𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐃

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Twenty-Six

    "Nora! To what do I owe the pleasure at this hour? I don't think I've ever seen you in my classroom before noon." Mrs. Dotes asked as Nora entered her classroom first thing Monday morning following prom. The girl was practically shaking as she reached into her backpack to pull out her essay. She had edited it to make it make just a little bit more sense, but she refused to cut any of it out. This was as good as it was going to get, she just hoped it was good enough.

    "Good morning," Nora greeted as she nervously held the paper in her hands, "Uh, I was just wondering if you could do me a favor."

    The woman looked confused, "I can't round your grade up if you already have a hundred in my class, Miss Watson."

    "No, no," Nora said with a small laughed, "Um, I have my final essay. I was wondering if you could maybe grade it a little early and pass it along to someone when you're done? It's kind of important."

    The teacher huffed, a look of confusion and consideration crossing her face. Finally, she said, "Normally, I'd say that's a high demand, but you are one of my best students... May I see the essay?"

    Cautiously, Nora handed over the paper and released it reluctantly as Mrs. Dotes took it from her grasp. She stood there awkwardly as she watched the woman's eyes dart down the paper. After a moment of silence, the woman looked back up at her with a sort of tender understanding in her eyes.

    "I can already tell this is a very well written essay. I'll have your grade up by the end of the day," Mrs. Dotes smiled and Nora breathed a sigh of relief. "And don't worry, I'll make sure this falls into the right hands."

    "Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver," Nora thanked graciously as she went to leave the classroom, "thank you, again."

    "One more thing, Miss Watson," the teacher stopped her just as she was about to leave, "I hope everything works out."

    Smiling, Nora sighed, "I hope so, too."

Leaving the classroom, Nora felt a weight lift off her chest. Here's to hoping.

    "So? Is she gonna give it to Edison?" Kristen asked as soon as Nora pushed through the classroom door and back into the hallway. For just a moment, she leaned against the door and stopped in an attempt to stop her heart from racing.

    Both of her best friends were eagerly waiting for her reaction, but all she could give them was a brief nod as she tried to calm herself down. Both girls clapped excitedly and grabbed the girl in a hug.

    Amarie exclaimed, "All right! The hard part's over now... we wait!"

    "I think the waiting is going to be the hardest part if I'm being honest," Nora sighed as the three of them began to walk down the hallway and to their first class.

    As they were walking down the hallway, though, Nora experienced her worst nightmare. Everyone's phone's going off at once. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but of course, it was a notification from nrhsgossip. At first, Nora ignored it. Kristen, however had other plans as she pulled up the post and showed it to the girl.

    It was multiple photos, one of Nora winning prom queen, one of Nora and Edison kissing outside the school, and one more of Nora standing alone on the sidewalk, crying. Great, just great. The caption, of course, made everything worse. "The new L Word episode looks great! Here's to our emmy winning drama queen Nora Watson!"

    "It's not even a funny caption," Kristen scoffed, "Don't worry, Nora, I'm already messaging this bitch to get this taken down, this is ridiculous."