Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)

thirty four.

I met Harry in the hallway at 7am on Monday morning. I was excited beyond words to go back to work, but the nerves that still plagued me were weighing heavy on my chest. We hardly spoke all morning until Clem emerged from her room with her bag in hand. I had almost forgotten over the last two days that Clem didn't live here full time, it just seemed to work so well with her here. It would certainly feel weird with her gone until Friday again.

"I hope you're still around on Friday when I'm back, Jo. Seriously, I think we're gonna be good friends." Clem held such a sincerity in her voice, I had to swallow the lump in my throat.

I hadn't had 'friends' in such a long time.

"I guess time will tell. If not, I'll certainly have to catch up with you every weekend."

Her head immediately snapped in Harry's direction, "you keep her here or I'll call Nanny and Poppy."

Harry's face paled and he nodded vigorously. What  were their grandparents capable of that scared Harry? Or were they just nosy?

I waved goodbye to Clem as she climbed in her car and took off back towards the city. Then it was just Harry and I.

"I'm driving." He was short, but not in a mean way.

Obediently, I followed him out to his car and got in the passenger seat. I was still quite tired so I did really appreciate not having to drive to work. The five minute drive felt like an hour but also five seconds at the same time.

The silence of the car made the ride feel like it went for ages, but the anxiety I had about returning to work made the drive seem incredibly short. Was I ready to face the scrutiny of little humans?

They could always tell.

The last time I was in this building, I thought I was going to die. I thought my whole life was over because Will would find me and hurt me again. I thought I was going to be alone. I thought I would have to start again on my own.

But I was wrong.

I wasn't alone. I am not going to allow Will to hurt me. My life isn't over, it has only just begun.

The engine shut off, signalling we were here and it was time to get out. I could feel his eyes on me, he had already told me numerous times that if I wanted to leave he had substitutes on standby. But his preparation, though reassuring, acted as motivation for me to survive the whole day.

"He will not ruin those kids' education. I won't let him take that too." My eyes remained on the building in front of us, not daring to look at him.

With that, I opened the car door and walked with determination towards the entrance. I heard his door shut soon after and his quick footsteps got louder as he approached my side. The warmth of the foyer was inviting and soothing as fuck.

We split at that moment, Harry going left towards his office and the staff room, and I going right down the hallway of classrooms. It was only a quarter past eight so it would be another ten to fifteen minutes before staff really started turning up and fifteen minutes to a half hour until the kids started arriving as well. Plenty of time to get settled before class.

The sliding door was heavier than when I was here last, or maybe it was to do with the soreness that still hovered over my muscles. Never in my life would I have thought that yellow paint could make me so happy, but seeing those walls again actually made my tear up. I was quick to compose myself and started getting everything ready for the day. The 8:50am bell rang, meaning it was time for students to start making their way to class.

"Miss Jo!"
"You're back!"
"Where have you been?"
"Are you sick still? Ew, germs."
"Guess what I did this weekend!"

Their concern warmed my heart, I truly had the most beautiful kids. We spent the morning doing math board game activities just to ease into things. I opted to be on yard duty during recess which really just involved me standing in the gym for recess and making sure no kids killed other kids. After recess, we read a book as a class and I let the kids lay out on the floor and listen to me read. Then we had a quick tidy up of the room before lunch.