Chapter Fifteen
Annabelle stared at the spreadsheet on her laptop screen and felt the distinct urge to either laugh hysterically or burst into tears.
Neither seemed particularly professional for a Thursday morning in the staffroom, so she settled for taking another sip of her now-cold tea and pretending everything was perfectly fine.
Which it was.
Obviously.
She had twenty-eight students to teach, three lesson plans to prepare, a book donation drive to organize, a fundraiser rapidly approaching, Jamie Long looking more withdrawn by the day, and approximately four hours of sleep under her belt because she'd spent most of last night hand-painting donation signs.
And trying not to listen to her neighbor rocking out.
But it was fine.
Everything was absolutely, completely, totally fine.
"You look knackered," Lily said, appearing at her elbow with a fresh mug of tea.
"I'm not knackered, I'm energized," Annabelle said brightly, accepting the tea anyway. "Full of vim and vigor."
"You have a paint smudge on your cheek."
Annabelle rubbed at her face. "Does that help?"
"Not really." Lily sat down across from her, fixing her with that particular look she reserved for when Annabelle was being ridiculous. "You're doing too much."
"I'm doing exactly the right amount."
"You're organizing a book drive in the middle of fundraiser planning while dealing with a full teaching load."
"The library needs books, Lily. The whole point of saving it is so children can read books in it. I’m not sure saving an empty library would really be worth it."
"Mmmm." Lily took a sip of her own tea. "Look, I'm not saying don't do the book drive. I'm saying maybe don't try to single-handedly collect every donated book from every drop-off point in a twenty-mile radius tomorrow afternoon."
"I'm not single-handedly doing anything. I've asked for help."
"From who?"
Annabelle hesitated. "Raven."
Lily's eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. "Raven."
"Yes."
"And she agreed to spend her afternoon driving around Bankton with you collecting books?"
"Well." Annabelle shifted in her seat. "She hasn't said no yet. I left a note under her door and she didn’t reply. I'm taking that as a yes."
"Annabelle…"
"What?"
"You can't fix everything," Lily said gently. "You can't save the library and organize the fundraiser and solve Jamie's problems and befriend the grumpy rock star and maintain your teaching standards all at once. Something's going to give."
"Nothing is going to give," Annabelle said firmly. "I'm perfectly capable of managing my time. Besides, Jamie's doing much better now."
"Is he?"
"Yes. I've implemented a buddy system. Oliver and Emma are making sure he's never alone at break time, always has someone to talk to. It's working brilliantly."
Lily looked like she wanted to say something, but the bell rang, signaling the end of break. Saved by the bell, quite literally.
"Just promise me you'll get some proper sleep tonight," Lily said as they both stood.
"I promise," Annabelle lied cheerfully.
AT LUNCHTIME THE next day, Annabelle was standing outside the school gates clutching a list of collection points.
She had a limited amount of time and in the end she’d had to text Raven just this morning.
But, miracle of miracles, Raven had actually replied with a single word: "Fine."
Which was practically enthusiasm by Raven's standards.
A black Audi pulled up, and Annabelle's smile widened despite her exhaustion. Raven was wearing enormous sunglasses and had the hood of her jacket pulled up despite being inside a car.
"Hello!" Annabelle said brightly, sliding into the passenger seat. "Thank you so much for doing this. You're absolutely saving my life."
"It's books," Raven said flatly. "Not exactly heroic. I did have to rent a car though. Not much room for books in a Porsche."
"That was thoughtful. And books are always heroic," Annabelle countered, buckling her seatbelt. "Right, first stop is the post office. Daisy's been collecting donations there all week."
Raven pulled away from the curb without comment.
As they drove through Bankton's winding streets, Annabelle found herself filling the silence with cheerful chatter. She couldn't help it. Silence made her uncomfortable, and Raven seemed to radiate quiet like other people radiated body heat.
"That's the old mill," she said, pointing out the window.
