Incredulity
Bella had done her usual walking in routine, said her hellos to Mrs Goff when she saw the note in her pigeonhole. Thinking it was some reminder for homework, she picked it up and unfolded it, glancing at the contents.
Then she looked more closely.
Then she looked again to be absolutely sure.
"Jesus Mary and Joseph," she muttered, her father's blasphemy rolling off her tongue. She clutched the letter to her chest and glanced around the room, as if checking if anyone else knew. When she was sure that no one else could know, she then glanced down again and frowned.
This made no sense. They hadn't spoken since that day. Was it a joke? No, Edward didn't seem the type to joke about this sort of thing. Especially using that word. She glanced down again, a flush staining her cheeks as she reread the lines. In my dreams…in my thoughts…
So he thought about her. Bella couldn't help it. She giggled, like a 12 year old over her crush. She knew she should be outraged; she had every right to go to the housemistress and report it for sexual harassment.
But she found that she didn't want to and she didn't know why. She tucked the letter away into the small pocket sewn into her school kilt, where it burned against her hip. She looked around again; just to be sure that no one else had witnessed her.
She walked away silently, absently fingering the slit to the pocket.
The note set something off in her mind. All that resentment, all that longing had finally burst, like a water balloon. She was no longer sure where she stood, where they stood.
But a glow seemed to burn in her stomach as she walked for the rest of the day. She felt a head taller than everyone else, like she was walking on air.