The usual clucking

Walking into the dining hall you see a few of the teachers already gathered around one table, eating their breakfast. While barely any of those students who have arrived early are here yet. Guess you can relate, still early and Saturday one couldn’t expect teenaged girls to be up and about early in the morning.

Exchanging a few good mornings and similarly short pleasantries with a few of the staff, you grab a bowl of yogurt and some fruit, and most importantly a cup of coffee, before taking your seat at the table. Sliding in next to your friend Honey Thibodeaux, with whom you quickly focus this morning’s chit-chat.

Inevitably the topic of conversation among the teachers goes from some of the standard gossip about life around the school and to the main topic on the lips of teacher and students alike. The prospect of the new teachers arriving following the decisions made by the board of regents over the summer.

“Can you believe it?” Miss Swanson huffed when someone had brought up the subject and turned to you to hear more about the planned time of arrival for the four new hires, “Bringing men the Pink Rose!” she continued, cutting off any chance for you to reply.

“Let’s see how they settle in,” young Alice, both librarian and cheerleading coach, interjects in her usual cheerful tone, “I think it’s pretty exciting.”

“Exciting?!” Miss Swanson scuffs, “What do you know? It’s just yet another long-standing tradition being ruined by this board.”

At this point Lorri McKay, the African American physics and chemistry teacher, jumps in and quickly it turns into something of a shouting match between the two. With a roll of your eyes you catch the grinning face of Honey next to you, having to strangle a laugh in your throat as the two goes at it, the rest of the ladies at the table contributing little else than a few groans.

“We don’t need them, don’t want them here,” Miss Swanson argues, “- Miss Naylor didn’t fight this terrible mistake without reason!” she brings you into the discussion.

“Ladies, ladies…” you raise a hand to bring silence the two, letting out a deep sigh when a few moments of silence finally fill the air, “No need to be at each other’s throats regarding this, yes I’ve made my reservations quite clear… to all of you and to the board of regents,” you let your eyes pass around the table, focusing on Miss Swanson and Miss McKay in particular, “- but hardly anything more we can do about it now, the decision has been made and we’ve have to make the best of it.”

“Still…” Miss Swanson begins, but your glare cuts her off.

“End of discussion, I don’t want any more of this infighting regarding this unfortunate decision by the board,” you cut through and after some long moments of silence the discussion turn towards the arrival of the new faculty members, making you realize the time and excuse yourself to head towards your office.

“Do give my love to our new coach,” Honey whispers to you in a playful, suggestive tone when you get up.

Glaring at her smiling face, you feel yourself blushing and quickly diverting your eyes before making your departure from the dining hall. God, you can’t believe that Cajun bitch! You smile a little, loving your old friend who could throw you off balance so easily. She had been the one acting like a baseball groupie that night, you had just hired a perfectly qualified coach to the school… you certainly wouldn’t have found the confidence to tease someone else if you were the one with that kind of a history with a new coworker, but you weren’t Honey.

You definitely weren’t like your friend, but maybe that is part of the reason you so enjoy your friendship… how she regularly makes you gasp when she shares her thoughts or experiences, and the couple of weeks you spend vacationing together each summer down south, always with Honey pushing you to test your limits as she parties as if still in college. This year along with… what was his name this year? You think trying to remember the name of her latest boytoy, some muscular younger stud who she had wrapped around her finger.

Reaching your office, you set about preparing for today. With the four men arriving over the next few hours your place their resumés in front of you to catch up on each one before their scheduled arrival and the prepared items for each man, some information, including their time-table, and the keys to their assigned cabins.

Glancing through the highly impressive file on Darnell Sharp briefly you find that no more preparation on your side is really required, instead your eyes turn towards your open handbag, lying on top of your desk and showing one corner of The Highlander’s Passionate Conquests… you’ve got some time before Mr. Sharp’s arrival, but you really shouldn’t…