Carly’s chin sank to her chest. “I didn’t want to speak to her. Didn’t want her to think I was being awkward. Then she might not like me like some of the other teachers.”
Lily’s heart ached at Carly’s words—at the thought she might have made someone feel that way in her class, at discovering Carly was struggling to this extent and Lily had been none the wiser.
“Hey.” Eva’s voice turned impossibly softer. “That’s not true. And I have a feeling Miss Cross isn’t like that.”
Knowing she’d already been standing there too long—and overheard too many things she shouldn’t have—Lily made sure to rattle the handle on her classroom door as she stepped further into the hall.
Both Carly and Eva whirled to face her.
“You can come back in if you’ve calmed down, Carly.” Lily was relieved her voice didn’t waver as Eva’s gaze landed on her face; she had the distinct feeling she was being assessed, and she hated every moment of it. “If you and Denny are having issues, feel free to move to a different seat. There’s an empty one on the front row. And it goes without saying, but if you ever pull anything like that again you’ll be in detention with me after school.”
“Yes, Miss Cross.” With her head lowered, Carly scurried past Lily and back into her classroom.
Lily was about to follow her—she’d left her students for too long already, and God only knew what mischief they’d gotten up to while she’d been gone—when Eva’s voice stopped her.
“How much of that did you hear?”
How did Eva manage to make herself sound so much colder? And those eyes—they could give Medusa a run for her money.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You are a terrible liar.”
Lily chose not to dignify that with a response. What did it matter, anyway? Lily pushed away the guilt as she returned to her desk. Eva was probably just worried Lily thought she might have a heart, after all.
Glancing at Carly—now situated in the seat Lily had suggested, on the front row and away from everyone else—and remembering the look on Eva’s face when they’d been speaking, Lily was starting to think that might not be so far from the truth.
Chapter 5
Alisha peered around Eva’s openclassroom door, and Eva waved her inside. She hadn’t seen much of Alisha since returning from their summer vacation, and she’d been expecting a catch-up sooner rather than later. As the second in the department, Eva was waiting for some more work to be dropped into her lap—Alisha’s to-do list was never-ending, and Eva was happy to help lighten the load.
“Got a minute?” Alisha perched on the edge of one of the student desks. “There’s a few things I wanted to run by you.” As much disdain as Eva held for this place, she had a lot of respect for Alisha. She was in charge, but she didn’t rule with an iron fist and was happy to listen to suggestions and take on board other people’s opinions, never forcing her time on anyone else.
“Sure.”
“I’ve been given the department’s budget for the year, so we need to find some time to go over it and figure out what we need to buy. Maybe after Friday’s department meeting? Have a think if there’s anything you want to put on the list.”
Eva wondered if “a whole new laboratory” would be an acceptable answer. The school wasn’t ancient, but it wasn’t ultra-modern by any means. When Eva thought about the equipment she’d been used to at Georgetown—and how much she could enrich the biology syllabus if she had access to even an eighth of it—she wanted to weep.
“I’ve been asked if we want to run extra support classes after school. I’m going to speak to Andrew about offering it for physics, but if you want to run some for biology let me know.”
“I’d be happy to.” Whether those who needed them would use them was another matter, but no one could ever say Eva didn’t put everything on the line for those kids.
“Great. Oh, and one last thing. Would it be okay if Lily shadowed your science club session after school tomorrow?”
It wasn’t a question Eva expected to be asked, considering the other topics of conversation, and she wasn’t quick enough to school her expression, her nose wrinkling in distaste.
“I’d like her to get an idea of how we do things, seeing as she’s never done one before,” Alisha said, and Eva wondered about the politest way to say, “No way in hell.”
“What about Mei’s next week?” The two of them seemed to get along swimmingly—Eva was sure Lily would rather spend an hour with her, and Eva certainly would prefer it. She enjoyed science club sessions; having Lily there would sour her mood considerably.
Alisha looked at her in disapproval.
“You know I don’t work well with others.”
“I’m not asking you to work with her, I’m asking you to let her sit there and watch. Your sessions are the best, so she’ll get the most out of them.” Flattery was a fine way of getting Eva on her side, and Alisha knew it. “It’s one hour, Eva. Is that so bad? You know what?” she said, as Eva opened her mouth. “Don’t answer that.”
“Am I allowed to say no?” Eva might like to act like she ran the place, but she knew who was in charge. Alisha wasn’t afraid of throwing her weight around to get things done, and as much as she might resist, Eva respected that.
