“Okay.”
Their soup finished, Eva kissed her mother on the cheek and cleared up their dishes. She whistled for Franklin to follow her out and shut the bedroom door gently behind them, leaving her to rest.
“Ready for a walk, rascal?”
Franklin’s ears perked up, and he raced past her down the stairs so fast it was a miracle he didn’t topple over.
Chapter 6
Lily stretched her arms overher head as the last of her students left the room, relieved to make it to the end of another week. The department meeting awaited her, and Lily was the last to arrive, sliding into her usual seat and opening her notebook in front of her.
“It should be another quick one this week,” Alisha said, and Lily made notes as she went through the agenda. “Before I let you go, there’s one last thing we need to do. As I’m sure you’re all aware, Homecoming is fast approaching, and as always, teachers are being drafted in as chaperones.” Groans echoed around the room, and Alisha turned to Lily. “They expect a few representatives from each department at each dance. We usually send two, and we draw straws for it. Red is for Homecoming, blue for Winter Formal and green for Prom. Sound fair to you?”
Lily nodded, and Alisha let her pick first from the straws she produced from her bag. When they revealed them, Lily didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She and Eva both held blue straws.
Did the universe have it in for her? While science club hadn’t been the disaster she’d feared, Lily wasn’t sure they’d be able to survive an awkward night of chaperoning teenagers together.
She glanced at Eva and found her glaring at her palm—Lily wasn’t the only unhappy one.
“So, we have Mei and Andrew for Homecoming, Lily and Eva for Winter Formal, and Brandon and I for Prom.”
Alisha soon adjourned the meeting, and Mei patted Lily on the back as they were leaving the room. “Commiserations.”
“You don’t want to swap?”
“No thank you. Although Eva is funny. I did Homecoming with her last year, and she gleefully separated students who were dancing too close together.”
“Sure I can’t persuade you?”
“Sorry, kid. You’re on your own. But good news—it’s home time. Or bar time, I suppose. You are coming, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Lily fell into step beside Mei as they walked to the parking lot, the others promising to meet them there once they’d finished a few last things.
It was Lily’s third time going to the bar, but she still followed close behind Mei’s Subaru, not having managed to remember the way yet. It was tucked between an Indian restaurant and a convenience store, and the smell of spices never failed to make Lily’s stomach rumble.
Inside it was quiet, the early evening rush yet to start. Booths stretched along one wall, black leather illuminated by low level lighting and sports commentary filtered through the speakers for the football game playing on the TVs mounted on the wall above the bar. The solitary bartender smiled when he saw them.
“The usual?” he said, reaching for two glasses.
“Yes please.”
“Coming right up.” He mixed Mei’s frozen daiquiri and Lily’s gin and tonic with practiced ease. Once they were ready, Lily followed Mei to their usual booth toward the back of the bar.
“God, I’m glad it’s the weekend,” Mei said, taking a sip of her drink. “I can’t believe we’ve only been back for a month. It feels like three. How are you finding it?”
“Good.” Aside from her honors class. Denny was still trying to push her boundaries whenever the opportunity presented itself—but Lily didn’t want to talk about work too much tonight. “Any plans for the weekend?”
“I have a date tomorrow night, so if I don’t come to work on Monday morning I’ve been kidnapped and murdered.”
Lily nearly inhaled her gin. “Do you usually attract serial killers?”
“I usually attract weirdos, so it would be on brand. It’s the first time I’m meeting anyone from a dating app.”
“Oh, I know the feeling. Make sure you have an exit strategy in case he is a serial killer.”
“Noted. You got any horror stories?”
