She Never Knew by CJ Simpson Page B

a nice man.
    A few minutes
later, Kat turned off the lights in the classroom, closed the door, and headed
for Blair’s classroom to get Tyler.

Chapter 10
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Kat woke up
unusually early the following morning. She slept restlessly throughout the
night and woke up several times during the night. She didn’t know if it was her
nerves due to the upcoming self-defense class in a few hours or due to her
problem student or a combination of both. Maybe it’s the stress of vacation
bible school , she thought, as she got out of bed.
    As she ate a
simple breakfast of toast and fruit, she thought about Tyler’s Taekwondo class
the other night, when Dottie taught the stranger danger part of self-defense
against strangers. She remembered feeling squeamish. It was all part of the
curriculum, she knew, and she was grateful for that, but why did she feel so
nervous about it? It hit a little close to home and brought back dark memories
of a night she vowed never to relive. She recalled Pastor Cullen’s words to
her. Maybe it was time for her to face her fears once and for all.
    She also had a
nagging feeling that her troubles with her former student wasn’t over. While
she knew he wouldn’t be able to find her, she was worried anyway. She had
disgruntled students in the past, but none of them compared to Darryl Baker. He
seemed so very angry despite her attempts to help him understand she was only
following school policy. The matter was out of her hands.
    Perhaps I’m
being paranoid ,
she thought. I seem to be letting the smallest things bother me lately.  
    After pouring
another glass of orange juice, Kat decided to go upstairs and check her email.
While she normally checked her email after she put Tyler to bed, she decided to
check it anyway while he was still sleeping. She knew she would be jittery for
the rest of the day otherwise.
    Once she was
logged into her faculty email, she saw that she had a message from Academic
Affairs. At first, she was alarmed, but relaxed once she finished reading the
email. Apparently, her student reported her to administration when she had
written that she would no longer converse with him in regards to his final
grade standing. The email assured her that she had followed policy in full and
that it was standard procedure to investigate all correspondence between her and
the student. Their findings showed she had acted professionally and
appropriately. There was no further action required on her part. According to
the university, the student had been suspended indefinitely and no longer had
access to his classroom forums or student email account.
    As Kat leaned
back in her chair, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She didn’t know why she
let her student’s antics bother her so much. Her gut told her this wasn’t the
end, and her gut had never failed her in the past. However, Kat decided she was
being silly and needed to grow a thicker skin. I can’t let what happened
that night dictate the rest of my life. I can’t continue to live in fear.
    Kat decided to
put the matter to rest and focused her thoughts on the self-defense class she
would be attending in a couple of hours. While she was looking forward to it,
she also felt nervous. As much as she tried to forget the night of the rape,
Kat knew she would carry that horrific memory for a long time to come. Perhaps
if I had self-defense skills back then, the outcome would have been completely
different. Then I wouldn’t have had Tyler, either, she thought.
    Speaking of
Tyler, it was time to wake him up. He would be playing with Eli while she went
to her class. Rhonda had returned Kat’s message from the night before to confirm
the boys’ play date. She was going to take them to Bounce World, an indoor
playroom that housed inflatable play equipment. She and Rhonda had taken the
boys there before and they had had such a good time. They had jumped and rolled
and laughed. Kat was forever grateful to have Rhonda in her life