He Reigns on the Mountain

He Reigns on the Mountain - Chapter 4

1 Corinthians 13: 1    If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Chapter 4

The next day, Jess had her first day with students. She wished she could say that things went smoothly. But, no teacher has ever had a smooth first day of teaching. Even though she was prepared and had everything ready she learned the fast rule of flexibility for teachers. Best laid plans in the classroom often have to be changed at a moments notice when something unexpected happens. Needless to say, Jess did not plan on one of her young students bringing a kitten to school in their backpack. Jess, who is highly allergic, realized something was wrong within fifteen minutes. First her throat started itching, then her eyes started watering, then she started sneezing, and sneezing, and sneezing. By the fourth of fifth sneeze, Jess knew what was happening, but how does she find the cat? That was easy, one of the students found it trying to escape the backpack. Fast thinking, Jess went into her storage closet and pulled out an empty box she had just unpacked last week. She had a student put the cat in the box, close the lid and take the box outside until after school. Opening the windows, Jess was able to clear the dander out of the room and stopped sneezing in a few minutes. She decided that they would take an early recess and go outside until she recovered fully and was able to breath better. After ten minutes in the fresh air Jess felt much better, although she was sure her eyes were still swollen.

After going inside, she told the class of a new rule. “I love that you want to bring the world into the classroom, but I am going to have to ask that no animals are brought to school unless they are approved by me first. I have always been allergic to furry animals, so we will need to make plans for those animals to visit our school.”

The student who brought the cat felt terrible, but they did not know and she spoke to them later telling them that she was not mad at them and that she would recover. The rest of the day went pretty much according to plan..

At the end of the day, she was cleaning up and looking at first day writing samples from all the students. Someone cleared their throat at the back of the classroom. Looking up, she found Jamie standing there.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, but I didn’t want to frighten you.” Jamie said as he walked in. Noticing Jess’s red and swollen eyes, Jamie jumped to the wrong conclusion. “What happened? Why have you been crying?” Jamie said as he came to kneel by her desk.

“No, someone brought a cat to school. And. . . I am highly allergic.” Jess said. “The symptoms are gone since I aired the classroom out, but I haven’t been able to take an allergy pill. I normally carry a few with me, but I forgot I changed bags.”

“Oh.” Jamie said and she could see the muscles in his face relax. “How was the rest of your day?”

“Really good. I have some great writing samples and started evaluating the students reading ability. We had a great discussion and lesson on ‘What is America?’ It was a really good day.”

“I am glad to hear that!” Jamie said. “I came by to get a book. Have you seen it?” Jamie said starting to walk towards the back. “I left it here yesterday. It is devotional journal with a blue cover?”

“Yes. I put it in my desk. I thought I would bring it to you tonight. I didn’t read it.” Jess said as she reached into her drawer. “But, I opened the cover to see your name and I put it away in a safe place.”

Jamie did not need the book, eventually he could come by and get it. He could have even waited until tonight after Jess left. But all day he had wanted to see her and planned his visit knowing the students were gone. He knew he could not fall for her, but couldn’t they be friends? He loved hanging out with her, it was as natural as breathing.