“Is everything all right?” Lily said, wondering what had prompted a visit from the principal on an otherwise unremarkable Monday afternoon.
“Fine, fine. I just thought I should check in. See how things are.”
If it was an official visit, Lily knew Alisha would have warned her ahead of time. Lily doubted he’d stop by “just because” and waited, with tension held in her shoulders, for the other shoe to drop.
“Some paperwork landed on my desk with your name on it,” he said, and realization dawned. “You want to set up a GSA?”
“Not me personally.” Lily picked up her pen so she had something to do with her hands. “One of my students approached me about it.”
“And you think it’s a good idea?”
Lily blinked, taken aback by the question. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Don’t you?”
“I just…” David sighed as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket. “I don’t know if it’s an acceptable use of school resources.”
Lily squeezed the pen so hard she felt the plastic crack, but better that than let her mouth run, better that than reaching out and strangling David with his tie. She rescinded her earlier assessment—there was nothing pleasant about him at all.
“Or your resources,” David said, seemingly oblivious to the anger simmering beneath Lily’s skin. “We don’t want you to burn yourself out during your first year.”
Lily wondered who the ‘we’ was in that equation. “Alisha doesn’t have a problem with it,” she said, trying not to grit her teeth. “And I know I can handle it.”
“Right. But—”
“I think it would be good for this school,” Lily said, speaking over him, letting her anger carry her words forward. “Because I’ve not been here long, but it’s long enough for me to notice there appears to be a problem with homophobia.”
Lily didn’t say she was starting to see where it might come from—she had a feeling that wouldn’t go down well, and she wanted to keep this job. “Out of interest, what happened to the two girls bullying Macie Taylor?”
“They were suitably punished.” Gone was David’s easy-going smile, his lips pursed and his eyes narrowing. “Is this something that’s important to you?”
Lily knew the real question was: is this the hill you want to die on?
In any case, her answer was yes. These kids needed someone to fight for them, and Lily wished there had been someone in her corner back when she’d been in their shoes. “It is.”
“I’m concerned about pushback from parents.”
Lily tried not to scoff. “Well, my only concern is for the children, and the message it would send if this was stopped. That they don’t matter. That parents’ opinions are more valued than their wellbeing.” Her heart was beating in her ears, because, despite how she sometimes acted around Eva, Lily hated conflict. Lily tried to inject that same steel she had whenever they argued into her voice, so she didn’t quail under David’s stare. “Also, technically speaking, preventing a GSA from forming is against the law under the federal Equal Access Act.” She’d done her research, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it.
“I see.” David regarded her for one long, charged moment. “Well, I’ll consider it.”
He strode from the room, and Lily let out a sigh, dropping her forehead onto her desk. Why did everything have to be so difficult? It wasn’t like Lily had expected this to be easy but having some support from her superiors would go a long way.
No matter. Lily didn’t need anyone else to make the GSA a success—she was determined enough to do it all alone.
Resolved, she lifted her head, and noticed a notification on her phone. Curiosity and boredom had led to her download the CuteMeet app at the weekend—she had a match.
Lily opened the app and found a reply from the cute blonde she’d messaged last night waiting for her.
Smiling, Lily typed a response, hoping the conversation wouldn’t stall like it had with the handful of other women she’d messaged with.
Chapter 7
As the only redhead inattendance, Kate was easy to spot in the hotel bar. “Finally! I thought you were standing me up.”
“Sorry.” Eva slid into the seat opposite Kate and leaned forward to press a swift kiss to Kate’s cheek. “Traffic was terrible.”
“I ordered you a drink.” Kate nodded to the cocktail on the table.
“Thank you.” Eva took a sip of the martini, humming in contentment as the gin hit her tongue. Kate’s drink was half empty—Eva had some catching up to do. “How was the conference?”
