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It had been nearly a month since school had started and things for Sammie were great. Her classes were going well, there hadn't been any major issues with any of her students, and her relationship with Chris couldn’t have been any better, even if they have been dating for only a few months. Even her anxiety issues had been under control.
She was hoping by getting to school early, she would miss running into the principal. That was the one thing that wasn’t going smoothly this year. She knew her principal held daily meetings an hour before school started in one of the conference rooms and tried to avoid run-ins whenever possible. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her boss. It was more or less that her boss gave her this odd feeling. There was something about her Sammie didn’t like, but couldn’t put her finger on it. Every time she was in the same room as her, the atmosphere felt different, it seemed cooler. Her principal also was seemed full of herself because she was so young and in a higher position than most people her age.
She had gotten to school early like she always did. After putting her lunch in the refrigerator in the teachers’ lounge and making some last minute copies for the day, she headed down to the office to check her mailbox.
As always, there wasn’t much in Sammie’s mailbox. Just information regarding the upcoming school fall dance and schedule changes for a couple of students. It was all typical school-related stuff until she came across a white envelope from the principal that had her name written on it. Turning it over, she noticed that it was sealed. She swallowed the lump in her throat and could feel her heart dropping. This was a big deal for her. She had never gotten a sealed envelope out of the blue with no warning attached.
Walking back to her room, Sammie couldn’t think of why she had gotten something that required the privacy and security of an envelope. She hadn't applied for any grant money this year, so she knew it wasn’t about that. She couldn't remember requesting any confidential information either. She was completely stumped and started to feel like it was bad news.
Knowing there were more pressing matters to take care of before her students arrived, Sammie set the envelope aside when she got back to her classroom. She responded to a few emails and then made sure her room was set up perfectly for the activity she had planned for today.
As she worked, her mind kept whirling over what could possibly be in the envelope and she finally decided she couldn't wait any longer. She walked to her desk, sat down and used her fingernails to tear it open. Inside was a letter from the principal requesting her presence at a meeting the following week. There weren’t any specifics other than the date, time and the fact that her union representative was going to attend as well. In fact, that wasn’t always a good thing. Having a union representative in a meeting usually meant that some sort of disciplinary action was taking place.
It was then that Sammie realized she was shaking. Never in her six years of teaching had anything like this happened. She wracked her brain trying to think of something that would warrant such a letter, but nothing came; absolutely nothing. She had been considered a highly effective teacher for the last two years, so she doubted it was anything to do with her teaching.
The voices of students coming into her room snapped Sammie of her thoughts. She put the letter back in the envelope and shoved it in the back of her desk and realized she would have to deal with her principal after all.
************
Sammie’s anxiety had been taking over since she found out about her meeting with her principal. She had been talking to her mom throughout the week about the letter. Her mom was the one person she could talk to about anything and would receive the best feedback.
It was during those phone calls with her mom that Sammie's emotions bubbled to the surface. Her mom listened to every tear filled sob and gave her view on the situation: that there was nothing for Sammie to worry about. When Sammie brought up the fact that her union representative would be present, her mom assured her that it was just for formalities and that they were just 'crossing their T's and dotting their I's'.
Other than when she was on the phone with her mom, had kept her emotions in check especially when she talked to Chris. She hadn't told him anything about the meeting. He was busy preparing to reprise his role as Steve Rogers in the upcoming Avengers movie and she hadn't wanted to worry him about something that might be nothing.She had been trying to play things off the best she could without letting anything slip. That had been going well until the night before the meeting when she accidently slipped up. He had seemed a little upset that she had kept it from him, but he had encouraged her to get everything off her chest. She had started with the letter and the fact that she didn’t have any information regarding the meeting and then went off on her uneasiness with the principal.
When the day of the meeting finally arrived, Sammie was a nervous wreck on her drive to work, letting the tears fall. This was truly a nightmare for her. She loved her job, especially working with the kids. The thought that it could all in jeopardy made the tears that she had been keeping at bay break loose. Her body racked with sobs, clouding her vision on the road to the point she had to pull over for a few minutes.
Sammie had always prided herself on the ability to separate her personal life from her school life, but it was impossible this time around. Her emotions were all over the place and she had even snapped at a student, something she had never done before.
Lunch couldn’t have come any sooner. Sammie only had one more class after lunch and then the meeting. She walked to the teachers' lounge, pulled her lunch out of the fridge, and sat down at one of the tables. Instead of being her normal chatty self, Sammie just half listened to the other conversations at the table. She wasn't really paying attention, but she gathered there had been a fight that had broken out in a class and it had taken ten minutes for administration and security to arrive.
While the other teachers gossiped, Sammie's mind was going through all the different ways this meeting could possibly play out. She was beginning to focus on the worst case scenario--being fired--when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
Pulling the phone out, she saw it was Chris and was thankful to have an escape from her thoughts.
“Hey you!” Sammie smiled, excusing herself from the lounge. The smile was forced at first, but just picturing him sitting in his trailer dressed like Captain America brought a genuine smile to her face.
