‘I’ll hand you over to Kerr, who has a very special announcement to make about something that happened at half term. Had I known about this earlier, you could have announced it on the stage.’ Eddie clapped his back.
Kerr shot Eddie a playful glare, but it quickly melted into a grin. ‘Ok.’ Kerr raised his hands in mock surrender. ‘I, er, yes. Georgie and I…’ he paused, glancing around the room, ‘got engaged on Valentine’s Day!’
‘Yay!’ Finlay McBride, the P.E. teacher, sent up a cheer, and others joined him.
Kerr grinned, his cheeks a little pink under his stubble. He glanced at Eddie, who gave him a side hug.
‘Aw, congratulations, Kerr!’ Lissa clapped her hands, her face lit up with a huge smile. ‘That really has cheered me up. Have you got a ring? Any photos?’
‘Er, yeah.’ Kerr pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped through his photos.
‘Ooh, let’s see.’ Clara turned to him and smiled, but Sam saw what Kerr didn’t. Her eyes, usually so bright and sparkly, were flat.
Kerr angled his phone, and she peered at the picture.
‘Stunning. And she’s so pretty.’
‘And she’s waiting for him,’ Eddie said. ‘So, let’s all get out of here.’
As Kerr stood, he passed the phone across to Lissa.
‘Gorgeous!’ she cooed, holding it out so Sam could see too.
‘Congratulations.’ Sam passed the phone to Isaac. As it made its way around the table, Sam’s focus shifted back to Clara. She was still smiling, but she was flexing her fingers and fiddling with them.
‘I’ll, er, need to dash.’ She patted Kerr on the arm with a quick smile. ‘Congrats again, but I need to go. I don’t want to leave Skye much longer.’
‘Sure, no worries.’ Kerr gave her a return smile.
She pressed her lips together, still maintaining her happy face, but either she was moved to tears by the news or she wasn’t loving it as much as she was making out.
‘See you tomorrow, duckling.’ Lissa waved to her.
‘And you.’ Clara’s gaze flicked from her back to Kerr, and she gave a final wave before slipping out of the door.
‘I should head off too.’ Sam packed up his notes. ‘I promised Kaleb a run tonight.’
‘Enjoy.’ Lissa patted his arm. ‘And try not to think about the inspection… no need to worry yet.’ She pulled a grimace, indicating that she was already in an advanced state of panic.
‘I’ll try not to. See you all tomorrow.’ He lifted his backpack and headed into the corridor. He scanned the length and spotted Clara at the far end. She couldn’t be going straight home if she was going that way. Maybe she was getting something from her room. Sam checked his watch and sighed. He didn’t really havetime to spare, but he had a weird feeling, and he knew if he went straight home and did nothing, he’d regret it and not be able to rest.
He walked smartly down the corridor and turned up at the end where Clara had just gone. Her office was on the right, and the door was closed. Stopping a few paces back, he glanced at the door. Should he do this? Or just give her space?
Sam lifted his hand, tapping softly on the door. He pushed it open a fraction and peered inside.
‘Clara?’ He kept his voice low, soft, and when she glanced back over her shoulder, she gave a quick sniff, looking away as she rubbed at her eyes. ‘Hey. What’s up? Can I do anything?’
‘Oh, Sam.’ She shook her head, running her fingertips under her eyes. ‘So sorry. It’s… um… just this inspection on top of everything…’
‘Yeah. Something we could all do without.’ He stepped inside, closing the door gently behind him.
‘There are barely enough hours in the day already. I just can’t keep up.’ She shook her head.
‘I wish I could help, but—’
‘No, no. Not at all. We’re all busy. I’ll be fine. I’m just… tired, that’s all.’
He moved a little closer. ‘If you need a hand with anything, or… even just a chat, you know where I am.’
