“No?” Melanie sat on the corner of her desk like she had before, and Esther eyed her carefully, dragging her gaze up Melanie’s legs to her breasts to her face. “It’s not getting any better?”

  “Not particularly. The kids are great. It’s not them.” Esther frowned, curious as to how this woman seemed to pull these truths from her, truths she would normally keep so hidden. It was a benign enough conversation that Esther let it continue to slide.

  Melanie’s eyes widened, and she leaned in, her hand against Esther’s crossed arms again. The touch was so simple, but equally so pleasant. Esther remembered instantly the last time Melanie had done that, the moment she had broken the contact because she couldn’t stand it any longer. Yet she didn’t move this time. She didn’t break the touch. She let Melanie keep her hand there, warming her cold skin as if she had the answers to everything.

  “What is it then?” Melanie’s voice was smooth, like fine wine—not that Esther would know, but she imagined it like that.

  Trailing her gaze from Melanie’s hand on her arms up to Melanie’s deep brown eyes, Esther shuddered. Her body shook as she tried to regain control and hold herself steady. No one needed to see her break down, and Melanie had caught her in a weak moment. Drawing in the threads that she could, Esther bolstered herself. “It’s nothing.”

  She was back to fighting with herself, her tone terse as she shut down the conversation she knew would end in disaster. She wouldn’t give in to friendship, no matter how enticing it was. It never ended well for anyone, least of all herself.

  “It’s not nothing if you’re struggling,” Melanie’s tone was so soft, nearly a whisper. “Like I said at the beginning of the year, I’m here if you want to talk.”

  She squeezed Esther’s forearms lightly before pulling away. Esther stared incredulously as Melanie’s gaze flicked to the computer screen and the email. She raised her eyebrows at it.

  “I see you read it, too.”

  “Yes,” Esther stated on a breath. She cleared her throat, attempting to regain her composure. “Yes, I did. Three times.”

  “Me too,” Melanie confessed. “What do you think the secret agenda item is?”

  “I try not to speculate.”

  “Right.” Melanie sighed. “I don’t either, but something about this upcoming board meeting has my stomach in knots. I can’t put my finger on why, either.”

  Esther could. She so easily could. Skip. There was no other rhyme or reason for it. She’d been so damn enamored with him, drawn in by his audacity, his brilliance, his charisma. But after seven years, she knew the real Skip, the one who would do anything to keep his power, and elections were coming up next year. She knew he would use anything in his means to keep the stranglehold he had on the district.

  Clenching her jaw and keeping her mouth shut, Esther said nothing. What could she say? In all honesty, if she could leave the district, she would. She was lucky she’d only been blacklisted at board meetings and not in the district itself, otherwise she might have had to leave Anthony with his father on a more permanent basis, since the terms of their custody arrangement required she live in their school district. Not the city, but the specific school district.

  Melanie’s soft sigh reminded her she wasn’t alone. She didn’t answer as she remained in her chair, Melanie hovering as she sat propped on the desk. “Will you go to the meeting?”

  “No,” Esther answered, not giving any more reason as to why. She would no doubt have Anthony that night since Skip was otherwise occupied, but she couldn’t step foot near that meeting without being escorted away.

  “You should at the very least, for the conversation on language arts. This new curriculum the district chose is causing some rifts.”

  “I’m well aware.” Esther clenched her jaw tightly, not daring to raise her eyes to look at Melanie.

  “Just a thought. I’ll be there, if you want company.”

  “I won’t be,” Esther reiterated, frustrated that Melanie couldn’t seem to just take her answers for what they were—true and honest. “Was there something else you needed this morning? I need to do some final prep before school begins today.”

  Melanie looked down at her, pity in her gaze. “No. I just came in to check on your first month. I promise.”

  Esther held her ground. “And you’ve done that.”

  “I have.”

  Melanie’s gaze turned sad, and guilt ate away at Esther, but she brushed that to the side as she continued her hard stare. She wanted and needed her time to calm her nerves, to prepare herself mentally for the day.

  “Like I’ve said a thousand times over, if you want someone to talk to, I’m here.”

  “It hasn’t been a thousand times,” Esther quipped. “But it has been sufficiently enough.”

  “Duly noted.” Melanie stood up, bowing her head slightly before she turned. As she reached the door to the classroom, Melanie spun around with a smile on her lips. “Don’t forget, we’re having our monthly gathering of sorts at The Office if you want to join.”

  Her pleasant tone was so grating sometimes. Esther stared at her incredulously. “I don’t.”

  “Your loss.”

  Not answering, Esther glowered as Melanie left the classroom, leaving the door wide open. She needed a new stress ball, and she couldn’t wait to order one online. She would have to stop by the store before she picked Anthony up. Standing immediately, Esther shut the door to her classroom and retreated to the safety of her desk.

  Flopping into the small wooden chair in the corner of Chris’ office, Melanie heaved a sigh. Her head hurt. A day with screaming children, something about bullying between two kids involving overprotective parents when it wasn’t really bullying but just miscommunication, and Esther. Yes, Esther, the woman she was supposed to get to know but who refused to make any attempt at opening up.

  Melanie frowned, ignoring Chris who glanced over at her from her standing desk as she typed away on her computer. Melanie knew she was going to have to open the conversation, that she was going to have to be the one who broke the ice, but how could she tell Chris she didn’t think she could do it? How did she tell Chris that she was giving up?

  They stayed in silence for quite some time, Chris letting Melanie process as she needed, and Melanie debating how to start a conversation when she already knew what the answer was going to be. Finally, Melanie pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

  “I think you need to find someone else.”

  “For what?” Chris popped her head around the giant computer monitor.

  Melanie frowned. “To mentor Esther. I can’t…I’ve tried, and I just can’t. We’re not connecting, and I’m afraid the more I push, the more she resists. It’s been six weeks, we’re running into the end of the quarter, and I still can’t figure out what she means when she talks, if I can get her to talk.”

  Chris paused her work and leaned against her desk, folding her hands as she eyed Melanie up and down. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Why not? You’ve seen her. She doesn’t talk to anyone. She doesn’t give anything but the answer we expect her to give. How am I supposed to make her comfortable here when I’m pretty sure she’s never been comfortable anywhere?” Melanie wrinkled her nose, realizing the words she’d said far too late.

  Chris’ raised eyebrow was an indication that she’d heard the exact same thing Melanie had. Running her hand through the back of her short hair, Melanie closed in on herself. She hadn’t meant to answer her own question. If she was right, and Esther had never had a safe place, then the answer would be to create one. Creating one in practice was going to be a far more difficult task than just deciding it was needed, and Melanie still wasn’t sure she was up for it.

  “I think you need to find someone else,” Melanie tried again.

  Chris’ lips thinned into a line before she straightened her back. “I think I have the perfect woman for the job.”

  “Chris, I can’t do it. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” Chris’ direct stare was enough to get Melanie’s back up.

  She’d seen that look so many times on unsuspecting parents, students, and even staff members. It usually worked, and perhaps Melanie didn’t want to admit that it was working even now. “Won’t.”

  “I’ve never seen you give up on someone.”

  Chris was right. Melanie closed her eyes, thinking of the conversation she’d had with Esther a few weeks before. She’d thought then that perhaps Esther would break and share something personal, give a small insight into what she thought or where she stood on something, but she’d pulled back as soon as she’d sensed herself getting so close. Since then, it had been short quippy answers.

  “I don’t give up on people.”

  “Then why are you now?”

  Melanie groaned. “She’s impossible.”

  “She’s new, and she’s had a lot going on. Just trust me on this one. All right?”

  Melanie wrinkled her nose. “Fine, but I’m only giving it another month before I’m totally giving up.”

  “Deal.” Chris’ eyes glittered as she turned back to her computer. “Are you going to the board meeting next week?”

  Melanie nearly frowned again. She wanted to know what the secret agenda item was. It was killing her. And there had been zero rumors about it, which was next to impossible. Usually there were rumors all around about these things, and yet this time, silence. “I don’t know.”

  “You should.” Chris didn’t raise her gaze. “It’s going to be an important one.”

  “They’re all important.”

  “True.” Chris answered as though she wasn’t paying attention, but when she glanced out the door and leaned in, lowering her voice, Melanie knew something was up. “But this one might be big.”

  “What could they possibly be trying to mess up now?”

  “You know I have to walk a line.”

  Melanie understood, but now she was even more intrigued. She had read the email that was sent out, she had looked over the agenda items, and still, she wasn’t sure she understood what was being discussed, or rather, what made what was being discussed a big deal. Perhaps it was this secret agenda item still. “I’ll try to go.”

  “Good. Thank you.” Chris nodded. “Now, I have actual work to do, so unless you have business, get.”

  Melanie took the dismissal for what it was and stood up. She made her way down the hall, turning the corner toward her classroom, and ran face first into Esther. Their bodies ricocheted off each other, and Melanie reached out to grab Esther’s arms to steady her before either of them could fall.

  “I’m so sorry,” Melanie started, trying to get her apologies across before Esther could shut her down. “I didn’t see you.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Esther grumbled, her tone biting as always, as if Melanie had made an egregious error. “Otherwise you would have moved.”

  Melanie let out a slow breath. She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to Esther’s grumpy, bitchy, self-serving, stuck-up attitude. She had gone out of her way to be nice, she had gone out of her way to be friendly, and still she was met with this.

  Shaking her head, Melanie set her jaw and said nothing else as she rounded around Esther and stalked to her classroom. It was rare that she gave into her temper, but Esther was really good at pushing the right buttons.

  Every movement she made after that was fueled by anger. The audacity of that woman, thinking she was better than all of them. Melanie shook her head as she mocked, Of course you didn’t. As if Melanie had intentionally run into her, like she would ever do that, like she would ever risk hurting someone.

  No, she had to tell Esther that. She had to speak her mind. She had to lay it out. She was reaching her breaking point at keeping her tongue in check. She was only human after all, and at some point, Melanie was going to give Esther a piece of her mind. She wasn’t going to let these things slide any longer.

