Page 70 of Surrender
With that, Colbie placed her phone down and made her way back into the kitchen. She needed to open another bottle of wine. She’d earned it.
21
“Ms. Morris.”
Colbie looked up from where she was grading the quizzes from her last class. Most of the students in her current period were finished with theirs, and only about six were taking it. Colbie beckoned Emily up to the front of the class.
“Do you have some fruit?” Emily questioned when she made it to Colbie’s desk.
“I don’t, but,” Colbie started as she opened one of her desk drawers. She looked through the candy she kept in there and pulled out a few Starbursts.
Emily was diabetic; she wasn’t the only student Colbie had who was, so she always tried to keep things on hand that would help regulate their sugar if needed. Colbie was sure that Emily didn’t tend to eat breakfast, and that was why her sugar was frequently low during Colbie’s class since it was her second period.
“I do have these.” She handed the candy to Emily, and the teenager unwrapped one, popping it into her mouth with a thank you. “If you don’t start feeling better, make sure you go to the nurse.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Colbie watched her return to her seat before glancing at her watch. There were only about five minutes left of the class, and Colbie announced it to those still working on their quiz.
When the bell rang, dismissing class, Colbie told them she would see them Monday as the last two students turned in their quizzes before leaving.
Once they’d all shuffled out, Colbie made sure she had her next period’s quizzes ready to pass out once she finished going over her lesson.
Her next period began to shuffle in, and Colbie greeted them as they made their way to their seats. She was grading the last couple of quizzes turned in as her classroom filled up. Colbie knew the moment Dallis walked into the classroom without looking up because she could just feel him. She finished grading the papers, putting them away as the late bell rang.
Making her way over to her door, Colbie closed it before standing in front of her class. “Good morning, class.”
“Good morning.” They responded in near unison.
“Today, we’re going to review everything we discussed this week, and the last twenty minutes of the class will be a quiz. So, pay attention.”
For the next thirty minutes, Colbie reviewed the past week’s lessons, stopping to answer questions now and then. With her review complete, she passed out the quizzes before returning to her desk.
Colbie went about keying the last class’s grades into the system. She was halfway through when there was a knock on her door, and Mrs. Harding, the secretary, walked in with a bouquet of what looked like two dozen daffodils with greenery mixed in. Colbie stood, meeting her halfway.
“These were just delivered to the office for you, Ms. Morris,” Mrs. Harding spoke. “It seems someone was thinking about you,” she concluded with a smile.
“Thank you,” Colbie responded, taking the flowers. She placed them on her desk as the other woman left her classroom.
She took the card from the flowers and read it, refraining from rolling her eyes at the message.
I apologize for the messages I left, and I shouldn’t have gotten into your business. I know our relationship ended sourly, but I thought we could at least be friends again. I’d like for us to be. Let’s talk. - Will
Colbie had already told this man the only thing they could be were strangers. She wasn’t sure what part of that he wasn’t understanding. However, she knew he was getting his hope from somewhere, and that place was her mother.
Will had left her alone a few months after their breakup. But he’d begun to call again about a year into them being apart though Colbie had answered none of his calls. That time had been because of her mother; she was sure everything he was doing now was for the same reason.
Colbie didn’t understand her mother’s deep acceptance of Will, nor did she understand Will’s need to please and appease her mother for whatever reason. At this point, the two of them should date one another. It would save Colbie a lot of annoyance if they did so, and her coworker he’d cheated on her with was around her mother’s age. So, it wasn’t as if the chance of it happening was impossible.
“Ms. Morris, did your boyfriend send you those?” Samantha questioned.
Before Colbie could answer, Dallis spoke. “I doubt it.” Colbie turned to look at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her. “Any man that sends an arrangement like that isn’t dating the person he sent them to. He should complain to the florist he got those from and take them back. It looks like a bunch of weeds.”
Bitch he knows, GiGi stated.Will is a dead man.
“No, Samantha, they aren’t from my boyfriend. Now everyone, back to your quizzes.”
Colbie felt eyes on her as she went back around her desk and took her seat. Looking up, she found Dallis staring at her. Tearing the card in half, Colbie threw it into the trash.
