Page 144 of Here and Now
“You mean the entire school assembly, where I had to basically inform everyone that if they participated in any kind of altercation, they’d be expelled? It went over like a ton of bricks.”
I’ve been the cool principal since I started. I don’t hold that title anymore.
I’m now the asshole. As an Ember Falls alum, I should knowbetter. We’re playing against Spring Hills. They’re the worst. They’re dumb. I’m supposed to support the anarchy.
“You are a traitor,” Hazel informs me.
I glare at her. “I’m trying to stop a riot.”
She laughs. “Oh, please, you were the one who led the fight when we were seniors.”
“I did not.”
One brow lifts. “No? I think you’re mistaken, friend.”
Okay, so I might have done that. They were worse back then. It was also a different time. We didn’t worry about them bringing weapons.
“Whatever.”
She nudges me. “So I heard you asked Penelope to move in?”
I try not to think about it all the time, because she still hasn’t given me an answer. We planned to discuss it again. I was hoping we could tonight, but between our schedules, we just haven’t had the time.
“I did.”
“And?” Hazel asks.
“I don’t know.”
Her eyes go soft. “It’s a big step. She’s got a kid to think about too.”
“I’m aware. I would never do anything I wasn’t sure about.”
I’m sure about her. About us. About the fact that she is the only person I can see myself with.
“As someone who has known you almost my entire life, I know this, but it’s still new. I can imagine that I wouldn’t be rushing to move in with a guy after just a few months. Give her some time.”
“Did she say something?” I ask, knowing Hazel and her penchant for pulling information out of people.
She shakes her head. “No, we didn’t talk. I mean, we kind of did. She told me you made a room for Kai and asked her to move in.” Hazel places her hand on my arm. “If you want my opinion, and this isn’t based on anything that Penny said, just from what I know about her from working for me, it was probably a little scary. She’s skittish in some way. I assume there’s a good reason for it, but I don’t know.She sent me a text yesterday morning, saying Kai wasn’t feeling well and she’d be out of work for a bit.”
“He’s sick?” I ask.
I figured she would’ve at least said something.
“I guess. I told her it was no big deal, and that I would cover the store. She’s off the next two days after that for her normal schedule.”
Why wouldn’t she tell me? I know I’ve been busy, but even just a text message would have been fine.
I grab my phone, wondering if maybe I missed it, but the last text was last night, when she said she was really tired and asked if I could just see her at the game today instead of coming by.
“Maybe she’s sick too,” I say, relaying part of the text to Hazel. “Maybe that’s why she didn’t want me to come there last night.”
“Could be if she was feeling sick or Kai was.”
I shoot off a text.
Hey, are you okay?
