Chapter 5 #2
“Okay, miss.” She briefly eyed Freya and then turned her attention back to Emma.
Alice was another student who kept mostly to herself, but Emma had noticed a different kind of quietness in her.
Perhaps a sense of calm that suggested she didn’t quite fit in with the loud crowds, but wasn’t as lonely as she appeared.
“Do you know if netball practice for the Year 7 girls is on this week?”
“It is. Tomorrow. Will you be joining us?” Emma asked, genuinely hoping Alice would give it a try.
Alice lifted a shoulder and chewed her lip for a moment. “I’d like to, but I don’t think I’m good enough.”
Emma raised an eyebrow at that. Alice was on her list of potentials within the netball team. “I think you should come along. You may just surprise yourself.”
Alice smiled a little, then she turned to Freya. “Will you be going to netball practice?”
Freya froze, her eyes widening slightly before she looked down at the floor.
“Oh. I-I don’t think so.” She shook her head and tightened her grip around the book she was holding.
It was the same gesture Emma herself had made when she was younger.
When she was too unsure to take that first step. “Bye, miss.”
Freya turned to leave, but Alice stopped her. “Is…that the new fantasy novel everyone has been reading?”
Freya’s face lit up, her eyes gleaming as she looked back at Alice. “Y-yeah. It’s amazing.”
The shift in Freya’s body language was immediate. Her posture was more relaxed, and her face softened significantly as she spoke about something that clearly made her feel comfortable. Emma watched the two girls exchange a moment of understanding, and a warmth spread throughout her.
“Oh, I’m dying to read it,” Alice said eagerly, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Freya hesitated, looking down at the book as though she was choosing her next words carefully. Then, with a tentative smile, she spoke up. “I’ll finish it tonight. Would you like to borrow it when I’m done?”
Alice nodded enthusiastically. “That would be so amazing.”
“Okay, well, I’ll bring it in tomorrow and maybe find you around school to pass it on.” Her voice was soft, but Emma could hear the subtle excitement that was beginning to build in Freya. “I don’t really know my way around yet, but if you can tell me where to find you, I’ll definitely bring it in.”
Alice looked to Emma, her eyes bright, and Emma winked, silently encouraging her to keep the conversation going. “Did you…want to eat lunch together today?”
Freya looked at her, chewing on her lip nervously. For a moment, Emma saw that familiar uncertainty in her. Was she being too forward? Was she about to ask too much? Had she read the situation wrong?
“Would your friends mind?” Freya asked shyly.
Alice shrugged. “I don’t have many friends. But you could be my new friend if you wanted to hang out. I love to read and listen to music, so if you do too, I think we’ll be good friends for each other.”
Freya’s eyes softened. “Yes, please. I’d like that.”
God, Emma hadn’t known how much she’d needed to witness an interaction like this.
Quite frankly, it gave her hope. So much hope.
And happiness. Moments like this would always fill her with joy.
Emma wanted to bundle them both up in a hug as she continued to watch them.
It was the kind of moment that reminded her how much the small things mattered.
Just how easy it could be to change someone’s day with just a little bit of kindness and a dash of encouragement.
“Well, then, ladies,” Emma said, beaming as she looked at them both. “It looks like a new friendship has just formed.”
“Come on,” Alice said, taking the lead as she motioned for Freya to follow. “I know the perfect place to eat lunch where nobody will bother us. Then you can tell me about your top three books of the year so far, and I’ll tell you mine.”
Emma sighed inwardly as she watched them walk away, a smile settled on her face.
Her heart felt fuller than it had in a long time.
It wasn’t just from seeing Freya and Alice find each other.
It was from remembering how much those early friendships meant and how hard it had been for her to find the people who understood her when she was young.
The best kind of friendships weren’t based on anything superficial.
No, they were based on shared passions, mutual understanding, and a little bit of vulnerability.
And she had just witnessed the beginning of one. Emma couldn’t help but hope that these two girls would continue to lean on each other and to grow together. Maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to navigate this school year with a little less loneliness and a little more belonging.
