Just fillin' In

JUST FILLING IN

Lexi couldn't quite understand why they didn't have an actual art room. When she was in grammar school she remembered going into Mrs. Dickow's class and the scent of crayon wax, acrylic paint, construction paper and glue made from flour and water would give her a sense of euphoria that intrigued her to this day.

"Hell, I was probably getting high off of the fumes!" she chuckled to herself.

Regardless of the circumstances, Lexi was still happy to be there. Being downsized after 15 years of loyal dedicated service only emphasized to Lexi, that she was never going to give ANY other company that many years of her life again. Even while working there, she always found herself doing some type of volunteer work in her spare time. Especially when it came to helping kids-Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, mentoring programs etc, she would try her best to be involved. And since she enjoyed working with youth so much, her thought process had gone the way of becoming a teacher on more than one occasion. But even after passing the Basic Skills Test for the State of Illinois, she still hadn't decided if she wanted to take that plunge just yet.

Instead of jumping right into another full time job, Lexi chose to do some substitute teaching in order to fulfill her love of working with youth and help her determine if this was where her passion really lied. So after getting all her background checks done and filling out enough paperwork to refurbish a tree, she finally received her Type 39 Substitute Certificate. Going on a recommendation from a friend she applied at a neighboring elementary school. At her interview, Mrs. Knox, the school principal informed her that she would probably be working with them till the end of the school year. Lexi was pretty psyched about that. February was just beginning, so that gave her at least 4 months of steady work until the summer started. Walking distance from home, no bouncing from school to school AND she'd get to do something fun --an Art Sub-what more could she ask for? But like her mother used to tell her - what glitters ain't always gold. Because often times, theory works better than practice.

Due to funding and budget cuts, the school Lexi was subbing at didn't have any real ‘Art space' where the children could come to-and it had been many years since they did have one. As they walked through the main corridor, Mrs. Knox escorted her to a room off the side of the gymnasium and told her that this is the office she'd be working out of. It wasn't very large-but for what it lacked in space, it definitely made up for in heat! The intensity of the heat made it hard for her to breathe. It felt like they were sitting inside of Hell having a drink with the devil himself! The principal mentioned something about the office being close to the boiler room. Lexi only half heard what she said though-her mind was focused on the fine beads of sweat forming on the small of her back. She wondered how in the world she was going to make it through the next few months.

After they finished her brief tour of the school, Lexi headed back to the office to get herself acclimated. The room was so small, it probably couldn't accommodate any more than 2 to 3 students at a time. From the looks of things, she would have to conduct her classes from a 4 tiered push cart that would be taken from room to room. She had heard that some schools had the same set up. It was kind of cheesy, but given the conditions, what could she do? "Wow...A Rolling Art Cart!!" she said aloud and chuckled to herself. Lexi took the next couple of days to go through her office, the supply room, get her class schedule together and start creating lesson plans. That was pretty simple-and the easiest money she had made in quite some time!

Gathering up her notebook, she headed over to the teachers' lounge for her break. Lexi's attention was immediately drawn to a bespectacled man carrying the conversation between himself and five other people. Their ears were wrapped around his every word as if he were spewing the Gospel of St. John. Even though his seeming cockiness disgusted her, she could see why he commanded their attention. His voice was deep and robust and the mere utterance of one syllable would cause most to do a double-take to see who that rapturous sound was coming from. Looking in her direction, he glanced at her, smiled, then nodded his head as if to say hello-all the while, never missing a beat in his solo performance. With a closed lip smile, she returned the gesture. Lexi wasn't quite sure what pecking order the others fell in, but knew that he was king of the roost.

He was attractive- but not overly..more so in a studious way if any. Bald head, sparkling white teeth, crisply pressed jeans, loafers and a tweed jacket with suede patches on the elbows. His appearance suited the environment in a classic yet understated way. Upon closer inspection she saw that he had a light moustache and goatee.

‘Not bad...not bad at all.' She thought to herself. While she had been initially turned off by his apparent need to be the focal point of the conversation, Lexi now felt slightly drawn to him and hated it. One thing was for certain though, she vowed not to fall in the same category with the rest of his adoring fans, so she quickly buried that feeling.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he stood up and abruptly said, "Hey y'all, I gotta go."

It was shameful how dejected they looked when he said that. Lexi couldn't believe her eyes. Grown folks hanging on his every word! She shook her head in disbelief! Breezing past her, he winked and smiled once more before disappearing from the lounge.

‘Who is this man?' she thought to herself.

But even while questioning the thought, she wasn't sure if she truly wanted to find out. Back in her office, Lexi had looked through all her inventory and jotted down a few ideas for some lesson plans she wanted to explore when the bell rang. Looking at her watch, ‘Man today flew by' she said to herself. ‘I can't believe it's already 3:30!'

She started gathering up her things to get ready to leave. While she was walking out of the office, she saw some students running laps in the gym-but there was no teacher in sight.

‘Oh well, that's not my problem' she thought to herself. ‘I just started here!'

As she neared the exit doors she started rummaging around in her purse for her car keys. With her mind on a million other things, she didn't even notice that the door was already open and she ended up walking right into it.

‘GOT DAMN-IT', she exclaimed! Almost forgetting where she was, she looked around to make sure none of the kids heard her.

"Do you always talk to inanimate objects?" he said with a chuckle.

Startled, Lexi whirled around to see who was talking to her. Just as she suspected, it was Mr. Personality himself. He was actually much more handsome up close. Her facial expression changed from and annoyance to surprise-a pleasant one that is.

"No, I can't say that I do. I wasn't paying attention and I walked right into the door."

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"Thanks for asking. But I think I'm ok....I just stubbed my toe."

