‘Let’s forego that part,’ he said, chuckling.
Clara grinned, trying to ignore how her heart had filled right to the brim. It was just a friendly offer. A harmless few days away at Easter. That was all.
If only her brain – and possibly her hormones – would get the memo.
Chapter Ten
Sam
April
‘Right, settle down, folks.’
Sam lifted a hand, the familiar rustle of bags and scrape of chairs filling the room as the third years shuffled into their seats. Someone laughed too loudly, a water bottle clattered to the floor, and a few half-hearted groans followed his reminder that term wasn’t over yet.
He smiled faintly. ‘I know it’s the end of term and you’re all counting down the hours, but we’ve still got two more days after this.’
A ripple of chatter ran through the class. He waited for it to settle before continuing. ‘You can count yourselves lucky that watching a film counts as work today. Since we’ve spent theterm dissectingThe Great Gatsby, now we’ll see how Hollywood interprets it.’
That got a few cheers, a few mock yawns. Typical.
He woke the Promethean board. ‘Just before we start, a few ground rules. The film’s rated 13A, and as you’re all fourteen or older, I’m trusting you to handle it like adults. Your parents have all given permission too, but I have to warn you there’s drinking, smoking, and a fair bit of poor decision-making – it’s Fitzgerald, after all – so watch responsibly.’
A couple of kids sniggered, and Sam gave them a look that was firm but amused.
‘Maturity, please.’ He pressed play, then crossed to the light switch. The classroom dimmed to a soft blue-grey, the only illumination the flicker of the screen.
He moved quietly to the back, perching on the low cabinet beneath the window. On screen, Gatsby’s mansion blazed into life, music swelling through the speakers.
Sam leaned back, folding his arms. He could pretend to watch, but his mind was elsewhere.
Clara.
Her voice had been warm, bright with nerves when she’d offered to go with him to the wedding. Soher– thoughtful to a fault. She hated seeing anyone left out, and she’d clearly picked up on his reluctance about going alone. He knew it came from kindness. But the more he turned it over, the more it tangled.
Time away with Clara would mean hours in the car, seeing his mum and sister, his nieces, visiting his friend Dominic before the wedding and meeting his wife-to-be, plus staying together in a very small cottage – was that something friends did together?
He rubbed at his jaw, watching Gatsby’s smile flash across the screen. Poor fool, falling for someone he could never have.
Sam snorted under his breath. Yeah, that hit a bit close to home.
He shifted, pulling a stack of exercise books into his lap and flipping one open. Work. Focus. That’s what he needed.
But Clara’s laughter still echoed somewhere at the back of his mind, bright and uninvited, as he watched the class, vaguely aware of a few shifting in their seats, and a couple of whispers. He didn’t really mind as long as they didn’t get too loud or disruptive.
If Clara came to Somerset with him… what would his family make of her?
He could already picture it – his mum’s knowing smile, his sister’s raised brow, the quiet pause that saidah, so this is her. They’d love Clara, of course. Who wouldn’t? She had that warm, open charm that made people feel like they’d known her for years. The problem was, would anyone believe they were just friends?
It was human nature. People were hardwired for stories, for the possibility of connection. Sam had spent his life studying literature – he knew how even a passing glance between two characters could light a fuse in a reader’s mind. Humans saw love everywhere, chasing it like a mirage, needing the high of it, even second-hand. Maybe that’s why romantic films and novels were so popular: people wanted tofeelsomething, even if it wasn’t their own.
His family was no different. They wanted him happy, whole again after everything with Olive. They’d seen how the divorce had stripped him raw. They wanted him to find someone who made him laugh, someone to anchor him. He couldn’t fault them for that. But the appearance of a woman like Clara would set their imaginations on fire.
He could already hear his mum’s teasing:She’s not just a colleague though, is she, love?
He scrubbed a hand across his face.
And what about Dominic? Sam couldn’t deny that meeting his friend with Clara beside him would give him a certain boost – though perhaps he’d have the opposite issue with him and have to pretend Clara was his girlfriend instead of trying to convince him she wasn’t.
