"We'll talk about it later," she said, mustering up her brightest smile. "Right now, let's run through the opening scene again, shall we?"
The children scattered to their positions, and Annabelle caught Nina's eye across the classroom. Her assistant gave her a sympathetic look that clearly said,You look exhausted.
Annabelle looked away. She was fine. Absolutely fine.
She'd slept four hours last night. Maybe five if she counted the bit where she'd dozed off at her kitchen table with her head on a stack of donation forms. Her coffee this morning had tasted bitter and over-brewed, but she'd drunk it anyway because caffeine was basically a food group at this point.
"Ms. Swift?" Sophie's small voice piped up. "Are we starting?"
"Yes! Yes, sorry, sweetie." Annabelle clapped her hands together. "Places, everyone! And… go!"
The rehearsal was… well, calling it a disaster would be unkind. Calling it promising would be a lie. Somewhere in between, perhaps. A chaotic mess with potential.
Marie forgot her lines. Indra tripped over her own feet. And Oliver spent the entire time making branch-like gestures with his arms despite being the narrator.
"Lovely!" Annabelle said when it was over, ignoring the way Nina was biting back laughter. "Really wonderful, everyone. We'll pick this up after lunch, yes?"
The bell rang, and the children thundered toward the door with the sort of enthusiasm reserved for freedom and cake.
Nina approached, arms full of props. "So. How are you, really?"
"Great! Fine. Brilliant, actually."
"You have a sticker on your cardigan."
Annabelle glanced down. A glittery unicorn sticker was indeed stuck to her chest. She had no memory of how it got there.
"Fashion statement," she said weakly.
Nina's expression softened. "Annabelle…"
"I'm fine, honestly. Just a bit tired. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." She beamed at Nina, and sweet Nina beamed back.
"As long as you’re alright. We can’t be without our glorious leader."
"Right," Annabelle said, rather weakly.
"Oh, and the book donations need to be moved, the cleaner said they’re blocking the door to the boy’s toilets."
"Right," Annabelle said again. She’d add that to her to-do list.
"Oh…" Nina began again.
"What?" interrupted Annabelle, a little sharply.
Nina blushed. "Nothing, just… I just wanted you to know that I heard Jamie Long chattering to Thomas in the playground about his new guitar lessons and, well, it was the happiest I’ve ever heard him, that’s all."
Annabelle forced herself to smile. "That’s nice."
And it was. She was glad that Jamie was happy. Even if she hadn’t had a hand in it. Even if it had taken Raven to fix things for him.
WHEN THE FINAL bell rang, Annabelle felt like she'd run a marathon. In heels. Uphill.
She was packing up her things when Lily appeared in the doorway.
"So…" the headmistress said
Annabelle's stomach sank. "So?"
