Page 61 of Sweet Surrender

Half an hour later,Becca was sitting at a table along with Allie, Angela, and Emily, sipping a Coca-Cola and feeling better than she had in the last two days.

Scanning the menu, she couldn’t help noticing the prices were a little higher than she felt comfortable with, even if Allie was paying.

“What are you doing?” Emily asked her suddenly. “Just get theTeacher Special.”

“I didn’t see that,” Becca said, frowning and turning back to the menu.

“It’s off-menu,” Allie told her with a wink. “The owner loves teachers, so we can get a soft drink with free refills and a slice of either the daily special or plain pizza for practically nothing.”

“Really?” Becca asked, amazed. “But this place seems so fancy.”

“It is,” Angela said with a smile. “But I suspect having us here filling up tables and having fun helps get more people in the door.”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you before,” Emily said. “If you already thought this place was super-swanky, it’s no wonder you didn’t want to come.”

“I really did have a lot of work to do,” Becca said. “Though I guess it doesn’t matter what I do outside the classroom if I keep messing up inside it.”

“Everything you do matters,” Allie said firmly. “And we all have a lot to learn, especially in the beginning.”

“I just can’t believe I didn’t see it,” Becca admitted.

“Well, Denise did,” Angela said. “And the boys will be separated again after the holiday. So no real harm was done.”

“It just… doesn’t feel right,” Becca let herself admit. “Nick isn’t a cheater.”

Angela and Emily exchanged a glance that she was pretty sure was just the two of them feeling sorry for her. And Allie wrapped an arm around Becca’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

“They’re just little kids,” she told her kindly. “And they try out all kinds of things and make so many mistakes. I know I did.”

Becca nodded, something in her still resisting the idea.

“But you still have another week with them,” Allie added. “Who knows what you could learn if you’re paying attention?”

Becca nodded to herself. Allie was obviously just trying to make her feel better. But she did have a point.

Becca still had a week with the boys. And somehow, she was going to find out what really happened. If Nick had cheated, it was for a reason. And she was going to get to the bottom of it.

20

BECCA

Becca sat at her desk, looking out over her classroom.

Come on,she urged Nick inwardly.You can do it.

But the boy seemed to be staring into space, paying no attention to what was written on the board, or the piece of notebook paper on his desk.

She frowned, trying to work out what he was thinking. She’d had to move him, of course, so he wouldn’t be next to his brother anymore. But she still had this last week of school before the holidays to try to figure out what was going on. Since Cal was up front, she had put Nick at a middle seat in the back of the room, where she could keep a good eye on him because of the way she had placed the desks, and where no one could accuse him of looking at his brother’s paper.

Come on, Nick, just look at the board.

As if he had heard her, the boy did turn his attention to the board again. She watched him, holding her breath.

But a moment later, he rubbed his forehead and put his head down on his desk, completely giving up.

He wasn’t cheating,a little voice in the back of her head whispered again, in spite of all evidence.

She sighed, wanting to put her own head down on her desk. It was exhausting spending so much energy trying to prove Nick’s innocence when it seemed clear to everyone that he had been cheating. He wasn’t even defending himself.

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