𝑯𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 (𝑩𝒆𝒚𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒊)

𝟓𝟑✍

~

𝑹𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑰𝒏

(𝑰)

The students were officially dismissed for the last time.

It was the last day of school, and the excited energy throughout the entire building was palpable.

Chloe spent her entire day connecting with her students – reminiscing over all the memories they made over the school year, the choir competitions they won, class trips, etc.

She found herself getting emotional as she saw them off at the end of the day, watching them eagerly make their way to the buses and waving back at her as they exited the lot.

Smiling to herself for having another successful school year, she went back inside to clean out her room so the custodians could better maintain it over the summer.

While on her way back, she looked through some emails she received on her phone. Not paying attention to where she was going, she bumped into someone, knocking their iPad to the ground.

"Oh my god!" she said, scrambling to pick it up. "I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't damage it. I have a nasty habit of-"

The sight of the person before her rendered her speechless when she finally looked up. He was very handsome, a staff member she never saw up until this very moment.

He had nice full lips that spread into a smile, showcasing the deep dimples that were set in his cheeks. His eyes radiated warmth in their mocha richness. His build was muscular and damn near perfect, even though he was in a crisp dress shirt and pants.

It seemed as though he was just as enraptured with the sight of Chloe as she was with him.

"It's, uh..." he stammered, his smile putting Chloe in a trance, "...it's all good. I've had this thing for a while. 'Bout time I got a new one, anyway."

Chloe chuckled beside herself as she gave the iPad back.

"Are you new to the district?" Chloe asked. "This is my first time seeing you."

"I am," he answered. "But not as a teacher. I'm the district's new dean."

Chloe's eyes widened.

"Oh! Well, hi! Welcome to Bay Area Charter Middle! I'm Chloe."

"Ah..." he said, shaking her hand politely, "...so you're Ms. Bailey. I've heard a lot of great things about you. Apparently Bay Area Charter is one of our district's most successful running schools in the area. And you're to thank for that."

"I am?"

"Absolutely. Upon you're start as the chorus teacher a few years back, you singlehandedly turned our arts program around for the better. There were talks of discontinuing it. But with how successful our events have been, we've gotten higher numbers of incoming students for the next few years."