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“Don’t you have class soon, Ophelia?” Phoenix interjects, with an undertone in his voice that I’ve never heard before. There’s a hint of panic mixed with a subtle warning.

I ignore him. I have to.

“It’s really important, and it won’t take long. I’ll get to class on time, I promise.” I look at Pearson imploringly. He hesitates for a moment and then gives in.

“All right, come in.” He ushers me into his office. I squeeze past him, but not without looking over my shoulder one more time at Phoenix.

God, I really have to stop doing this.

Chapter 12

Phoenix

I’m so screwed. My first day is going to be my last. Absolutely fantastic.

My eyes are fixed on the door that Lia just disappeared behind with Pearson, an inscrutable expression in her green eyes.

“Are you coming?” John taps me on the shoulder, his eyebrows raised questioningly.

No, I can’t go to class with him and the others right now. Not when Lia must be telling Pearson about us at this very moment.

Why would she do that?

I have no idea, but the truth is, I don’t actually know her. I have no idea what she’s capable of or what her motivations might be.

“Phoenix, are you okay?” John gives me a look of concern.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m coming.” Somehow I manage to tear myself away and follow him and the others down the corridor. There’s nothing I can do but resign myself to my fate and allow myself one last glimmer of hope that she might want to talk to Pearson about something else. The only question is, what? On the first day of school, there aren’t usually that many serious issues that need to be discussed with the principal right away. I’m so screwed.

“How are you doing?” John asks. “Still a little nervous?”

I shrug. Yeah, I’m pretty nervous right now, but it’s not because of the class. But I can’t tell him that, of course. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t have to worry. Francesca will help you a lot at the beginning, but it will only be a few weeks before she’ll let you take responsibility on your own.”

“Did you also observe her classes when you started?”

He nods, grinning. “She didn’t think I was capable of anything at first.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty strict.” He laughs and gives a grateful smile to Mrs. Prince, who’s holding the door open for us in the foyer. Then he turns back to me. “Anyway, make sure you come up with sensible lesson plans, and don’t wait until she asks you to do it. It’s best to start now and let her look at them once a day. Then your lessons will already be well planned when she assigns you your first class, and you won’t have any problems. Being put straight into the graduating class is both a blessing and a curse.”

“Really?” Right now, it definitely seems more like a curse to me. But I suppose I’m pretty much alone in that opinion.

“Yes. It’s good because everyone already knows what they have to do, and you don’t have to explain individual positions anymore. But that’s exactly why it’s also much more complicated. If your lessons aren’t well planned, not only will Francesca notice, but your students will too. It’s also very important to Francesca how precise you are with your corrections. She has to entrust her flock to you, and there’s a lot at stake in the senior year. But I don’t really need to tell you that.”

I shake my head. No, he doesn’t. It won’t be that different here than it was at Juilliard.

“How long have you been here?” I ask him.

“Four years.”

I look at him in surprise. “Then we just missed each other.”

John grins, but there’s sympathy in his eyes again, and now I’m pretty sure he knows. Pearson must have told him about Isabel. I swallow and clench my teeth. What happened is no secret, but I still don’t like the fact that he knows—and probably everyone else does too.

Not everyone.