#Chapter 44: Playing Favorites

Audrey “Alex Wheeler?” “Here.” Striding forward, I handed the graded paper to the young male student with a beanie and a black t-shirt sitting at the back of the class. I flipped to the next page in the pile of papers and called out, “Melissa Williams?” “Over here.” The morning had been a quiet one—it was early on Wednesday, and energy was low. Just about every student’s workspace had some kind of caffeinated drink on it, and I, too, kept sipping my coffee every few moments. In fact, Edwin himself hadn’t even arrived yet. “I’ll be running a bit late this morning,” his curt email had read earlier that day. “Pass out the graded papers and tell the students to begin reading chapter six in their textbooks.” I was relieved when Edwin had told me he would be late; I hadn’t seen or heard from him since our little incident at the museum, and I didn’t want to see or hear from him. Hell, part of me even hoped that he would magically get stuck in traffic