“Grandma Mack!”
“What? We’re both grown. Why pretend otherwise?”
She might have had a valid argument, but I decided to skip right over it. “It was a good date.” It absolutelywasn’t,but I didn’t want to explain why. “I wouldn’t mind another.”
“Then you go get it, girl! You more than deserve it.”
“Thank you. I’m gonna go head to school now.”
“What? You’re back to work already?”
Hmm, maybe I should have been concerned that she was the third person to seem surprised about me returning to work, but I brushed it off. “Yup. Ready to get back to the grind. I miss my kids.”
“I’m sure they miss you too. You skedaddle off then, Missy! I’ll report back to you on what I think of the food.”
“Thanks, Grandma Mack.”
“Nah, thanks to you!”
I gave her a mini-salute, then headed to my car. The drive to my school was peaceful, thankfully, and I got in early enough to get a good parking spot. But as I drew closer towards my classroom, my thoughts became more slipshod. I had the whole lesson for the day planned, with lots of breaks for the tons of questions my students would undoubtedly have, and I wantedto sit at my desk for a bit and soak in being back in my environment. I knew I was still very early in my career, but I had a calling to teach. I’d needed the rest, but going too long without seeing any of the happy, shining faces of my students left me feeling a little lost.
And considering everything that I had learned on Friday night, that sensation was more exaggerated than ever.
“Hello there,” I murmured to my desk. It wasn’t exactly as I’d left it, since my sub had needed to use the space, but it was mostly the same. I trailed my fingers along the wood before finally sitting down in the chair I’d shelled out quite a bit for. It wasn’t the school’s standard issue, but it had a footrest and extra cushioning, as well as lumbar support. “I missed you.”
At least it didn’t answer back. Given that I’d just found out that werewolves, werehorses, werebears, and who knew what else existed, I supposed I couldn’t be sure.
I sank into the seat and closed my eyes for a minute.
It was time to start my first day back.
As much asI tried to hold my focus, it occasionally slipped out from my grasp throughout the day. Thankfully, my class didn’t notice, and I liked to think it was because they were happy to have me back before evaluations.
Ididgo a bit softball on the lesson. I figured asking them to concentrate after an entire week without me and my rather dramatic exit on my last day was rather unrealistic, so there was a lot of talking, answering questions, crafts, and drawing. Not to mention thumbs-up–seven-up, which was always a hit.
At lunchtime, I was confronted with the paranormal in the form of Benny Jr. He approached my desk, smiling from earto ear, and I rapidly figured out that his father hadn’t told him anything. Which meant Benny had no idea that I knew what he was. Confusing, but not impossible to navigate.
“Here you go, Miss Fischbacher,” he said, offering me a ripe mango. “You smell too hungry.”
“I smell too hungry?” I repeated.
He nodded enthusiastically, and I decided not to comment on it. If I didn’t know about his, uh,alternativeheritage, I would have assumed he was a kid being a kid. So, I figured I’d act normal about it—even if it was difficult to act normal when I was abruptly reminded that shifters existed.
“You okay?” Benny asked, because he was far too insightful for his age.
“Just very appreciative,” I said, knocking myself out of my frazzled thoughts. Even though Benny seemed to have an extremely developed nose, he was just a kid. His father had said he wouldn’t get any shifter abilities until he hit puberty, which hopefully was a long way off. So, I needed to treat him like any other student. “Thank you very much, Benny.”
“You’re welcome! I’m gonna go to lunch now!”
“You do that.”
He skipped off, joining his friends who were waiting for him by the door. Seeing him so happy really soothed the apprehension coursing through me. Plus, now I had a delicious mango.
Not a bad way to end the first half of my first day back.
I got through the rest of the day in one piece and without any sort of incident. Normally, after the final bell rang, I remained in my class so students could do homework or have a place to stay until their extracurriculars started, but I knew my limits. Thankfully, the school was onboard, and they sent a sub in. I’d heard horrorstories from other teachers of different ways their schools shafted them, but I had to acknowledge my privilege.Sure, the school could improve on our salary and benefits, but they treated us well.
I didn’t expect to be so physically exhausted considering I’d been sitting most of the day, but I was ready to soak in a hot tub, then curl into bed with a good book. After I finished my lesson plan for the next day, of course.
