Chapter 36
MOLLY
I leave for school feeling a little sore as I settle into my seat and drive away.
But I am ridiculously happy.
It was a wrench leaving Enzo. We've been living in our own little bubble for the past few days, with no thought about the outside world.
I wish I could retreat back to it, but then I think of my children.
I know what they're like when they return to school after a break—happy and fizzing with excitement.
Kind of how I feel.
I think I'm in love. I’m not sure, but I think I am. It’s like I’m floating on air, ready to somersault through the school gates; not that I ever would, even if I could.
I drive up the road leading to the school entrance, and see a small crowd around the gates. I pause and squint. This is odd. Its busy around school time, and mornings are especially crazy because parents want to drop their kids off and rush to work, but I'm here an hour before school opens.
Someone in a high-vis jacket stops me.
I roll down my window.
“Miss Dean? Miss Turlington asked that you come in through the side entrance today.”
My stomach drops.
Why?
And then one of the people near the school gates turns and points a camera in my direction. The shock of the flash jolts through me, temporarily blinding me.
What's going on?
I quickly turn into the side entrance and go in.
When Miss T said she wanted to see me, I assumed it was something to do with Luca's project, but now, as I make my way towards her office, I feel uneasy. I tell myself I'm being paranoid, but a tiny voice in my head keeps whispering about viral videos.
Surely none of that has followed me here, has it?
I knock on the door, and enter when I hear Miss T tells me to enter. Her expression is the first indication that something is seriously wrong. That this isn't about Luca's project.
“Molly …” She lets out a sigh, and pauses, like she doesn’t know what to say.
“Miss Turlington?” I sit down with some trepidation. “What’s wrong? Why are all these people outside the school gates?”
She shakes her head, making me even more nervous.
“Oh, Molly.” She looks at me for a moment too long. “I understand there was some commotion in New York recently involving you and Enzo Knight.”
My stomach turns and my mouth turns dry. Before I can reply, Miss T asks, “He’s the young man who came here with Ms. Grech, isn't it?”
“Yes.”
“The man involved in Mr. Valizar's project.”
“Yes.”
She knows.
The awful mess I've been trying to keep away from this place has followed me straight through the school doors.
“Is he the man you met in Venice?”
She's pieced it together. Enzo. Luca's project. Venice. Me. Hearing it laid out like this makes everything so much worse.
“Is it, Molly?” she presses. I hear a heavy edge of disappointment in her tone. Of all the people I never wanted to disappoint, Miss T was at the top of my list.
I nod.
“The video from Venice has only recently been brought to my attention, among other things—”
Heat rushes through me. I want to disappear through this chair. Every word somehow makes this worse. This isn't New York. This isn't a hotel or a street full of journalists.
This is my school. The place I love so much I never want to leave.
The media attention has now impacted my job. The children. Miss T. The safe little world I worked so hard to build. And somehow chaos has found me here, too.
Enzo and I shut ourselves away in my apartment and stopped looking at what was happening outside, but now, trouble has found me and I can’t run away.
“I ... I ...” My voice sounds hoarse. I can't formulate a sentence. I can't defend myself because there is no defense.
“I wish you’d said something, Molly. I could have been on top of things. I would have known how to handle it.”
Handle what? Be on top of what things?
“That first video appears to be circulating again, along with a second video in which you and Mr. Knight are clearly seen dancing.”
I shift in my seat. The air in the room feels heavy, and it becomes harder to breathe.
“And because you have been identified, so has the school. The parents aren't happy and neither are the school board.”
My heart races inside my chest and sweat lines my neck.
“Do you have anything to say?” Miss T asks. Her usual softness has gone. She's not only angry with me, she's disappointed, and that is so much worse.
I try to work my mouth, try to moisten it, but fail. “That's why there were people at the main gate?”
“Yes.” Miss T sighs and sinks back in her chair. “I've had calls from parents this morning.”
“About me?”
“About the attention surrounding you. About photographs and videos online.”
My eyes brim with tears, but I bat my eyelashes, and swipe my thumb, wiping the tears away. “I'm sorry that I've disappointed you ...”
