The Board

Late January

You were in California, helping with the grand opening of a new outcast school. The board made your accommodations for trips, which always included reservations at really fancy restaurants. That is why you found yourself dining at a luxurious restaurant one evening. Although surrounded by a very glorious ambiance, you couldn't help but think about that fact that you were there alone. You thought about how you were ready to move on. After all of these years working for the board and being with your husband and living in New York, you wanted to move on. You wanted the humbleness of a small town again, you wanted to be welcome places, you wanted actual friends. You could run a small shop, or tutor, or be an interpreter. You wanted to do more, you knew you could do more. Not that outcast school organization and safety wasn't something important, hell you saved Larissa from Mr. Martell, he wasn't any help. You were thinking of Larissa again, of course you were, perhaps you always were. Just as you thought of her, a tall woman with white hair caught your eye. She sat down in a booth one over from you and your heart skipped a beat. Something about her made you sad. You knew it wasn't Larissa, it wasn't the tall pin up shapeshifter. It wasn't your tall pin up shapeshifter with her motherly instincts and her kitten heels and her red lips and her British accent, god damn her accent, her voice. God, you haven't seen her in months, you haven't hugged her in months. Had Larissa found a new friend? Had any of her co-corkers comforted her and said 'I'm here for you' when she needed it? Had any of them hugged her and held her when she wanted touch? Had any of them made her breakfast in the morning after they slept in her bed? You hoped that someone did all of those things for Larissa, but at the same time, you prayed you were the only one. You have been thinking for the past two months, longer actually. You thought that you thought too much, your husband would tell you that. So what if you thought too much, what's wrong with that? Was Larissa mad at you because of how you left things? It wasn't her fault, but it wasn't yours either. They drug you out of there, they drug you away from Nevermore, away from her. If it was up to you, you would've ran after her and never left her side until she knew your intentions were good. If she had of screamed at you, slammed a door on you, ignored you, berated you, hell even stepped on you, you would've never left until she knew that you cared, until she knew that you could never live with yourself if you hurt her. You feared that you had hurt her unintentionally. You hoped and prayed that Larissa didn't hate you. You wanted to contact her, call her and ask how she was. Ultimately, you were scared of her rejection, but you were more scared of never seeing her again. You knew what you had to do now. Watching the blonde in the next booth over, she saw you looking and gave you a smile. You thought of Larissa's smile, how you wished she was Larissa. It was decided then. You were to move to Jericho, you were to leave and go there by yourself, and that was final. You didn't know in all honesty if Larissa liked you in the same way, or if there was even hope of being with her as more than friends. Hell you knew about Morticia, but maybe she didn't really like women. You just knew you couldn't stay like this forever, you had to go there, you had to take a chance.

