Page 117 of Meant to be Mine

I took a deep breath and hit call before I could talk myself out of it.

The phone rang twice before Principal Walker answered. “Kensey! How’s your summer going?”

“Hi, Mrs. Walker.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s been good. Really good, actually. That’s kind of why I’m calling.”

There was a pause. “That doesn’t sound like a ‘really good’ tone.”

I closed my eyes. “I need to give you my resignation. I’m not coming back in the fall.”

The silence on the other end stretched so long I thought the call had dropped. Then she sighed. I could hear the genuine disappointment in it.

“I was afraid of this,” she said quietly. “When you asked for the whole summer off instead of just a few weeks, I wondered if you were thinking about leaving us.”

“I didn’t plan it,” I said, tears already burning at the back of my eyes. “It just happened. My life took a different direction this summer and I need to stay in California.”

“Is it a good different direction?”

I thought about Drew. “Yeah. It really is.”

“Then I’m happy for you, even though I’m sad for us.” She paused. “You’ve been such an asset to this school, Kensey. The kids adore you. Your test scores are consistently among the highest in the district. You have a gift for reaching the ones everyone else has written off.”

The tears spilled over. I wiped at them with the back of my hand. “That means so much to me. This job changed my life. I’m not walking away because I don’t care. I have to do this for my future.”

“I understand. Love makes us do crazy things.” Her voice was warm, knowing. “Then go be happy. But if it doesn’t work out, or if you ever want to come back, you call me. I’ll find a place for you.”

“Thank you.” I could barely get the words out past the lump in my throat. “For everything. For being an amazing boss and for understanding.”

“Take care of yourself, Kensey. And good luck with your new adventure.”

We said our goodbyes and I ended the call. Then I sat there on my bed, phone clutched in both hands and let myself cry. Not because I regretted the decision.

After a few minutes, I wiped my face and pulled up my texts with Drew.

Me: It’s done. I called the school.

Drew: How are you feeling?

Me: Sad. But good. It was the right thing to do.

Drew: Come over. Please. I need to see you.

Me: Give me an hour.

I splashed cold water on my face in the bathroom, trying to reduce the puffiness around my eyes. Then I packed my bag for a couple of days. We were both unemployed and I had a feeling we’d be spending those days together.

I grabbed my keys and headed downstairs. Mom was in the living room, reading a book. She looked up when I appeared.

“You okay, honey?”

“I called the school. Resigned.”

She set her book down and stood, crossing to pull me into a hug. “That must have been hard.”

“It was.” I leaned into her. “But it’s done now.”

“Are you going to Drew’s?”

“Yeah. He asked me to come over.”