The teacher's lounge wasn't supposed to feel like a battlefield.
But the second Rika stepped through the door, tray of tea balanced in her hands, it did.
Because Saki Hoshino was already there.
She sat by the window, sunlight catching in her hair, her blouse neat, her skirt pressed, her smile polite as she stacked a pile of history textbooks. Every other teacher in the room buzzed around her with warm greetings, curious questions, quick compliments. She looked every bit the new hire, calm and radiant.
But when her eyes lifted!
The tray in Rika's hands nearly slipped.
Her breath stopped. Her pulse spiked.
Saki froze, too. Just for a second. Her fingers curled tight against the book cover before she smoothed it out, masking the twitch with a practiced ease.
The room's chatter didn't notice. But Renji, standing just inside the door with me, sure as hell did.
The air thickened, silent in the space between the two women.
