Page 35 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“Trinity?” He frowns at me, and for just a second there’s something very unfriendly in his eyes.

“Father. I’m—I’m sorry to just?—“

His eyes soften from wood to velvety chocolate. “Gracious, I’ve been so caught up, I haven’t had a chance to check in with you.” He grabs my arm and leads me to a nearby table with a set of chairs. “How are you, child?”

I sink down, but he remains standing, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at him.

“It’s been an adjustment,” I admit. I was going to honey coat it—no use complaining when I’m trying to show him how well I can adapt—but he’s always had a way of drawing the truth out of me.

Did he have that same effect on Mom and Dad? Did they tell him things without wanting to?

Bad things?

Sinfulthings?

I push away the thought. This place is making me jump at shadows. How can anyone stand it?

“I would imagine so. Tell me, how are you finding the classes? Have your teachers been accommodating?”

Teachers.

Of course! That’s my way in.

“That’s actually why I’m here.” I twist my hands in my lap and force out the words before I can lose my nerve. “Is there a chance, I mean, do you think I could try and…?”

“You may speak freely, child,” Gabriel says. He shifts his weight, looking for all the world as if he could stand there all day while I fought my tongue.

“I want to be a teacher.”

He nods, waits.

“I’d like to teach here when I’ve finished high school. Is that…would that be…?”

Gabriel cups my face in a hand. I start at the intimate gesture, but I don’t pull away. The last thing I want is to offend him. His usually vacant smile deepens. It’s not the first time I’ve seen his dimples, but I can’t remember when last he looked so happy.

“You truly are a remarkable girl.”

Pressure wells behind my eyes. I drop my eyes, but he keeps me looking up with that gentle pressure on my jaw. His hands are warm, slightly calloused—which is strange for a man of the cloth. “Is that a yes?”

“I would love nothing more,” he says.

He turns to leave, and then pauses and turns back. “I’ll send someone to collect you tonight.”

I was in the process of standing. My knees lock, leaving me in a weird half-crouch. “Uh…why?”

“We shall have dinner. God bless, Trinity.”

I almost manage to reply.

Almost, but not quite.

Chapter 12

Trinity

Morning prayers ran shorter than yesterday. Despite my meeting with Father Gabriel, I get to the dining hall way ahead of everyone else. Since I don’t know when Jasper’s arriving, I decide to lurk in the corner close to the urns and have a cup of coffee. Which means I’m alone with the blond-haired film student when he wheels out a trolley full of breakfast trays.

At first, he doesn’t see me.

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