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Kamryn’s lips parted in surprise before she closed them tightly. Elia had been sharp and could probably be considered rude, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary from what Kamryn had seen recently or remembered from the past. Elia was always a direct person, and Kamryn appreciated that. She hated the two-sidedness of people…people like Heather and Susy for instance. Her stomach churned at the reminder of that conversation.

“I want you to know how important it is to the kids for you to be present at the Speech practices. They value you and the fact that you’re the Head of School currently and putting the time and effort into them.”

Kamryn tuned back into what Elia was saying finally, the words lingering in her brain, but it was taking her way longer than it should for them to register and make sense. She hadn’t expected an apology at all. “I know that.”

“So they were disappointed when you weren’t there.”

Shaking her head, Kamryn narrowed her eyes in Elia’s direction. “Theywere disappointed, or you were?”

Elia paled slightly, and her cheeks tightened. She moved stiffly as she put her drink onto the coffee table and straightened her back again. “The students.”

“Ah. Like I told you, the meeting I had prior ran over its allotted time. Well over it, actually.” Kamryn wanted to roll her eyes at that, but she resisted the temptation. She wanted to tell Elia all about the meeting, let her in on the drama that she was facing, but she couldn’t. Not with the contents of what the ethics team—if it could even be called that—was discussing.Witch huntstill sounded like a better term for it.

“I know, but next time, if you can text me or call me to let me know, then I can mitigate some of the disappointment with the students.”

“All right, I’ll work to improve on that.” Kamryn canted her head to the side and observed Elia. She had gone from an apology straight to some sort of solution in the span of two seconds, and they had very nearly missed the apology in there. That was huge for Elia. Kamryn was sure of that. And she wanted to go back to it, to acknowledge what Elia was doing.

“I accept your apology, by the way. Though I wasn’t bothered by your attitude the other day.”

“You weren’t?” Elia seemed surprised by that.

“No.” Kamryn smiled, her cheeks rushing with a gentle heat this time. “I know you have a short temper, and while you were sharp with me, you didn’t cross any boundaries.”

“Temper… right.” Elia frowned into her drink and sighed. “Mytemperhas lost me more than a friend or two in the past.”

“Well, you won’t lose me over it.” Kamryn grinned broadly, glad to finally feel like they were back on even footing.

“I wasn’t being self-deprecating when I said I wasn’t the most ethical person around. I’m not the kindest faculty member here, and I certainly have a penchant for stepping in my own shit on more than one occasion.” Elia twisted the can between her fingers.

“Is this supposed to scare me?” Kamryn asked, keeping her tone light. “Because it’s not. I remember who you are, and while you weren’t my favorite teacher at Windermere when I was a student, you certainly should have been. You weren’t my favorite because your expectations of us were intense.”

Elia smiled at that. “You’re here to learn.”

“And learn I did.” Kamryn wanted to ease the tension that was in Elia’s face, make it disappear entirely. “Didn’t mean I wasn’t forced into learning sometimes.”

“You were always a hard worker.” Elia sighed slightly and set her can down. “I just came here to apologize.”

“Are you leaving then?” Kamryn wasn’t ready to let her go, not yet. And she’d much rather have Elia stay and talk, to give herself that actual break from work that she really needed. And it wasn’t until Elia had shown up that she realized just how desperately she did need it.

“What else is there to discuss?”

“We can discuss Andra’s wedding if you want.”Or other things…Though Kamryn wasn’t sure what other things entailed. Friendly conversations about hobbies and family and friends would be a nice start. She wanted to get to know Elia outside of the school and away from the student-teacher and boss-employee dynamic they seemed to find themselves locked into.

“All right. You said the bridal shower was first.” Elia seemed to settle back into the couch, and that settled Kamryn’s racing heart.

“It is. Don’t worry about a gift, I’ve got that covered. And since you’re mygirlfriendit can be a joint gift.” Kamryn laughed at her own little joke, and she was glad to see that Elia relaxed slightly. “I’m not planning this one, but I think it’s supposed to be fairly standard. Food, open gifts, eat cake, maybe a game or two.”

Elia nodded slowly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a bridal shower. I think it was for my niece three or four years ago.”

“You have a niece?” Kamryn was tickled by that. She could see Elia playing the doting aunt, the one who would halfway spoil her nieces and nephews any chance she got.

“By marriage. My brother married a woman who had two kids from a previous relationship. They were ten and eight when I met them.” Elia played with the tab on the top of the soda can. Was she nervous discussing such personal things? “I suppose this information is helpful for our littleruse.”

“Ruse?” Kamryn’s eyes widened. “Is that what we’re calling this?”

“What else would you call it?”

“I don’t know.” Kamryn chuckled again. “Why would it be helpful?”