Page 5 of Always a Roommate
“You never have.” Tanner laughed. “The two of you have been arguing since she was a kid. It used to be entertaining.”
“And now?”
“Well, now, we all just wonder if you remember why you’re arguing.”
Why did Rae and I fight? Some people just weren’t meant to be in each other’s lives. Maybe that was it.
I drained the rest of my coffee and realized I hadn’t gotten a scone, but I was no longer hungry. “I need to get to work.”
My brothers waved goodbye, and I got the distinct impression they were laughing at me.
I was early to the school, but it still felt like I was late simply because any other Friday morning would have seen me arrive hours ago. I wasn’t even sure what the point of these seminar days were.
The staff was to receive training we’d already gone through the year before. I’d rather be teaching my students.
I walked into the school building that was much emptier than it should have been. No students rushed through the halls for fear of being late. It was missing the laughter and chatter teenagers tended to have plenty of.
Instead, without the kids that were the heartbeat of the place, it felt empty.
I nodded hello to a few of my fellow teachers, whom I’d never really taken the time to get to know. It was no secret that I wasn’t great with adults, much preferring the company of teenagers, who still saw the world through rose-colored glasses.
Most of them hadn’t yet been jaded, they hadn’t had their hearts broken into a thousand pieces. And there was something special about that.
I walked to my classroom to hide out until the training started, but as soon as I stepped into the darkened room, I knew I wasn’t alone.
“Come out before I turn the lights on, and I won’t drag you right down to the principal’s office.”
There was a shuffling sound, and the light spilling in from the hall fell on a pair of scuffed and worn tennis shoes, ripped jeans, and a wrinkled shirt.
I flipped the lights on. “Trevor, what are you doing here?”
Trevor Nicks was my star student, probably the most brilliant one I’d ever taught. He had a mind that astounded even me, but no one would know when they looked at him and his scraggly appearance.
Trevor kicked a toe against the ground, looking anywhere but at me. “I didn’t think anyone would be in the building.” He rubbed his eyes, as if he’d just woken up.
I scanned the room, finding a backpack and blanket on the ground behind a row of desks that had been pushed to the side. “You slept here.” It wasn’t a question. Somehow, I just knew.
He turned and scrambled to shove the blanket into his backpack. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I just figured with the school closed…”
“The school isn’t closed.” I reached behind me to shut the door for privacy. “You all don’t have school, but we unlucky teachers still have to be here.”
He wiped his eyes and slid his backpack over one shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He tried to rush by me, but I held out an arm to stop him.
“Wait… Trevor, how did you even get into the school?”
“The janitor is here late at night. I just hid until he left.”
“This wasn’t the first time?”
He shook his head. “Mr. Kelly, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Can I go now?”
I should have told someone, brought Trevor to the principal to deal with this and hand out punishment for breaking into the school. But something in his eyes kept my authority-prone behavior in check.
The reason I’d become a teacher was to help these kids, and Trevor needed help, even if that just meant me looking the other way when he was so obviously desperate. “Yeah, kid. You can go.” I pushed a hand through my hair. “But Trev?”
He stopped, his fingers curling around the door handle. “Yeah?”
“If there’s something going on… if you need help… come to me, okay? You aren’t alone.”
