Page 2 of Promises We Meant to Keep

“Dr. Ogden?”

“Yeah. I’m going, sorry.” Snagging the mechanical pencil that she saw first thing, Kamryn propped the notebook and computer under her arm and headed out of the office. The conference room was…where exactly? She hadn’t really been there when she was a student, and the memories were so far back in her brain that she wasn’t sure she could even call them forth.

“Second door on the right!” Mrs. Caldera called.

“Thanks!” Kamryn said back loudly. That was the best thing ever. She really needed to keep Mrs. Caldera around. Just so that she had someone who was going to show her the ropes, because at this point, Kamryn wasn’t convinced that the staff were going to give her the benefit of the doubt in anything.

At least five of them had taught her, though most of the teachers had retired by now and everyone else was new. She was going to have to prove herself at least three times over just to win their hearts as temporary Head of School. It was sheer dumb luck that she was in this position, and Kamryn was no idiot about it.

The door to the conference room was solid glass and heavy. When had they replaced that? Kamryn managed to hold back her grimace as she pushed it open. Inside were all of the teachers. Not just around the table, but around the edges of the room, seated and staring at her.

Fishbowl effect to the max.

Kamryn hadn’t prepared herself for that.

She cleared her throat and set her things down on the one open place at the table. She wasn’t even sure she could look up and into the eyes of the staff she was now in charge of. She had experience teaching, yes, and she had some experience in administration. But being in charge of everything and everyone? Having to answer to the board and run the school? Yeah, that was more than she’d bargained for. Well, not really. She had bargained for it. She just had to make sure that the risk paid off in the long run.

Kamryn dragged in cool air and blew it out slowly.Stop this insane worrying, Kam. You’re better than this.And she was better than her anxiety. She knew that. She just had to get her feet under her to keep moving forward, and another two days would have been totally welcome for her to accomplish that.

“Good morning, everyone,” Kamryn said, glad her voice wasn’t wobbling or full of anxiety. If she could manage to fake it until she made it, then she would. “I know I haven’t met all of you yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”

It was like someone had stuck blinders over her eyes. She couldn’t actually see the faces of the people in the room with her. She was in some sort of alternate-reality state. Oh well, this was going to have to do for now.

“I’m Dr. Ogden. I’m temporary Head of School while Dr. Waddy is recovering.”

“Do you know how he is?” Someone in the back spoke up.

Kamryn’s stomach dropped. In the rush of everything, she had failed to get the one update that people were going to want. And that was probably her first major failure as a leader in this school. What was she fooling herself into? She had to do better.

“I don’t have a recent update yet,” Kamryn said, leaning back on her skills of avoidance to tackle this one. “I’ll make sure to find out by the end of the day and let you all know. I’m sure the students will be just as anxious to know when they return in a few days.”

“Yes, they will be.”

Kamryn froze. That voice was one she hadn’t expected to hear, at least not yet. Which was ridiculous. She should have. She knew that Dr. Elia Sharpe was still a teacher at the school, that she was the head of the English department, and that she hadn’t moved up in the ranks to become admin like she’d said she wanted to all those years ago.

Raising her gaze to meet the cool blue eyes of the teacher sitting precisely to her left, Kamryn balked. She hadn’t expected to feel this way in front of her former teacher. She hadn’t thought that it would make a difference to her—and yet, it did. Something about Dr. Elia Sharpe always seemed so impersonal and distanced, like she was a greater-than-thou character in abook that Kamryn swore she never read but actually lived for. She’d looked up to Dr. Sharpe throughout her entire career at Windermere, and now, Kamryn was Elia’s boss.

Elia?

Could she even call Dr. Sharpe by her first name now?

That seemed impossible.

“Yes, they will be, and I’d like to let them know as much as I possibly can.” Kamryn straightened her shoulders. She remained standing, wanting the added height difference between her and the staff to give her some kind of element of authority that she still wasn’t sure she was worthy of. “I’ll make sure that they have all the resources they need to process this trauma and thistemporarytransition.”

She made sure to emphasizetemporarybecause she certainly didn’t want it getting back to the board that she was trying to take over and make a million changes. Not while she was still on their short list for permanent positions should Dr. Waddy never make a full recovery.

“That’s good to hear, Kamryn.”

That tone, that name, falling from Dr. Sharpe’s lips should have been the warning that Kamryn needed. No one had called her by her given name except her grandparents in a very long time. And no one should be addressing her by that name in this room—not right now. They should be calling her Dr. Ogden and nothing else.

She had worked hard for that degree, and she had worked hard for her education. And it was a simple sign of respect. The fact that Dr. Sharpe was doing the opposite was a very personal and intentional point that she was making.

“Absolutely,Dr. Sharpe.” Kamryn made sure to use her proper salutation, emphasizing it even. If Dr. Sharpe did it again, then Kamryn would probably correct her, but not this firsttime. Kamryn wasn’t such a brute that she would ruin a good thing while it lasted—if it could be a good thing at this point.

Turning to the rest of the group, Kamryn prepared the speech that she wrote late last night over the glass of whiskey that she had desperately needed in order to calm some nerves.

“I haven’t had much time to sit down and sort things out, so this meeting is going to be short today, and I’m going to assume that most of you know what needs done. I was only hired for this position last week, and the notes that were sent to me were scant at best. I know we need a secondary co-leader for the Speech team, and that we need someone to help with Model United Nations. Any takers?”

---