The School Secretary
By Vicki Erwin
The halls of Prairie Lea Day School were curiously quiet. Over half the students had left for spring break, not waiting for official dismissal or for Sharon to put out the lost and found items they had misplaced over the winter term.
She opened her desk drawer and peeked at the purse again. Grasping the strap, she pulled it closer to smell that lovely leather. The Gucci cost enough to make half a payment on her overdue student loan, but that wasn’t why Sharon wanted it.
Before she lifted it to her lap, CeCe Grenier burst into the office. Sharon made sure the strap slid silently back into the drawer.
“Mother said you planned a visit to the beauty school this spring break, and now I see why. Or are those silver sparkles deliberate?” CeCe said.
Sharon’s hand flew to the part in her fading reddish hair where her gray roots were the worst. She should have kept on the hat she’d worn to work that morning, but it had grown too hot in the office. She couldn’t wait for the workmen to come in and fix the electrical system over break so they wouldn’t be freezing or boiling. It couldn’t handle all the stresses pulling on it. And she understood that perfectly.
Sharon pushed her glasses up her nose and scowled at the rude student.
CeCe continued. “Mizzzz Sharon, I’ve lost my purse, and we leave for Cabo today! I’ll be lost without it. Plus, it has the thumb drive with my midterm English paper. I don’t want to miss sun and sand to redo that stupid assignment. I was told to check with you as you are---” She curtsied. “---the queen of lost and found.”
Sharon slammed the desk drawer shut. Picking up the sheet with the daily notices on it, the announcements she’d made not three hours ago, she cleared her throat and read, “The school administrative assistant will display all lost and found items prior to Prairie Lea’s closure for spring break at three pm this afternoon.” She tossed the paper aside and swiveled her desk chair to face her computer. Sharon had an order waiting for checkout on Wayfair.
Tapping a rhythm on the counter, CeCe stayed where she was. The overpowering smell of Ariana Grande Pink Cloud cologne made it almost impossible for Sharon to breathe.
“I need it now,” CeCe said.
Sharon pretended not to hear.
When CeCe finally left with a huff, the noxious scent of Pink Cloud mixed with the sweat of 400 teens anxious to escape the cold of a Missouri winter lingered. Sharon waved her hand in front of her face to diffuse it.
As soon as CeCe disappeared from view, Sharon reopened the drawer where she’d stashed the purse, a purse that was entirely beyond her means. Her meager salary, much less than she deserved, wasn’t enough to cover her bills. Yet, a high school student, a mere child, had lost this purse. Careless children.
Sharon lifted the purse clasp and peered inside without removing it from the drawer.
Loose $20 bills scattered about the interior. The student had not only lost her purse but her spring break, or worse, her drug money. Sharon immediately thought of a better use for it. She shuffled the contents, finding a matching coin purse, probably costing more than Sharon’s outfit, random make-up, and a thumb drive with a dark blue sleeve. Was this CeCe’s purse? Placing the thumb drive in the pocket of her flowered smock, Sharon turned back to the purse.
Caressing the pebbly leather of the bag, she reveled in her daydream of how it would cause her sister to burn with jealousy when she saw it. Glenda had everything Sharon didn’t: a husband, kids, a nice house, and enough money to pay her bills. She didn’t have school loans or a job she disliked. Glenda had wanted a Gucci purse for years but always said there were more important ways to spend that much money, especially when you had a family.
“Sharon?” Headmistress Grenier dropped her tote bag on the secretary’s desk.
Sharon almost caught her fingers in the drawer as she slid it quickly closed.
“What can I do for you?” She gave the headmistress a practiced smile.
“We’ve been going back and forth on this report all week. The budget. The Board needs to see it the Monday after break. Can you clean up what I have so far, add the info highlighted in yellow, and have it ready when we return?”
“But…”
“I have a family vacation planned. And do I remember you saying you would be staying home?”
“Yes, relaxing, catching up, reading. Maybe even splurging on a spa day.” Sharon found it hard to keep her smile in place. Headmistress was about to ruin her staycation.
“Sure. Great. With your skills, you can whip this into shape in a day, two max. And the spa treatment is on me.” Headmistress Grenier dropped the folder into Sharon’s in-basket, and a few loose pages fluttered into the wastebasket. She glanced at her watch. “Plane to catch. Will you please page CeCe? She’s not where she’s supposed to be.”
Sharon picked up the phone, but a disheveled CeCe Grenier reappeared before she could press the page button.
“You’re late,” her mother said.
“I can’t find my purse.” CeCe leaned against the door jamb, panting. A multicolored scrunchie secured her long blonde hair in a high ponytail, and she wore an outfit entirely suited to the beach but not Missouri in March.
“Your phone?”
“I have that, but---”
“You’ll have to take another purse from your collection. Which one did you lose?”
“I don’t have a collection,” CeCe whined.
Sharon knew better. CeCe owned a parade of purses.
“I want my Gucci. It’s my favorite.” CeCe stamped her foot.
Sharon sat up taller and leaned forward slightly.
“Have you seen my lost Gucci since we last talked?” CeCe batted her eyelashes.
“Seen what?” Sharon fluttered her eyelashes behind the thick lenses of her glasses, mirroring CeCe.
“My purse! My Gucci purse!” CeCe sounded impatient, and her mother tapped her foot.
“There are dozens of purses in the lost and found.” An exaggeration, but these irresponsible brats cared so little about their property. Yet, she was supposed to know off the top of her head each lost item and who lost it.
