Lily grinned. “We’ll see about that. Thanks for helping the kids with it while I wasn’t here, by the way.” Lily had been there to lend a hand setting up the craft tables in the school courtyard that morning, but Mei had handled a lot in the past few days.
“No problem. It was fun.”
They left the teacher’s lounge together, and Lily noticed Eva’s door opening out of the corner of her eye. Lily allowed herself one brief glance to admire the curve of her ass in the black pencil skirt.
Lily had a full day of teaching, starting with her honors class.
“I got you something, Miss Cross,” Carly said at the end of the period, approaching Lily’s desk with her head ducked as the rest of the kids rushed out the door. “To say thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Carly handed over a wrapped box, and Lily tried not to let herself be overcome with emotion as she slid a nail beneath the paper.
Inside was a mug, much like the one she already owned, except instead of her name spelled out using elements of the periodic table, it said Best Chemistry Teacher.
“It’s not much,” Carly said, staring at her hands, “and some of the symbols are made up, but I…I thought you might like it.”
“I love it,” Lily said, her throat tight. “Thank you, Carly.” It meant so much; a reminder Lily had made a difference to someone. “And well done, for all the work you’ve done this year. I know it wasn’t easy, but you passed with flying colors.”
“Thanks, Miss Cross.”
“Have a good summer.”
“You too.” Carly ducked out of the door, smile on her face, and Lily set the mug carefully on her desk.
* * *
The rest of the morning passed in a blur. The kids were excited about their summer, and Lily was happy, after they’d gotten through all the activities she’d prepared for the lesson, to let them chat about their plans.
Mei appeared in her doorway at lunch, the sleeves of her blouse rolled up to her elbows. She cracked her knuckles. “You’re going down, Cross.”
“Keep on dreaming, Chen.”
They followed the sound of excited chatter out to the courtyard. Macie and Sara waved shyly at Lily from the bean bag toss stall, and Hannah was manning the balloon pop game. Lily was impressed by the turnout, students milling around in small groups vying to win a prize. All had been donated, either by students, staff, or even some friendly local businesses willing to lend the GSA a helping hand.
“Oh, my God,” Mei said, fingers clutching at Lily’s elbow to get her attention. “I know what we’re doing first.”
Lily turned to see what she was looking at and felt her jaw drop. They’d managed to source a dunk tank, and who was climbing up the steps?
Eva.
She slipped off her blazer as she reached the top, folding it delicately and placing her glasses and shoes on top before taking the seat suspended high above the water.
“She replied to my e-mail asking for volunteers but I thought she was joking.” Mei looked overjoyed. “I can’t believe this. Let’s go.”
Lily let Mei drag her over. While she was distracted handing Mark a five-dollar bill, Lily leaned against the side of the tank.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Raising money for a good cause,” Eva said, looking at ease, poised and regal with her legs crossed. “I figured there’s a few people in this school who would relish the opportunity to dunk me.”
“I don’t know,” Lily said. “They might be too scared of you.”
“I think they’ll manage to overcome their fears. The seniors, especially, seeing as they’ll never see me again. And the staff certainly seem eager.” Eva’s gaze flickered to where Mei was getting a feel for the ball.
“But…you’ll get wet.”
“I think that’s the point.” Eva’s lips curved into a smirk, and Lily wanted to kiss it from her mouth. “You’re not worried about me, are you? It’s only water.”
Worried about staring when Eva’s clothes were plastered to her body, maybe. “No. It just…doesn’t seem very you.”
