Teacher Of The Year

Sepia and I ,along with Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila ,Cock Robbins and his wife, Vanessa and Pastor Struthers and his lovely wife,Rita...Kerry "88" Moore and his new wife ,Mabel Jenkins...were all at a gala event at a very swanky hotel thrown by the Philadelphia School Board...

No, I wasn't covering it for a story for my magazine...We were just guests...The event...Was the ''Teacher of the Year" awards....Cock Robbins, who was a Phys Ed teacher in addition to being the football coach was up for an award as was Pastor Struther's wife, Rita, an English teacher and Kerry "88" Moore, a music teacher, former member of Reed Nelson's band and church organist and pianist, who also volunteered his time to teach Piano lessons to inner city youth...They were all great candidates for the award....Sepia and I were there to support our friends...

Our friend, Ralph Scallion and his daughter had catered the event and so the food was another plus...

I mingled with the crowd , wishing everybody good luck...Cock Robbins, Kerry "88' Moore and Gina Struthers were all contending against teachers from all over the city...I was proud that all three were from the same high school.....Giving our local high school the record for the amount of nominees...Whether they won or not, that still was a plus for our neighborhood..

A good school, High employment and low crime...I was proud of our neighborhood and my friends....

"Heyyy Kevin!" came a voice from behind me... It was Lance Terrier, a freelance investigative journalist who had written a few peices for my magazine and now was hanging around my new company....He always delivered the goods...If he said he had something...he had something...he reminded me of myself when I started out.

''What's goin on Lance?" I asked.

"I got a bombshell I'm gonna drop on you." he said.

"Really, what's this about?" I asked him.

''Well I don't really wanna say just yet...not until the voting is done...but one of these teachers definitely doesn't belong in this contest..." he said.

''Look lance...If you're talking about Cock Robbins's womanizing and his connection to that murder case some years ago...That is old business...He's gotten married since then and has been a solid citizen." I said.

''Cock Robbins?? Womanizing?? Murder case?? What are you talkin about Kevin?" he said.

I looked at him.....

''Nothing!" I said... "What have you got?" I continued...

"What I've got is a story that might send somebody to jail....But wait until after the voting...I'll get back to you." he said and walked away...

I smiled... My wife Sepia walked over to me...

''Come on inside lover...they're getting ready to vote." She said.

''We have good seats?" I joked.

''Yeah, next to Sean and Sheila."she said.

We quietly walked into the hall.

II-

The winner of Teacher of the year was not Kerry "88" Moore , Cock Robbins or Gina Struthers unfortunately, but another teacher named Stephanie Ellis....

Most of the men didn't have a problem with that..She was a sexy woman who wore a tight fitting black cat suit that seemed like it was painted on...She spoke in a very breathy tone that had every man in the hall holding on to her every word...

The women on the other hand sucked their teeth and talked later on about how slutty she looked....Never the less, She had worked with at risk youth, had volunteered in the summer ,teaching math to at risk youth and had set up a program for young people headed to college and institutes of higher learning....and had done quite a bit of community service....For this year...No one appeared to be more deserving than Ms. Ellis.

She gave a 45 minute speech that would have bothered me, had a man been giving it...and was met with loud thunderous applause and a standing ovation -from mostly males in attendance.. I just laughed at the entire thing.

''Ohhhh thank you all, thank you all so much....I don't deserve this...I don't deserve this....Ohhhhh, I think I'm going to cry." said Stephanie Ellis out in the hallway after the ceremony was over...

I saw Lance Terrier walk up to her.....

"Knock it off Steph...You're making me sick and you're making a fool out of yourself."
he said.

It was then that I saw a very different side of Stephanie Ellis...

"Ohhh, it's you...Why don't you get a job or something and then get lost?" she snapped
under her breath, where only Lance could hear it.

"Oh yeah?  If I tell what I know, you won't have your job and you'll lose that lofty little award and perhaps someone who really deserves it will have it."he snarled.

Hmmmm the natives were getting vicious.  I had learned a long time ago that you can learn so much from just being quiet and just sort of blending in with the crowd or the furniture.

"You know ...this is all because I wouldn't give you none.....Maybe I should have dropped my standards and spent a half hour or 15 minutes ,however long you could have lasted and gave you some." she said.

''Why, so I'd be slobbering all over myself like all of the damn judges who you practically bribed , so you'd get the award?  No thanks!  " he said.

''You know you want this...You just mad because I'd never , never ,ever sleep with someone like you, you nerd!" she said.

''Don't flatter yourself... I don't want used goods..leftovers." said Lance..

With that, she slapped him hard....So hard that it was heard across the room and several people's heads turned....

"You masher, trying to cop a feel..How dare you!" she yelled.

With that, several men immediately grabbed Lance and rushed him out...

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..She's lying...I never touched her..She's lying...You slut..I'm gone expose you for the phony you are!" he screamed as he was given the bum's rush out.

Sean Jackson walked over to me....

''Kev ,what was that about?" he asked.

"I don't quite know...It appears the two have history." I said.

"Did he really cop a feel? Can't say that I blame him." said Sean

"Blame him for what?" said his wife Sheila , who had walked in on the tail end of the conversation.

"Uh nothing...nothing." said Sean...

I walked away smiling.....

III-

Sepia was walking towards me......

''Damn girl, you look good in that dress."I mused..

"Thank you lover...I was outside talking to Rita Struthers when they tossed your friend out... He gave me this...His home address and this key...he said for you to come see him tomorrow..." she said.

''Okay...he said he had some dirt on one of the contestants." I said.

'' He said something else too." said Sepia.

''What was that?" I asked.

"He said that if anything happened to him to get with Conrad Nelson...That Conrad Nelson knew where the safe deposit box was that matched this key." she said.

''If anything happened to him?Anything like what?" I asked.

Sepia shrugged her shoulders....

Just what did he have on this woman or whoever?

To Be Continued....