Free Unlikely Allies by Tiffany King Page B

I would show him I had it in me or die trying, a silent voice mocked me.
    "Are you sure? I'd understand if you want ed an out. I know I kind of spra ng all of this on you."
    "I'm positive," I said, meaning it for the first time.
    "Fantastic," he said, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "Now go in there and show them who's boss," he added, indicating the closed door behind me.
    "Um, right. How do I do that?" I asked as he burst out laughing.
    "Be firm. They respect an authoritative tone."
    "Right," I said doubtfully.
    He laughed again. "You got this," he said, winking at me before strolling away.
    Obviously, it made him happy that I didn’t want to give up. No w I just had to prove to both of us that I wasn’t going to disappoin t him again. I twisted the door knob and stepped back i nto the craft room. Several cat calls followed my entrance. Taking a deep breath, I turned to face the offenders.
    “Shut it!” I demanded. They looked surprised at first and then grinned at me.
    “Is that funny? I’ll tell you what, embarrass me like that again in front of Rick, and I’ll make sure every girl here knows you wet the bed at night. And I can be awfully convincing.”
    You could hear a pin drop for a moment as I stared directly into their eyes. I knew they were waiting for me to flinch, but I maintained an unreadable poker face, all the while, trying to hide my shaking legs under my skirt.
    “Works for me,” one of the boys finally answered, cracking first.
    "Teach found herself some balls out there in the hall," a voice in the back called out.
    "I want all the clay picked up in the next two minutes with a piece roughly this size in front of each of you," I said in a deadly serious voice as I held up a piece of clay the size of a softball. "Time starts now , or you can choose to ignore me and spend an extra rotation this afternoon with me instead of archery or canoeing. "
    Without hesitation, everyone jumped from their chairs and began picking up the mess of clay that was scattered about the room. I watched as they exchanged stares, trying to appear cool and unconcerned. "It's your pick. Of course, I have cute origami flowers picked out for the afternoon class that you might be interested in," I added, digging it in a little further.
    "Hell no am I making some pansy-ass flower," Trent said, dropping down to the ground so he could pick up the offending balls of clay.
    I turned away again, letting out a deep breath. It worked, I could do this, I thought gleefully.
    "Nice job, teach," a small skinny boy said quietly beside me.
    "They're a good lot, but just need a firm hand," he said wisely.
    I fought the urge to laugh at his adult like choice of phrasing.
    "I see. What about you?"
    "I'm the good boy who’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, running his finger over some angry looking scars that ran up the back of his left hand disappearing under the cuff of his worn flannel shirt.
    "I see, so you're just a silent observer?" I asked, trying to hide my horror at the scars that marred his skin.
    "Exactly," he said, grinning at me. "I'm Quinn," he said, holding out his hand so I could shake it.
    "Kimberly," I said, holding out my own hand.
    He laughed. "We all know who you are. I'm just relieved you pulled on your big girl panties and showed these lugs you're here to stay," he whispered conspiratorially as the others finally slid into their chairs.
    I smiled at hi m, enchanted with his mature dialect. "Well, Quinn, you just remind me of that if it looks like I'm losing control again."
    "Will do, t each," he said before pulling his own chair up to the table.
    His words spurred me on as I instructed the now silent class on how to construct the lumpy ball of nothing into something that would inspire them. I forgot that I was talking to a bunch of unruly boys as I lost myself in my craft. Art had always been second nature to me, as natural as breathing. From as young as I could remember, I had used