Miss T lets out another sigh. “It's not disappointment, Molly. I wish you'd told me. I wish I'd known rather than been blindsided by parents.”
“I'm sorry. I took those clips because I wanted to share the night with you. I sent them to someone else by mistake. I didn't even know who Enzo was then.”
She waves a hand at me. “What you do in your private time is your business, Molly. Unfortunately, in this instance, it has affected the school.”
I can barely move. Can barely breathe. This is about something more.
“Some parents are concerned about their children's privacy and safety.”
The press are at the gates looking for me. Wanting a photo. But they're affecting Oakleigh, and it's children. This place is supposed to be a safe haven for them. A happy place, and I've brought the eyes of the media to them.
Just like I brought the eyes of the media into Enzo's life.
Nausea rolls through me. I press a hand to my stomach, but it does nothing to settle the sick feeling roiling through me. This is exactly what I never wanted to be. Someone who brings chaos into other people's lives. Someone who makes their safe places feel less safe.
“There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”
I stare at her, terrified.
Because my gut tells me what the something else is.
“Information concerning your father has been circulated online.”
Everything inside me goes still.
Miss T hesitates. “It says he served time in prison for armed burglary.”
I stare at her.
“Molly, is that true?”
I can barely make my voice work. “Yes.”
Her expression softens immediately. “Oh, Molly.”
That nearly breaks me.
My past has caught up with me. The very thing I wanted to forget forever is now out in the open for everyone to read about.
“The press will sensationalize everything. Unfortunately, Molly, this has now gone above me. The board has been made aware of the situation.”
“The situation?”
My life is now a situation?
My mind and body freeze.
“With the press physically at the school, there is a danger of the children potentially being photographed. Parents aren’t happy and the board wants the immediate disruption removed while things settle down.
Your father’s history is simply fuel which makes the media frenzy worse.
I am sorry to tell you that you have been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately. ”
“Placed on administrative leave?” I whisper. The words are a slap to my face.
“I’m so sorry, Molly. If I could have it any other way, I would.”
“F-for how long?”
My chest tightens until it hurts. This is my job. My classroom. My children. The life I've built for myself. The one place where I've always known exactly who I am and where I belong. And suddenly, with a few quiet words from Miss T, it feels as though someone is taking it all away from me.
Miss T shakes her head, and my insides go into freefall.
“I can't tell you, I'm afraid.”
I hear the words, but I still don't understand how this affects things now. I understand having to come in through a different entrance, because the media are being obstructive, but what have I done that is so wrong?
I fell in love.
I look at Miss T, distraught, because my world has imploded.
She looks visibly upset. “I'm so sorry, Molly. This isn't what I wanted.” She shakes her head. “But I don't have the authority to overrule this.”
My shoulders slump and I clasp my hands in my lap. Miss T still believes in me, and that's something.
That's all I have.
“Can I at least see the children?”
“I'm afraid not, Molly.”
“But they've only just returned.” I see their excited little faces in my mind’s eyes, and the way they'd all want to tell me what they'd gotten up to.
“I'm sorry, Molly. If this were solely my decision, we'd be having a very different conversation.”
“But ...” My voice turns into a whimper.
“What is it, Molly?” Miss T still wants to listen to what I have to say.
“I haven't done anything wrong. I never set out to deliberately hurt anyone.”
“I know, Molly. I know. I’m so sorry.”
Her kindness almost undoes me. My throat closes and I press my lips together, trying desperately to hold myself together. Because if Miss T is sorry, then this is real. I'm actually leaving.
My gaze drifts towards the hallway to my beloved classroom. Soon, my tiny little children will come through those doors, full of chatter and stories, expecting to see me.
But I won't be there.
They’ll have another teacher.
For how long?
The question hurts more than I expect it to. I wipe at the tears now rolling down my face.
I leave the school, get back in my car and drive out of the other entrance. A quick glance at the main entrance shows me that the number of people there has mushroomed.
With an aching heart, I drive back home.