Mia
SOUTH brONX CLASSICAL
Monday
“All right, you two, get in there and don’t come out until you’ve turned into Kat and Pat.”
I waved Miles and Kira into their change rooms. The two of them were struggling to get into character, and I was not having it. If Gem were here, she’d manage to pull out some type of dramatic exercise that would push them into the right headspace, but she was nowhere to be found.
Which meant it was up to me, and if I had anything to do with it, these two would end up fake-kissing like a couple of hormonal teenagers.
I let out a breath as I moved across the stage.
Maybe if they were in costume, they’d feel like they could do this.
I ran my hands down the front of my pencil skirt.
It was why I wore what I did. It helped me tap into Mia Walker: Language Arts Teacher.
Although, lately, that wasn’t all this outfit helped me tap into.
It was too similar to the skirt and blouse I’d worn the last time I saw Kira’s father.
“Bloody hell.” I ran a hand down the side of the faux-porch Theo built. “Maybe burning my clothes will help me forget about him.”
The thought of burning my bras alone was tempting all on its own, Theo or no Theo.
But it was all kinds of uncomfortable now–not just because I was still all hot and bothered over the closet incident, but because I felt like such an asshole.
God, the way I treated him. I wanted to apologize, but I hadn’t seen him in almost three weeks.
And then there was Kira. Knowing what I knew about her mother, it wasn’t easy to see her in my classroom. I wanted to ask how she was feeling, how she was coping. And, selfishly, I wanted to ask about her dad too.
I paced the stage and stared at Rochelle’s half-finished paint job, trying to distract myself from feeling like the literal worst, when the door to the costume room opened and shut. I turned and pasted on a smile.
Miles was awkward as I’d ever seen him, but the effect of him standing tall in his bad-boy Patrick outfit?
Well, when Kira walked out in her band tee and ripped jeans, all the girl could do was stare.
And rightly so. The sweet darling nerd was more than what he seemed.
All someone needed to do was take off his glasses.
“The shirt feels a bit tight, Miss Walker.”
Miles looked away as he adjusted the sleeve of his black tee over his biceps, and then pulled the ultimate guy-who-doesn’t-know-how-cute-he-is move as he ran his hands through his rumpled hair.
Kira swooned.
“Well, love, it’s supposed to be, but if you’re not comfortable with the fit, I can talk to Gem about getting you a larger size.”
He rolled his shoulders back, pushing his chest forward as he said, “Maybe I can stretch it out.”
Kira’s mouth gaped open, and as entertaining as it was to see the beautiful new girl drooling over the adorable nerd, I had to put a stop to it before my teacher filter fell off.
“The contacts are okay, aren’t they? You can see?” I asked. Miles nodded. “Great. Then take the hair pomade to the bathroom. I want your hair so slicked back that penguins could slide on it.”
He gave me a soft smile, took the pomade, and left. Kira turned to watch him go, and I couldn’t help it. A laugh slipped out of me.
Kira turned back, and the expression on her face was like she’d just seen a unicorn gallop through the room with a rainbow shooting from its ass. She hiked a thumb over her shoulder.
“Did you see him?”
“Yes, love, I did. And I’m glad you’re seeing him too.”
Though Theo would be less than thrilled.
“I saw him; I just–I didn’t.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Is it… should I kiss him? Like, for real? If I want to?”
I sucked in a breath and held it. It was my default move when a student asked for my opinion. It gave me a few seconds to think.
“It’s up to the two of you. But we both know how your dad feels about you kissing boys on stage while…” I trailed off, and Kira’s bewildered blue stare melted into a thorough search of my face.
“I’m grieving,” she finished.
I tightened my lips and shrugged.
“It’s okay, Miss Walker. I can talk about it.”
Well, that was a good thing. The counseling sessions must be helping.
“Miles doesn’t have anything to do with how I feel about my mom, though. I don’t know why my dad thinks he does.”
Oh. Oh no, wait. Kira was ready to talk to me about it.
