I loved Bailey. Not just because she liked me and thought I was cool, but because she had a really big mouth and usually told me things Emily would never even think of disclosing.
“So you don't like him?” I
“No,” she said emphatically , her eyes wide, her brow furrowed . “I do not like him. He's gross.”
“He's not super gross,” Bailey
Emily ignored her.
“Yeah and he's always looking at me
“Better than
She nodded. “Yeah, he was at the beach with his family and
“Yeah, well, that kid is uber-gross,” Emily said.
“Right. So not as bad as Alex,” Bailey said.
“You're not helping.”
“So mean.”
“Well, I'm sorry girls,” I said,
“ Alex doesn't smell,” Bailed said. “Well, he sort of does. He wears this cologne that—”
Emily
“I'd rather take the bus and watch Alex watch you,” Bailey said
“I'll buy,” Em
Bailed jumped off the desk.
“Sold!
I
“You'll probably have this place to yourself,” Emily said. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. “I swear, our teachers are always gone before the buses even leave.”
“Totally,” Bailey agreed, then giggled. “Except for Mr. Riggler.”
Emily tried not to laugh, but a little giggle fought it
“What's so funny about Mr. Riggler?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Emily said.
“ Tell me.”
“ It's nothing, Mom.”
I
thought for half a second, then
reached
Bailey snatched the money from my hand. “Sold!
” she sai
d again. She stuffed the money into her jeans pocket
“He knows nothing about them
I thought about what I'd witnessed in class.
I looked at Em
for confirmation and
Bailey put her hands on the edge of the desk and leaned down.
I frowned at them. “Come on. Seriously?”
Bailey
“It's true,” Em
ily
said. “A bunch of people have gone to his room after school to
“He's super nice,” Bailey added
, almost as an afterthought
. “But seriously
I leaned back in my chair
, trying to process what the girls had just told me
. How was that even possible? How could he have gotten a job teaching computers if he barely knew anything about them? He
I took a deep breath. I just found it hard to fathom that he was taking online classes and doing it at the school.
“He's probably in there now,” Bailey said. “If you don't believe us.”
“Don't tell him it came from us,” Emily said
quickly.
“No?” I asked. “I was gonna go say , 'Hey Emily and Bailey just told me something really interesting' and see what he says.”
“Mom!”
Bailey grabbed her by the arm. “She's kidding, Em. Jeez. It's like you don't even know your mom.” She waved at me. “Thanks for the money! See ya, Mrs. S.!”
I wondered how my uptight daughter could be such good friends with a kid who had a very near polar opposite personality, but I thought it was good for her to hang around with someone who seemed so care
I thought about what the girls had told me.