"I can massage all the soreness out of it if you want-besides being a teacher, I'm also a certified toeologist."

Pausing briefly, they both started cracking up.

Holding out his hand, "Ian Thomas. You were in the lounge earlier right?"

"Yeah- that was me." She said placing her hand in his.

"Alexis.....Alexis Edwards-but you can call me Lexi."

Lexi could swear that he held her hand a few seconds longer than normal....or maybe that was just her imagination wanting him to-she couldn't quite tell.

‘You're the new sub right?"

"Ah huh-I sure am."

"Well, hey-nice meeting you. I've gotta get back to these monsters. We're working off all that restless energy. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely. Have a good one."

"You too-don't forget what I said about the massage."

Lexi looked a bit dumbfounded. "Huh?" she said.

"The toe massage....Remember? Or back massage, maybe even a leg massage. Those are my specialty. The human touch is very powerful-you should let me show you sometimes." He said with a laugh while walking towards the kids.

Lexi stood there trying to figure out what just happened. ‘He was flirting with me' she thought to herself. And it felt kind of good..... Alexis was tall without being gawky and equally proportioned. Her hair was chocolate brown with red Undertones and cut in the latest fashionable bob. With lips that were full and fleshy-Lexi was quite a looker.

Walking down the hallway on her way to the attendance office the next morning she happened to pass by Mr. Thomas' class. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, he walked over to his teaching assistant and asked her to watch his class for a few minutes.

"Ms. Edwards?"

Turning around, she saw him and said "Good morning".

"Good morning. How are you today?"

"Doing well. You?"

"I'm a lot better now." he said with a grin.

"Those boots really compliment your outfit. You look very nice."

"Thanks."

There was a slight awkward pause so Lexi took that opportunity to make the next comment.

"I'm on my way to the attendance office.

Have a good one." "You too." He said.

She could feel his eyes poring through the fabric of her dress as she sauntered down the hall. And so it went for the next two months. The extra attention she gave to her wardrobe, footwear, makeup and hair seemed to be paying off. Flirting , flirting and more flirting. But that was it. He never asked for her number nor offered his. Never invited her out to lunch with him or anything-Lexi was quite perplexed. In her office before the end of the school day, she heard a knock on the door.

Greeted by one of her art students she wondered why he was out of class.

"Ms. Edwards, Mr. Thomas said that he wants you to come to his classroom at 3:30." Jonathon said.

"Did he say why Jonathon?"

"No he didn't Ms. Edwards. Ms. Edwards, when are we going to start on that roller coaster project you told us about?"

"Probably in a couple of weeks-we have to finish our collages first. Tell Mr. Thomas ok and I'll be there after school."

"Ms. Edwards-do you have any more of those mini Snickers you gave out yesterday?"

"Good bye Jonathon!"

Lexi wondered what was so urgent that Ian had to send a student to her office right before the end of the school day. She'd see soon enough.

"Knock, knock" she said while rapping on the wooden door panel.

"Ah, Ms. Edwards. Come in - please shut the door."

Lexi was pretty concerned now. He seemed very serious.

"What's up Ian?"

"Is the door closed?" he asked.

"Yeah...what's wrong?"

In a split instant his mood and tone changed. Walking over to her he said, "I hadn't laid eyes on you today and I had to see you before I went home."

"You've got to be kidding me. You went through all of that drama just to get me in here?"

"What's wrong with that?" he laughed.

"You are insane" she said while letting out a low laugh. Hoping that he would say something, anything to kick it up a notch-but, he didn't. They had a bit of small talk and then dead silence. Feeling a little bit deflated, Lexi decided to get out of there and go home. She couldn't understand what his motive was. She knew that he liked her or at least she thought he did. But at this point, Lexi wasn't sure of anything anymore.

There was a staff meeting the next morning and Lexi was asked to attend. She was one of the first to arrive and helped herself to a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. Pretty soon the rest of the staff started to filter in and in no time the room was filled with bodies and chatter. Ian was nowhere to be seen and that made Lexi feel a bit anxious. She was hoping that he would sit next to her when he got there, but now both seats on either side of her were taken. Making his grand entrance, Ian walked in followed by a gorgeous young woman.

"Welcome back Mrs. Thomas." Several of the staff said in unison.

Lexi wasn't sure who this woman was but she felt a little uneasy-that was never a good sign.

"So when was the big day?" one of the teachers chimed in.

She cozied up to Ian put one arm around his waist while wiggling her ring finger for all to see.

"Last Saturday in Vegas." She beamed while she planting a soft kiss on his neck. "It was so nice!"

"Congratulations to the Happy Couple!" said Mrs. Knox.

Lexi felt her chest tighten and her palms began to sweat. A look of sheer terror come over her face! Holding her composure, she tried to remain calm. Hoping for some type of eye contact, Ian never looked her way. Taking a few deep breaths, she started to relax and was able to make it through the meeting. Finishing up her day, she headed to the bathroom before leaving. On her way out the door she was stopped by Mrs. Knox.

"Ms. Edwards, I meant to talk to you about this earlier today but the time slipped away from me. I know this is short notice, but I'm unable to keep the agreement we had when you first started here. Ms. Washington, I mean Mrs. Thomas returned from her leave and will be taking her old job back. You're welcome to finish out the rest of the week but we will no longer be needing you after that. I will make sure to keep you name on file for any sub jobs that come up and you will be the first one I call." A swift kick in the stomach wouldn't have hurt as bad. Lexi didn't know what to say. She tried to speak but no words would come.

"Are you ok Ms. Edwards?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She said with a fake smile. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Will we be seeing you tomorrow then?"

"I will have to say no. But again thank you."

Leaving out of the building in a fog, Lexi fully understood the meaning of the term ‘Just Filling in'.