"It's been converted into flats now, but back in the 1800s it was actually the heart of the village economy.
They ground flour there for over a hundred years.
And that building there with the blue door?
That used to be the village jail. Can you imagine?
A whole jail for a village this size. Though I suppose people were more lawless back then.
Or maybe just more creative about breaking rules. "
Raven made a noncommittal sound that could have meant anything.
"And there's the green," Annabelle continued, undeterred.
"Every summer we have the village fete there.
Last year, Gloria tried to stage a full production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it rained halfway through and everyone had to shelter in the marquee.
Daisy ended up playing Puck because the original actor got food poisoning from the hog roast."
"Sounds like a disaster," Raven said.
"Oh, it was brilliant," Annabelle said cheerfully.
"Half the audience was drunk on Pimm's and nobody could remember their lines, but everyone had a wonderful time.
They did Streetcar Named Desire a couple of years back, and Lilah Paxton was the lead.
It was amazing, even if it ended up a bit more…
lesbian-y than Tennessee Williams might have intended. "
From behind her sunglasses, Raven might have been looking at her. Annabelle couldn't quite tell.
They collected books from the post office, where Daisy provided a running commentary on who had donated what and why: the pub, where Arty had accumulated an impressive stack including what appeared to be several first editions; and Blossom's Café, where Blossom pressed coffee and biscuits on them both despite Raven's protests.
Back in the car, surrounded by boxes of books, Annabelle felt something warm settle in her chest. This was why she did this. Because people cared. Because communities came together. Because books mattered.
"Jamie's doing so much better, by the way," she said as they headed toward the school. "The buddy system is working wonderfully. He seems so much happier having Oliver and Emma checking in on him regularly."
"Is he?" Raven's voice was carefully neutral.
"Oh yes. I mean, he's still quiet, but that's just his nature. But now he's got friends actively including him, making sure he's not alone. It's exactly what he needed."
Raven didn't respond.
"Sometimes children just need a little structure," Annabelle continued, warming to her theme. "A little gentle support system to help them through difficult times. I wish I'd thought of it sooner, honestly. It's such a simple solution."
"Right," Raven said.
Annabelle smiled. "It's nice when you can see a problem and actually fix it, you know?"
They pulled into the school car park, and Annabelle unbuckled her seatbelt, already mentally cataloging where they'd store all the books.
"Wait here," she said. "I'll just pop in and find Nina to help us carry everything inside. Won't be a moment."
She hopped out of the car and hurried toward the school entrance, mentally adding "organize books" to her ever-growing to-do list. Behind her, Raven remained in the car, hood up, sunglasses on.
ANNABELLE WAS DISCUSSING where to put the books with Nina when she heard shouting outside.
Her stomach dropped.
She ran.
When she burst through the school doors, she found a scene that would have been hilarious if it weren't so mortifying.
Raven was standing next to the car, hands raised in what appeared to be surrender, while PC Davies, all six-foot-three of him, stood with his notebook out, looking deeply suspicious.
And Karen Butterworth, a Year Two parent with a vocal concern about "stranger danger," was standing nearby with her phone out, clearly having made the call.
"I'm telling you, I was just sitting in the car," Raven was saying, her voice tight with barely controlled fury.
"Sitting in a car. Outside a school. In a disguise." PC Davies didn't look convinced.
"It's not a disguise, it's sunglasses!"
"And a hood. Covering your face. Near children."
"Oh my God," Annabelle breathed.
Everyone turned to look at her.
"PC Davies," she said, hurrying forward. "It's fine. She's with me."
"Ms. Swift." PC Davies looked relieved to see her. "Mrs. Butterworth called in a suspicious person lurking near the school grounds."
"I wasn't lurking," Raven said through gritted teeth. "I was waiting."
"In a disguise," Karen added helpfully.
Annabelle felt hysterical laughter bubbling up in her chest. This was ridiculous. This was absolutely, completely, utterly ridiculous.
