“Let me know when you’re ready for something … different.”

The Ruckus Maker Flywheel Chapter 4

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What if the most grounded principal in your district had a coach?

Not the loudest one.

Not the one giving TED Talks.

The one whose team doesn’t leave — because they believe.

Jordan isn’t impressed by surprise guests.

But when Max shows up uninvited, armed with five words and a reputation she can’t ignore…

She starts to wonder:

What if surviving isn’t the job?

This week, she meets the mentor.

And the mirror.

📖 Never miss a chapter of Jordan’s story. You can read each chapter in the First in Line section of Ruckus Makers.

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The Visitor

Jordan was halfway through updating a walkthrough form no one would ever read when he walked in.

No knock.

No calendar invite.

Just a man in jeans, a hoodie, and a black hat that said in bold pink and cyan letters:

RUCKUS MAKER

He held his cup of coffee like it was sacred.

Took one look around her office and said:

“Binder. District laptop. Diffuser. You’ve got it all.”

Jordan looked up.

“Can I help you?”

He glanced past her at the framed S.O.A.R. poster.

“Let me guess — S stands for success. But no one in this building could tell me what that actually means.”

She stood.

“Seriously, who are you?”

The man stepped forward casually, like he belonged there. He reached out his hand.

“Max. Former principal. Coaching Evan over at Riverside.”

Jordan blinked.

“You’re Evan’s coach?”

Max grinned. “That guy’s one of my favorites. Heart of a poet. Calendar of a sniper. Executes like a machine — and still has time for his family.”

She hesitated.

She’d met Evan once — soft-spoken, low-key, not flashy.

But his teachers spoke about him with a rare blend of respect and relief. School Administrator or Principal didn’t fit Evan as a title. Leader was more like it.

Jordan felt her reflexive wall go up.

“Okay… and what does that have to do with me?”

Without answering, Max stepped to her whiteboard and uncapped a marker — without asking.

He wrote five words in block letters: