Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Six

Days later, Anna woke up at the usual time, ate half a bagel as she always did, and did everything in the morning to prepare for a day of school, never straying from her familiar routine. As she put in her contacts, she focused on trying to appear normal. Tendrils of red curls framing her naturally pale face, Anna made sure that her eyes held none of the anxiousness she felt inside. She didn't want anybody at school – not even Samantha – to catch wind of anything that was wrong.

“You got this,” she told herself, trying to inject at least a little confidence into herself before heading off to a room full of twenty-four kindergarteners.

Yeah, right, her subconscious sarcastically smirked, but Anna ignored it as she turned the key, comforted by the sound of gravel crunching under well-worn tires. On the way to school, she passed the Circle T and wasn't sure if it was Titus or Luther who was riding one of the ranch's Canadian pacers out to the west field. Titus had come by and had stayed with her until almost ten o'clock at night, constantly telling her that everything was going to be just fine as he had tried to distract her with television and movies.

It hadn't worked. After he had left had been even worse, for that was when all of the pessimistic thoughts had invaded and taken over until the wee hours of the morning when she just couldn't stay awake any longer. It had been exactly six days since she had missed her time of the month yesterday, leaving today to be exactly a week. The bags under her eyes were more prominent than ever, she realized as she looked one last time into the rear view mirror before walking into school.

Made from plain, red bricks turned brown from the school's age, Napolm Elementary was much smaller than the other schools in the residing counties. Despite the fact that it was one out of two schools in the entire county of Napolm, it was small, most of the residents being aged and just seeking the quietness of the country.

The glassy double doors that was the entrance to the building reflected the scene behind her, displaying a row of trees, a small residential area, and the old ice cream parlor that she used to go to all the time as a child. Inside was much cooler, and Anna wasn't too sure if she welcome the refreshing air or not, for the goosebumps on her skin were actually starting to tingle.

Shoes tapping on the waxed, gray floor, she tried not to look down at the shiny surface when some of the faculty passed her as they checked their class's wooden cubbies. Mrs. Nicklaus, the sixth grade teacher smiled, and Anna smiled back, arms almost shaking as she opened up her own classroom door.

So far, so good.

It was strange how she was getting so upset over the smallest coincidence. For all she knew, it could just be an irregular period that showed she was aging. Even though she was only twenty-seven, she figured that something like this could be normal. She wouldn't always be the same all the time – at least she hoped that was the case.

As child after child came into the classroom, Anna became more relaxed. This was her job, her passion, her life when it really came down to it. These kids looked up to her. Even Simeon with his crayon eating ways needed her to prepare him for the rough life ahead. Although it took some time to finally get them to listen to her, she eventually got them to all recite the ABC's with her and count to twenty-five before lunch time.

Per usual, lunch was a little hectic, but she was more concerned about Mary Ellis than she was the eating habits of five-year-olds. Lately, the woman had been a little bit snippier with her class, even more so with the fellow teachers – especially Anna. She didn't know what she had done, for the outcome would have been the same anyway; but she certainly did not appreciate the way Mary was acting towards her.

As another glare was shot her way, Anna almost choked on her cup of sliced fruit, trying to ignore how paranoid it made her feel. She tried talking with Samantha, but she felt as if her conversation was lacking as the worry quickly took over her state of mind once more.