Not Herself

Part 32

~*~*~Four Months Later~*~*~

Jack was at the dojo again while I was working as a teacher. When I was in Japan, I was also doing collage to become a kindergarten teacher. I knew I probably wouldn't become a karate sensei and I loved kids so I studied for a teacher.

"Ms. Kim?" Ashley asks.

"Yes, Ashley?" I reply.

"When is lunch?" she asks. 

"In about five minutes." I smile. She nods and goes back to coloring her paper. I decide to play music quietly because I realized it helps them study. I turn on some kids music from Pandora and play it for a while. When the bell rings, I turn it off and dismiss them for lunch. A couple minutes later, all the boys walk into the room.

"Hey, Kimberly!" Jerry says.

"Geraldo, use that name again and you're dead." I warn.

"You're pregnant. You can't do anything." Jerry teases.

"I'm not pregnant." Jack says. "I'll beat you up for her."

"I'm quiet." Jerry responds, shutting up quickly and sitting on my desk. I roll my eyes and pull a sandwich out of my desk drawer.

"How many students do you have?" Milton asks.

"In a day I have about 60." I shrug.

"I never thought this school was that big." Jack says.

"Yeah. They have about 120 kids and 60 of them are in kindergarten." I tell him. The school here teaches kindergarten and first grade.

"Wow." Milton says.

"Can we eat now? I have to watch the kids at recess." I reply. They all take out their lunches and we eat them in five minutes. They follow me outside and we all watch on the sidelines as the kids run around and play.

"Man, I wish I could play on that stuff." Jerry says.

"You're too old." I tell him. I see Piper fall down and quickly go over to her. "Hey Piper, are you okay?" I ask, kneeling down to her level. She shakes her head and starts to cry. I pick up the 5 year old and walk back over to the boys.

"What happened?" Jack asks.

"She fell." I answer as Piper burries her head in my shoulder. After a few minutes, she's no longer crying and looking around.

"Who's he?" she asks, pointing at Jack.

"He's Ms. Kim's boyfriend." I answer.

"I'm Piper. Nice to meet you Ms. Kim's boyfriend." Piper says, sticking out her hand.

"Hey. I'm Jack." Jack says as he shakes her small hand.

"Nu uh! You're Ms. Kim's boyfriend." she debates.

"Yeah. But my name is Jack." he says. I decide to watch how far he'll go with this because Piper is a really stubborn girl.

"No! Ms. Kim said you're her boyfriend. Not Jack!" she tells him.

"I am. But my name is Jack." he says.

"Jack, quit acting like a baby and let the girl win. It makes your life easier." I say.

"Fine." he huffs.

"I wanna go play, Ms. Kim." Piper says.

"Mkay. Be careful." I warn as I set her down. She runs off and Jack shakes his head.

"She's so stubborn!" he says.