“What?” Thomas propped himself up on his elbows, covering the lower half of his naked body with a sheet. “What’s wrong?”
I blushed. “Nothing,” I said.
“Come on,” Thomas said. He smirked. “You can tell me, June.”
I took a deep breath, then swallowed. My cheeks were bright red but I forced myself to look at Thomas’s handsome, leonine face.
“It’s just…I didn’t expect things to feel so normal,” I said quickly. “I mean…we got here, and the air was all full of tension…”
“And then we fucked, and it was glorious,” Thomas said with a lazy smirk.
“And now it just feels like we’re hanging out and getting close,” I added. I smiled. “I like it,” I said softly.
Thomas reached for my hand and squeezed. “Good,” he said quietly. “Because I do too.”
I smiled happily. At that moment, in my world, things were absolutely perfect.
--
I stayed at Thomas’s condo until Saturday afternoon. We didn’t make love again – even though his stamina had been impressive, I knew that he likely wouldn’t have the same rebound time as someone my age – but we cuddled and fell asleep together after stuffing our faces with delivery sushi. It was easily the best date I’d ever had, and I was practically floating on air by the time I made it home.
On Sunday, Angela and I braved the local Trader Joe’s, stocking up on all of our favorite goodies and snacks. She suggested we have a girls’ night in and I readily agreed – I couldn’t wait to dish all about Thomas. Naturally, Angela was thrilled for me. She said she was so happy that I was finally dating. Secretly, I wondered if she’d actually been kidding when she’d joked about Thomas having any single, rich friends. But mostly I just appreciated the fact that my best friend was there for me. Her support meant everything…especially given how scary things had gotten with Andy.
When I got to school on Monday morning, Ruth looked troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I smiled happily at her. “It’s a beautiful day! How was your weekend?”
Ruth pressed her lips into a tight line, until all of the blood faded. She handed me an envelope. “The principal wants to see you,” she said quietly. “I’ll cover class until you’re back.”
I narrowed my eyes. A nervous feeling shot through my gut as I opened the envelope and scanned the text.
“Did he say why? There’s nothing in this note,” I said quietly. The kids were just beginning to filter into my room and I didn’t want any of them to hear my conversation with Ruth – especially not Brett.
Ruth shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I hope everything is okay, though.”
Immediately, Andy’s face flashed to my mind. “Oh, god,” I moaned quietly. “They probably found out about those stupid drawings.”
Ruth shrugged. “Good luck,” she said. “The bell is about to ring.”
I slipped out of class as quietly as I could before the kids would notice something was up. As I walked down the quiet halls, I shivered. There was almost something ominous about the feeling in the air – almost like I was going to my doom.
When I got to the main office, none of the secretaries looked up at me. I had to walk up to the front desk and clear my throat before one of them noticed me.
“Hi,” I said nervously. “I got in this morning and Ruth told me that Principal Morris wanted to see me.”
The secretary looked at me with blank eyes. She was someone I’d spoken to many times – heck, she’d even brought me a slice of cake one day from a party in the teacher’s lounge. But right now, she was looking at me like I was a piece of trash.
“Should I go in?” I asked, feeling awkward when my words hung in the air.
The secretary bit her lip and nodded.
“Okay. Thanks,” I added, feeling stupider by the second.
The door to Principal Morris’s office was closed. I could feel the eyes of the secretaries glued to my back as I walked across the cheerfully-decorated office and knocked. Everything was covered with turkey decorations and smiling, cartoon pilgrims and native Americans.
“Hello, Principal Morris,” I called quietly. “It’s June Rogers. I got a note that you wanted to see me.”
“Come in.”