and as I try not to break.
My feet land on the tiled floor. “If anyone else has anything they want to say about Nathan, they can go get chatty with the school psychologist, or they can choose to keep it to themselves. I’ve been accused of many things, but none of them are true. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you today.”
Jules, a shy, timid girl raises her hand in the back. I nod in her direction, signaling it’s okay for her to ask a question. “Do you think he’s ever going to wake up?” It’s been a year, and some of these students have shown they’re not complete psychopaths, that they have the ability to care. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t resent them though, because caring in the aftermath of the accident isn’t the same as caring before. Back then, caring could have changed things, and now all it is, is an empty sentiment.
“I don’t know.” I clear my throat. “If anyone wants to talk about Nathan, please see the psychologist.” The classroom door swings open. “I said go to the damn office,” I yell, but realize I’m not scolding a rowdy student. I’m scolding my best friend, the Assistant Principal Ashley Salt. A beautiful woman three years older than me, but with decades more wisdom. Long, wavy blonde hair falls upon her shoulders with grace, blending with the earth tones of her mild blazer.
She glares at me curiously, cautiously even.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I approach her, standing in the doorway, and offer her a warm smile. “Jason Mathis will be waiting for you when you get back to your office.”
She sighs. “What did he do now?”
“Snide remark about Nathan.”
“That’s not a crime, Stassi.”
“It was the tone.”
“I’ll talk to him.” She has a way with calming me down. Many would say she’s my better half, the sister I always wanted, but not the one I deserved, but I certainly deserved better than the one I actually got. “I’m here because you have a new student joining your class today.” She’s enthusiastic, and I remember a time not long ago when I would have been too, but now it’s just one more student. One more ungrateful piece of adolescent dead weight.
“I didn’t get the memo.”
“He actually just finished registering.” She peeks around the corner and waves. “Come on, Kemper.”
Kemper? No. It can’t be.
He rounds the corner with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
It’s fucking him. Same hair. Same eyes. Same fine-cut facial features. Same name. Same, I’m going to fuck you now, eyes.
I freeze in place. He freezes in place. This is a huge fucking cosmic joke, or maybe it’s Karma. We stare at each other just long enough to make things awkward for the innocent bystander.
“Do you two know each other?” Ashley questions, her eyes shifting between the two of us.
“No.” I fold my arms over each other and lean against the frame of the door. “Of course not.”
“Let me introduce you then.” She places her hand on Kemper’s back. “This is Kemper Scott, and he’ll be finishing his senior year here at Ridgefield.”
“Hi.” I throw my hand out to shake his. “I’m Mrs. Hamilton.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Stassi.”
I break away from his touch and feel my body being swallowed by the floor. Ashley’s eyes burn holes through my body, to the point my internal temperature reaches a boiling degree.
“Do you know her?” Ashley questions Kemper.
“It’s on this paper.” He digs into his back pocket and pushes a paper copy of his schedule into Ashley’s hand. “See, right there. Stassi S. Hamilton.”
“We don’t refer to our teachers by there first names here, Kemper.” Ashley scolds him in a tone where he probably doesn’t know he’s being scolded. I’ve been on the receiving end of that tone one too many times. “That might fly in some new-age school district in California, but here in Ohio, we respect our elders.”
“My apologies.” Kemper’s eyes lock
My feet land on the tiled floor. “If anyone else has anything they want to say about Nathan, they can go get chatty with the school psychologist, or they can choose to keep it to themselves. I’ve been accused of many things, but none of them are true. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you today.”
Jules, a shy, timid girl raises her hand in the back. I nod in her direction, signaling it’s okay for her to ask a question. “Do you think he’s ever going to wake up?” It’s been a year, and some of these students have shown they’re not complete psychopaths, that they have the ability to care. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t resent them though, because caring in the aftermath of the accident isn’t the same as caring before. Back then, caring could have changed things, and now all it is, is an empty sentiment.
“I don’t know.” I clear my throat. “If anyone wants to talk about Nathan, please see the psychologist.” The classroom door swings open. “I said go to the damn office,” I yell, but realize I’m not scolding a rowdy student. I’m scolding my best friend, the Assistant Principal Ashley Salt. A beautiful woman three years older than me, but with decades more wisdom. Long, wavy blonde hair falls upon her shoulders with grace, blending with the earth tones of her mild blazer.
She glares at me curiously, cautiously even.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I approach her, standing in the doorway, and offer her a warm smile. “Jason Mathis will be waiting for you when you get back to your office.”
She sighs. “What did he do now?”
“Snide remark about Nathan.”
“That’s not a crime, Stassi.”
“It was the tone.”
“I’ll talk to him.” She has a way with calming me down. Many would say she’s my better half, the sister I always wanted, but not the one I deserved, but I certainly deserved better than the one I actually got. “I’m here because you have a new student joining your class today.” She’s enthusiastic, and I remember a time not long ago when I would have been too, but now it’s just one more student. One more ungrateful piece of adolescent dead weight.
“I didn’t get the memo.”
“He actually just finished registering.” She peeks around the corner and waves. “Come on, Kemper.”
Kemper? No. It can’t be.
He rounds the corner with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
It’s fucking him. Same hair. Same eyes. Same fine-cut facial features. Same name. Same, I’m going to fuck you now, eyes.
I freeze in place. He freezes in place. This is a huge fucking cosmic joke, or maybe it’s Karma. We stare at each other just long enough to make things awkward for the innocent bystander.
“Do you two know each other?” Ashley questions, her eyes shifting between the two of us.
“No.” I fold my arms over each other and lean against the frame of the door. “Of course not.”
“Let me introduce you then.” She places her hand on Kemper’s back. “This is Kemper Scott, and he’ll be finishing his senior year here at Ridgefield.”
“Hi.” I throw my hand out to shake his. “I’m Mrs. Hamilton.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Stassi.”
I break away from his touch and feel my body being swallowed by the floor. Ashley’s eyes burn holes through my body, to the point my internal temperature reaches a boiling degree.
“Do you know her?” Ashley questions Kemper.
“It’s on this paper.” He digs into his back pocket and pushes a paper copy of his schedule into Ashley’s hand. “See, right there. Stassi S. Hamilton.”
“We don’t refer to our teachers by there first names here, Kemper.” Ashley scolds him in a tone where he probably doesn’t know he’s being scolded. I’ve been on the receiving end of that tone one too many times. “That might fly in some new-age school district in California, but here in Ohio, we respect our elders.”
“My apologies.” Kemper’s eyes lock
Similar Books
