Read Online Playing by Heart by Anne Mateer - Free Book Online Page A

first-year algebra problem.
    An existing teacher could take over music, and I could teach an academic subject. Hope surged. That’s how I’d approach it.Calm descended as I pulled open the door to the principal’s office and announced my name and my interest in a teaching position.
    The woman behind the desk smiled. “You’ve come at the perfect time. Principal Gray is eating lunch in his office today.” I followed her to a closed door. She knocked, then pushed it open. I stepped boldly inside.
    A middle-aged man stood, wiped his hands on a square of cloth, and swallowed before speaking. “Ronald Gray.” He extended his hand, gave mine a firm shake. “How may I help you, Miss—” He gestured toward a chair. I sat.
    â€œBowman. Lula Bowman.” I clutched my handbag in my lap, fingering the clasp. “I . . . moved to town recently and am in need of a job.” No use playing up Jewel’s sob story. Either I’d secure this position with my own experience or I would not.
    The man smiled, then his bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrows inched toward his nose. “Are you Mrs. Wyatt’s sister?”
    I sighed. I might have known news of my presence in Dunn would have spread. “Yes, sir.”
    He shook his head. “Such a sad situation. Davy will be missed in this town. He was a friend to all.”
    I nodded, a lump lodging in my throat. Davy had been coming around to see Jewel since I was just a bit older than Inez. He’d acted more a brother to me than my own. “Hang on, Fruity Lu,” he’d tell me. “One day they’ll all see that you and Jewel are the cream of the crop.” Then he’d wink and tug on my ear. He even slipped five whole dollars into my hand the night I announced I intended to go to college.
    â€œSo you’re staying with your sister indefinitely?”
    My eyes snapped to the principal’s. “No, sir. Only until I resume my graduate studies in mathematics next fall.”
    My heart stuttered. What if they withdrew my scholarship?Would I be stuck in Dunn for the rest of my days? Forever known as Fruity Lu, who could never finish what she started?
    Principal Gray tented his fingers in front of his mouth. “You’ve taught school before, I take it?”
    â€œYes, sir. I went to normal school first, got my teaching certificate, then taught until I had enough money to pursue my B.A. When funds ran out, I taught again. I graduated last spring. I received the Donally Mathematics Award—post-graduate tuition as well as a position teaching a first-year class at the university.”
    His eyebrows lifted. “And how was that going?”
    â€œFine.” My gaze slid away from his, but I forced it to return. “Of course with my sister’s situation . . .” I let the words trail to nothingness. It wouldn’t do to pronounce Jewel’s delicate condition to this man, even if it would soon become apparent to all.
    â€œSo you’re seeking a position only until the end of the school year.”
    â€œYes, sir.” Would that prejudice him against me?
    His smile put me at ease. “As a matter of fact, I do have an opening, Miss Bowman. I lost a teacher a few weeks ago. Our music teacher. The question is, do you know anything about music?”
    My stomach knotted. I didn’t want to lie. And I didn’t want to lose any hope of employment. I had no other recourse that would support Jewel and her children and me as teaching would. “I did have some musical training in my youth, but I haven’t pursued it in many years.”
    He nodded. Then he pulled a paper from a drawer in his desk and slid it across to me. “We keep to the same rules of conduct as most other schools. No loitering downtown, especially around soldiers. We expect you to be at home between eight p.m. and sixa.m. unless you are attending a church or school function. No smoking. No