From A to Z - Angel Reyes

Chapter 10

Zara sat in her car, parked in her usual spot, with her phone pressed to her ear. She was talking with Emily, summoning the courage to head into work a little less than two weeks after the attack.

"He's been great," Zara sighed. "Even went to my student's funeral with me. I don't think I would have gotten through it without him."

"They may be Mayans now but their parents raised those two right," Emily said. "They're very good men, despite some choices."

Smiling at that, Zara nodded and grabbed her bag from the passenger seat. "That they are. I should go, I wanna get settled before most of my kids come in."

"Go," Emily rushed her. "Good luck, take it easy, have a good day!"

"Thanks, Em. I'll text you tonight."

Making her way through the parking lot, Zara noticed Leticia Cruz smoking a cigarette a few feet from a no smoking sign.

"Smoking on school property," she said with disappointment.

"Hey, at least I'm here," Letty said with a shrug. "You okay? How's the head?"

Zara sighed and brushed away her bangs to show Letty her stitches. "I'm healing but it still hurts."

"That'll be a badass scar," she laughed. "Angel told me to make sure you're okay."

"What a dork," Zara laughed. "Will you be in class today or is this just a social call?"

"I'll be in class," she pretended to be annoyed by Zara's persistence. "I'm glad your back, Ms. Osbourne."

"Thank you," Zara said with a smile. "I'll see you later."

It was a kind gesture by Letty, whether she did it on her own or only because Angel asked, and it lifted Zara's spirits.

During her lunch, Zara left school grounds and went to a nearby park. The constant questions, rumors about Anhalt's disappearance and her ever-present anxiety since the attack were too much. She needed some quiet time to herself.

She was skimming Twitter when she received a notification from Instagram. Zara hadn't posted since before the incident so she was slightly surprised by the little red circle.

"JCamps liked your post."

"No," she groaned. "You swore off Instagram you asshole."

Zara tapped his name to see Campbell had decided to come back to Instagram. They followed each other before he deleted his social media apps so when they broke up, she never thought to unfollow or block him. Now he could catch up on her life without her even realizing it.

"I keep my shit private for a reason," she mumbled. Zara decided to call Emily for a chance to vent.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Works fine," Zara said quickly. "Guess who decided to like my two-week-old selfie today?"

"Who?" Emily asked, confused and very intrigued.

"Fucking Campbell," Zara groaned. "You're not following him, right? He doesn't even know you have that secret account?"

"No," Emily scoffed. "I do not care about his shit, sorry. I didn't even when you two were together."

Zara laughed. "I'm going through his shit now and like what the fuck? He's one of those YouTube type people now. How did I not see what a douche dude bro he is?"

"I was trying to tell you!"

"If I knew then what I know now," she complained. "Anyway, should I block him?"