Fragments of Arcadia: You Are Strong

V.

Evangeline flipped open her sketchbook as she sat down at the front desk of the library. She was almost done with the lobby. All she had left was a couple of bookshelves on the right side of the lobby, the doors to that side and a couple of kids tables with crafts on them. Though most of the children's activities take place up stairs, the library always features some of the crafts down stairs.

Today, she knew she had brought her pencils. It was a Thursday, one of the slowest days of the week. There were no events planned and the library had been restocked the day before. She knew she would have the time to finish her sketch today. It was a sketch only a year in the drawing. Between events, her panic attacks and just life, she had never had the time to finish it.

As she was applying the proper shading to the table with the crafts, since it was near the window, she heard the gentle and soft voice of an older gentleman.
"That's a beautiful sketch," he said.

Evangeline looked up to see a man with three beginner's guide for art books. He had short, thinning gray hair, reading glasses and a slightly lopsided beard. It looked like he had just barely trimmed one side a little short.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Evangeline said, putting away her sketchbook. "I'll get those checkout for you."

"Are you classically trained?"

"Well, I went to school for it. I have my degree in art."

"Did you take art at the primary school here?"

Evangeline felt her stomach in her throat as she tried her best not to shake.

"Y-yes."

"Are you Evangeline?"

Her eyes become wide and she dropped one of his books. Her body was on full on panic mode now. The room was starting to close in on her and she could feel the color leaving her face. Who was he? How did he know her? Had he been stalking her? How long had he been following her? Was she a target?

"E-Evangeline calm down," he said noticing her sudden panic. "It's me, Mr. Everett. I used to teach art at the primary school. It's okay."

Evangeline started to shake as her chest felt tight but she tried her best to focus on his face. It was a long cry from the long haired, clean shaven Mr. Everett she remembered in primary school, but it had probably been 20 years since she had seen him. She tried to match his face. It was thinner now, but it was still an oval style. His cheekbones were the same, sharp pronounced as the ones before. His green eyes had the same glimmer as her former teacher's. It was him.

Knowing it was him helped stop the attack from escalating but it didn't stop the fear that she felt now. She was still shaking, but the room had stopped closing in. She tried her best to center herself and breath deeply. It helped a little. Her chest still felt like someone had dropped a weight on it, but she could at least function now.

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself first," Mr. Everett said in a calm, caring tone. "I'm pretty sure I still had all my hair the last time you saw me."

Evangeline chuckled. "Yeah, you did."

"Well I'm actually the principal at the primary school now, and I've been looking for ways to improve morale at the school."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, just between us, a scandal hit the P.E. department at the school. All the P.E. coaches were forced to resign and the principal and assistant principal."

"What was the scandal?"

"That I can't tell you, but it left me as the most senior person there so I was hired as principal."