A/N I apologize for the delayed update—I was sick and not in the mood to write, and I didn't want to give you a lazy chapter, though I'm not quite satisfied with how this one turned out, either. Anyways, thank you again so much for your lovely comments. They truly make my day and keep me motivated to write. To those of you asking—there may be a possibility that Kate makes a cameo, but as I said, I don't want to limit myself and I also don't want to spoil anything. I hope that this chapter will keep you interested—I promise the next chapter will be more eventful! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

CAROLINE

She had been waiting for today for forever. Well, technically, it had just been a little over a week, but it had felt like forever. It was Thursday, 3:24 p.m.—Ms. Bishop's LGBTQ support group had started twelve minutes ago, and there she was, sitting in her office like a child, waiting for a good moment to come by. She wanted to show her support yet she didn't want to go in the beginning as she didn't want to seem too eager or interested—although, wasn't that silly? She was gay, after all, so this would be the right place for her. Yet she felt that as a head teacher, her duty was to seem "neutral," not actively participating in a gay event. Or was that her internalized homophobia speaking? Even after a few months of publicly acknowledging that she was gay, she was unable to completely suppress a feeling of otherness. She had been out to her family, yes, but she still hadn't managed to make an official statement at work. As much as she acted like she didn't care and like she had it under control, the truth was that she was scared that it would possibly affect her work life, her reputation. So she'd decided to go toward the end to show her support in some way—Ms. Bishop would understand, wouldn't she? Caroline was a busy woman, after all.

It would have been easier if Kate had stuck around so they could have made their relationship official—even at school. It would have been easier—taking the burden together. But an official announcement had never been made, and Kate had left her before the two would have had any opportunity to make their coupledom visible at school. So now that she was gay but single, it felt like the cat was out of the bag but it was an invisible cat, leaving everyone confused but guessing—including her. Some days she thought she had it all figured out, and others she felt like she was drowning.

She hadn't seen Ms. Bishop as much as she'd hoped she would—after the first two or three days, school routine had taken its place and Caroline had been swamped with unsatisfied parents, irrational demands from teachers, disobedient students, and even more paper work. And Ms. Bishop—well, she had surely been busy with the usual teacher work, and there was no reason for her to come in—it made sense. Yet it made her feel angry, and silly, and ashamed. Why was she obsessing over this woman that she barely even knew? She was forty-six, after all, not sixteen.

As much as she scorned herself for it, it also filled her with tingly excitement that she was almost too proud to admit she felt. When she was overcome with those feelings she often had to think back to her time with John, and how in all of their almost twenty years of marriage she had never even come close to feel what she was feeling with Kate, or now with Ms. Bishop—although it was silly to compare Kate with Ms. Bishop, obviously; Ms. Bishop was merely a crush. But even her and Kate's relationship hadn't lasted long, and it still puzzled her how a few months of off-and-on could have been better and felt more right than years of marriage.

The phone rang, and she jerked slightly. She always felt off-guard when she was caught in her daydreaming, examining her feelings—it was a vulnerable place even if only visible to her, and it scared her to think anyone would even come close to know her thoughts, as if they could crawl through her glassy eyes and into her brain, into her deepest, most secret thoughts merely by looking at her. Being disturbed during such an intimate moment always felt like she had been caught. That's it, they know. But what would they know? It was silly and she knew it, but it couldn't help it.

"Mum, hi," she braced herself on her desk with both arms, glad to hear her mother's voice yet slightly annoyed by the demands-to-come.

"Hello, love," Celia responded, hesitating briefly before continuing her speech.

"Alan and I will pop around to spend the weekend in Harrogate. We wanted to have dinner with you to fill you in on our wedding plans. I know Gillian and you wanted to have the primary responsibility, and we already talked everything through with her, so we'd like to fill you in—"

"Oh, yeah—yeah, yeah, sure. The boys are out tomorrow anyways—William has to study for exams and Lawrence is staying at a friend's."

