Forever With You (Bayou Dreams Book 5) by Farrah Rochon Page B

that Cassidy had been teased because of her birthmark. She’d vowed to be impartial, but when it came to this particular subject Leslie was unapologetically in favor of the zero-tolerance policy Gabriel had implemented.
    The discussion finally turned to the issue that had necessitated the meeting in the first place: the school’s annual Lock-In. Leslie sat in awed admiration as she watched Gabriel throw a preemptive strike that took the wind out of the majority of his detractors’ sails.
    “I understand there was a rumor that I wanted to cancel GEMS’s beloved Lock-In. Let me start off by saying that this is one-hundred-percent false. I understand the importance of the Lock-In, both to the PTO’s annual fund-raising goals and to student morale, but it’s the student morale that I am looking to boost.
    “The discussion that was overheard between myself and Principal Williams wasn’t about cancelling the Lock-In. It was about adding learning-based games and activities and using them as a way to better prepare the students for the end-of-the-year state test. We can call it a Lock-In/Learn-In.”
    The murmurs got louder and had a much more positive tone.
    “That’s all well and good, Mr. Franklin, but honestly, the kids here work hard enough during normal school hours,” Janice Taylor said. “The Lock-In is supposed to be fun.”
    The smile that pulled at the corner of his full lips did all kinds of wicked things to Leslie’s pulse.
    “Call me crazy, but I happen to believe that learning can also be fun,” he said. “In fact, it
should
be fun. Take, for instance, the entrepreneurial booth Mrs. LeBorde is planning to set up. The students will be responsible for selling some of the snacks at the Lock-In/Learn-In. It’s just one way that we’ll be able teach a number of life skills like counting money, shouldering responsibility and being business owners.”
    The positive murmurs escalated along with some very enthusiastic head nodding.
    Leslie had lived in this town long enough to recognize when something momentous was taking place before her very eyes, and to see how quickly Gabriel had won over this crowd was downright historic. As he continued his explanation of the various programs he’d proposed to Principal Williams, more and more parents fell in line. Janice even started a sign-up sheet, encouraging parents to volunteer for the Lock-In/Learn-In on the spot.
    Leslie was in awe. Gabriel had this previously hostile crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
    And then, in five little words, everything went to hell.
    * * *
    “What about this merger business?”
    Gabe stiffened with the shock of being caught completely off guard. He stood before the auditorium of parents whose faces were slowly starting to register alarm.
    “What merger?” one of them asked.
    “I heard that the school board wants to shut this school down and send all the kids to school in Maplesville.”
    The torrent of outrage that surged through the auditorium left Gabe breathless and filled with the sudden need to be anywhere but here. How in the hell had news of the merger gotten out? And who had said anything about closing the school?
    Damn small towns and their rumor mills.
    “How exactly are the students supposed to get to this new school?” one parent asked. “Are the bus drivers going to do double duty, bringing the elementary kids first, then following their same route to pick up the middle-school kids and drive them out to that new school?”
    “I don’t see why we need to break the elementary and middle schools apart. They’ve been combined for as long as I can remember,” another parent said. “And what will this mean for the school mascot? Will they be the Maplesville Mustangs or the Gauthier Cubs?”
    “Forget the mascot names—what about the name of the school itself? Is it going to have Gauthier in it or Maplesville?”
    “Okay, okay,” Gabe said, holding up both hands. “Can we calm down for just a