Walking toward the school office, Samantha let out a heavy sigh. Which parent had she pissed off this time, she wondered. It seemed that was all she ever did lately. This conference was not going to go well, if for no other reason than it was Spirit Week at school and she was not dressed in her most professional outfit. Today was Wacky Tacky Day. Her hair was in 3 messy ponytails, she wearing a nice skirt with a sweatshirt, and mismatched socks with dress shoes. Samantha didn’t even want to think about her makeup. No, this was NOT going to go well. Especially since recently her principal hadn’t been the most supportive. Sighing again, she opened the office door. Her principal greeted her with a smile. Huh, that’s unusual, Samantha thought.
“Ms Roberts, you have a visitor.” Mrs. Jackson said grinning. Samantha looked around, not seeing any of her parents. The only people in the office were faculty and staff. They all had goofy grins on their faces.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone smiling at me?” Samantha observed, looking around.
They were all acting very strangely. From behind her she heard someone say her name. As she turned to see who was calling her, she realized that the voice sounded familiar. Trying to place the voice she looked questioningly at her principal.
“Go see.” was all she said.
Samantha walked toward the conference room and felt everyone in the room begin to follow her.
What in the world.... she thought.
There seemed to be a feeling of anticipation emanating from the group behind her. Bracing herself Samantha walked into the conference room and stopped short. Her eyes widened as her hands covered her mouth, trying to stifle a scream that resembled a thirteen year old at a New Kids concert. There, leaning against the conference room table, was none other than Jon Bon Jovi. Her all time favorite rocker since she was, well, thirteen.
Unable to find her voice she just shook her head in disbelief, “How? Why? OH MY GOD!!” she stammered.
Jon just smiled at her. He had to force himself to not chuckle at her reaction. He was used to that. But she looked so cute in her outfit. He wasn’t sure what he had expected since he had seen others dressed similarly, but she was definitely the cutest. She looked like a little pixie, really. He would swear that she barely came to his shoulder and since he couldn’t be called tall that wasn’t saying a whole lot.
He could see her trying to compose herself.
Taking pity on her, Jon pushed away from the table and walked ever to her. “Nice outfit.” he said with a smirk.
Samantha’s hand immediately went to her hair and she groaned as she looked down at her crazy outfit. She could hear laughter coming from behind her. She groaned again and put her face in her hands.
Why on this day? Why not on Sports Day or even Hat Day? Oh God, any day would have been better than today, she thought with embarrassment. This was not the way she wanted to meet this man.
Jon walked closer and gently lifted her face to look at him. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s refreshing to see teachers participating so enthusiastically in their school fun. I bet the kids love it.” he whispered. “Now, let’s get this party started.”
Walking back to the table, he pulled out a chair for her. Sitting down, she looked up at him, still not believing he was there and that this was really happening.
“How are you here? WHY are you here? Oh my God, I have to be dreaming.” Samantha said in disbelief.
Jon laughed. “Well, baby, you wrote me a letter.”
Then the light bulb went off. Of course!!! The contest. She was a member of the Bon Jovi fan club and they had held a contest where members could write a letter to Jon, and if their letter was chosen, they got to meet the main man.
“Really? My letter won? But how?” she questioned.
Jon sat down next to her, “You were honest and open in your letter. It really touched me.” Jon held her gaze. “Plus, I have a soft spot for pixie teachers.” he winked.
Samantha found her first smile.
As much as she wanted to sit down and pick Jon’s brain, asking all of the questions running around in her head, Samantha knew that she had a class that required her presence until 2:15.
“Jon, I can’t believe that this is happening. Wow. I never really thought my letter would come close to winning. I wasn’t even going to enter, but my Jovi Buddies talked me into it.” she said. “ I know you are on a tight schedule, but can you give me a few minutes to find someone to cover my classroom for the rest of the day?”
Samantha jumped a little when Mrs. Jackson said, suddenly appearing in the doorway, “It’s already taken care of, Samantha. Go and enjoy your time with Mr. Bon Jovi.” Samantha got up and thanked her principal, feeling kind of bad for her unfavorable thoughts about her earlier.
Looking down at herself as she and Jon were walking out the door she asked, “Jon do you mind if we stop by my house and let me change clothes? I really don’t want to go into public looking like this,” she laughed.
“Sure thing, darlin’” he winked at her, “I’ll follow you.”