“Hey, Sweetheart. I know you have your meeting...and you’re freaking out. Just relax. Breathe. Chill. It’ll be okay.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who is freaking the fuck out over some meeting. I’m the baby elephant being led into the lion's den for dinner.” She could hear Chris stifle a laugh on the other end. “This isn’t funny, ya know. Ugh...Chris. If you’re calling just to freak me out more, I’m hanging up.” Sammie was about to hang up when she heard Chris yell, “wait” from the other end.
“I’m sorry. It’s just...you’re overthinking. I’m sure it isn’t bad at all. Maybe it’s something to do with your new position....programs to attend….meetings, whatever it is you teachers do.”
“Chris, thank you for trying to calm me down. It’s just-”
“Sammie, I get it. You love your career just as much as I love mine. I know. You’d do anything for it. So I understand. It’s the same for me. I know you got this. Just be you.” Chris was soft spoken, trying to help her calm down.
Sammie let out a big sigh. “You’re right. I do need to relax. But what if they blindside me? What if I don’t come prepared with everything? What if they’re firing me? What if-”
“Samantha, stop with the 'what ifs.' That’s what’s gonna cause you to lose control. Go in with an open mind. Relax, Baby.”
Letting out a deep breath, she smiled into the phone saying, “Thanks, Babe. Go in with an open mind. Got it. Oh, before I go, you think I can borrow Cap’s shield? I think I might need it?”
“You think you’re funny, huh? Will you call me when you’re done then, please? I just wanna know how it went.”
“I promise to call after my meeting. But I gotta go. Kids are waiting at my door.” Sammie rushed to her room, to unlock it and let her students in.
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too!”
**********
When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Sammie let out a loud sigh as she was done with her teaching duties for the day. She spent the next several minutes picking up her classroom, putting away calculators her students hadn't, putting the desks back into the perfect rows they had been at the beginning of the day, and then putting together materials for the absent students.
Sitting down at her desk, she had five additional minutes until she had to make her way down to the front office. Sammie decided to busy herself by straightening up her already organized desk.
When her time was up, she stood from the desk, grabbed her keys and headed towards to office.
On her walk there she kept telling herself everything was going to be okay. She’d been at the school for six years and there had never been a complaint against her. She repeated those facts in her head in a chant-like form.
Arriving at the main office, she continued to the principal's assistant's office.
“Hey, Maria. How are you?” Sammie asked, hiding her anxiety behind a smile.
“Hey yourself, Sammie. I’m good. Ya know...counting down the minutes until the school day is done. How are you?”
“I’m good. Settling down into a new school year. You don’t happen to know what this meeting is about, do you?” Sammie was hopeful Maria would share what was gonna happen.
“Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to say, Sammie. I’m sorry. You know I’d tell you if I didn’t think I’d get in trouble.” Maria apologized.
“No, it’s okay. No worries. I understand.”
“I’m sorry, Hun. I really am. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be, but if you could take a seat just outside, I’ll let you know when she’s ready for you.”
Sammie nodded and went to got sit in one of the seats outside of her office.
Her appointment time came and went, only making her anxiety worse. She had already flipped through all of the magazines laid out. The dismissal bell, signaling the end of the day, had even gone off.
Another fifteen minutes passed before she was called into the principal’s office. Sammie was introduced to her union rep, Jan Martin, who asked Sammie if she knew why she was being called into this meeting.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Sammie responded.
The two walked into the adjoining conference room where they were met by Jennifer Williams, the principal, who offered no smile of reassurance to Sammie, and two individuals from Human Resources who introduced themselves as Lacy Books and Tim Rivers.
Once everyone sat down and settled in, Ms. Williams began the meeting.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Davis. How are you?” Ms. Williams asked.
“I’m good, Ms. Williams, thank you.” Sammie sweetly answered.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you in here today along with a couple of people from Human Resources.”
“Yes, just a little curious.”
"Everything will make sense, I'm sure, momentarily. Before that, however, Ms. Davis, for the record, can you please state what your relationship is to Mr. Chris Evans."
"Chris is my boyfriend," Sammie replied cautiously. She wasn't sure what Chris had to do with any of this. She wasn't even sure how her boss even knew about Chris.
“Thank you, Ms. Davis. There have been some discussions, between the administration as well as with people from the district office about this situation. All of which have come to the same conclusion, Ms. Davis. We believe your relationship with Mr. Evans is putting your job at risk.”
Sammie's jaw dropped in shock at the unexpected blow.
“Ms. Davis, are you aware that recently your relationship with Mr. Evan went public?” Mr. Rivers spoke before Sammie had a chance to say anything.
“Public? What? No. Neither of us has mentioned anything about being in a relationship in general, and especially not with each other. How would anyone find out about us?”
Sammie felt like she was going to throw up at this revelation. Chris had worked hard making sure their relationship was under wraps. Not because he was ashamed to be with her, but he wanted his private life, private and she agreed.
