Her confidence had fled almost as quickly as it returned.

"Oh hi" she opened the door to her deputy head.

"You forgot?" He smiled softly, in a way that told her he was being gentle, treating her with kid gloves again. She wanted to like it but didn't.

"Maybe" she smiled back and took the paperwork from him. She had forgotten, not because she had been busy, but because there wasn't much point in it. Her resignation letter sat in her inbox, ready to be sent the next week and afterwards she would have to return the paperwork to him anyway.

But she could probably reorganise it for him first. Leave it all in a reasonable state. That would be the least she could do.

"Thank you" she smiled and dismissed him, which he accepted without any inclination of wanting to come in.

But he didn't know their little tradition would be over soon.