Free Difficult Lessons by Tammie Welch Page A

door behind him during her planning period. 
    Jumping at the sound of his voice, Sara looked up from the papers she was grading. “Sir?”
    Mr. Michaels tossed an envelope on her desk. “What is the meaning of this?”
    Sara opened the envelope as if she had no idea what it was. She quickly read through the letter and slid it back into the envelope. “It seems pretty self-explanatory to me, Mr. Michaels.  I feel that I am being discriminated against because of the suspicions and narrow-mindedness of a few people. I also feel that you have no justifiable reason not to renew my contract. You have twisted the morality clause in our employee handbook to attempt to justify your actions and degrade me. I cannot say anything more to you on the subject, but Ms. Karen Jameson will be happy to speak with you on my behalf. If you don’t mind, I have some things to do. I am still responsible for my students. I am still a teacher here for at least two more months.” Sara turned her attention back to the papers in front of her and Mr. Michaels left her classroom, obviously not pleased with the situation. 
    Sara had developed a new determination. The old Sara would have broken down after that confrontation. She had told her parents and Cynthia that she planned to stand up for herself and she intended to do just that.
    Instead of being upset, she was angry. She was angry that they were trying to damage her career and her reputation, and angry that Mr. Michaels would come into her classroom and demand an explanation from her. Sara felt that she was the one that deserved the explanation. 
    Sara calmed herself and went to the teachers’ lounge to call Karen. She told her exactly what had just happened and assured her that she did not say anything else to Mr. Michaels. Karen told her that she would take care of it. Looking at the clock, Sara realized it was almost time for sixth period to start.
     
    ***
     
    Sara pushed the play button on her answering machine as soon as she was inside the house. The first message was from Cynthia. “Call me as soon as you get this.”
    The second message was from one of the school board members, Terry Lyons. He asked her to call him at home. Sara left his message on the machine. She might call him. He had always been very friendly with her and he might be an ally.
    The third message was rather shocking. “Ms. Carson, This is Kendra Breeden, with The Times . If you can, please give me a call this evening. I have a rather important matter to discuss with you. My number is 397-6438. “
    “What the hell? A reporter?”
    The next message was Cynthia again and it was more urgent than the last. 
    The final message was from Karen. “Sara, it is urgent that I speak with you. Call me at the office as soon as you get this.”
    Sara called Cynthia first, who answered on the first ring.
    “What is going on?” Sara asked almost in a panic.
    “You haven’t heard yet?” Cynthia sounded surprised. 
    “Heard what? I just got in from work. I have quite a few messages on my machine. As soon as I listened to all of them, I called you. Tell me what is going on?” Sara was sounding annoyed.
    “Who all has called you?”
    “You left me two messages. Terry Lyons called. He is a board member. Karen called. Then some reporter called. I don’t have a clue what that is about. Your messages sounded so urgent I had to call you first,” Sara explained. 
    “Hang up and call Karen. She can explain everything to you. You really need to talk with her as soon as you can. Call me back after you talk with her.”
    Sara dialed Karen’s number. Her secretary answered and immediately transferred the call. 
    “Someone has leaked a bit of your story to the newspaper. It isn’t a positive side, from what I gather.” Karen went on to explain the rest. “I think it might have been that parent that you told me about. Ms. Breeden called me this afternoon. She wants to meet with you to get your side. I told her that I would