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“What’s with all the balloons? You trying to float away? ‘Cause I say go for it.”
“Hello to you too, Ava,” Janine responded to her boss’s roast politely. To be fair, Janine was indeed holding a large number of balloons in each hand. And she had worried, perhaps for just a second, whether a strong gust of wind could blow her away in this state. But she recovered from that thought quickly by thinking of Gregory’s confounded expression during the discussion in the teacher’s lounge yesterday. Janine was not someone who believed that pigeons were a government conspiracy, or that the moon landing was fake, or that a handful of balloons could carry her full body weight up into the atmosphere. She believed in science! And science was what these balloons were all about!
“Well, even though you wasted all those eggs yesterday, there is some good news,” Ava told Janine as they walked in the same direction down the hallway.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Janine was almost certain this was a trap, but took the bait anyways - she could really use some good news.
“My TikTok of you having a mental breakdown on the second step of that ladder is my third most-liked video ever! People love watching other people’s pain, am I right?”
Ava was filled with joy as she spoke, but Janine could only give her a deadpan stare back, not having the energy to form any sort of comeback.
“Great. Well, happy I could help,” Janine said dully.
“You climbing the ladder again today? What time should I be in the gym?” Ava asked gleefully.
“No more ladders,” said Janine. “Gregory helped me see that the egg drop is too advanced for my second graders, so we’re trying a more age appropriate activity.” She held up her balloons.
“You talked to Gregory about that last night?” Ava asked slyly.
“No, earlier today.”
“Hmm. Y’all talk a lot, huh?” Ava continued. Janine was confused about where this conversation was going.
“Yeah, we’re dedicated to helping each other become better teachers,” Janine said, not entirely sure why she was feeling defensive all of the sudden. “And we’re like…friends.”
“Friends. Mmhmm.” Ava looked doubtful as she scrolled on her phone. There was silence for a second, as Janine approached her classroom and stopped walking. Ava was about to continue on down the hall when Janine stopped her.
“Ava. What are you on about?”
“Nothing,” Ava gave a shrug with a little smirk, and Janine was reminded of when her second graders were trying to keep a secret. “Just, I heard him in the teacher’s lounge yesterday, volunteering to help you with your little science project after work. You know what we call a boy who agrees to spend hours of his free time helping with a mess you got yourself into?”
“Nice?” Janine offered.
“Whipped,” Ava corrected. Janine gaped. She wasn’t sure if she should call Ava crazy, or wrong, or ask for more evidence. Ava interpreted Janine’s silence for herself. “Oh I forgot, you got the vocabulary of a grandmother. ‘Whipped’ means he's embarrassingly into you.”
“I know what it means!” Janine felt herself getting warm, not from Ava’s insult but from her implications. “And you don’t know what you’re talking about. Gregory is a nice guy, he just wanted to help out.” She looked over Ava’s shoulder to see if Gregory was in his classroom, but it was thankfully empty - the class must have still been at lunch.
“Yeah alright,” Ava said, and Janine was getting tired of seeing that doubtful expression on her face. “I’m just saying, I haven’t seen him stay hours after school to help Jacob. Or me, for that matter. But you know, if his type is small and annoying, it finally makes sense why he’s never made a move on me.”
Janine couldn’t listen to this anymore. She knew Ava was wrong, because if Gregory was into her, he wouldn’t be going on dates with Amber. But she didn’t want to reveal to her boss how much that hurt - Ava already had too much material for her roasts.
“Well thank you for this enlightening discussion that was completely not factual,” Janine said, wrapping up the conversation. “But now I have to get back to what’s real: science.” And shaking off the whirlwind of emotions that were the past several minutes (and really, the past two days), Janine put a smile on her face and walked into her classroom with two handfuls of balloons, to the delighted gasps of her second graders.
Ava continued down the hallway, unbothered. Just because people didn’t want to listen to her, didn’t mean she wasn’t right. Plus, Janine didn’t overhear the conversation that Ava overheard yesterday….
The Previous Day, 3:45PM
“Hey Amber, how’s it going?” Ava stopped in her tracks when she heard the male voice. The students were gone and the hallways were empty. She’d be gone too, but she'd lost track of time learning a new TikTok dance in her office. Ava realized the voice was a one-sided phone call coming from Gregory’s classroom, so she settled by the wall to eavesdrop. At the least she’d get to hear his sexy voice, and at the most she’d get some dirt that she might be able to use.
“Look, I know we had plans tonight, but I’m gonna have to cancel.” There was a pause as Amber must have responded on the other end of the line. “No, I know you were. Something came up at work and I really need to be here. I’m sorry. We’ll get together another night.”
Ava’s eyes widened. She was sure he had said earlier that Amber had already canceled their plans. And here he was, canceling on her…so he could spend time with Janine?! Who would choose Janine over that bad bitch Amber? Ava shook her head. That boy was whipped.