He leaned forward across the desk, his hands clasped in front of him. “I know you’re on holidays and it’s a bit presumptuous of me. You see, we’re running an electives program and we want it to be relevant for the kids. But we’ve got a few gaps and one of them is in the art area. Megan told me what a good job you did with her two young fellas.”

“I didn’t do much.” Keely rubbed at her fingers.

“They’re much younger than our students, of course,” Ken said. “But you are a secondary teacher aren’t you?”

“Yes, but…”

“You’d only have kids who wanted to be there, so it would be a dream class.”

“I’m not sure…” Keely faltered, yet again, frustrated at her inability to simply say no and annoyed by her fear that made the words spin in her head and not come out of her mouth.

“We’ve got some artistic students here. I want someone to work with them who can foster that spark. I was hoping that someone might be you.”

“I’m planning to leave next week.” Finally, she managed to get a whole sentence out.

“The pay’s not bad.” He went on as if she hadn’t spoken at all. “I don’t know if money is a consideration for you but most people on holidays could do with a bit more.” He sat back and smiled at her again with a look that was almost pleading. “It’s only for four days.”

Keely hesitated. All the words she’d tossed around in her head about leaving deserted her.

“You could do whatever you like,” Ken said. “There’s only about twelve or fifteen in each group. You can stay in the classroom or head off and explore the local scenery. Get them drawing and sketching. You can paint a mural if you want. We’ve got a few walls that need brightening up.”

“I might not be the right person.” She frantically tried to think of ways to say no politely.

“I’ll be honest with you, Keely.” Ken clasped his hands on the desk in front of him again and the smile left his face for the first time since she’d met him. “I’m short-staffed, I’ve exhausted all other avenues and I’m desperate. You’re a teacher and you enjoy art. My hope is that you can foster some of that enjoyment in this group of kids.”