End of the First Semester

(((Author's Note: For current characters please go to the Temp Fix of this chapter. People starting characters recently [Dec 10th] should not need to. This is a temp fix for existing characters.)))

It was Thursday evening, Jonathan was working a bit later than normal and Leah took the opportunity to relax on the couch after the field trip.

Leah felt the buzz of her phone vibrate and checked her phone. It was Jonathan.

{if footballwin = 0} She then suddenly got a text message from Jason.

{endif}

Leah was about to respond when she got another text. She sighed--not even able to think with all the busy work her fingers were doing with her phone.

{if footballwin = 1} {endif}

{if footballwin = 0} {endif}

Leah had some time to ponder what she wanted to do. She could always decide tomorrow.

Finally, it had come. The last day of the semester. Leah was probably much more excited than any of the students in her classes.

Leah checked her email and noted a school announcement.

Leah knew the Christmas parties at AP Kenning's house were always fun. She had only been to the one last year but she had heard some stories. She could certainly blow off some steam after this year. It was also a pretty safe space. Mr. Howard never went, mostly because no one wanted to get shit-faced in front of their boss. It was like an unspoken rule evidently among the staff. AP Kenning didn't pass judgment, she couldn't since everyone knew she was secretly batting for the other team, something that wouldn't go well in the conservative southern community of Pleasant Plains.

The final Friday was slightly chaotic but mostly a happy storm of laughter and the occasional paper airplane. Slowly Leah's desk became a pile of gifts. It wasn't a ton of gifts--most high school students didn't give teachers anything passed middle school. But it was always a pleasant surprise when a student would give her a bag or card that was undoubtedly created by some PTA mom and thrust into their hand or shoved in a backpack before they left for school. Leah didn't mind. The number of Christmas mugs she had collected from past years was beginning to be staggering.

As the school day ended with Leah began to go through the gift bags and open the various cards. Most of the cards had gift cards she could use for Christmas shopping or re-gift if needed. She had gotten quite a few Starbucks gift cards this year and was pretty thrilled about enjoying some coffee over the break. One card she opened up and saw it hadn't been signed by anyone. Leah's eyes widened when she read the simple message in the otherwise generic Christmas card.

"I know your secret."

Leah's heart lurched. She double-checked the card for a name. There was nothing. The writing was hard to make out if it was a girl or a boy. It was the modern age--most assignments were typed out on their Learning Management Systems like Google Classroom or submitted electronically somehow. She rarely read student handwritten essays. She tried to recall who had dropped this particular red card on her desk. There were dozens of Christmas red holiday envelopes. She read the message again. Then reread it. What did this mean?

She didn't know what this meant...and a sense of dread came over her. Maybe it was just a prank. Kids did this kind of thing all the time. She lied to herself. But it was enough to take her mind off the issue. Her phone buzzed. People were asking questions. She saw Jonathan had a text message asking about the date night, while Jason asked about the concert.