Chapter One

2.2K 27 2
                                    

*For everyone who has taken the trouble to read my stories this year. I appreciate you all and wish you all the very best xx*

"Girl, you seen the new supply teacher? He is FIIIIIIIIIINNNNNEEE!"
Jazmine looked up from where she was cutting out Christmas trees from glittery card and frowned. "Why have we got a new supply teacher? I thought we were fully staffed?"
Claudette looked left and right and slipped into the classroom used for Art Club. "Didn't you hear? Mr. Groves fell off his attic ladders getting down his decorations. He's not coming back until after the holidays. Clumsy old fool." Claudette shook her head, sending her dark Afro spirals dancing in all directions.
Jazmine giggled. "Aww, poor Trevor."
"Poor Trevor my eye! Thanks to him we have been sent a Christmas present from the Gods themselves!"
Jazmine put down her scissors. "REALLY? What's he like this Mr..?"
"Parker. Jack Parker. Damn girl, even his name is hot! Well...he's tall, got himself a fine set of shoulders, dark wavy hair and stubble you just wanna hold onto, as he takes you to heaven and back!" She finishes with a wink.
"CLAUDETTE!!" Jazmine exploded. "You're making me blush!" She laughed fanning her face.
"You need to go seek him out. It would be good for you to get yourself a little fun this Christmas, girl. You work too hard," she shot her a sympathetic look.
Jazmine got up from behind the desk and stretched her arms upwards making the bones in her shoulders crack. She'd been sat hunched over for far too long. "Momma always said, a little hard work never killed anyone."
"CLAUDETTE! Where you at? Sawdust emergency in Kindergarten! Code Brown!" Claudette's twin and fellow school cleaner, Margaret, shouted out, moments before her equally pretty dark head appeared at the doorway.
"Damn! Why is it always Code Brown on my watch?" She groaned as she headed towards her grinning sister.
"Good luck, Claude!" Jazmine called after her, as she grabbed the Christmas trees and began to lay them out in each child's place to decorate.
"Yeah, yeah." She shot back and then turned just before exiting. "Remember what I said, girl. Jack Parker. Gift from the Gods. Go get him!" She gave her a double thumbs up.
Jazmine smirked and shook her head. Like some gift from the Gods would even look twice at me...

**********

The after school Art Club was its usual boisterous mix of over-excited children, paint, glue, tissue paper and copious amounts of iridescent glitter.
"Bye Miss. Green. You're all sparkly!"
Jazmine looked down fondly at five year old Chloe's cute little face, framed with blonde curls. "Yes...I think there is more glitter on me than on the Christmas trees we made! Bye sweetie, see you next time." She closed the door after the giggling child and her smiling father and locked it. Not wanting Claudette and Margaret to face a volcano of  paint and glitter, she set about cleaning everything up.

Having packed all the craft items away, she then grabbed rolls of backing paper in green and red, gold Christmas borders and her faithful wall stapler and headed up the corridor to her designated display board. The corridors were deserted at this time, with just the distant hum of vacuums and the odd cackle of laughter from the twins drifting down. She smiled to herself as she rounded the corner...
...And everything she was carrying flew into the air.

A whirl of arms, legs and torsos collided roughly as two bodies slammed into each other. Jazmine put her arms out instinctively and grabbed onto something firm, but her grip was only temporary as a strong arm came out and pushed her against the wall.
"WATCH IT!" A gruff, male voice above her snarled, as he shoved past her.
By the time Jazmine regained her composure, her would-be assailant had disappeared.
What the hell just happened? Jazmine caught her breath and shakily knelt to retrieve her rolls and stapler, her hands trembling.
"Jazz! What happened to you? Why's everything all over the floor?" Margaret left her vacuum propped against a wall and rushed to her.
"Some...Someone ran into me and sent everything flying," she began fighting back tears. "I grabbed him, but...but he just pushed me against the wall." A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and she swiped it away
"CLAUDETTE! Where you at?" Margaret yelled for her twin. "Come help!"
"There better not be no more damn Code Browns, sis," Claudette grumbled as she rounded the corner. "Jazmine! What the heck!" She ran forward and helped Jazmine up to her feet.
"Some guy banged into her," Margaret explained.
Claudette's deep brown eyes widened. "Guy? What guy?"
Jazmine wiped away another tear. "I dunno. I didn't get a good look at him. It all happened so fast."
"Do you think it was an intruder?"
"Intruder my eye, Margaret! No way anyone gonna get past Jonas! What was on tonight as well as Art Club?"
"Sewing...Languages...Oh wait! Wasn't there an extra Judo class on tonight?" Margaret queried.
Jazmine nodded. "Yeah...two boys that usually come to my class had to swap tonight, as the class was moved."
"Well, it must have been the damn fool Judo coach then who knocked you down!" Claudette shook her head. "That boy better pray he doesn't take another class in this school! Do you want us to help you put the display up?"
Jazmine shook her head. "I'm not in the mood now. Think I'll just go put everything back and try it tomorrow night." She sighed. "Thank you girls. I don't know what I'd do without you two."
"You're our triplet sister from another mister, girl. You know we got your back." Claudette stated firmly, whilst Margaret nodded enthusiastically making a "MmmHmm" sound.

**********

Jazmine lay back in the hot water of her bath tub and tried to relax. Christmas was approaching and it would be her first without her beloved Momma. So far she hadn't purchased a tree, written any cards or even thought about presents. Not that she had many presents to buy. She'd get something special for the twins, a good bottle of wine for Jonas and a small gift for Mrs. Hobbs the Principal and that would be that. She'd spent the best part of two years caring for her terminally ill mother, so hadn't had any kind of social life, narrowing her circle of friends to mainly Claudette and Margaret. They had been so supportive to her these past couple of years, she couldn't have coped without their constant love and help. They'd even suggested she spend Christmas with them and their gregarious extended family, but she didn't know if she was ready for that.

Her mind switched back to her bizarre encounter earlier.
Who the hell was that? And to send everything flying without so much as an apology! More like a barked order to get out of the way! At least she'd managed to grab hold of him so she didn't join all her stuff on the floor. Hope I've bruised him, it would serve him right. Smiling to herself she took a deep breath and slipped under the water.

Merry Christmas Mr Parker [Henry Cavill] #fanficWhere stories live. Discover now