“Well Ms. Davis,” Ms. Williams started. “It seems that a parent of one of our students took a picture with Mr. Evans with their child in front of the school and posted it on social media. And from there it seemed that someone had stated why he was there.” Ms. Williams handed Sammie a paper that had the photo with all the comments and highlighted the ones she was mentioning.
Sammie didn’t know how to respond. She was shocked and speechless. How could her relationship with Chris be putting her job at risk? Until this moment, no one knew about their relationship except close friends and family. Or at least, that's what she'd thought. She and Chris hadn’t even discussed when they were going to announce their relationship public or if they were at all.
She sat there trying to find the right words to say, not wanting to come off as defensive. The last thing she wanted to do was make the situation worse.
“I’m sorry...I- I guess I’m just confused. How is my relationship with my boyfriend putting my job at risk? He hasn’t come to visit during the school day to visit me or any of the students -”
“So he’s come after hours then?” Ms. Books interrupted.
“No... well..he came to help me setup my classroom, but that was over a month ago. I still don’t know how that has anything to do with my job.” Sammie knew she was getting snippy with these ridiculous questions and tried to rein herself in. Even stopping herself for making a sarcastic comment about not realizing the school had a say in her choice of boyfriend.
“Ms. Davis, if I may-” Ms. Williams began to ask.
“Please, call me Sam.” Sammie interrupted.
“Sam, by dating Mr. Evans, you could be putting the students at risk here. There are the internal risks of them becoming obsessed or fascinated with the idea of meeting Mr. Evans to the point that they will do anything to meet him.” Ms. Williams smiled internally at her last statement. She wondered if she would get a chance to meet Chris herself.
"There is also the possibility that the press could set up camp in front of the school for a chance to see Mr. Evans or yourself. And we can’t have that. We can’t risk the privacy of our students and the school.”
“So what are you trying to say?” Sammie questioned, unsure of where this was going.
“What we’re trying to say, Ms. Davis...I mean Sam,” Mr. Rivers spoke up for the first time during this meeting, “is that we can’t have one of our staff members, who is to set an example for our youth, parading around with some Hollywood star. We can’t have one of our own being featured in gossip columns, magazine, and social media, be it good or bad. That is not setting an example of these students.”
“Mr. Rivers, if I may, what I do in my personal life is no one’s business but my own. When I come to work here every day, I teach. To my students, I’m Ms. Davis, their Pre-Algebra or Algebra teacher. To them, I’m not someone dating a ‘Hollywood Star,’ as you said. I’m just their teacher, mentor, and someone they look up to every day. They don’t see me as what you or the rest of the world may see me.
“Honestly, if this is such an issue, wouldn’t you have parents already contacting me about my relationship? How might it be disrupting the learning environment? I haven't had any complaints from parents yet. You would think something would have been said as early as the open house, a few weeks ago. And so far nothing. So, please, tell me, how is this an issue?”
Sammie was furious. She couldn’t believe any of this was happening to her. And her fucking union rep wasn’t even doing anything to help her. What’s the point of having her rep here if she isn’t going to do crap?
“Sam, we are not questioning your teaching skills whatsoever. You’re one of the top teachers in the district. You’ve been the teacher of the year twice.” Ms. Williams started off, as to help soften the blow. “What concerns us is how it could affect your teaching. And not only that, but also the reputation you have in the district and the schools. I hate to say this Sam, but if your name continues to be featured in gossip magazines and television, we might have to take disciplinary action.”
If her name continues? What were people already saying about her? She had never been one to read or watch any gossip related news, so anything would be new to her at this point.
“If I may, can I see these magazines you are referring to?”
“You may. But Sam, I just want you to be clear on all of this. We would hate to see this get any worse. I think it’s best if you and Mr. Evans sit down and discuss what actions need to be taken in order for this to work out for everyone.” Ms. Williams stated.
“Ms. Williams, are you suggesting we break up in order for me to keep my job?” Sammie was shocked at what her boss was suggesting.
“All I’m saying is just weigh all of your options carefully. That is all….I don’t have anything else here to discuss. Any questions?”
"No, I don’t have any questions at the moment. But if I do, I will be sure to direct them your way. If I may, the magazines?”
********
Sammie left the meeting still in complete shock. She thought it was total bullshit what they were saying about her job. What it “could” do to her students? Really? She had done nothing to put the lives of her students’ education at risk. Sammie was a professional. Never once did she put her students in a harmful learning environment. As a teacher, she kept things professional, not once bringing her personal life into the mix. For them to say it was putting her students at harm, just pissed her off.
Opening the magazines, she flipped through until she came across Chris’s face with the title, "Mystery Girl". Even the magazine wasn’t clever enough to come up with a more catchy title. All they were spewing were lies. She wasn’t "good enough" for him. Why date "a teacher" when he could have "any Hollywood starlet"?
Other magazines were saying things about her. How she’s a wild child, partying until all hours of the night. How she can’t keep a relationship for more than a hot minute. That she’s controlling.
Where were people coming up with this stuff? Sammie was all for people giving their opinion. But when their "opinion" was nothing but false information, it pissed her off. She was going to get to the bottom of this before her career and relationship were ruined.