“Sure.” Eva grabbed the relevant papers from her desk and joined Alisha at the front of her room.
“I’ll have to arrange yours at some point, too.”
“Just let me know when.” They didn’t faze her. They were better than the evaluations she’d used to have as a professor—those were student surveys, and eighteen-to-twenty-one year-olds were a lot harsher than a fellow professional.
“We’ll start with Lily’s.”
Eva obliged. At least she’d get the most unpleasant one out of the way first.
By the time they’d finished—moving on to finals papers, report cards, AP exam entries and arrangements, any budgetary changes and the minutes from all the meetings Eva had attended in Alisha’s absence—nearly two hours had passed, and Alisha winced when she glanced at the clock.
“So much for making visitors hours today.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’d take so long.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I needed to know what I’d missed. And Darius will have gone to see him. Not that he’s too self-aware at the minute.” Alisha smothered a yawn with the back of her hand. “Before I go, there’s one more thing. Because things are touch-and-go, I won’t be coming on the D.C. trip this year.”
That made sense. Eva would do the same if she were in Alisha’s place. In fact, it was something of a relief—she liked Alisha just fine, but spending the week in relative solitude would suit her, too.
“But I’ve asked Lily to go in my place,” Alisha said, and Eva felt her relief turn to dread, felt her brain go fuzzy, felt her blood freeze in her veins. “You’ll look after her, won’t you?”
Eva barely heard the question, mind too busy spiraling, because she and Alisha were supposed to be sharing a room, and that meant she and Lily would be sharing a room, and if that wasn’t a recipe for disaster, Eva didn’t know what was.
“Is that okay?” Alisha said, and Eva blinked. Alisha was looking at her strangely, a furrow between her brows.
“I…” Eva desperately searched for a polite way to say, “Fuck, no!” when it seemed the deal had already been struck.
“Eva?” Alisha pressed, and Eva tried not to laugh.
No, but she could hardly say that to Alisha. It had been too long since she’d spoken and Alisha was still waiting for a response, staring at her with concern written across her face, so Eva forced a smile. “Yes, that’s fine.”
Fine, like her insides didn’t feel like they were twisted into a tight coil. Fine, like Alisha hadn’t just done the equivalent of detonating a bomb on her. Fine, like the thing she’d been looking forward to for weeks wouldn’t be tainted by the essence of the woman she was trying so hard to escape.
“Excellent. Well, I’d better go.” Alisha’s chair squeaked over the floor as she pushed it beneath the desk. “Thank you, again, for everything.” Alisha touched her fingers to Eva’s shoulder, but Eva barely felt it.
Barely registered Alisha leaving, either, remaining where she was for a long time, a scream trapped in her throat.
Chapter 19
Lily pulled into the schoolparking lot at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon with her stomach roiling. She’d barely slept the previous night, panicking at what the next few days might bring.
A handful of students were dotted around the lot, their chatter carried by the wind. Summer fever had well and truly set in—it was the last week of school, the long vacation almost upon them—and Lily wished she could share in their excitement.
She stepped out of her car and joined the other teachers, relieved to see a few faces she recognized. Obviously, there was Eva, a sleek black suitcase propped against her legs and her phone in her hand. She knew the harried-looking woman with a stack of papers in her hand was Daphne, one of the assistant principals. And then there was Paige, one of the English teachers Lily shared her lunch duty with, who welcomed her with a warm smile.
Daphne did a quick headcount, and then handed out the papers she held. “Here’s the agenda for the week,” she said. “We’ve split the kids into four groups—A to D. Two members of staff with each group, so choose a buddy at your own peril.”
Lily glanced at the schedule. The trip to Georgetown wasn’t until Wednesday, looming over her like a guillotine.
Around her, people were buddying up, and Lily felt panic bloom in her chest, because no one was going to choose Eva, and if no one also chose Lily they’d be stuck together all week.
It was bad enough that they were sharing a room. When Alisha had revealed that little tidbit of information, Lily had wished more than ever she’d refused to go.
“Want to be my buddy?” Paige came to her rescue, and Lily hoped her sigh of relief wasn’t too audible.
“Sure.” Lily could use someone to cling on to for the week.
“Any preference on a group?”
