“In fact, you’ve had the worst time out of all of us ever since Oliver left,” Georgia chimes in. “That’s two whole years of the worst time.”
“But—”
“Lina.” Mia blinks patiently at me. “You have been doing the work of three administrators—a principal and two APs—ever since Oliver left.”
“I’ve been an AP—” I try.
“Courtney Thomas was useless, so you were doingherjob,plusthat of two APs. You were theonlyadministrator. Then, after she was fired, you kept doing the same thing. Without getting paid the principal salary.”
“And I bet you’re still doing it right now, over the summer!”
I keep my mouth shut, because it is true.
“You’re not supposed to be working!” Emmanuel is yelling now. “APs get summers off!”
I don’t appreciate being berated by my staff. I tell them so.
“Fuck you.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Oh, please.”
“You look like shit,” Emmanuel continues, unfazed. “You need a break. The bags under your eyes could have its own line. Your beautiful brown face is as pale as Mia’s here?—”
“Hey—”
“Your curls are limp. Have you gone on vacation this summer? A staycation? A week of doing nothing?”
I purse my lips.
“Hey,” Oliver chimes in suddenly, giving me a reprieve from this all-out assault because he is my best friend. A title I have just bestowed upon him at this very moment. “I have an idea.” He and Georgia look at one another, communicating via couple telepathy. Georgia nods emphatically. “We’re going away this Monday for a week with my parents. My aunt has a huge beach house in Rhode Island with plenty of bedrooms. You should come with us.”
The skin at the back of my neck starts to crawl with all the work I’d be missing. “Thanks, but?—”
“She’s going,” Emmanuel tells him.
I shake my head. “I really can’t. I have to?—”
“You don’t have to doshit?—”
“But school starts in?—”
“Not your problem?—”
“Itismy problem, because no one will?—”
“Lina,” Georgia says seriously. “It’s just one week. You owe it to yourself.”
“Girl,pleasego and take a break. When was the last time you got eight hours of sleep?”
I try to think about how much sleep I’ve gotten this week and realize I can’t do the calculations because I am so sleep-deprived.
“Besides,” Oliver adds on, “there’s Wi-Fi. If you feel like you really need to do something, you can do it remotely.”
I scrub my face. “Oliver, you know better than anyone the amount of work that needs to get done before the year starts.”
He nods sympathetically. “I do know. But I still don’t think it’s fair for you to pick up the slack. Just come with us. Anything pressing that needs to be done can be done from there. I can even help you with some stuff.”
