Page 25 of Promises We Meant to Keep

She just had to figure out a plan of action. And her go-to was to talk to Elia, but she was going to have to leave Elia as far out of this one as possible because there was something beyond hinky going on with Susy, Heather, and Elia.

By the time the meeting was done, Kamryn was livid and overwhelmed. More than she had been in the last few weeks of taking on this job at a last minute’s notice. She slipped the file into her satchel and ushered them out of the room as soon as she could with their next meeting set up. Glancing at her watch told her that she was already late for the Speech team meeting—in fact, it was nearly over—and she was pretty sure that Elia would survive the rest of it.

Kamryn needed Greer.

With her cellphone in her hand, she called her best friend.

“Pick up. Please pick up the phone.”

“What’s up?”

“Thank God.” The words rushed from Kamryn’s lips, and she flopped down in the chair in her office only to immediately stand up again. Energy burst through her in small waves, and there was nothing she could do to control it. She had to talk this out with someone.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t talk much in details…” Kamryn paused. What could she actually say? “How many times did you watchMean Girlswhen it was released?”

Greer laughed. “You’re asking me about a movie? Fuck, I thought you were having a panic attack.”

Kamryn had been pretty darn close to that. And just the sound of Greer’s voice calmed her down. She loved that her best friend could have that effect on her. “Yeah. I am asking that.”

“O…kay. I do remember the movie. I watched it a few times.” Greer sounded suspicious now, and Kamryn didn’t blame her. It was an odd turn of a conversation, but this was the only way she could say what she wanted to say without actually revealing confidential information. Greer would understand that, eventually. They had a shorthand most of the time that years of friendship had given them.

“Good. That’s the meeting I just came from. Exactly that. Mean girls out to get nice girls.” Kamryn winced. “Well, maybe it’s mean girls out to get mean girls. I don’t know. I don’t even know where to begin. I feel like I’m caught in the middle of a war I didn’t even know was happening.”

“Kam.” The pity was nearly too much.

Kamryn’s eyes watered, stinging from the tears. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Take deep breaths. Remember? I tell you that all the time. You’re shit at it.”

That elicited a laugh. This was exactly why Kamryn had called her. Greer would know what to say. “I’m taking deep breaths.”

“Are you?”

“Well, now I am.” Kamryn groaned. “I don’t like this. It makes me nervous. I’m only here for a semester, and then I’m gone. I have a chance to make really good changes, but this one might be bigger than something I can handle in a few short months.”

“What’s the problem even?”

“Mean girls, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

Kamryn ran her hand through her hair and tugged sharply. She was so ready to pull her hair out over this one. And she was pretty sure that she was going to feel this way more as soon as she dug deeper into it.

“You missed practice.”

Kamryn spun around, her heart in her throat.

“Elia.”

“Elia?” Greer echoed. “Yourgirlfriend?”

“I’ll call you later, Greer.” Kamryn hung up without even looking at her phone and settled her phone onto the desk. What the hell was she supposed to say? “I was stuck in a meeting.”

Elia’s face hardened, and Kamryn couldn’t read her. “You insisted on co-leading Speech.”

“I insisted that you have a co-leader,” Kamryn corrected. “That could have been me or someone else, but I’m still temporary Head of School, and I have other responsibilities.”

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