Stacking her students’ workbooks, Vanessa blew a strand of hair from her face, the soft, golden light of the late afternoon casting shadows across the classroom.
The blinds clicked into place as she lowered them, and she glanced out the window, watching as the last of the daylight faded.
Autumn had crept in, its chill brushing against her face early this morning, but there was something about this time of year that Vanessa had always loved.
The way the air felt crisp, the earth smelled fresh, and the world seemed to slow just enough for people to breathe after such a hectic, blazing summer.
The warm, cosy sweaters, the comforting mugs of hot chocolate, and the calming walks through crunchy leaves.
These small joys, once terribly boring, had become her lifeline.
Especially since Emma had walked back into her life post-Ghana.
It was hard to appreciate the changing seasons when loneliness had so often defined them.
The familiar click of the door reached her, pulling Vanessa from her thoughts. “Hi, excuse me. I’m looking for my wife.”
Vanessa’s heart skipped a beat, and she grinned, turning to face the doorway. There she was. Emma. Leaning against the doorframe with that effortless, sweet smile that always made Vanessa’s pulse quicken, even after all this time.
“What does she look like?” Vanessa teased as she stepped towards the door.
Emma arched an eyebrow, that mischievous smile she wore so often doing everything to Vanessa’s body. Emma tapped her chin and looked up to the ceiling. “Um, blonde-haired. Blue-eyed. Amazing arse,” Emma said as she stepped into the room and closed the door. “She’s really gorgeous.”
“Huh.”
Emma reached out, took Vanessa’s hand, and pulled her closer. It felt as perfect as it always did—comforting—but there was always something electric about these moments. As though every time they connected, the world outside faded away. “You know, she looks remarkably like you.”
Vanessa squeezed Emma’s hand, aching to kiss her.
“Then I guess I should take you home with me. It seems rude not to.” With a reluctant sigh, Vanessa stepped back, not wanting to lose the moment but knowing she had things to finish up.
She could tame herself until they were in a more appropriate place. “How was your day?”
“Better as it went on. I even played matchmaker for a new little friendship.” Emma’s smile was bright, her eyes shining with the satisfaction of doing something good.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “You did?”
“Yeah.” Emma perched herself on the edge of a desk. “You remember Freya? Just started this week…”
“I do. I remember her.” Vanessa nodded, immediately recalling the quiet girl who had stood out like a sore thumb in the classroom on the first day of this term. Freya had been almost painfully shy. “She’s made some friends?”
“Well, just one so far,” Emma replied with a small, knowing smile. “But you know me…I believe in quality over quantity.”
Vanessa grinned, incredibly proud of her wife as she gathered the last of her belongings. “That’s a lovely thing you did for them both. Especially if they’re on the quieter side. High school can be very unnerving for students these days. At least, that’s what I’ve found since the pandemic.”
“You’re right, but that was the weirdest time for everyone, so I suppose it makes sense.
” Emma snorted. “Though, to be honest, I was that kid twenty-odd years ago. So, I think we’ve always been around.
We’re just more noticeable now if we don’t immediately fall into whatever group looks the most popular. ”
Vanessa remembered the lonely years she’d also spent navigating those uncertain school corridors.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever truly fit into a group, but she had learned to find solace in her own company.
She paused, recalling Freya and the initial impression she’d gotten from her.
“Out of interest, you…didn’t secretly have a child in your university days, did you? ”
Emma frowned. “I’m sorry?”
Vanessa smirked, her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. “Obviously, you didn’t, but the first time I saw Freya, she reminded me a lot of you.”
“I thought the same thing.” Emma’s voice softened. “The way she was just standing there, all alone. She reminded me of myself when I was a kid.”
“Well, you’ve broken the ice with her now, and you’ve found her a friend. I hope it goes from strength to strength.”
Emma pushed off the desk and shoved her hands in her pockets as she grinned. “Oh, it will. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Give me a hand to clear away so we can get home at a reasonable time.”
