The quiet days that followed the end of the Washerman case, and went through Michael York's death and funeral, finding out that Marcel was able to take the Animatrix Serum and become Marcella, and notification of who would be in Molly's class when the school year began all meant one thing. It would be Molly's first full year as a teacher. The curriculum in her class would be hers in its entirety. Not simply continued on from Mrs. Fitzpatrick's. It gave Molly a great sense of pride and joy that things were moving away from the problems that had blown up in our faces when we first moved to Columbia Falls. I was glad to see Molly happy. She deserved it.
For Officer Barnes and I, however, the end of summer and the start of fall and the school year was not looked on with as much favor. While Officer Barnes was glad to see Megan Jenkins, the daughter of Officer Danielle Jenkins and Officer Barnes' long time friend and now girlfriend, move on into the First Grade, the start of school would mean a very different routine for Officer Barnes and I as officers in Columbia Falls. And that was having to resume the work of the school's DARE Officers.
Officer Barnes and I had been assigned to that task after Bill Williams blew up the front of the station with a "car bomb" and then attacked the school. The bomb killed the officer that normally did the DARE work, and Officer Howard could not simply hire a new officer to permanently fill the role. There simply wasn't the money budgeted to do so, and most of the money that had been budgeted to pay the deceased DARE officer went into paying for the rebuilding of the front of the station. So, Officer Barnes and I had been reassigned to fulfill the role until Officer Howard could bring the issue of budgeting the hiring and paying of a replacement DARE and dispatch officer before the City Council. And as far as I knew, those meetings weren't going to happen until after the November elections.
During the summer, with no school, Officer Barnes and I were allowed to do our normal patrol work. But now with summer ending, we were looking at going back behind a desk. It wasn't a mission that sat very well with either of us. Not that the work wasn't important. The DARE officer helped control potential infractions of both the law and school policies. We were responsible for leading the mandatory drug searches from time to time, though from what I'd read, that was done once a semester and would only be done again if there was legitimate suspicion that a student was carrying such things into the school. But that was rare. I didn't think that Officer Barnes and I had any problem of that nature during our time with the school in the past spring. It created a sort of bored atmosphere that didn't set well with us.
Officer Barnes didn't like being behind a desk. That much was obvious, and just about everyone in the station knew it when he was recovering from when Beauregard shot him. I didn't personally mind the work, and was largely accepting of the duty. But, the fact our work was mostly done by monitoring security screens in a small "office" in the High School" gave me the sensation of being in a cage. And my instincts became "nervous" while doing the DARE work. I'd do the job, but I didn't like the feeling of confinement the DARE work did... strangely I could never explain why I didn't get the same sensation about the patrol work, as the back seat of our patrol car is smaller the the office we use for the DARE work.
And on the last day before school started again, the proverbial hammer fell. It had been another quiet patrol with nothing really beyond what was "routine". Officer Howard was waiting for Officer Barnes and I as we came in from patrol.
"Everything quiet?" Officer Howard asked as we came in.
"All is quiet on the western front," I replied.
"Good," Officer Howard replied, "hopefully things stay quiet for awhile... come into my office for moment before you head out."
Officer Barnes and I nodded and followed. Officer Howard was settling back into his chair as we entered.
"The two of you have done an excellent job as officers of the law," Officer Howard began, "most officers that I know of have not had to deal with the things you two have had to deal with. Fraudulent calls. Complex and racist plots. Domestic terrorism. A lone lunatic... all within a relatively short period of time. Some officers will face that in the course of a twenty to forty year career, depending on how high they go in rank. You two have faced that in the course of a year."
"Thank you, sir," Officer Barnes answered.
"However, as I'm sure you both know, Williams' attack on the station has put us in a tight budgetary position," Officer Howard continued, "and until that can be resolved, I need you to fill in for the DARE Officer that Williams murdered."
"We understand, sir," I nodded.
"And the new school year starts tomorrow," Officer Howard replied, "And as a result, I'm sure your schedules will have to change..."
Officer Barnes and I nodded.
"You can continue to come in as you have," Officer Howard largely began to repeat the instructions he'd given us before when were first assigned to take over as the DARE officers, "as I'm sure there is plenty of paperwork around here that can been done until seven thirty to eight o'clock when you'll be expected to report to the school. Or you can report to the school at seven thirty or eight o'clock directly. And of course, your shift will end at the end of the school day."
