Fall. I like the color of the trees. The way they change. Plus, Halloween is awesome. I like scaring any kids that come knocking.
Me too.Much to her mother’s disapproval. There was another thing to add to the ever-growing list she and Molly had in common.
Her phone buzzed again, but this time, it wasn’t a message from Molly. It was a new like on her profile, and Eva quickly swiped the notification away, uninterested. She’d delete the app entirely if she had Molly’s number, but she hadn’t been brave enough to ask yet.
It felt too much like crossing a line, and Eva didn’t want to ruin things. She liked talking to Molly too much, liked having another friend—a rarity, for her—and didn’t want to do anything that might scare her away.
Which was dumb. She was getting too attached. Eva chastised herself as she slid her phone back into her pocket. She needed to stop overthinking.
If only it were so easy.
* * *
Lily blinked in surprise when Carly appeared in her doorway.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Of course, come in.” Lily hadn’t expected Eva to work her magic so soon. “What can I help you with?”
Carly shuffled to the front of Lily’s room and paused, shifting from one foot to the other as she weighed up what she wanted to say. “I know I didn’t do so great on the last exam. Or on anything else recently.”
Lily waited for the rest of what Carly had to say, knowing it must have taken a lot for her to seek Lily out. She didn’t want to push or shatter Carly’s confidence.
“I know I’ve said I’m fine whenever you’ve asked, but…” Carly paused to take a deep breath. “I lied. Truth is, I don’t get anything you’ve said for the last few weeks. Chemistry’s hard.” Carly glanced up, meeting Lily’s gaze for the first time, vulnerability written across her face. “Did you…did you mean it when you said you’d help me?”
“Of course I did, Carly. I want you to succeed.”
Carly nodded. “Okay. So could I come see you after school some days?”
“Would that help you?”
Carly’s face creased into a frown, like she wasn’t used to being asked what she wanted. “I-I think so.”
“Okay. We can start tomorrow afternoon, if you like.”
“Thanks, Miss Cross.” Carly’s gaze fell back to her shoes. “I really appreciate it.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Carly. I’m just doing my job.”
From the look on Carly’s face as she slipped through Lily’s door, Lily suspected her fellow teachers might not be as willing to go above and beyond for the kids they taught.
The thought broke her heart.
Lily began to put some materials together that might help Carly’s understanding. Their current topic—structure and principles of matter—wasn’t the most complex they’d be covering over the course of the year, but it was an important one, forming the basis for the rest of the course.
A shadow fell over Lily, and somehow she wasn’t surprised to see Eva when she looked away from her laptop screen.
“Carly come to see you?”
Lily hid a smile. It seemed Eva did have a caring side, after all—even if she did try hard to hide it.
“She did. I’m going to start offering her extra help after school.”
“Good.”
“Thank you,” Lily said, before Eva had the chance to turn on her heel and stalk away, “for your help.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