Wednesday sat in front of Principal Weems' desk for her weekly meeting. She could tell principal Weems had something on her mind. Usually, the principal would be scolding her on what to do and what not to do, but today she wasn't even paying the pigtailed girl any attention. Wednesday had entered her office and sat, waiting, without the principal even giving her a glance. The principal was zoned out, lost from the world entirely. "Principal Weems" Wednesday said, slight concern in her voice. Wednesday was an observant girl, but most of the time she was unbothered and uninterested. The principal startled and looked wide eyed at the girl in front of her. "Are you alright?" Wednesday deadpanned. Larissa had been letting herself get in her own head. Lately, she had been forgetting about what she was supposed to be doing, and getting off task like a child. Larissa had been thinking about the day you left. She had been beating herself up for not knowing, Italian? She guessed it was Italian. She was hurt that day, the day your co-workers visited. She thought that you were making fun of her, she knew that they were making fun of her. She thought you were finally done pretending that you agreed with her antics, done pretending that you took her side. The more she thought after that day though, the more she thought you may have been sticking up for her. "Yes, Ms. Addams, apologies. I've just been thinking about Mx. Ricci, I haven't seen them in awhile." She didn't know why she was telling the young girl this, she didn't have anyone to talk to it seemed. Nobody had comforted her or cared for her or made her breakfast since you had, and she missed it. "I remember Mx. Ricci. The last time I saw them, they were with you, fighting in the quad with some men." Larissa looked down at Wednesday, she was puzzled. "You were there when they got into the fight? You were in the quad?" Larissa had hoped no students remembered that fight, more so she hoped that they didn't understand it. "Yes, I was. Have you talked to them since?" Wednesday was curious now, recognizing that Larissa's tone when mentioning you sounded full of regret. Larissa sighed, "No, I haven't talked to them after the fight. I didn't know what they were saying, I didn't know what was going on." Wednesday sensed the confusion and anger in the principals voice. "Allow me to translate. From what I remember, a man said "If the principal is hiding something, don't the students deserve to know?" I believe the man made a joke about Mx. Ricci being gay, and then proceeded to make the same joke about you. The other man agreed with him, and then Mx. Ricci called him out and told him to, well, do something that I'm not allowed to say. My point is, Mx. Ricci was standing up for you. Those men were being awfully rude to you both." Larissa was speechless, she didn't think that anyone would understand what you and your co-workers had said. "Am I the only one around here that doesn't understand Italian?" she whispered to herself, but Wednesday heard. "Yes, I speak Italian. Who were those men? Was one of them Mx. Ricci's husband?" Wednesday was curious as to why they were even at Nevermore, perhaps the principal was keeping secrets. "They work for the board, they just came to check in. And yes, one of them is their husband." Larissa spoke half paying attention to her words. She suddenly realized that Wednesday was right. Your own husband had disrespected you, in front of co-workers at that. "Principal Weems, you should talk to them." Larissa agreed, she should talk to you. She had assumed that you would turn against her at one point. Maybe you'd forget about the moments you had together, or maybe you didn't care about them in the first place. You did travel a lot, and you weren't going to ever stay here in Jericho. Still, she couldn't believe how your own husband treated you. How could he say something so cruel to his co-worker about his wife, in front of them at that. How could he come here and take Mr. Martell's side? Why were they making gay jokes about you and her? That was no laughing matter, it hit too close to home for Larissa. Did you like women? You had a husband, it didn't matter. She decided regretfully and sorrow filled that she would have to call you and apologise.

You were in your hotel room flipping through channels on the television. You had been looking at houses in Jericho for the past few weeks, and you thought you may have found one. You were excited to move, to start fresh. You could decorate how you wanted and do what you wanted and live however you wanted. Maybe you could even buy a pet. Quitting this job though may be the hardest thing you've ever had to do. Was this stupid? Why were you doing this? What if you really hated small towns and wanted to go back to the board after quitting? What would your husband say? You flopped down in your bed and looked up at the ceiling, covering your eyes with your arms and letting out a huge sigh. You were tired of thinking, you were tired of being alone, you were tired of feeling surrounded by people, you were tired of yourself, you were just tired.