Officer Barnes and I nodded again. It meant shorter hour then what we pulled doing patrol work, but that did have its pluses as well as minuses.
"Now, since this will be the start of the school year, they'll all be holding various assemblies on the first day to get things straight," Officer Howard spoke, "and this will be different from what you handled last spring. Those assemblies merely had you standing guard and keeping things moving. These fall assemblies are introductions. You will need to present yourself to the faculty, staff, and students at these assemblies and such. Not too bad a job, but it will be different."
"Do you know what the schedule for these assemblies are?" Officer Barnes asked.
Officer Howard pulled out a sheet of paper from a small stack of papers on his desk.
"The school board faxed this over earlier in the week," Officer Howard explained, "The High School has their assembly first thing at Eight. The Middle School opens with a specialized "homeroom" period for the first hour and then has their assembly at nine. The Elementary, Kindergarten, and Pre-K does the same thing for two hours to get kids used to their classrooms, introduce them to their teachers and establish each teacher's rules and explain the schedule. Their assembly is scheduled for ten."
"Only an hour apart," Officer Barnes commented, "and all in one day..."
That was certainly different from the "assemblies" we'd been assigned to monitor in the past spring. Many of them were either on different days or one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These all went in a row with only an hour between their start times.
"Are you sure we have the time to go between the schools for all this?" Officer Barnes then asked to Officer Howard.
"The assemblies shouldn't go the full hour," Officer Howard answered, "and even if they do, in the order of the presentations, you two are assigned the last appearance in each one. So if they start without you, you won't be missing "your" part of the assembly."
"I see," Officer Barnes slowly nodded.
"Good luck, you two," Officer Howard replied, "hopefully everyone in the city council has their brains in gear with regards to the budget when it comes time to discuss it."
"Hopefully," I nodded and then made my way out.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day began with a slightly relaxed pace in comparison to the hours Officer Barnes and I pulled doing patrol work. The DARE hours were fewer and started later, and while this would mean my paycheck would be smaller, it did give me more time to sleep and more time to spend with Molly in the afternoon. That was a fairly nice plus, and I was privately sure Officer Barnes enjoyed having the extra time to be with Megan. Despite the fact that Officer Barnes was at best an adoptive father for her, and the fact that Megan was having to deal with instincts that Officer Barnes and Officer Jenkins couldn't fully relate to, the dynamics of the Jenkins-Barnes family remained well. When I'd seen young Megan, she looked healthy and happy, and despite her present species, there was no indication that Officer Barnes and Officer Jenkins loved her any less. In fact, sometimes it seemed that they actually loved her more. It did leave me wondering as to when Office Barnes would get to asking Officer Jenkins to marry him, but that wasn't my business, and while they were doing well, I saw no reason to pry.
"Ah... smell the fresh crisp air," Molly commented when we headed out. She was destined for the Elementary and I would be meeting Officer Barnes at the High School. "A gorgeous day for the start of school..."
"Meh," I replied with a shrug.
"Oh quit being a grump," Molly teased and playfully swatted at my shoulder, "school isn't bad."
"M-E-H, meh," I repeated, this time more aimed to be teasing then anything else.
"Oh... look at it this way, George," Molly commented, "at least you're not going back to school as a student..."
I was grateful for that. It would be odd to have an adult going back into any school and going through things again. Not to mention embarrassing.
We continued on quietly as we made our way into town. After a little while though, we did have to part ways. The high school and the the elementary school where Molly taught weren't next to each other, and we had to part ways to get to the right destination.
"See you at ten, George," Molly gave a chuckle, "and be on time... I'd hate to have to give you a tardy slip..."
"You wouldn't do that to sweet lovable me?" I taunted back.
"You'll have to wait and see," Molly smirked and headed up the street that would take her to the Elementary school.
I continued on till I got to the high school. Officer Barnes was just parking the DARE car in the parking space provided for it near the back of the school.
"Good morning, Officer Wayne," Officer Barnes spoke with the same professionalism he always carried while on duty, even when talking about things not related to our duty as officers of the law, "Ready to go back behind a desk?"
