Jan. Week 4: Tuesday afternoon...it was quiet...

Luckily, the halls of PPHS went silent near Leah and she was able to pack her teacher bag and head home. Leah closed her classroom door behind her, the latch thudding into place with a finality that made her shoulders drop. The echo followed her all the way down the hall, past the motivational banners and the glass trophy case, past the ghost of every “Miss Williams, can I ask you something?” that had been whispered in her earshot.

She chucked her bag into the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel, letting the seatbelt cut into her shoulder. The silence was almost luxurious. Then she headed home.