"She's not suspicious," Annabelle said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "She's helping with our book donation drive. We've been collecting books."
"In a hood and sunglasses," PC Davies said slowly.
"Because she's famous," Annabelle said. "She's trying not to be recognized. Because she's Raven. The Grammy-winning musician. Who is helping with our fundraiser."
There was a long silence.
Karen's mouth fell open.
PC Davies blinked several times.
"The rockstar?" he said finally.
"Yes," Annabelle said.
"The one who sang 'Krimson Khaos?'"
"That's the one."
"Bloody hell."
Raven yanked off her sunglasses and hood, her face scarlet. "Are we done here?"
"I…yes. I suppose so." PC Davies put away his notebook, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Apologies, Ms…., um. Ms. Raven. We take security around the school very seriously."
"Clearly," Raven muttered.
"Oh my God," Karen breathed. "I called the police on Raven."
"You did," Annabelle agreed, still fighting laughter.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I just saw someone suspicious and I thought… oh God, everyone's going to hear about this, aren't they?"
"Everyone already knows everything in Bankton," Annabelle said kindly. "Don't worry about it."
PC Davies beat a hasty retreat, and Karen followed, already pulling out her phone to presumably text everyone she knew.
Annabelle turned to Raven, who was standing very still, her face still flushed.
"I am so sorry," Annabelle said.
"I was nearly arrested," Raven said.
"You weren't nearly arrested, PC Davies was just being thorough."
"I was interrogated in a school car park for the crime of wearing sunglasses."
"To be fair, you did look a bit suspicious."
Raven's eyes snapped to her. For a moment, Annabelle worried she'd gone too far. Then she saw it, the tiniest smirk at the corner of Raven's mouth.
"A bit?" Raven said.
"Maybe more than a bit," Annabelle admitted. "The hood was perhaps overkill."
"I was trying to be incognito."
"You looked like you were about to rob the place."
"Who robs a school? And I was sitting in a car."
"A very suspicious-looking way to sit in a car," Annabelle said solemnly.
Raven stared at her. Then, incredibly, she laughed. Actually laughed, a short bark of sound that seemed to surprise her as much as it surprised Annabelle.
"This village is insane," Raven said.
"We prefer 'charmingly eccentric,'" Annabelle said. "Come on. Let's get these books inside before PC Davies decides you're a threat to national security."
They carried the boxes in together, Nina watching with wide eyes, clearly dying to ask questions but wisely staying silent. As they stacked the last of the books in the library corner, Annabelle caught Raven looking around the school with something that might have been curiosity.
"Thank you," Annabelle said quietly. "For today. For helping. Even if it did end with you nearly being arrested."
"Nearly interrogated," Raven corrected. "Let's not be dramatic."
"You're the one who said you were nearly arrested."
"I'm allowed to be dramatic. I'm a rockstar."
Annabelle grinned. "Fair point."
They walked back to the car together, the playground quiet with the children back in lessons after lunch. Raven was quiet again, but it was a different quality of quiet. Less hostile, maybe. Or perhaps Annabelle was just desperately optimistic.
"So, see you tomorrow?" Annabelle asked as Raven unlocked the car.
Raven paused. "For what?"
"Rehearsals."
"You're relentless, you know that?"
"I prefer 'enthusiastic.'"
"Nobody's that enthusiastic about fundraising."
"I am," Annabelle said cheerfully. "So? Tomorrow?"
Raven sighed, but it wasn't an angry sigh. "Fine. But I'm not wearing a disguise."
"Probably wise."
Annabelle watched Raven drive away, then turned back to the school, her list of tasks still impossibly long, her exhaustion creeping back in.
But she was smiling.
Everything was going to be fine. Jamie had his buddy system, the book drive was coming together, the fundraiser was on track, and Raven had actually laughed.
Everything was going exactly according to plan.
Lily was wrong. She could absolutely handle this.
She absolutely could.