January 2012
"Sierra, this is Trish Crawford. You will be observing her class this semester," Lily said. Mrs. Duvall was the principal of the elementary school that Sierra was going to do her observing with. It was the last credit she needed before she graduated.
"Nice to meet you," Sierra said and held out her hand and shook the older woman's.
"I'll let you take it from here Trish," Lily said. She nodded and walked off down the hallway.
"My room is right here," Trish said and lead her into the small classroom. "Go ahead and have a seat here, and we can chat a bit since we have 45 minutes before class starts." Trish asked her questions and Sierra answered them, while throwing in a few questions of her own.
"Sierra!" Sierra turned and smiled when she saw Olivia coming out of the bathroom. She and Trish were heading back to the classroom from the teachers lounge during their break.
"Hey Olivia, you have to call me Ms. Stevens here," Sierra said to the little girl.
"Okay," Olivia gave her a hug. "See you later."
"Bye," Sierra grinned and watched Olivia disappear back into her classroom. She had forgotten that this was the school were Olivia went, and was happy to see a familiar face.
"How do you know Olivia?"
"She is my boyfriend's daughter," Sierra answered as she followed the older women, back into her classroom.
"Oh - good thing you are teaching with me then and not Mrs. Jacobs across the hall."
"Why do you say that?" Sierra asked curiously as she took her seat.
"Relations like that interfere with the class," Trish said.
"She's a sweet girl."
"That child is a nightmare. Absolutely spoiled, and Mr. Timberlake doesn't know what he's doing," she scoffed. Sierra was surprised by her words. She had seen how he interacted with Olivia, and that wasn't the case.
"He's doing the best he can," Sierra stood up for him, "and I think he is doing a fine job raising her." Sierra had quickly discovered that Mrs. Crawford was very old fashioned when it came to teaching and relating with children. It would take her some time to adjust to it, but she hoped that they both could adjust to each other's way of thinking.
"You should have heard her Justin," Sierra said later that day, she was recounting her first day at the elementary school. She hit her hand on the marble countertop, frustrated with Trish Caldwell's behavior earlier that day. Justin was standing at the stove, mixing vegetables around the pan. "She was so rude, and I know that she doesn't like me just because -"
"Mrs. Crawford doesn't like anyone, and especially not me." He turned around.
"Ugh! She just makes me so mad," Sierra fumed.
"The woman is like 100, and hasn't realized that times have changed." Justin chuckled and walked over to where she stood. "You just have to stick it out Sierra," his arms wrapped around her. "You'll be a fine teacher, and who knows, maybe you can replace her, huh?" Sierra wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his chest. She nodded as he kissed her forehead. Cameron fussed from his highchair, and Sierra pulled away from Justin.
"Always gotta have all of the attention," She walked over to the baby and kissed his head.
"Do you want to call the girls down for dinner?"
"Sure." Sierra walked out of the room, and called for the girls who were upstairs playing in Cora's room. She walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the table next to Cameron's highchair. Justin set the food on the table, and sat down just as the girls came into the kitchen.
"So do you want to go out for a nice dinner Friday night?" He asked.
"I would love too," Sierra answered and opened the can of baby food that was sitting on the table. She set it back down so she could fix Cora a plate quickly, and then moved on to feed Cameron, before herself.
"Why the fancy dinner Justin?" Sierra asked him that Friday. He had taken her to an upscale restaurant for dinner, and now they were seated and waiting for their food to come.
"Your first week is done, and I thought we should celebrate it." Justin said. He smiled at the waiter as he set two glasses on the table and poured wine into each glass.
"And I am glad it's done and I survived, and now I can't wait to see what happens in the coming weeks." Sierra grinned. Justin was happy because she was happy. "I have to start coming up with lesson plans, because in two weeks I get to teach the class. Which I am really excited about."
"That's great Sierra, and I know you'll be the best. You'll be better then Mrs. Crawford," he winked. Sierra giggled and reached for the glass of wine that was placed in front of her. They talked more about Mrs. Crawford, and what Sierra was thinking of doing with the kids. There food came and they ate.
"Olivia is having a sleepover for her birthday in a couple of weeks, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over and helping out?" Justin asked when they were in the car on the way home. "I don't know if I can handle a bunch of screaming girls all night."
"Well how many friends is she inviting?" Sierra asked.
"Just three, and she wants Cora to come too," He looked over at her quickly and then back at the road.
"I'll leave once they are tucked safely in their sleeping bags and come back in the morning to make breakfast, so what day is this?"
"Today is Friday," Justin grinned. Sierra rolled her eyes, "It's on the 30th. I was just going to order pizza and then put them in front of the TV."
"You are an amazing party planner," Sierra giggled and rolled her eyes again.
"See, that is why I need you." Justin reached over and picked up her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it.
"I'll come up with some things."
"Thank you," He leaned over and kissed her quickly. They got to Sierra's house and Justin walked her to the door, since he had to pick up Olivia anyway. Carrah had been babysitting her, along with Cora and Cameron, every time Justin and Sierra went out, since it was easier for them.
"Hey, you're still up," Justin said when they walked into the living room. Olivia was sitting on the couch, with her legs tucked under. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah," Olivia answered as Justin picked her up. He kissed her cheek and set her down.
"Go get your bag so we can go." The little girl ran off into the kitchen. "Thanks for watching her Carrah."
"Always a pleasure. She's a great girl," Carrah answered. "I thought ya'll would be out later."
"I had a busy week, didn't want to be out late." Sierra said. "How were Cora and Cameron?"
"Good too," Carrah answered as Olivia came back into the living room. "How about I get Olivia in the car and leave you two alone for a minute. Come on Olivia."
"Night Sierra." Olivia gave Sierra a hug.
"See you," Sierra kissed her on the head and then watched her leave the room with Carrah.
"Thank you for tonight," Sierra said.
"Anytime," He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "So can I kiss you now?"
"What are you waiting for? We've been dating for two whole months." Sierra put her arms around his neck.
"I wasn't sure …" Justin shrugged and looked down at her. Sierra smiled and stood on her toes to kiss him. There lips met, and Justin's head followed hers as Sierra's feet sunk back to rest flat on the carpet. Sierra moved him closer and deepened the contact.
"That was nice," Sierra said when they pulled apart. Justin nodded and kissed her again.
"I better go," Justin said. He held onto her hand as they walked to the door. Justin opened it with his freehand and kissed her again. "Good night."
"Good night." Sierra squeezed his hand and dropped it as he stepped onto the porch. "Call me."
"I will," He leaned down again and gave her one last kiss. Sierra watched him step off of the porch and walk to his car. Sierra closed the door with one last wave, and walked into the living room to turn off the TV and lights.
