L'angel rebel
It'll never happen again, Valerie thought to herself as she walked into her last class of the day, chemistry.
Chemistry was her favorite class. Her teacher, Ms. Spellman, had a flair for experiments and could make even the most boring aspects of the subject interesting.
"Goggles on!" Ms. Spellman announced brightly. "We are going to explore how different elements react in water."
Valerie worked alone, as usual. That didn't bother her though. She preferred to be by herself. Less chance of being hurt that way.
"Great job, Val," Ms. Spellman said as she walked around. She put her hand on Valerie's back. Val winced but not enough for anyone to notice.
At the end of class, Ms. Spellman asked if she would stay after a minute.
"My niece is moving in with my sister and I next week," Ms. Spellman told her. "I was wondering if you would show her around when she gets here? I think you two will get along great. She loves science too!"
"Sure," Val agreed. "I'd love to."
Ms. Spellman watched the thin, pale girl gather her notebook. Most students were only in her class because they needed the science credit, but Valerie genuinely seemed to enjoy it. She'd overheard her say that she went trick-or-treating as Marie Curie when she was a kid.
Was it her imagination or was Valerie thinner and paler than usual? She had never had the rosiest coloring or much meat on her bones, but now she seemed to almost look sick.
"Valerie, honey, wait a minute." Ms. Spellman walked over to the door and closed it. Valerie's heart began to race.
"Is everything okay? You are looking awfully pale and sick nowadays."
Valerie looked away then looked back at the concerned face of her teacher. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You can trust me, you know."
Valerie knew that. Ms. Spellman was by far her favorite teacher. She was so dedicated to her students and helping them learn. There were several times she'd almost told her her secret.
Valerie looked into Ms. Spellman's worried green eyes and smiled. "Yes. Everything is fine."