I end the call.
With renewed purpose, I push my bangs back and fix my hair. Whatever tears were threatening to spill over, I sniff them back. Then I set off to fix my problem.
I figured Sue would still be on academy grounds. She missed most of last week and, seeing as this school is her life, she’d be anxious to make up for lost time.
Yet, I’m surprised I didn’t find her in the lounge or student rec room; someplace where people congregate. She’s such a social butterfly. I find her in her classroom, tucked behind her desk. Alone. She appears to be grading papers and typing on her laptop. I don’t enter right away; I wait to see if she notices herself being watched.
I suppose one needs to be alone to do dastardly deeds such as taunt another faculty member.
With a light rap on the window, I enter and close the door behind me.
Sue jumps and looks up from her screen. “Ellis. You startled me. What do you need?”
I position myself at the front of her desk and grip the edge. “How did you get my number, Sue? From my file? The same place where you were snooping to try to find out about me?”
Her plain face twists in confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I nod once. “Right. So the text messages. Those weren’t your doing.”
She huffs out a breath. “Honestly, Ellis, I have no clue why you’re upset.” She closes
her laptop and grabs the tote next to her chair before she stands. “But really, I don’t even care. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
As she attempts to head for the door, I grab hold of her arm. “What do you know?” I demand.
Her brows draw together and, with pure disdain, she looks at my hand and then up at my face. “I know that you’re a liar, Ellis. Masters from Boston College?” She mock laughs. “I’ve seen the way you are with the kids. Mr. Hensley in particular. I’ve heard the advice you’ve been shelling out. I highly doubt you’re qualified for this job, but you’ve somehow convinced Mr. D. that you are.” She snatches her arm free. “I’m going to make sure that changes.”
A slow smile curls my lips. “I knew it was you.”
She whirls around. “And I know you made me sick,” she fires back. “I don’t know how, but I know you did something. You’re not right, Ellis. You’re…off. You don’t belong here.”
Carter’s beautiful face flashes before my vision, and the fear of losing him, of losing us, pushes me forward. I do belong here. I belong with Carter.
“Wait…” I call out after Sue. She’s walking hurriedly toward the staircase. “There has to be something you want.”
I’ve seen the envy in her dirt-brown eyes. Every time she looks at my designer clothes and handbag, I’ve witnessed that misery in Sue’s expression, the desire to be more, to have more.
To my surprise, she halts on the landing right before the stairs. She keeps her back to me, but she waits.
“I’m sure if you dug into me at all, you know about my inheritance money,” I say, as I near her. “There has to be some compromise that can be made.”
She braces her hand on the railing. “What do you propose?”
I smile. It’s sad, really. To pretend she cares anything at all for these students, that she’s protecting them from me, when something as basic as money can sway her to forget all about her so-called convictions.
“How about five grand?” I offer.
She scoffs. “I’m almost positive that you didn’t attend Boston College,” she declares. “You’ll have to do a little better than that.”
No, I didn’t attend the college—though I was so very close to it. I stared at it through my window every day, watched the students lay on the grass while reading their books. I studied right along with them; I studied harder than them.
“Ten thousand,” I say. “And that’s all. I’m sure that will advance your pathetic station in life quite nicely.”
Sue turns to face me then, her thin mouth curved into a condescending smile. “Fine. But I want it immediately. And I also want to know why…”
Her words trail off as the sound of ticking snags my attention. It’s loud, coming from a clock on the vaulted wall behind Sue. The clock wavers in my vision, but I can make out the time—the hands point to nine and eleven.
I blink hard and refocus on Sue in front of me. “Did you do that?”