Chapter 1

Tuesday had not been the best of days.

So on Wednesday, Jacob Eckholm was not in a good mood. Not hateful. Not bad. He was just ... there.

He got to work early and really didn't want to talk or interact with anyone, but in his job that wasn't an option. Luckily he got to his room before anyone could engage him in conversation, so he shut the door and steeled himself for the inevitable barrage of questions that were coming.

Fitzpatrick High School wasn't a big place and news traveled fast, rumours even faster.

The prep bell rang at exactly 7:30. First period started in 10 minutes.

With a sigh, Jacob went to the door, unlocked it and put on his smile.

"Good morning," he said to each student as they filed into the room, greeting them all by name. His first class was full of juniors, most of them 16 or 17 years old. They came in, took their seats and chatted with each other about the things that occupy the attention of high schoolers, especially the upcoming Homecoming dance.

The tardy bell rang and Jacob quickly scanned the room and marked a handful of kids absent.

"I hope you all were good for Mrs. Bowen yesterday. Clear off your desks." Jacob picked up a stack of papers off his desk and stood at the front of the room. "There are twenty multiple choice questions, ten short answer and then you get your pick of which essay you want to do. If you want extra credit, you can do the other essay question for up to ten additional points. Any questions?"

"What are the answers?" Jaime McCallister called from the back of the room.

"The answers are all C," the teacher replied with a smirk.

"What are the correct answers," Tiffany Dunlap asked, the smile on her mouth matching her teacher's.

"That's what you're going to tell me." He counted out five tests and placed them on the first student's desk. "Take one and pass them back. All those in danger of failing, repeat after me: Our father, who art in Heaven..."

There was a nervous chuckle from a couple of the kids. As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school. And it was a good thing he taught in a small rural district; in some other parts of the country, that joke would bring a lawsuit, not a laugh.

"All right, folks," Jacob said, counting out enough for the second row. "The test is out. No talking until they're all in. When you get done, find something to do that doesn't involve making any noise. You may begin as soon as you receive the test."

Once he had passed every row, Jacob went to the back of the room and began to grade the assignments he had left for them while he was out. He hoped a couple of these kids would take the entire period and they wouldn't have any time left at the end of class. But even then, his luck wouldn't last all day.

These were his good kids. All were categorised as "gifted" and civics was a breeze for them. The last test came in with fifteen minutes left in the period. When it hit his desk, Jacob knew the inquisition was about to start.

"So, Mr. Eckholm," Caitlin Bowyer began. Jacob sighed. "Are you going to ask Miss Armstrong out?"

From the day Tracy had served him papers, he knew this question was going to come up. The only question was how to respond.

"Couldn't you guys wait until the ink on my divorce is dry?" Jacob said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Aw, c'mon, Mr. E.," Brad Dingess said, "You know she wants you. And now you're available."

"I'm not available," Jacob replied with a frown. "I thought I'd get to be single for at least 24 hours before people started fixing me up with dates."

"Okay, Mr. E.," Brad said with a grin. "We'll wait until after lunch before bugging you again."

The rest of the day was pretty much the same.

With about a thousand students, FHS was small enough that every student was known to pretty much every teacher and vice-versa. The faculty was a close-knit group; they watched out for each other and most of them were friends both in and out of the building.

Jacob had been at the school for seven years, two as a sub and full-time for the last five. He knew everyone in the building and most of his kids's parents. However, when he started, it had been a whole different story. He hadn't grown up in this community and didn't know a soul.

The morning he arrived, there had just been a fight in the hallway so the secretary and the principals were running around frantically trying to sort out who was involved in what. No one could spare the time to show him to the room or even where to sign in.

Of course, new folks are pretty easy to spot and she was the first person who didn't walk by him. As he stood by the door to the office, she signed in herself and then turned to him.

"Good morning." She extended her hand. "I'm Ann Marie Armstrong."

He shook it bewilderedly. "Jacob Eckholm."

"Who are you here for?"

He fumbled around in his folder looking for the note he had scribbled on a sticky when the school board office had called him that morning. "Mrs. Paulson ... Ninth grade English."

"Come on ... she's right down the hall from me." Waving at someone in the principal's office, Ann Marie called out, "Sally, I'm taking him with me. Who has the keys to Brenda's room?"

"Terry should have unlocked it first thing this morning," the other woman said, walking out to apologetically greet Jacob. "Sorry to be so rushed, but there's been a little bit of excitement here this morning."

He followed Ann Marie out of the office. The first thing he noticed was the way the other students cleared out of her way. Her head was held high and her steps firm and deliberate. Although she was a couple of years younger than he, she had a commanding presence borne of experience in the classroom.