"I suppose," I answered with a shrug, "though, I doubt we'll be doing much desk work today. We get to introduce ourselves to everyone."
"Slightly better then desk work, but not much," Officer Barnes shrugged as we went in, "but not much."
"Come on... surely you can be more positive then that," I quipped.
"I am positive," Officer Barnes answered.
"And don't call me Shirley," I chuckled.
"I wasn't going to say that," Officer Barnes then found himself chuckling, "but I suppose it does complete the line."
I nodded, and the chuckling continued.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The morning assemblies went fairly quietly and as they were intended. The principal of each school welcomed the students to the school and gave the voiced wish for a good year. For those just moving into the school, the principal then introduced all of the teachers that were part of the staff and so on. When they got to Officer Barnes and I, we would then introduce ourselves as the DARE officers for the moment and explain the basic outline of our duties, and of course gave the standard "don't do drugs" speech. After we'd finished, the students were given a few minutes to ask some general questions on school policy and what teachers would do. It wasn't until Officer Barnes and I got to the Elementary School that things got interesting in that regard.
The Elementary and Middle school's assemblies were somewhat different from the High School's. The High School largely let every student sit where they wanted to in the gym stands. The Middle School and the Elementary School, however, had each class grouped by their homerooms or classrooms, and the teacher was commonly seated with his/her students. All the assemblies were held in the gyms built for each school, though since the Elementary School had no sizable bleachers, the students were arranged in plastic chairs in the middle of the gym. Molly was positioned with her class at the front, which I felt would be merciful for her legs... though she also looked nervous that her nearly four hundred pounds of muscle and bone would crush the chair she was in.
When Mrs. Fitzpatrick concluded her portion of the morning presentation, Officer Barnes and I moved from the position we were asked to stand in while waiting.
"Good morning, young ones," Officer Barnes began, "It is good to see such bright and happy faces, and like your principal, I hope you all have a great year. I am Officer Frederick Barnes..."
"Daddy!" came a cheer from Megan in the audience. It earned a few repetitions of the word "shush" by her teacher, but Officer Barnes took it in stride with a smile.
"...and this my partner, Officer George Wayne," Officer Barnes then gestured to me.
"For the time being," I continued, "we have been assigned as your DARE officers. It will be our job to insure that all your school activities are crime free... we're also here to urge everyone to remain drug free. It'll help you all grow big and strong."
And that was all we really had to say. It wasn't much, but it was all that needed to be said. That then opened the floor to the kids to ask a few questions. And that is where things got interesting. One of the kids in a different Kindergarten class waived his hand first. His teacher responded from a nod given by Mrs. Fitzpatrick to recognize the student.
"Are you related to John Wayne?" the kid asked, "have you ever been in Westerns?"
The first part was actually one I had gotten from time to time. A lot of people had tended to think my family was related to "the Duke" because our surnames were spelled the same.
"Unfortunately not," I answered, "I am not related to John Wayne and neither have I been in any movie."
A kid sitting next to Molly raised her hand next. Molly responded from a nod from Mrs. Fitzpatrick just the way the other teacher had and allowed the girl to ask her question. Again aimed to me.
"Do you know Mrs. Wayne?" the girl asked, patting the side of Molly's knee with one hand, "Is she your sister?"
That then lead several kids repeating the question. Some were from Molly's class, some where from a couple of other Kindergarten classes and even one or two First Graders. While the teachers tried to regain control of their students, another blurted out a different question that nearly made me double over with laughter.
"Can I marry your sister?"
I didn't quite see who asked that question, and I had no idea where they got the idea to ask that question, but it nearly made me laugh. Kids did say the darnedest things sometimes. After pausing slightly for a moment to make sure I didn't embarrass myself or hurt anyone's feelings by bursting into laughter I began to answer the question.
"Yes," I gave weak smile, "I know Mrs. Wayne here very well... however, I must inform you that she is not my sister and that she is already spoken for... I am... in fact the reason she is MRS. Wayne. And I've felt it my good fortune to have her love and to give my love to her."
"Ewwww! Mushy stuff!" a different kid called out.
I could only shake my head, as I knew that would change when they grew up.
"However, should you wish to be friends with my wife..." I finished my answer, "...I have no problem with that. As I'm sure with friends as bright and cute as you all are... I know she'll be in good hands."