"Should we bring any food?" Celia asked out of courtesy rather than sincerity.

"Don't be silly, mum; I'll come up with something," her glance wandered to the clock—3:32p.m.—and she panicked suddenly. What if they'd just discussed some basics and left early? What if she'd missed it?

"Mum, I gotta go. I have a… meeting."

"Well, okay, love. I'll see you tomorrow. Tata!"

Caroline hung up the phone quickly and rushed into the halls. While she was walking, she tried to control her pace and look professional and cool rather than distressed.

When she found the door, she paused briefly to take a breath and gather her courage, though she had gripped the handle to open the door before she could gather anything, deciding in those few seconds that it would be easier to just do it instead of pondering.

Ms. Bishop was facing her, talking in front of a group of students—about ten, more than she'd expected—and noticed her immediately. She greeted her with a smile, though she didn't interrupt her talk. A few of the students turned their heads, though they quickly resumed their original position when they saw who'd come in. Caroline stayed in the back of the room and leaned on a table right next to the door.

"Jen, you suggested a Pride day to raise awareness and celebrate—I thought that was a lovely idea. Of course we would have to put some time into organizing it properly, and we'd also have to make sure the school approves," Ms. Bishop deliberately looked at Caroline, who could only offer a coy smile as she had been busy observing Ms. Bishop closely—her stand-off eyes, her full lips, the way she carried herself were fascinating to her.

A student raised his hand, "We could meet up shortly before the event and have a baking session so we can raise money."

"That's a great idea, Oliver. Actually, I think it would be wise to sell cake a few weeks before Pride day, too, so we can raise money in advance and make students aware that it is coming up."

Caroline was filled with intense happiness when she was watching Jade interact with the students—although she knew it was nothing special, she was taken with Ms. Bishop's warmness and candour, with her determination and leadership. Caroline knew that it wasn't only adoration but also attraction she felt, and she zoned out for a few seconds, overwhelmed by her senses. Funny enough, it was Jade's voice that brought her back to reality.

"Alright, I guess that's it for today. You guys know what you want to prepare for our next meeting, and you have my e-mail address. Have a good weekend, everybody, and I'll see you next Thursday!"

When Caroline looked up, she could see students pass her by and leave, while Ms. Bishop was cleaning the board. Caroline got up and took a few, slow steps—cautious to say anything before all of the students had left. Right when she was about to say something, she was cut off.

"So, how'd you like it? Does the school administration approve?" Ms. Bishop smirked as she put the sponge back into its place and turned to face the desk, and Caroline.

"Yes—yes of course—I was glad that so many people were interested."

"Yeah… yeah, me too. The kids seemed really nice, and I really felt that they appreciated this opportunity."

They both looked down and, for a moment, a thick silence filled the room.

"I—I didn't want to put you in the spot earlier—when I said—about the Pride day—"

"Oh, no, I didn't see it that way! Don't worry—as I said, we'll work it out, and anyone who doesn't approve is my concern, not yours."

"Thank you. I mean it. I really appreciate it, I really do. This school is lucky to have such—," Jade paused briefly, and Caroline knew she was looking for an appropriate term, "—liberal-minded and supportive leadership. Not all schools have that…" Her last words were barely audible, and she lowered her head.

"Would you like to go out for dinner?" Caroline said, in a loud and determined voice, regretting it the second she said it. "I mean, would you like to grab some food—right now?" She tried to rephrase her question in an attempt to make it seem more casual and less like a date.

"I would love to," she said with a smile, not questioning any of Caroline's botched request.

"Oh," Caroline was unable to hide her surprise, "Great!" she switched to a more exhilarated tone.

Ms. Bishop grabbed her purse and jacket from the chair and stood in front of Caroline before she realized what was happening.

"Let's go," she said with a smile that erased Caroline's anxiety all at once before walking out of the room, and Caroline turned to follow.

TBC