Jon looked around her airy apartment as Samantha showered and changed clothes. He checked out her movie and music collection. He had to chuckle when he saw her collection of Bon Jovi music and his movies. She was a true fan as was apparent by browsing her collection of his movies. She had a varied taste in music though. There was everything from Country to Rock to Rap in her collection. There was Classical and Jazz. He was impressed by her choices. He noticed a picture of her with a man and child wondering who they were. It was obvious there was a lot of love between the three of them, yet she lived in a one bedroom apartment. Maybe it was a brother and nephew, he thought.
“Whew, I’m much more presentable now.” Samantha laughed as she walked into the room. “Thank you so much for letting me change.”
Jon grinned, “No problem, baby, this is your day. I’m here for you.” He had to admit that while she was cute in her tacky outfit, she was downright beautiful in her casual attire. She had long strawberry blond hair that had just a little curl to it and very expressive blue eyes.
“So, Jon what do you say we stay here instead of going out somewhere for lunch?” Samantha’s suggestion pulled him from his thoughts. “I can scrape together a quick lunch and we won’t get interrupted.”
She really didn’t want to share this time with crazy fans coming up to them as they dined. Jon thought about it for a second. He really didn’t want to deal with fans asking for pictures, but the deal was that he would treat the winner of the contest to lunch and dinner. He didn’t want to renege on the contest.
“I don’t mind staying in, but how about we order something to be delivered. I am supposed to be feeding you, not the other way around.” he replied.
They ordered from the sandwich shop down the street and settled in for a relaxed question and answer session. Samantha prepared to ask Jon all of the questions that had been burning in her head for years.
“Ok, Jon I have a few questions. Do you mind answering them for me?” she inquired.
“I might can come up with a few answers for you, darlin’.” he said with that irresistible smirk. “Let, me think,”
Samantha grumbled. “I can’t seem to keep my thoughts in order today. This just seems so surreal.” she laughed, attempting to regain her train of thought. “Oh yeah, where do you and Richie get the inspiration for your songs?”
That one was easy for him, “We get a lot of inspiration from everyday life. Things that are happening in the world. Things that are happening in our personal lives. Things we wish were happening.” he laughed.
“Ok, something I’ve always wanted to know, but it’s kind of personal so if you don’t want to answer just tell me, ok?” Samantha began.
Jon assured her that he would let her know if she was getting too personal. “Well, are you really as romantic in real life as your songs make you seem?” she finished.
Jon thought for a minute. “I’d like to think that I’m that romantic in real life. I try to be, but I’m sure like everyone sometimes life gets in the way and the romance tends to take a backseat to whatever is happening. I do think that romance needs to be a huge part of a relationship. Both parties need to feel loved and cherished at all times.” he finished.
They talked for several hours as she laughed at his candid answers and his anecdotal stories about his brothers in the band. It was so much fun to hear him talk about their lives and their travels. Jon asked his share of questions about her as well. He found himself very interested in her life.
”It’s obvious from your profession that you love children,” he began, “So why don’t you have a house full yourself?” Samantha looked away.
This was a very personal and painful question for her, but he had been so open with her that she knew she should be the same.
Jon noticed her hesitation and immediately felt bad for asking, “I’m sorry Sam. If it’s too personal, forget I asked.”
“No, it’s ok, Jon. It’s just kind of a painful story.” Samantha reassured him. “I was once married and I had a son. They were killed in a car accident 10 years ago.” she said as her eyes filled with tears.
Jon covered her hand with his, “I’m so sorry for your loss and I’m sorry I brought up such painful memories.”
“It was a long time ago, Jon. While I’ll never be completely over the loss it is easier to talk about after all this time.” she assured him.
“Well, I’m still sorry I caused you pain. Let’s move on to something a little easier. Why did you become a teacher?” he wanted to know.
Samantha got up and started pacing her sunlit kitchen. “The why I started is easy. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. The why I continue is the hard one.” she sighed.
Jon watched her pace. He could tell that she was struggling with her thoughts. He sat quietly while she worked through her emotions.
“I started doing this because I knew I could make a difference and I love children. I love teaching. The teaching part is wonderful. What is becoming unbearable is all of the extra stress being put on us by the government and by parents. We get all of these new requirements that we have to implement yet they don’t give us the tools to do it correctly or successfully. Yet we are still held accountable. It’s incredibly frustrating and stressful. Then there are parents. We seldom get parental support in the classroom. Whether it’s volunteering or just support in discipline. Most often it’s the teacher’s fault when a child gets into trouble or if a child is failing a subject. And recently we get no backing from administration when parents come down on us. I’ve often thought lately of going back to school to do something else. I’m just not sure what else I would do.” she said finally winding down.
While listening to her monologue, Jon had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but he felt it was right. He was usually pretty good at judging people and he was sure he wouldn’t regret what he was about to do.
