Ashley hesitated at the entrance, Henry at her side, as dread prickled her skin.
Something was very wrong here.
The whole class sat clustered in a tight circle, their hushed voices dropping off abruptly at the newcomers' appearance. No sign of Mr. Andy anywhere.
"What's going on, you guys?" Henry spoke up, giving voice to Ashley's fears. "Did something happen?"
One of the students turned with a somber look. "You mean you didn't hear? The new music teacher is resigning. Today's supposed to be his last day."
Ashley felt her breath stall in her lungs as the terrible words sank in. Resigning? Leaving? But why?
"That can't be right," she managed, struggling to keep her tone light and unconcerned. "You know how ridiculous rumors get around here. He just started, why would he quit already?"
"Well, we were kind of in the middle of discussing that when you two walked in," the student replied with a shrug.
Henry frowned skeptically. "I think we should all just sit down. For all we know, the teacher could arrive any minute."
As much as Ashley longed to believe that, to cling to that naive hope, she couldn't dismiss the leaden feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She drifted numbly to her usual seat, perching on the very edge as she fixated on the door.
Please don't be true, she willed fervently, shivering despite the warmth.
Henry watched her from the corner of his eye, deeply perplexed by her demeanor.
After everything Mr. Andy had pushed her through since arriving, Henry assumed Ashley would be overjoyed at his departure.
Instead, she looked absolutely stricken, pale and tense as a bowstring.
What in the world was going on between them that he didn't know about?
The rest of the class resumed their solemn murmurings, occasionally shooting Ashley strange, inscrutable looks.
She stared woodenly at her hands, apparently oblivious as the end-of-period bell clanged.
Jumping at the jarring sound, she shot to her feet - only to falter, her previous urgency fleeing as quickly as it arrived.
Where was she going?
What answers could she possibly get?
She stood paralyzed as the room emptied, Henry hesitating uncertainly nearby.
Finally making up her mind, Ashley pushed past him without a word and hurried off with single-minded determination.
Part of her didn't want Henry to witness whatever bombshell was about to drop.
He fell in behind her anyway, keeping a respectful distance as she wound toward the science hallway.
"Ashley! Did you hear?" Hannah called as they arrived at her classroom, looking distraught. "Word is, Mr. Andy's quitting!"
"Apparently he's come to his senses about pestering you," she continued without waiting for a response. "I guess realizing how close he came to utterly ruining everything made him feel too guilty to stick around after that park attack-"
But Ashley was already brushing past, nearly at a run now as a new possibility took hold.
There was one person who would undoubtedly know every sordid detail about Mr. Andy's rumored exit...
She barged through the final door, heart pounding, to find Miss Lily on her phone, speaking urgently in hushed tones.
At the intrusion, the older woman's gaze snapped up, eyes briefly flaring before she abruptly hung up.
"Sorry to interrupt," Ashley blurted, not sounding sorry at all. "I didn't mean to, uh, disturb your call."
Lily eyed the two students stonily. "Is there something I can help you with?" Her tone made clear they were unwanted guests.
Ashley faltered, abruptly uncertain.
Was this really a good idea after all?
But Hannah's reproachful look firmed her resolve. "I...I was just hoping you could tell me if the rumors are true?" She paused, swallowing hard. "About Mr. Andy quitting, I mean?"
Silence stretched out agonizingly as Lily stared her down.
Later that afternoon, Mr. Andy was in his living room with his mother, who was inquisitive as to why he had quit his job.
He couldn't answer her numerous questions. How could he possibly explain what he had done to Ashley to get back to her, and how he almost endangered a 17-year-old girl out of his ego?
He remained silent at all his mother's questions, and this silence of his bothered her, but she knew deep down that there must have been a reason for his decision.
As he walked away from the living room trying to avoid his mother's anxiousness, he heard the doorbell ring. He believed it would definitely be Williams, so he proceeded to open the door, and his jaws dropped at who it was.
"Ashley, what are you doing here? How did you get here? How do you even know this place?" Andy asked.
"Won't you at least ask me to come in? I am a guest after all, and I am already so exhausted from coming here," Ashley replied.
Ashley and Andy stood at the door, both overwhelmed to see each other, which was visible by the eye contact as they stared into each other's eyes.
"Who's at the door, Andy?" Mrs. Rooney asked.
Ashley walked past Andy after noticing he wasn't ready to welcome her in anytime soon.
"Actually, ma'am, I am Mr. Andy's student, and I came to take my book since our teacher will no longer be coming," Ashley said.
Mrs. Rooney nodded her head and went inside. Ashley looked around the house and noticed the plaques and musical instruments all around, ancient and modern. She was astonished by the view and wanted to ask many questions, but before she could say anything, Andy interrupted.
"How did you know my house, Ashley? Who informed you that I lived here?" Andy asked.
Ashley rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the instruments. She had also spotted Mr. Andy's picture with his mother.
"I'm asking you a question," Mr. Andy said as he held onto Ashley's hand.
## FLASHBACK TO Miss Lily's office. ##
"At least tell me where his house is," Ashley said.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
And Ashley replied, "You mentioned the both of you used to be a thing in the past, so I'm sure you know his house."
"That was years ago. They moved somewhere else, so I don't know the place," Lily said.
Ashley put on a disappointed look. She really had hoped that she could get something from Miss Lily.
She got up with Hannah to leave the office, but as she opened the door, she turned to Lily again and said, "If he truly left because of me, then I can surely bring him back." With that, they both walked out.
Ashley slowly walked down the halls, thinking of what next to do. "Should I just let him go? After all, this was what he wanted, and he wasn't really qualified to be in charge over students," Ashley thought to herself.
"But he also saved me. He gave me a shoulder to cry on. He can't be that bad," Ashley thought as she remembered how Mr. Andy saved her from the goons.
"Wait," the girls heard a voice call out from behind. They turned to see that it was Miss Lily calling out to them.
"Can you really make him come back to work?" Lily asked.
Ashley paused for a while as her face slowly lit up with hope, and she nodded her head in response.
"Then I will give you his address. Keep your word," Lily said.