I could feel my brain scrambling. How could I deflect or distract her without coming off like a non-interested wanker? Because I was interested in how she felt, but I wasn’t allowed to be.
And now she was giving me an expectant look, like I might know the answer to her father’s reaction to the tall sweet boy who had an obvious crush on her.
All I could think to say was, “That might be a good question to ask your dad.”
She deflated, disappointed. I thought she might’ve given up until she said, “Dad’s hard to talk to about these things. He thinks I’m–I don’t know… uh, in this really fragile place? Ever since I had that panic attack, he’s been treating me like anything could trigger it again.”
Well, bugger.
I learned a lot about anxiety and panic attacks from Lilly. I knew that whatever triggered Kira wouldn’t necessarily trigger another person. She would have to learn her own coping strategies and figure out a way to live with it.
And I so badly wanted to tell Kira that, just to try and ease the helplessness she must have felt, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t my place.
So I said, “Do you want to speak to the counselor about it?” and let disappointment drag us both down as she shook her head and looked away.
Oh… fuck it all to hell.
“It’s just… I can see your father’s point. Miles is great, but you’re both so young, and losing your mom the way you did–love, it affects everything. Your dad probably thinks you’re looking for comfort. With Miles, I mean.”
She frowned at me. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Not always, but it can be. Grief can make you reckless, and you might make decisions that stay with you for the rest of your life.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Now you sound like my counselor.”
I shrugged. “Then I can’t be wrong, can I?”
I thought of Lilly, of her stubborn people-pleasing, of the way she put everyone above herself. Things might have been different for her if she’d gotten the help she needed back then. I wanted things to be different for Kira.
The bathroom door swung open and shut, and as Miles walked toward us with newly slicked hair, Kira gathered her arms around herself.
“Okay… I’ll think about it.”
Miles stepped onto the stage, and Kira surprised us both when she took his hand and asked him, “Can we talk?”
The two looked at me for permission. I gestured toward the rows of seats below the stage. “Oh, go on then. Five minutes, then we run lines.”
They nodded and left the stage, already absorbed in each other while I refused to feel guilty about speaking to Kira the way I did. There were so many ways it could come back to bite me in the ass, but she needed someone to talk to, and I couldn’t deny her that.
I looked around the stage, trying to give my students a little slice of privacy when a lose board caught my eye. The stray wooden rectangle was sawed and hammered to another plank, and they hung idly from the porch.
“They could trip over that,” I murmured, already planting my feet and digging my nails underneath it.
I tried lifting with my legs, taking the weight of the heavy timber when a sudden stab of pain flared in the middle of my back.
I cried out, dropped the wood, and just barely missed my toes. As it clanged against the stage floor, both Miles and Kira ran back to find me gripping my knees.
Shit. I broke Theo’s porch. There was an obvious gap above the railing now.
But Kira and Miles didn’t care about that. Instead, they asked, “Are you okay, Miss Walker?”
I waved them off and clenched my teeth against a wave of agony. “It’s just my back, that’s all.”
Kira’s voice was firm as she told me, “You need to see a chiropractor.”
I shook my head and dared to test my neck. I squeaked as a fresh spasm pierced me. “I’ll just sleep it off; it’s no problem.”
Kira was skeptical. “That kind of injury won’t heal overnight.”
My breath felt heavy as I gently toed off my shoes and tested a few steps.
At least I’d be able to get home in one piece.
Provided no one jostled me on the subway.
I wanted to groan. The likelihood of not coming into physical contact with a stranger was impossible in the Bronx. Why wasn’t teleportation a thing yet?
“I’ll call my dad,” Kira announced. “He can help.”
The word “No” burst from my lips, and both Kira and Miles looked at me like the head of a Chihuahua had just sprouted from my shoulder.
“How about we call this rehearsal quits for now, and I’ll see someone in the morning, all right? We don’t need to tell your father about this.”
The two of them swapped glances. Miles shrugged, and they agreed. I could feel the genuine lift of relief as we wrapped up for the night.
I narrowly avoided a run-in with Theo, and despite the damage done to my back and his porch, that had to count as a win, didn’t it?