"Are you in a good head space to receive the information I am about to tell you?" Harry stood in front of the sliding door to my classroom. He had been blocking me from going in, which was pissing me off because it was now Thursday and I still had a lot of work to do.
"For fuck's sake. Either tell me or move, I have things to do and stand here and solve riddles with you isn't one of them." I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and stared at him expectantly.
He looked nervous, whatever he had to tell me, I knew it wasn't a joke. He looked at the floor, walls behind me and his hands but never my face. I had thought about just pushing him out of the way and going in but I knew in the long run that would not be the best idea. Harry took a deep breath and exhaled.
"You know how it rained yesterday?"
"Yes, I am aware it rained yesterday. Believe it or not, I was here too." I deadpanned.
"You know how it didn't stop raining last night?"
"Did you summon Mother Nature or do a rain dance? Hurry up and tell me, this is getting old."
He finally looked me in the eyes like he was waiting for me to get the point. It had rained all yesterday, yes. But it had also rained all day every day for the last 6 weeks, it was winter.
"Josephine, think about what happened to your classroom numerous times last winter." He lowered his voice and spoke rather softly.
Then it clicked.
I pushed him out of the way and slid the door open. My heart sank at the realisation. The 3 large box heaters on the floor in front of the large windows, paired with the giant water mark soaked into the carpet and washed off paint were the only clues I needed to figure out that during the rain last night, like last winter, the window seals hadn't been able to hack it and water had leaked in through the gaps.
It wasn't the first time my classroom had flooded, last year it flooded 3 times over winter. At least this time the kids weren't in the room when the water started washing in.
Breathe, Josephine.
The hum of the box heaters pushing hot air onto the wet carpet took away any chance of silence. I turned around to look at Harry who was standing awkwardly in the doorway like he was waiting for me to explode.
"I'll need to repaint under the windows and the windowsills." My voice was monotonous as I walked over to the paint tins and dug around for the yellow and white ones.
I was devastated. The room itself was finished just yesterday and after one minor setback, it was ruined and I was now half a day behind again. My hand reached out to grab the corresponding brushes but it was instead met with another hand. My head snapped up to meet Harry's sympathetic eyes. I resent being pitied. I ripped my hand away from his.
"Go do your own work and stop looking at me like my best friend has died. It's a fucking wall and I will just repaint it once its completely dry. Quit feeling sorry for me, it's just paint." My voice was loud as I yelled at him. Being pitied or receiving sympathy was something that would always set me off. I wasn't even angry about the flood anymore, my anger was directed at the man who was looking at me like I would burst out into tears at any moment.
He had more chance of getting punched in the face than me ever crying in front of him.
"Jo, shut up. Go and sand the tables and paint them. I'm going to do the painting once the wall dries because I painted that bit of wall yesterday so I'm just as pissed as you." I went to interupt him but he stopped me, "No seriously, shut the fuck up. I'm not asking you to leave it, I'm telling you. And I am not pitying you, I just know how hard we BOTH worked yesterday and this is a shit setback." He yelled in response.
I huffed, dropped the paint tins and reached past him to get my sandpaper and sanding block. And they let this man be principal of little children.
I finished sanding down the final table at a little past 1:00pm. I put the sanding paper, which was pretty much dead, in the bin and threw the sanding block back in the pile of supplies. My phone began to vibrate numerous times and my heart dropped at the number of messages being sent to me.
Message from: William Gregory
I lobe yoi
Y do u haye me
Fuck this lets get narried
Why dont u call me later ;)
The messages continued and I scrolled up, they just kept coming through at a rapid rate. There were at least 50 messages here already and that was enough to prompt my hands to shake. Instead of feeding the growing pit of anxiety forming in the lower part of my stomach, I switched my phone off entirely.
"I'm going to get food and I owe you lunch. Be outside in five minutes or I'll bring you whatever I decide." I mumbled in his general direction, grabbing my bank card and car keys before making my way up the hallway.
The passenger door opened a few seconds after I had secured my seatbelt and I looked up to see Harry sliding his tall frame into my low car, slightly wet from the rain. My car came to life and I began reversing out of the car park and making my way down the road to the same take away, it would be a 10 minute drive because I tend to drive a little more cautiously than Harry did.
I felt his eyes on me as I drove and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I have a fear of being analysed and that is exactly what I feel he is doing right now.
"Are you still with the boyfriend you brought to the Christmas Party last year?" He quizzed suddenly. I quickly glanced over at him, he didn't show any signs of judgement on his face, his eyes screamed curiosity and that made it worse.
"Yes." Being short would put an end to this conversation quickly, or so I had thought.
"What was his name again?" I heard the sound of material rubbing on leather and when I glanced at him again, he had shifted his body to face the driver's seat.
"Will." My eyes remained glued to the road, hoping he would just drop the topic.
"Right. Is he a teacher too?"
"Electrician." Seriously? Read the room, Harry.
"Cool." Seemingly done with his mini interrogation, Harry adjusted himself to sit facing the front again.
"Interesting that," my eyes found him again as I waited for him to finish his statement, "the electrician has a short fuse."
uh oh, harry's onto something
YOU ARE READING
Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)
Fanfiction"You'll never get this done, you know?" The satisfaction was evident in his voice. "You could leave me alone so I can actually get this finished. Or pick up a brush." I gestured to the abundance of supplies I had purchased. "Mmm, no thanks. Don't re...
