe, aren't you coming in?"
"Yeah, let him in!"
"Come on, man, we wanna see him!"
"Sounds like you're a popular man, Mr. Axe." Hamlin sighed and grudgingly stepped aside to let Sam enter the classroom. Cheers and whistles erupted all around, and some stamped their feet on the wood flooring.
Sam could feel his face warming up at the attention. He stopped in front of the desk, held out his hand, and urged them to settle down. They obeyed quickly, and Hamlin watched in what could only be envy.
"Are you coming back permanently?"
"Please, please come back!"
He stood there shaking his head. "Sorry, everyone, I'm just here to visit." A huge groan filled the room. "If it were up to you, yeah, maybe I would. But I have other work to do...which reminds me, there's something I need to talk to you about."
He turned to face the desk, dropped a plastic sack on it, and pulled something out. Then he turned around, holding the end of it, and let the roll of toilet paper fly over the kids' heads. He was rewarded with laughter and shrieks, and girls holding up their arms to avoid getting hit. A boy in back picked up the roll and started tossing it around to others while Hamlin looked as if he was ready to have a fit. Sam stood with arms crossed waiting until they were done.
"Now, who's going to fess up to doing that to my oak tree?"
They laughed, and a couple boys in back raised their hands. "It wasn't just us. Some of the kids from the other periods helped!"
"Well, I appreciate your being honest," Sam said and added, "I'd appreciate it even more if you came over to my house after school and cleaned it up. Every last square inch."
Groans followed his request, but in the end, they promised to be there.
"Good, because my neighbor lady would have a fit otherwise! And you guys are lucky she didn't call the cops, because she's the neighborhood watch captain, and she keeps her eyes peeled on everything that happens on our block." He picked up the empty bag and gave it to the girl in front. "You might want to use this to take care of the mess in here."
"Alright, class, I want this cleaned up right now," Hamlin ordered as he gave Sam an irritated glance.
"Sorry. I should have known they'd get a little out of hand."
"Next time you want to visit my classroom...don't."
"You got it." Sam turned toward the door and hesitated. "Hey, you guys take care, and listen to your teacher, Mr. Hamlin." He waved and left the room on a chorus of goodbyes that made his eyes water. He was just doing a job. He didn't expect to be so well liked during the process.
When he returned to the office, Mr. Larkin was free to see him. "Sam, come on in," he welcomed with a big smile and a hearty handshake. "You want anything? Coffee?"
"Sure, that'll be great." He took the seat Larkin offered him and the coffee cup. "So, what did you want to see me about?"
"I was interested in finding out how you were doing. The last time I saw you, well, you were in a coma."
"Ah, I'm wide awake now," Sam replied with a grin.
"Trudy told me she sent you to the classroom."
"Yeah. I guess they were kind of glad to see me," he replied with a laugh. "Mr. Hamlin, not so much."
"Yes. I don't think the cruise did much for his demeanor." The two men laughed. "Since you were hospitalized, a lot has been happening around here."
"Really? Like what?"
"Well, Joel, Nick, and the other boys in the gang were caught by police. They were on the freeway trying to head north after they threw you into the pool. One of them had an aunt or a grandma or something in Fort Lauderdale. They were arrested for attempted murder and are now sitting in county jail waiting for their trial." Larkin took a sip of his coffee. "Have the police questioned you about what happened?"
"Not yet. I've been asked to see a Lieutenant Cochran at the station, so I'm on my way there after this. If I don't run out of energy first." He shook his head and drank some coffee. "I'm still not back to normal. I certainly couldn't do a 200 yard race against Joel today."
"Just take it easy. You'll get there." He tapped the side of his ceramic cup with a fingernail, and it pinged softly. "Sam, the board has asked me to reiterate their offer of a job if you care to get your license."
"I would, but I'm not much for joining a union. Sorry."
Larkin let out a short laugh. "Oh, that was just a baseless argument Sanborn tried to use to scare you. If you want to substitute teach, you don't have to join the union. If this were a public school, you would, but this is a charter school. They forget that sometimes." He smiled. "Technically, you don't even need a license to teach here, just life experience and the skills. And you, my friend, have those. It would be a shame to waste them."
Sam nodded. "I'll have to give it some thought, Carl. When I first walked in here, I thought I was going to hate it, but amazingly enough, I really did enjoy teaching." He glanced at his watch. "I better take off and see that detective soon, because I have a date with my class after school. They'll be pulling all the TP out of my tree."
Larkin's eyes bugged. "They hit your tree?"
Sam laughed. "Yeah, and it's a tall one, but it's okay. I'm sure by the end of the day everyone who was responsible will be there. They're good kids."
"Yes, they are." Larkin stood and escorted Sam to the office door. "Come on by when you get the chance. Maybe if you hang around here long enough, it'll convince you to come back." He grinned, shook his hand, and waved as Sam left the main office door.