Chapter 79 Class D Baby Parents
"Next time," he said, his voice a dangerous whisper, "ask me. I’d hate to see my best teacher break her neck for a piece of paper."
Alina clutched the file against her chest, trying to calm the tremor in her hands. "Thank you... Principal."
Dante’s mouth curved in that half-smile that always felt more like a threat than a smile. He finally stepped back, but his eyes never left hers like he was marking every little crack she tried to hide.
"Anything else?" he asked, voice cool again but his gaze, that dark and mysterious stayed there, burning into her skin long after she turned and fled from his office.
***
Best teacher.
The words stuck in Alina’s head like a secret spark as she held the green file against her chest. When she finally left his office, her cheeks were still warm, her heart doing tiny flips in her chest.
Yay... yay!! she thought, pressing her lips together to hide her giddy grin as she walked down the quiet hallway. Means my job is somehow secure... at least for now. He called me his best teacher!
It made her feel light on her feet — almost like she was floating just a bit above the floor.
When she reached her small house that evening, she dropped her bag by the door, let out a soft sigh, and went straight to freshen up. The warm water on her skin washed away the long day’s tiny troubles, but that shy, secret happiness stayed tucked right in her chest.
She slipped into her old, comfy pyjamas — the soft cotton ones with a faded pattern near the sleeves. She always wore them when she wanted to feel safe. She padded into her tiny kitchen and made herself something simple and warm — a steaming bowl of soup with a small piece of bread on the side. She ate slowly at her little table, the quiet night humming outside her window.
When her belly felt full, she gathered the green file from her bag, sat cross-legged on her bed, and started typing each parent’s number into her phone.