“A brown Gucci with, you know, all the things that make it a Gucci. Please say you’ve seen it. Mom, the thumb drive with my English paper is in it. I was supposed to turn it in today.” CeCe sounded frightened now.
The purse in her drawer, and the thumb drive in her pocket. Hmm, more interesting than ever. Sharon could be the hero of this story and hand it over. Or she could teach the girl a lesson about keeping track of her possessions. She shook her head, trying her hardest to look sorry about the answer she had to give.
Headmistress grabbed her daughter by the arm and pulled her toward the door. “During break, you’ll have to….” The door closed behind them before Sharon heard what exactly CeCe would have to do.
She felt sorry for her for the shortest of moments until she caught a whiff of that loathsome cologne.
Sharon removed the report folder from her inbox and glanced into the trash. “Oops, some pages are missing. C’est la vie.” Careless adults.
At five minutes to three, Sharon pulled the first of five boxes of lost and found items out of the supply closet. She laid out scarves, gloves, hats, even coats. Sharon fleetingly considered taking a cute black felt cloche to cover her gray roots until she found time to visit the hairdresser. But she’d learned the hard way when she’d commandeered a black-watch-plaid rain hat that even fancy private school kids spread lice, always claiming they came from younger brothers and sisters attending public school, of course. She added notebooks, backpacks, sports equipment, including jockstraps, which she hung on coat hooks above the shelves. But not the Gucci.
When the dismissal bell chimed, signifying the start of spring break for everyone except Sharon, students who hadn’t already left for warmer climes slowed down enough to rummage through the lost and found. She watched as students sifted through the flotsam and jetsam of the irresponsible but claimed only a few items. The freshman girls giggled and pointed at the jock straps.
There was not one Gucci purse in the mix.
#
Sharon waited until Tuesday to come to the school to work on the report Headmistress had left behind. She deserved at least a long weekend.
A Gucci purse hanging off her shoulder put a spring in Sharon’s step. It made her feel noticed. A Gucci bag was unusual in the third-tier neighborhood where she lived and shopped. Several women had already complimented her taste in accessories when she was at the grocery. Unfortunately, once break was over, she could only use the purse around the neighborhood. She couldn’t take the chance someone at school might recognize it as CeCe’s.
Placing the purse, now containing her personal effects, carefully in the drawer, Sharon took the headmistress’ folder out of the inbox, sorted the pages that weren’t “missing,” and went to work.
She occasionally heard the buzz of saws and banging of hammers as workmen repaired the HVAC. Otherwise, it was quiet, and she finished the report quickly. She’d have plenty of time for Staycation Part Deux, her spa day, shopping for a new outfit, and meeting her sister for lunch on Thursday.
#
Sharon couldn’t fall asleep Wednesday night because she was excited about her lunch date with her sister, Glenda. It was time for the Gucci reveal.
She had chosen an elegant tearoom with ridiculously small tables and equally ridiculous high prices. She’d kept back a few dollars and cents from the money she’d “found” and planned to pick up the bill, another shock for her sister. She arranged the Gucci to make sure her sister saw it first thing.
Using more of the extra money, Sharon had splurged on a new outfit---a long turquoise top and varicolored tiered skirt. There had even been enough to buy a multi-beaded necklace and matching earrings. She had also taken advantage of the headmistress’ offer to pay for a mani-pedi, keeping the receipt. Her hair sparkled with the radiance of the new copper color she’d chosen to cover her gray.
Sharon couldn’t keep from smiling when her sister entered the restaurant. It slowly faded as she recognized the purse that swung from Glenda’s hand---identical to hers.
Pointing at Sharon’s bag, Glenda laughed. “Look at us! We have excellent taste.”
Sharon snatched her purse off the table and clutched it on her lap. “You said you couldn’t afford a purse like this.”
“If it was real.” Her sister laughed again. “You know the cost of fakes.”
“Mine isn’t fake.” CeCe wouldn’t carry a fake.
“Look how the pattern doesn’t match at the seams. Same as yours. And look at the clasp.” Glenda pointed to an imperfection Sharon hadn’t noticed before. The interconnected GGs were slightly crooked.
“Fake,” Glenda said with a shrug.
Sharon usually noticed every detail. How had she missed these? A bad taste formed in her mouth. “Let’s order. My treat,” she said, hiding her face behind the menu.
Those darn kids had failed her again.
When they’d finished eating, Sharon paid the bill, and that, at least, surprised her sister. She felt a small, smaller than she’d expected the day to yield, sense of satisfaction.
Sharon scheduled another lunch with Glenda for the end of the month. Glenda had always wanted a Tiffany charm bracelet but had “more important things to spend the money on blah, blah, blah.” Sharon had said bracelet, courtesy of an irresponsible Prairie Lea Day School student and its generous lost and found.
Vicki Berger Erwin is a veteran of the book biz. She's worked as a bookseller, children's book department manager, sales rep for a children's publisher, and ultimately owned an independent bookstore. She has over 30 published books including picture books, activity books, middle grade novels, YA mysteries, regional history, and true crime. She is currently working on an adult cozy mystery and finds it similar to middle grade mysteries only longer. She also has short story publications on her resume. Vicki lives in a suburb of St. Louis, MO, with her husband who is also sometimes her co-author on nonfiction, Jim, and her dog Luna who only likes books if they taste like bacon.
