Every room had a bulletin board outside of it and Claudine’s had been made to look like a theater marquee. Large black letters outlined in rhinestones spelled out: YOUR LIFE!!! STARRING YOU!!! A huge professional photograph of Claudine wearing a slinky silver outfit was placed front and center and next to it were pictures of sulky looking teenagers who I assumed were Claudine’s students. I paused to study the display. Claudine certainly didn’t come across as the shy type. Under her picture was a neatly typed list entitled, ‘Some of Claudine’s Favorite Things.’ The list had easily at least a hundred entries. Squinting at it, I quickly read a few of them: blue eyes, camping and silver hair. Hmmm. Sounded a lot like a description of Claudine’s late boss. Claudine Markham was sitting at her desk when I entered her classroom. I almost gasped out loud when I saw her. Gone was the stylish—if trampy—woman I’d met a few days earlier. The woman in front of me was a mess, her auburn hair disheveled, her face bare of make-up and her clothes wrinkled and looking like she’d slept in them.
