Page 28 of What Did I Miss?

‘For what it’s worth, I did enjoy our date,’ she says. ‘I’m not saying it’s going to happen again, but I appreciate all the effort you went to.’

Makayla rests her head on Beau’s shoulder while they wait to be rescued. She can hear his grin as he breathes, and the tension inside her body dissolves. She feels a hundred times better having talked it out. Once again, he was right.

Makayla stretches the bottom of her tee, trying to remove the wrinkles caused by her attempts at an effortlessly cool knot. It was neither effortless nor cool, and now she looks like a slob for the meeting with Rhiannon, which was supposed to start five minutes ago.

Beau paces by the school banner at reception, wearing out the cheap carpet. The admin ladies have clocked off, leaving behind their jar of hard-boiled lollies that break teeth. Even Jeffrey’s fled the building. He rarely sticks around past four, especially on a Friday.

‘Deep breaths,’ Makayla reminds both Beau and herself. She wants to put her jealous feelings about Rhiannon aside and provide the professional support he deserves. She is his mentor after all.

Rhiannon flounces through the double doors wearing a relaxed knotted tee ( show-off ) and a flickering pink and gold belly button ring. A handbag, large enough for a naughty costume, hangs off her arm.

‘Hello there,’ she says to Beau with a hint of sauciness. ‘Since it’s such a lovely afternoon, should we go somewhere else for this meeting? Cafe? Bar?’ She sweeps her shiny locks to one side, the scent of jasmine wafting from her freshly washed hair.

‘Ms Garcia,’ Beau addresses her with his teacher voice, ‘the conference room is perfectly fine. I’ve also invited Makayla to join us. We all have a vested interest in Ebony thriving at school.’

‘I didn’t realise this was a formal thing.’ Rhiannon’s coy smile disappears when it lands on the third wheel. ‘Sorry, Makayla, didn’t see you there. I’m sure we can handle this alone.’ She winks, like they’re friends and it’s a code. ‘You’ve probably got more important things to worry about.’

‘Ebony is important and I will be staying.’ Makayla fires her first warning shot.

Rhiannon breaks eye contact, losing the stand-off.

‘Ahh, Ebony. I’m glad you’re here,’ Beau says as she approaches with her backpack slung over one shoulder, more concerned with her image than future back problems.

This week, Ebony dyed her bright blue hair black, which is not a good sign. She’s like a mood ring – when she goes dark, so do her emotions. That would explain why she’s been skipping classes again.

‘I didn’t know you were coming,’ Rhiannon says to her daughter.

‘Did you think I was going to let you hit on my teacher?’ She turns to Beau. ‘You’re not special. She tries to hook up with everybody.’

‘ Ebony .’ Rhiannon fixes her with a please-play-nice-in-public stare.

‘Shall we get started?’ Beau waves everyone into the conference room, where a round table holds four sad plastic chairs.

Ebony drags her seat as far away as possible, warming up by the window, which is bringing in a soft afternoon glow. Folding her arms, she tilts her chair back, balancing on its back legs. If this goes badly, things could get much worse for Beau.

He drains half a glass of water before speaking.

‘I’d like to start by apologising to you, Ebony.’

Ebony almost snaps her neck as she looks over at him. He’s got her attention. Good. Can he keep it?

‘I’m sorry about the way I’ve been treating you. I’ve gone about things the wrong way. Would you like to know why?’

Ebony doesn’t respond, but she does lower the front chair legs onto the floor, which is about as close to a ‘yes’ as he’s going to get.

‘Before I became a teacher, I served in the Army.’

‘Did you kill anybody?’ Ebony asks.

‘I’ve been to war.’ He ducks the question. ‘Over the years, I moved up the ranks, which meant I was responsible for a large team. I was hard on them too. The consequences were life and death, and if anything went wrong, it fell on my shoulders.’

Rhiannon stares at him with hero eyes, probably wanting to jump him more than ever.

‘When I first started here, you challenged my authority, and it got my back up. Since then, I’ve been walking into class preparing to battle with you, and now I can see how pointless that was.

You’re not the enemy and neither am I. We’re on the same side, but we haven’t taken the time to earn each other’s trust.’

Ebony stays on mute, and given her repertoire of reactions, that’s a good sign. She’s all ears.

‘I’m tagging along to the adventure camp at Wilson Gully the week after next and I’d like to offer you a spot. I don’t know about you, but I could use a break from this place. Are you interested?’

Ebony shuffles closer to Makayla. ‘I thought people like me weren’t allowed to go.’

Makayla knows what she’s getting at. Students have to earn their place and be nominated by a teacher, which is why the camp is usually attended by those who are academically inclined.

‘That’s really late notice,’ Rhiannon says timidly.

‘She means she can’t afford it. Whatever. It’ll be boring.’ Ebony pulls the sleeves of her oversized jumper over her hands.

‘There’s an emergency fund that can cover the costs,’ Beau says. ‘I’m sure we can make it work, but if you don’t want to go—’

‘No, I’ll go. I mean, it beats coming to this hell hole.’

How come Makayla’s never heard of this emergency fund? Trust Jeffrey to tell Beau, a male staff member, about it. He probably runs an underground men’s club on the side, where they sip whisky and suck on cigars like they’re in an episode of Mad Men .

Beau spends the rest of the meeting asking Ebony non-school-related questions to get to know her better. When she returns to one-syllable responses, he has the good sense to wrap things up.

Rhiannon reaches out to stroke Ebony’s hair, like it’s a natural gesture between them. It might have been when she was a little girl, but sixteen-year-old Ebony is having none of it. She bats her mother’s hand away with ninja-like reflexes and flees the room without saying goodbye.

Rhiannon stares at the spot her daughter occupied a second ago and sighs. The woman who bounced in earlier looking like a million bucks has lost her shine.

‘She’s not mad at you, she’s mad at him,’ Beau says.

‘Him?’ Rhiannon blinks.

‘Her dad. One day she’ll realise it and appreciate everything you’ve done for her. Trust me.’

Rhiannon nods politely, not fully grasping the weight of Beau’s message. She thanks them and leaves without making any further attempt to crack on to Beau.

‘How much is in the emergency fund? Because that camp is pricey,’ Makayla says.

‘I made it up. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for her spot. It’s not a big deal.’ He shrugs it off.

It’s Makayla’s turn to gaze at him with hero eyes. Only the teachers who really give a damn dig into their own pockets to ensure the students don’t go without.

‘I’m impressed with how you handled that. Not many adults are willing to admit they’re wrong and apologise to a teenager. Good job.’ Makayla stops at the door when she realises he’s not behind her. ‘What’s up?’ she asks. He’s standing by the table as if hypnotised by it.

‘This is rather sturdy, don’t you think?’ He knocks on it to prove his point, flashing her a mischievous grin.

Makayla laughs. ‘Keep dreaming, Shepherd.’

‘It was worth a shot.’