Alisha smiled. “You can, but I won’t be happy about it.”
Eva sighed. She didn’t have to be happy about it, either. “Fine.”
“Thank you. We’ll talk Friday about the budget.” Alisha pushed herself off the desk and left, allowing Eva to return to her e-mails. Not that she felt like she could get much done, with irritation thrumming below the surface of her skin.
* * *
Lily eyed Eva’s ajar classroom door with trepidation churning in her stomach. When she’d asked Alisha for more details of the science club, Lily hadn’t expected Alisha to say she should spend an hour of her Wednesday watching Eva run a session.
But Lily hadn’t known how to say no, and Eva had agreed—though she didn’t look happy to see Lily when she stepped into her room, notebook clutched to her chest like a shield.
“Um, hi.” Lily paused beside Eva where she leaned against her desk, because it would be rude to waltz inside without saying anything. “Thanks for doing this. Can I help you with anything?”
Eva shook her head. “Sit wherever you like.”
Lily dragged a stool over to the side of the room, trying to stay out of the way as much as possible as more students arrived.
Eva let a few minutes pass before she began, and Lily did a quick headcount—twenty-five kids were crammed into the room, and Lily wondered if this was the usual level of turnout.
“Welcome,” Eva said, silence falling the moment she opened her mouth. “I see some familiar faces but a lot of new ones, too. Let’s start by learning everyone’s names.” She wrote them on a piece of paper as they went around the room. Lily didn’t recognize a single one from any of her classes. “Okay, for those of you who haven’t been here before, I’ll explain how things work. You’ll have a different teacher each week, and as those teachers have a different specialty, you’ll be doing all kinds of different things. I’m a biologist, so that’s what we’re going to be doing today. Let’s get started, shall we?” Eva reached for a model on her desk. “Can anyone tell me what this is?”
Eva waited, eyes scanning around the room, for a brave soul to raise their hand. “Yes, Madison?”
“It’s DNA.”
“Right, and what’s the structure of DNA? James.”
“A double helix.”
“Correct. Who knows what DNA stands for?” Silence. “No one want to hazard a guess?” Eva’s gaze flickered over to Lily. “Miss Cross, perhaps?”
Lily tried not to scoff. Of course Eva would try and put her on the spot. Did she want to embarrass Lily in front of the kids, as some form of payback for daring to infringe on her time?
Well, it wasn’t going to work. Lily may be a chemist, but biology had been another one of her favorites when she’d been at school. She set her jaw and made sure to meet Eva’s eye. “Deoxyribose nucleic acid.”
If she was impressed, Eva didn’t show it. “Thank you. Now, on your desks you have some toothpicks and different types of candy. In groups, I want you to make me an accurate DNA model. You have five minutes, and the best one will win a prize. Go.”
They sprang into action, the room soon filled with noisy chatter. Lily was surprised Eva didn’t shush them as she stalked around the perimeter. And stalked was the only name for it—Eva had an easy grace, her heels clicking against the floor, her posture perfect. She possessed a confidence Lily could only dream of one day having.
Once she’d done a circuit of the room, Eva paused beside her, and Lily tried not to tense. Why did she suddenly feel like a naughty kid?
“Want to warn me next time you plan on throwing a question my way?” Lily said, glancing away from her notebook.
Eva smirked. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“You’re disappointed I got it right, aren’t you?”
Eva kept her voice low. “That sounds like a challenge.”
Lily didn’t get a chance to reply, as the students’ time was up, and Lily blinked when Eva clapped her hands to get their attention. Was she imagining things or had that sounded flirtatious?
Lily shook her head.
Definitely her imagination.
“Whose is this?” Eva lifted one of the models. Three shy hands raised at the back of the room. “Well done. Stay behind at the end for your prize.”
After a quick rundown of what the other groups could have done better, Eva moved to their next activity. When she dumped several containers of strawberries onto the front desk, Lily wasn’t the only one who appeared to be confused.