As they stacked the last of the workbooks together, Vanessa quickly realised that she couldn’t imagine a world where Emma didn’t work at the same school as her. It almost felt as though they’d been colleagues for a number of years…and married even longer.
Emma cleared her throat as she shoved a pile of books on the windowsill. “What are your thoughts on Graham Hobart?”
Vanessa shivered slightly at the mention of his name. “Graham…from your department? Porno tache, Graham?”
Emma barked a laugh. “That’s what you call him?”
“Have you seen the moustache?” Vanessa grimaced, shivering again at the thought of it.
“It gives me the creeps, to be honest.” She paused, shaking her head as she stacked the papers on her desk into a neat pile.
“As for him, well, he’s always been a little…
I don’t know how to put it.” Vanessa’s shoulders slumped.
She didn’t want to label Graham as anything in particular, but she couldn’t help the way he made her feel.
“He’s looking in places he shouldn’t be for far longer than would be deemed acceptable. ”
Emma snorted. “Fucking perv.” She shook her head, a hint of anger in her voice. “I have a feeling he’s a bit of a misogynist, too.”
“What’s he said?” Vanessa asked, pulling her coat on and grabbing her satchel. “You wouldn’t be the first person to have a run-in with him. He’s been the talk of the staff room many times over the years.”
Emma shrugged, her hand wrapping around the back of her neck as she sighed. “I don’t think he likes me very much anymore. He was fine with me when I joined the staff here, but since I got the head of department job, he won’t even look at me unless he has to…and even then, it’s a bit of an effort.”
“You’ve just answered your own question before you’ve even asked it.” Vanessa could already see the worry that was starting to settle over Emma. “He won’t like that you got the job over him. He thinks that being here longer automatically gives him the right to promotion. He’s an arsehole.”
“You’re right. He seems to be.” Emma rested back against a desk again. “But I don’t want to work like that. I can’t help it if the school preferred me for the job rather than him.”
Vanessa moved closer, hooked her fingers under Emma’s chin, and lifted her head. “Do not worry about him. You focus on the good things you’re doing, on the improvements you’re making to the P.E. programmes, and let him sulk in the corner. It won’t last long.”
Her words seemed to soothe Emma’s concerns.
She could see the unease fading from her wife’s features, that frustration falling away.
Emma nodded, then pushed off the desk and held onto Vanessa’s hand.
As they walked out into the corridor, the dim, flickering lights above them seemed to mirror the mood right now.
“So long as that’s what it is rather than him just not liking me, then whatever.
I’m not going to lick his arse hoping he’ll be my friend.
He’s not the type of person I’d ever really be friends with. ”
Vanessa’s heart swelled with pride for Emma’s brutal honesty.
It was a quality she admired in her more than anything.
Emma was never one to compromise when it came to integrity, and it showed in the way she carried herself.
“You have all the right people in your life already. Don’t go out of your way to please him.
He’s not the type of man who would thank you for it anyway. ”
Emma smiled as she turned to face Vanessa, that appreciation ever present. They’d been through so much together, and yet, in moments like this, it was as though the weight of the world could be lifted with a few carefully chosen words.
Vanessa tugged her satchel higher on her shoulder, entwining her fingers with Emma’s as they strolled down the corridor and towards the main entrance.
“You’ll never need to please people like him,” Vanessa said.
“I know what it’s like being the head of your department and dealing with those egos.
The way they twist things and how they try to make you second-guess yourself.
It can mess with your head. I felt it too when I was in your shoes in the beginning.
But it all becomes clearer when you see who’s really on your side. ”
Emma wrinkled her nose as she side-glanced at Vanessa. “You think it’ll settle down?”
Vanessa nodded. “Eventually. It always does. People like him can only fight for so long before they show their true colours. And when they do, it’ll be obvious to everyone.”
As they reached the end of the corridor, the school felt eerily quiet, just the echoes of their footsteps accompanying them this evening. “Now, let’s go home and unwind. It’s been a long week, and it’s only Wednesday.”
Emma leaned in and kissed Vanessa on the cheek as she said, “Sounds perfect.”