Hot Mess (LBSC #1) | Completed

Chapter 14

I readjusted the strap of my kitty purse as I walked up the sidewalk to Oakdale Academy the next day. The rest of my meeting with Malcolm had gone swimmingly once we'd figured out a name for our group. The Late Bloomers' Social Club had a great ring to it, if I did say so myself. We'd decided that Malcolm would take care of advertising by designing a tear-away flyer we could put up on community bulletin boards. He also said he'd find some relevant, local message boards online and post about our first meeting.

I pulled open one of the doors on the front of the school building and stepped into an orange-and-white tiled hallway with a giant mural of the school mascot, a squirrel, painted on the wall. Spying a door marked "Office" to my left, I headed in that direction.

"Hi," a woman with auburn curls cascading down her back greeted me. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Reese MacDowell. I'm here to shadow Caryn Rochester in the after school program."

"Oh, yes—they told me to expect you. Just a moment."

She pressed a button on the phone in front of her. "Caryn, Caryn, you have a visitor at the main office." She looked back up at me. "You can have a seat; it should only be a minute."

"I'm just going to look around if you don't mind," I replied.

The woman shrugged and returned her attention to whatever paperwork was on the desk in front of her.

I studied the bookshelf next to the door I'd entered. The shelves were filled with framed photographs of small children in classrooms, playing on the playground, and wearing field trip shirts. There were also a couple of crystal awards proclaiming Oakdale Academy the top-rated preschool in Wynnlake, and Shelby Dowager the Best Preschool Director of 2010 scattered among the frames.

The walls of the office contained plaques and prints with cutesy sayings like, "Be a Fruit Loop in a bowl full of Cheerios" and "It's a great day because you're here!" This was totally a place I could get behind; I loved the idea of celebrating people's differences.

A different door from the one I'd entered opened, and a petite, olive-skinned woman with a dark pixie cut stepped into the office. With her big smile and warm brown eyes, I could tell we were going to get along just fine. She extended a hand. "You must be Jenna's sister-in-law, Reese. I'm Caryn, the coordinator for the after school program" she said in a musical voice. "We're so excited to have you here today. Follow me."

Caryn waved at the woman behind the desk and ushered me out of the office. We walked through a picturesque courtyard filled with little gardens containing blooming flowers and vegetables, bird feeders, and small, wooden benches.

"Each classroom has their own garden space," she said when she noticed my interest. "The teachers and parent volunteers plant the seeds; then the teachers and kids maintain them. The kids love it."

I nodded. "Cool idea."

"So, Reese, do you have any previous experience with childcare?" Caryn asked me as she unlocked a door and led me into a break room.

"Does babysitting my niece count?" I joked. I hoped Caryn wouldn't pick up on the note of nervousness in my voice.

"So that's a no," she said, smiling conspiratorially at me. "That's okay. A good portion of our after school staff comes in with no experience whatsoever. As long as you've got common sense you'll do well."

"Me? Common sense? Of course."

Caryn smiled knowingly. "When it's warm outside, we start our program on the playground." She looked at her watch. "We've still got about ten minutes until the teachers start dropping their students off. I'll introduce you to the other ladies."