"You're organizing a book drive in the middle of fundraiser planning while dealing with a full teaching load."
"The library needs books, Lily. The whole point of saving it is so children can read books in it. I’m not sure saving an empty library would really be worth it."
"Mmmm." Lily took a sip of her own tea. "Look, I'm not saying don't do the book drive. I'm saying maybe don't try to single-handedly collect every donated book from every drop-off point in a twenty-mile radius tomorrow afternoon."
"I'm not single-handedly doing anything. I've asked for help."
"From who?"
Annabelle hesitated. "Raven."
Lily's eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. "Raven."
"Yes."
"And she agreed to spend her afternoon driving around Bankton with you collecting books?"
"Well." Annabelle shifted in her seat. "She hasn't said no yet. I left a note under her door and she didn’t reply. I'm taking that as a yes."
"Annabelle…"
"What?"
"You can't fix everything," Lily said gently. "You can't save the library and organize the fundraiser and solve Jamie's problems and befriend the grumpy rock star and maintain your teaching standards all at once. Something's going to give."
"Nothing is going to give," Annabelle said firmly. "I'm perfectly capable of managing my time. Besides, Jamie's doing much better now."
"Is he?"
"Yes. I've implemented a buddy system. Oliver and Emma are making sure he's never alone at break time, always has someone to talk to. It's working brilliantly."
Lily looked like she wanted to say something, but the bell rang, signaling the end of break. Saved by the bell, quite literally.
"Just promise me you'll get some proper sleep tonight," Lily said as they both stood.
"I promise," Annabelle lied cheerfully.
AT LUNCHTIME THE next day, Annabelle was standing outside the school gates clutching a list of collection points.
She had a limited amount of time and in the end she’d had to text Raven just this morning.
But, miracle of miracles, Raven had actually replied with a single word: "Fine."
Which was practically enthusiasm by Raven's standards.
A black Audi pulled up, and Annabelle's smile widened despite her exhaustion. Raven was wearing enormous sunglasses and had the hood of her jacket pulled up despite being inside a car.
"Hello!" Annabelle said brightly, sliding into the passenger seat. "Thank you so much for doing this. You're absolutely saving my life."
"It's books," Raven said flatly. "Not exactly heroic. I did have to rent a car though. Not much room for books in a Porsche."
"That was thoughtful. And books are always heroic," Annabelle countered, buckling her seatbelt. "Right, first stop is the post office. Daisy's been collecting donations there all week."
Raven pulled away from the curb without comment.
As they drove through Bankton's winding streets, Annabelle found herself filling the silence with cheerful chatter. Shecouldn't help it. Silence made her uncomfortable, and Raven seemed to radiate quiet like other people radiated body heat.
"That's the old mill," she said, pointing out the window. "It's been converted into flats now, but back in the 1800s it was actually the heart of the village economy. They ground flour there for over a hundred years. And that building there with the blue door? That used to be the village jail. Can you imagine? A whole jail for a village this size. Though I suppose people were more lawless back then. Or maybe just more creative about breaking rules."
