Free The Heat Is On (Boston Five Book 1) by Poppy J. Anderson

leaning back in her chair.
    “Mr. Miller thinks you don’t want his son in your class and fail him on purpose.”
    She shook her head in exasperation. “Failing Justin wouldn’t get rid of him—it would mean he’s in my class again ! But it’s true—Justin refuses to participate in class or do his homework, and he keeps failing the tests. I’ve already tried to warn Mr. Miller that he might have to repeat the grade, but he doesn’t take me seriously at all. Instead, he always threatens to file a complaint against me.”
    “Which he has done,” the principal said carefully. He seemed to be suppressing a smirk.
    Hayden adopted an amused tone as well. “Are you going to give me a warning for this, or am I suspended?”
    “If I had to suspend every teacher who fails a student whose performance is inadequate, I’d have to hire robots to educate the kids. Have you decided whether he’ll move up yet?”
    Hayden took a large folder from her bag, opening it and searching for the relevant papers. Then she placed Justin’s performance chart on the table. She was relieved that she had painstakingly recorded every single lesson and taken copious notes. She pointed to her flawless documentation. “Due to his non-existent achievements, he’ll have no choice but to repeat. He’s already far behind most of his classmates.”
    “His father will not be happy to hear that.”
    She shrugged and replied, “It’s not as if this was an out-of-the-blue decision. I’ve been telling Mr. Miller for months about the problem with his son’s performance. I suggested private lessons or special tutoring, but he refused.”
    “He didn’t sound like a pleasant fellow on the phone. He’s the parent who recently broke a chair in your classroom, isn’t he?”
    She nodded and folded her hands in her lap. “He’s very aggressive, and frankly, he stank of alcohol. And since Justin has some major behavioral issues, I asked the school psychologist to have a word with him, too. He agrees with me that Justin is prone to violence. He’s far above average in that respect.”
    “I know Justin,” the concerned principal sighed. “The boy is bent on destruction. Only a week ago, he caused absolute mayhem during P.E. Ms. Pembroke told me he destroyed some hockey sticks in his anger.”
    Hayden cocked her head to the side, feeling uncomfortable. “I’m really concerned about Justin. I informed Child Protective Services, in the hope that they’ll look into what’s going on in his family.”
    “That was certainly the right decision on your part, but I don’t think Mr. Miller will be thrilled to hear it.”
    At the current moment, Hayden had many worrisome things on her mind, so she wasn’t that interested in Mr. Miller and his imminent wrath. A teacher often had to deal with both students and parents who felt they were being treated unfairly. Normally, she would go over the evidence once again and make sure she hadn’t been too harsh in her assessment, but in Justin’s case, there was no way around the fact that he had not even remotely met the demands of a fourth grade student.
    Whether his father agreed with her on that was irrelevant.
    “There is something else I wanted to ask you, Hayden,” Mr. Horrace went on, “even though I feel bad about the request, considering what you went through recently. But I still don’t have anyone to teach that last summer class. I wouldn’t ask you if the substitute hadn’t just canceled on me … just two weeks before break begins.”
    Summer school was among the most thankless tasks a teacher could assume. Hayden had long resolved to enjoy her time off, instead of taking the lousy extra money you could make teaching summer classes. She didn’t really need the money anyway, but she did need a vacation. Still, she found herself nodding resignedly. At least it would distract her and give her something to do.
     
     
     
     
    Hayden waited inside the small pizza place, which was only a few blocks