𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 • Neil Perry

Chapter 14

IN the dressing room, Ginny sat in the chair positioned side on from the vanity as Milly fit the elaborate flower crown—she spent weeks making—onto her head.

Then placing her hands on Ginny's shoulders, she prompted her to look in the mirror, smiling at her through the reflection.

"It fits like a charm as suspected," she says.

"Does it glisten like a charm on me too or am I a lost cause?" Ginny frowns, fearing the answer.

"You gleam brighter than any diamond I've ever seen."

Those words brought a world of comfort to Ginny's stomach, and she smiled from ear to ear.

Milly took the crown back. "If you catch eye of Neil or Warren, send them my way immediately, alright?"

"Aye, aye, Captain," says Ginny. And as she strolled out the room, Milly smiled to herself at the thought of John Keating. He was so real yet she was nearly positive she'd never get an opportunity to speak to him again.

Did the map encounter truly count? A real conversation with a man like Professor Keating meant questions of existentialism and hopes and dreams.

But she's not his student.

"Boo."

Milly jumped out of her skin, her eyes shooting to the reflection in the mirror. Neil was stood behind her in khaki pants and a green sweater over a plaid shirt, peering over her shoulder.

Somehow his smile alone eased the tremor of her heart. "You scared the living daylights out of me."

"Sorry. Am I forgiven?" he pouts.

Milly strolled over to the shelf on the other side of the room, putting Ginny's crown back beside her name and went for the crown beside Neil's name—both written in black marker ink.

"It appears you've caught me on a good day," she says.

"Oh, no. What does a bad day look like?"

"It looks like you standing on thin ice, sancho," she points warningly. "Cellophane thin."

"Spooky."

She matched his smile. "You don't wanna know the half of it."

"Ginny said you needed to see me."

"I did indeed," she tapped his chest with the crown in her hand. "Sit."

Unlike Ginny's crown, which had more flowers and leaves, Neil's crown looked a little somewhere between a cheap Christmas wreath and birds nest—with twigs and holly berries dispersed across it. But that was perfect.

Neil obeyed as per usual, sitting himself down in the high chair still positioned side on from the vanity. "How's your head feeling?" he asks.

Milly was confused for a mere moment, but bit back the sarcastic comment about to expel past her lips when she remembered the headache lie.

"Oh, it's mountains better than it was the other day," she says. "You needn't worry, I assure you." Focusing on his head, she fit the crown to it gently, adjusting and turning until it looked just right.

"Your eyes are greener today."

His words took her by surprise, bringing her hands to a halt. She met his gaze.

"They looked more brown on Tuesday. Now the green makes them look..." his eyes flickered back and forth between hers, "golden sort of."

"Must be the lighting," Milly dropped her hands from his crown and placed them on his shoulders instead. Then meeting his eyes, she jerked her head towards the mirror, "Look."