  Someone needed to take Esther down a notch or two. No, not tear her down, someone just needed to remind her that the rest of the world was also human and also made mistakes and came with their own baggage. Someone had to—she stopped as she turned toward the door, catching full sight of the stunning Esther Dunja gracing her doorway.

  The satchel she seemed to take with her everywhere was slung over her shoulder as she stood rigidly straight with her hands folded in front of her. She looked so small in that moment, as if Melanie could break her with one wrong word. Setting the stack of papers she had been dealing with on one of the small tables nearby, Melanie straightened to her full height and waited to see just what Esther was going to grace her with this time.

  “I’m sorry,” Esther whispered. “About earlier. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry. Of course you didn’t see me.”

  With that, Esther spun in her black closed-toed flats and walked away. Stunned, Melanie stood rooted to the spot in her classroom. Did she actually find a crack in Esther’s walls? Had she managed to worm her way in when she least expected it?

  Pursing her lips, Melanie stared at the still open doorway, half-wishing she had followed Esther, chased her down, and thrown a million and one questions at her. Even though she intuitively knew that would get her absolutely nowhere. Still, had she really seen the break in the facade?

  Six long weeks of trying, of attempt after attempt, and what took it was for her to falter in her usual charming personality and fall into instant regret with how she reacted? That couldn’t be it, could it? Either way, something had seemed to change. Esther had come to her, for the first time, and hopefully, not the last.

  Chapter Five

  Esther breathed in the crisp air of fall. Her favorite time of the year. She’d already planned to spend the weekend raking up the leaves in her front yard so Anthony could jump in them and make an absolute mess. They’d done it once the year before, and he had loved it. She was sure he would enjoy it again, as soon as he was back in her custody. Until then she was going to have to wait it out.

  Bus duty in the mornings was not her favorite job in the world, but it was a necessary evil and part of the rotation she was put on, and much easier to do when Anthony wasn’t around, even though she hated him not being with her. Rolling her shoulders, she held her travel mug close to her chest as she waited for kid after kid to be dropped off. She greeted them, plastering a smile on her face for them and the parents as she opened the door to allow them inside.

  She was only ten minutes into her duty when she realized her stomach wasn’t in as many knots, that her shoulders weren’t as tense and tight, that the stress ball in her pocket hadn’t even been used once that morning, at least where it concerned school. Glee shuddered through her as six weeks into the school year she was finally feeling slightly more comfortable than before.

  If only it would last.

  But Esther had a feeling that it wouldn’t, that something would come shattering down around her like it always seemed to do and she would end up with no other option except to transfer schools. Again. But to live this close to work was something she didn’t want to give up. She’d been amazed when Irving had called her with hiring paperwork since so many other schools hadn’t even given her an interview.

  “Ms. Dunja!” The smooth bubbly voice greeted her, and after she’d nearly run away the evening before, she was surprised to see Melanie’s dark eyes staring at her when she glanced up.

  “Ms. Przybyla.” Esther swallowed the lump in her throat. Just when she thought she was getting more comfortable with her work environment, this woman had to come and ruin her reverie.

  “You left before I had a chance to get over my shock last night.” Melanie held her bag in her hands as she faced the road, standing right beside Esther. “I wanted to thank you.”

  “What on earth for?” Esther took a sip of her coffee, if only to distract herself from saying anything stupid.

  “For apologizing. I’m not sure I ever expected to hear you say sorry for something.”

  Esther huffed but didn’t answer. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? If she stood in this direction and watched the cars come and go as she greeted students and their parents, then she didn’t have to look at Melanie, didn’t have to see the satisfaction on her face, the slight curl of those pink lip-glossed lips. She shuddered and tried to play the movement off as a chill, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded.

  “I don’t get the feeling you do it very often.”

  “Only when required,” Esther mumbled, then she risked a glance to Melanie, raising an eyebrow in a challenge. “Except yesterday.”

  “What was yesterday then?”

  Esther pressed her lips hard together, her stomach turning back into the hard rock it had been for weeks. Why wouldn’t Melanie just let her be? She could so easily function on her own and be a teacher without someone thinking they had to mentor her into it. “Perhaps a lapse in judgment.”

  Melanie’s eyes lit up with something…something Esther couldn’t name, and Esther’s heart rapped hard. The excitement and joy in Melanie’s gaze was unexpected, but it did warm her, as much as she hated to admit it. She would never tell a soul about it either. She would keep to herself as much as possible, make zero waves, and pray she could stay at Irving longer than two years.

  “A lapse in judgment? Did you just make a joke?” Melanie reached out with a free hand, clasping Esther’s wrist lightly.

  “I hardly think that was a joke,” Esther commented, bending down to greet a very friendly first-grader she had gotten to know the last time she’d had morning bus duty. “Hey, kiddo!”

  “Hi, Ms. Dunja!” The kid grinned, her two front teeth missing, as she pushed her hair behind her ears, skewing her glasses for a moment before she fixed them. “Mom says I need to get breakfast inside.”

  “Then you better hop to it. Don’t want to miss out on that apple juice, do you?”

  “No!” The girl skipped away, and when Esther straightened again, Melanie had the oddest look on her face. It seemed Esther was surprising her a lot lately, something she really should get in check.