The change

Episode one: Father's retirement

Teresa washed the dishes, watched as her father put on a bulletproof vest, filled his police-approved weapon with ammunition and pocketed it. "Dad, do you have to go?"
"Teresa, we've already talked about this."
"I don't want you to go to this mission today. Something is wrong."
"We've been after these people for 20 years, today is the first and probably only opportunity to be exposed. A lot of people have already died for it, it should finally pay off," he said.
"And what about you?" asked Teresa, turning the faucet off, looking at him.
He sighed.
Teresa started drying the dishes.
"I can take care of myself. So far I've always been back through the door, haven't I?" he smiled.
"One day you won't," said Teresa upset, rubbing the dishes harder with the towel.
"Since when do you sound like a wife?"
"When did you stop sounding like a father?"
Janson tried to make eye contact with his daughter, but she didn't look at him. It rang.
"That must be Mr. Andrews," he said and went to the door.
Teresa threw the towel at the window and kicked the kitchen cupboard, then headed into the living room where her neighbor and teacher Mr. Andrews was standing with her father.
"Hello Teresa."
"Hi."
Janson's work cell phone vibrated, then rang. He took it out of his trouser pocket. His eyes fell on his daughter, who went upstairs with wet cheeks and slammed the door.
Mr. Andrews patted Janson on the shoulder.
"Every time the same..."
"I'll take her to school and drive her home safely," said Mr. Andrews.
"No, I'll be there. By then the mission will be over."

***

Teresa was sitting in the car with Mr. Andrews, her head leaning against the window. Mr. Andrews stopped the car.
"Thanks for the rides," said Teresa, unbuckling herself.
"He'll pick you up."
"I wouldn't rely on that."
Mr. Andrews took her by the wrist. "Have some faith in him."
Teresa got out.
She walked past lots of students. A boy with black hair sat up, clinging to the strap of his bag with his hands. "Hello Teresa."
However, she paid him no attention.
Two blond boys hung on the other boy's shoulder. "Our Tommy is a real prince, isn't he, Jack?"
"Give Thomas a break, Newt."
"She's giving him a break and has been for years," said Newt.
The boy named Thomas turned to his friends. "You really know how to cheer a friend up."

In class, Thomas saw an empty seat next to Teresa further back in the window row. He approached her and saw her staring out the window.
"Can I sit here?"
No Answer.
Thomas looked at his friends who were staring at him.
At the sound of the school bell, their teacher Mr. Andrews entered the classroom and placed his bag on his desk. "Thomas, sit down."
He took a seat next to Teresa, who was still paying no attention to him.
During class, Teresa had completely withdrawn. She always worried whenever her father was in the field or went on missions. Something told her that he always would make it, but today she had a strange, uneasy feeling in her stomach.
Thomas was given worksheets from the front, he took two of the stamps and gave the rest to the back. He pushed one sheet to Teresa and left the other with him. Teresa started and finished relatively quickly, unlike Thomas who had problems. He tapped the end of his pencil against the page in a steady rhythm.
Teresa looked at him. Thomas kept erasing what he had written. Teresa leaned towards him with her pencil and highlighter. "Look, you have to mark the relevant dialogues from the story that you think are important for the questionnaire, for example this one," she said and marked a sentence. However, Thomas' eyes were not on the worksheet.
Mr. Andrews' cell phone started ringing.
All the students looked at him as he took it out of his pocket. His eyes briefly fell on Teresa and then on his other students. "I'll be right back."

At recess Teresa was leaning on the school window still with her head against the wall. She saw Mr. Andrews running down the stairs, caught his heartbroken expression. She approached him. "Mr. Andrews?"
The look he gave Teresa scared him out of his moment.
Teresa moved a little backward to give him the room. "I see it in your eyes, Mr. Andrews. What happened?"
He pulled Teresa aside. Some students passed by them and glanced at them. Thomas stood further away with his friends and dared to look at Teresa and Mr. Andrews. Teresa's face contorted into horror, shock and despair.
"What does he mean he's telling her that she's failing?" asked Newt.
"Very funny, Newton," said Jack. "Seems serious."