She stiffens, her fingers curling around her blouse. "I told you. I needed to figure things out."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have." She slides off the desk and starts dressing with jerky movements.
I notice the necklace then. A delicate gold chain with two small stones. Birthstones, I realize. They catch the light as she buttons her blouse.
"What's that?" I gesture to the necklace.
Her hand flies to it protectively. "Nothing. Just something I like."
"Those are birthstones."
"So?" Her voice is defensive now.
"Whose birthdays?"
"Jack, don't."
"Whose birthdays, Mia?"
Before she can answer, footsteps echo in the hallway outside. Heavy. Deliberate. Someone else is in the building.
We both freeze, eyes locked. I quickly tuck in my shirt while she smooths her hair. The footsteps grow closer, then pause outside my office door.
My heart pounds as I wait for a knock, for discovery, for everything to come crashing down.
But the footsteps move on, fading down the hallway.
"I have to go," Mia whispers, grabbing her lesson planner.
"Wait." I catch her arm. "We're not done talking about this."
"Yes, we are." She pulls free and slips out the door before I can stop her.
I stand alone in my office, surrounded by the evidence of what we just did. Papers scattered across the floor. Her scent lingering in the air. The taste of her still on my lips.
I should feel guilty. Should be horrified at what we've done in my office, in the school where I'm principal and she's a teacher under my authority.
Instead, I feel alive for the first time in years.
I walk to the hallway and look both ways. Empty now. Whoever was here is gone. I check the classrooms one by one, my footsteps echoing in the silence.
Most doors are locked as they should be. But when I reach the English wing, I find one classroom door slightly ajar. The one next to Mia's. I know I locked this door myself during my evening rounds.
I push it open slowly, reaching for the light switch. The room is empty. Nothing appears disturbed. But the window is cracked open, letting in the cool night air.
I close and lock the window, then secure the classroom door. Probably just the janitor forgetting to lock up properly. Nothing sinister.
But unease prickles at the back of my neck as I return to my office.
I sink into my chair and stare at the desk where I just had Mia. Where I felt more connected to another person than I have in a decade. Where every buried feeling came roaring back to life.
I'm shocked at how seeing her brings up all the feelings I had for her. The want. The need. The bone-deep certainty that she's mine even though she never was and probably never will be.
6
MIA
