Match Made in Virginia [s. reid]

eight

CHAPTER EIGHT
"YOUNG MINDS. THEY COME UP
WITH THE WEIRDEST THINGS."
( TIRED TEACHER )

"NATALIE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Natalie looked up from clocking in and to the assistant principal, the middle aged man looking concerned as his eyes landed on the young teacher, which didn't surprise the blonde one bit. She was in a sweater despite the warm day outside because she was rushed and couldn't find any cooler clothes, and her hair was pulled into a bun that had been neat when she first put it up but now strands of hair were falling out. She hadn't had enough time to do any type of makeup so the bags under eyes were noticeable. She didn't look her best. After just a couple hours of sleep after a long night and worry about Hamburger eating at her, Natalie knew she could be looking, and feeling, a lot better. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Natalie gave a tiny smile to the man. "Let's just say I've had a stressful night," she said, even sounding tired, brown eyes noticing an equally tired Holly walking down the hall as she talked on the phone, most likely with either Sam or Fred. "Holly included."

The assistant principal gave a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry to hear that, Natalie," he said. "Listen, if you need to, take the day off."

Natalie quickly shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, don't worry. I might just have to take regular trips to the teacher's lounge for coffee." It was a light joke that held a weight of truth and the two adults knew that, but they both still cracked amused smiles and let out small laughs.

The conversation ended at that, neither of them expecting it to go on any longer. So, once double checking that she clocked in correctly, Natalie left and made her way to her classroom where she found her daughter sitting against the wall right next to the door, head leaned back against the wall as well with her eyes closed since the door was locked. Natalie gently nudged Holly's foot with her own after unlocking the door and walked in, all the while trying to figure out how she was going to tell her students since she had promised them she'd bring Hamburger that day. With a heavy sigh, she set her bag and purse in the chair at her desk and then rubbed at her eyes. Holly had slowly made her way in and plopped into the desk closest to the door, letting her head falling into her crossed arms only to lift it back up as her phone vibrated three times in a row. Holly getting the texts reminded Natalie that she needed to tell Jennifer that she didn't need the cords anymore, so she quickly pulled out her own phone and told the other blonde just that.

[to: jennifer jareau
Hey, Jennifer! Just wanted to let you know I figured out how to fix my trunk last night so I did it myself. I don't need those cords anymore, so just let me know when I should give them back to you and Will!]

Not even a minute later, she got a reply.

[from: jennifer jareau
Wow that's awesome! I'll be close by the school when I'm getting lunch today. Just got back from a case so unless we have another one to fly out for between now and then, I'll stop by if that's alright with you?]

Natalie quickly replied and told that her coming by would be fine, and she was tempted to tell her to keep an eye out for an Abyssinian car, but shook her head at the thought and let the text conversation end there. She dropped her phone back in her purse and pulled out her grade book and the stacks of papers she had successfully graded before she had made it her mission to fix her trunk. She made sure the stacks of papers stayed in their correct places so she wouldn't get confused about which class period they were for, and started getting everything else ready. Students were starting to accumulate in the hallways, few young voices becoming many, laughter filling her ears as she worked on making sure she had the right PowerPoints for the day.