Chapter 2
"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well." - Lewis B. Smedes
By the time Velia reached had found her way upstairs to the staffroom, most of the teachers had already assembled themselves within the room. Only a few looked up, Grantley's eyes following the redhead as she made her way over to her locker, and unzipped the jacket and protective leather trousers, before storing them away in the locker.
"If you took a photograph of her, it'd last longer." came Steph's rather loud murmur from behind her magazine, causing both Grantley and Velia to turn and look at her.
"I wasn't..."
"I'm not that interesting, I can assure you." came Velia's reply, a blush having crept into her cheeks already at the attention. It wasn't just that someone had been staring at her...it was that certainly those from John Foster's would all know about her, and those from Waterloo Road itself would have been informed by Rachel.
After all, that had been the point of the meeting two weeks ago. That and Rachel asking yet again if Velia was truly ready to come back, to remind her that they wouldn't think any less of her if she wanted more time. But no. 6 months was more than enough...she'd be fine...it was only running away if she didn't...
"'scuse, daydreamer." Jo murmured behind her, waiting another minute before actually putting her hand on the other woman to move her, then pulling back almost straight away once she had room to slip past.
Velia swallowed, glancing briefly at her, then returning to putting her things away, taking out a file for the next class. She glanced over the work, checked she'd had everything planned out fully – more an excuse to waste time than an actual check. "Jo..."
"Ask Steph to show you up to the classroom if you don't know the way"
"That's not..."
"You'll be fine." came the curt reply, before Jo allowed herself a glance at the pretty redhead before her, her harsh manner dropped the second she did, even allowing herself to give Velia a slight smile as she added in almost a whisper "Nothing will happen...don't worry..." before pulling away from her, heading out of the room rather than allowing the conversation to progress any further.
Velia gave a soft sigh, shutting her locker and going over to take a seat beside Steph as a distraction. Everything, and nothing, had changed...she'd been a fool to think there'd be any difference in how Jo would behave around her...