You awoke to the sound of your phone ringing. Why was your ringtone so loud? You reached to the table next to your bed grabbing for your phone, it was too dark for you to see. A number you didn't know lit up on your screen, it was 4am. Putting the phone back down and shaking your head, you tried to ignore it. As it rang a couple times, something inside you was telling you to answer. You reluctantly reached for it again. "Hello?" you mumbled, sleep evident in your voice. "Hello, Anura" a seemingly unsure and quiet voice sounded. This voice sounded so familiar, but also so different. It was timid, possibly scared? "Mm who am I speaking with?" you mumbled, trying to sound professional but still being half asleep. A small laugh came from the other side of the phone, "It's your favorite principal. At least, I still hope that I'm your favorite." Ah, it was Larissa Weems. The one and only Larissa Weems. How did she get your number? Was she mad at you all this time? The last time you saw her she stormed away from you, and you never got the chance to talk, until now. You smiled, very relieved. "My favorite principal? You'd better hope that you're my favorite, calling me at 4am." Larissa gasped slightly into the phone. "Anura, it's not 4am, it's 7 in the morning. Where are you?" You loved confused Larissa, it was so cute watching her brain work. "I'm in California, Larissa" you chirped, letting out a huff of a laugh. "Oh darling, I'm so sorry, I'll let you sleep." You had a feeling that this call wasn't just because she wanted to catch up. After all this time, she wouldn't call you at random. You had left each other without any explanation, which was really weird for the both of you considering what happened the night before the incident. You didn't want her to go, you wanted to listen to her voice. "No, no, it's okay. Do you need anything?" There was no answer for a minute, and you questioned whether she had hung up. "I-I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. The last time we were together, I thought that you were talking bad about me with your co-workers. I just felt- I was glad to have a friend who I enjoy spending time with. One who seems to like me back. And when you were all speaking Italian I felt left out, I just felt like everything we did and had was fake. I didn't know how to deal with that." She paused for a minute, leaving you to comprehend what had happened. "I'm so sorry Larissa, I didn't mean to make you feel like that" you whispered, voice caught in your throat. "It's okay darling, it was stupid of me to think that you would take their side." You thought for a moment. "How do you know what really happened, after all this time?" It had been months since this happened. Had she been thinking about it the whole time like you had? "A student who was in the quad saw the whole thing. She speaks Italian and she told me what you said, what they all said." Shit, you said some really inappropriate things. "Ah I'm sorry Larissa, I may have told Mr. Martell to go… you know himself. I didn't think any of the students would understand." A soft laugh was heard from Larissa's side of the phone, "It's alright Anura, I'm aware of the things that they called us. Thank you for standing up for me, for us." Things they called us? Oh right, gay jokes. You could take those, it wasn't really a lie. Larissa however didn't deserve to be berated or subject to any stereotypes. "Anytime, pretty girl. So, how are you doing now?" Your voice was scratchy, Larissa could tell that you were still partly asleep. She thought your voice was hot like this, but she wasn't overly focused on that, as she wasn't doing too good. "Well, the mayor just passed away, so things could be better." You sat up, shocked. You didn't know the mayor, but you knew he and Larissa collaborated on almost everything. This sounded rather suspicious, but you didn't want to bring that up right now. "Oh shit Rissa, I'm so sorry. I know he was a good friend, I'm sure he would want you to continue fighting for outcast normie relations in Jericho." You were met with silence again. It was weird to you, how Larissa would always have something to say back. But now she was just here, listening, breathing, thinking, as if she didn't want to say anything, as if she couldn't. "Larissa, are you doing okay?" You heard sniffles from the other end of the phone and your heart broke. You knew she didn't have many friends by the way she went on. None that cared enough to help her through this anyway. You wanted to be there for her, but you were a 7 hour flight away. She responded rather quickly, muffling her sniffles. "I'm fine Anura, yes, don't worry about me. I just wanted to make sure that we are on good terms." You smiled, still worried about her despite her telling you not to be. "Of course we're on good terms love, always" you tried to sound sincere and heartfelt so that she would believe someone cared for her being. "Good, good" she trailed off like she was thinking. "Larissa, can I come see you soon?" you said, hopeful she'd allow it. "Is the board sending you for another visit?" she questioned, you couldn’t detect an emotion in her voice. "No, I don't think. I just thought that it would be nice to visit my favorite principal, if you'll allow it." You smiled, thinking about visiting her, or perhaps even visiting her and staying permanently. "Hmm, I think I can squeeze you in" she taunted. "When will you be visiting?" You thought for a minute, you really weren't sure. You weren't sure when you'd have your life packed up. You weren't sure when you'd have the guts to quit your job. When you'd stop thinking crazy and hopefully wake up from this nightmare. Although, if this was a nightmare, Larissa would make you believe it was a sweet dream. Larissa would make you want to stay in this nightmare forever. "Very soon Riss, very soon."

A couple days after Larissa called you to apologize, you found yourself back in your New York apartment. You almost had all of your things packed to ship to your new house. Well, you bought a place in Jericho, but you weren't supposed to move in for another month. You didn’t yet quit your job, that was the hardest thing to let go of out of all of this. Nobody knew, but you had left your husband a month after shit went down at Nevermore. Not to your surprise, he understood. It seemed he knew that he fucked up, and that there was no way to fix it, not that you wanted to. You looked in your floor length mirror and sighed. "Oh Anura Ricci, what would your mother say? She would probably say that you were crazy, indecisive, and all over the place. Ugh, look at me, full of dye and ink and cigarette smoke, moving and quitting my job for some woman who doesn't even like me back." You rolled your eyes at yourself, you were right, but that wouldn't stop you. Being self aware was something, wasn't it? You should just call your boss now. Call him, just do it Anura.

The next morning you woke up and sat on the edge of your bed. Everything was done. Everything that you needed to do to move on and get away was done. You decided you should go while you had the chance. All in all, Jericho wasn't that far away from New York, only a 6 hour drive. You could always come back and visit. And because it was only a 6 hour drive, you grabbed as much as you could fit into your car and hopped in, setting off to Jericho.