“What?”
“I know you’re going to fire me,” I said miserably. “I know that’s what’s going to happen. Just, please – do it quickly. Please don’t humiliate me.”
Anne Marie and Principal Morris exchanged an odd glance.
“June, we’re not going to fire you.”
“What?”
Anne Marie laughed nervously. “No. We’re here to ask you back, and we’re going to pay you for your time off, too.”
“What…why?”
“June, you’re a very good teacher,” Principal Morris said gently. “Your class seems to love you. Ruth, your assistant, speaks very highly of you.”
“But…but…what about Andy?”
Annie Marie and Principal Morris glanced at each other again, this time less warmly.
“Andrew Lipinski has been fired, immediately,” Anne Marie said. “We’ve decided to file charges against him.” She pursed her lips. “There’s just one problem.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What? What’s going on?”
Principal Morris cleared his throat. “We haven’t been able to locate Andrew,” he said. “Neither have the police.”
I rolled my eyes. “I doubt they’re looking very hard.” I bit my lip, wondering if I should mention anything about the encounter in the alley, or the weird burned dolls. In the end, I decided it was for the best if I didn’t mention any “drama” that had taken place outside of school.
“Well, as soon as we find him, he’ll be arrested.”
I bit my lip. My head was a confusing swirl of emotions and I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
“I…I can’t believe you’re not firing me,” I said quietly.
“We had no intention of firing you at all,” Principal Morris replied. “June, I’m very sorry for the stress we’ve caused you. But I promise – this was just a procedural thing.”
I nodded. “Well, thank you very much.”
“So, will you come back?”
My eyes filled with tears and I nodded happily. “Oh, yes,” I said quickly. “I can’t wait.”
“Good,” Principal Morris replied. “Why not take tomorrow off and come in on Monday?”
“Sounds good.” I sniffled, wiping my nose on my hand. “Thank you.”
I left P.S.151 before I could start crying for real, but as soon as I was outside, the truth hit me and I shrieked, jumping up and down. I didn’t even care that I was in public – I didn’t care who saw me, as long as they knew how happy I was.
“I didn’t get fired!” I shrieked, dancing around in a little circle. I’d practically skipped all the way to the subway station before I remembered Thomas and Angela. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I called Thomas immediately.
“Thomas, I didn’t get fired. I didn’t lose my job! They asked me to come in and told me they wanted me to come back!”
“June, congratulations,” Thomas said. He sounded far-away, distant.
“Can we celebrate?” I was still jumping up and down for joy.
“Sure. Are you free tomorrow night?”
“Oh, yes,” I said happily.