The English Teacher ➳ Emison

Chapter 10 | Worlds Colliding

Friday afternoon, Alison flicked off the lights in her classroom, closing the door with a soft click behind her. She could already hear the sounds of the animated tumult coming from the quad, where students had gathered to cheer for the notorious Rosewood High swim team.

She'd used the time after the last bell to catch up on grading, but now, with the meet about to begin, she headed to where everyone else had already assembled. Students and family members alike donned different blue items of clothing, holding signs to cheer their loved ones on the team. Excitement floated in the air, and it seemed to Alison that this team was fully supported by the community.

She walked over to where some of her fellow teachers had gathered, exchanging light conversation while keeping a watchful eye on the students.

"Hey," she greeted one of her English department colleagues — Debby Miller, a sweet woman in her fifties who had somewhat taken Alison under her wing on her first week at the school.

"Ah, Alison, I'm so glad you made it!" Debby beamed lovingly. "Not all teachers take the time to come to these meets, but it's so important to support the students. Especially this team — they're thriving these days."

"Yeah, I figured it was worth stopping by," Alison replied, offering a smile that masked her true intentions. "Some of my students are on the team."

She was of course referring to Emily, but not just her. A student of hers named Kim was also on the team, and one of the guys from the male swim team, Derek, was in her English class as well.

She just conveniently left out the fact that there was really only one person she was here to see.

Her gaze drifted over the quad area, spotting the familiar faces of Emily's friends from afar, huddled up together amongst the sea of people. Emily's best friend, Hanna was hoisting a sign with sparkly letters that spelled out something Alison couldn't quite read from this distance, but the sign also displayed Emily's face on it, which was nothing short of hysterical in her opinion.

Her eyes were then drawn to the open doors at the entrance to the space, where a woman had just entered, speaking distractedly on her phone as she weaved through the throngs of peoeple.

Alison's heart stopped at the sight, her body nearly freezing in place. The older woman's physical resemblance to Emily was uncanny.

This had to be her mother.

She suddenly found herself blushing for some reason, a bit bashful to see the mother of the girl she had been secretly involved with, in the flesh. This woman had no idea that her daughter was sleeping with her teacher.

Emily's mom hung up whatever call she was on, stopping next to a tall man in a suit holding a clipboard. They greeted each other politely, shaking hands.

Now, this had to be the Stanford scout Emily had been talking about.

It nearly amused Alison how much she could assess just from seeing these people according to what Emily had told her. It was strange, seeing the pieces of Emily's life in motion like this—her mother, the scout, her friends, all converging at once.

Before she could dwell on it, Coach Fulton approached the group of teachers quickly, clearly frazzled.  

"Have you ladies seen Paige McCullers by any chance?" she asked, fingers anxiously fiddling with the digital stopwatch hanging from her neck.

"No," Debby answered in bafflement, and Alison shook her head by her side, relieved that she had not outwardly flinched at the mention of the girl's name. "Why?"

"I've been looking for her for the past ten minutes and I can't find her anywhere," the woman in the tracksuit huffed, annoyed. "She's not answering her phone and there isn't much time. I hate to ask this, but could you two help me look? She has to be here somewhere," she pleaded, her voice on edge.