~ A few weeks later ~

“… so, I’d really want to thank you for everything,” Bette concluded, desperately holding back her tears. She didn’t want to leave the whiny-baby impression on ms Kennard.

Ms Kennard smiled. They were alone in the classroom and most people had to be already gone by now. “I am really glad that my listening helped you. It just seems not right that a wonderful, intelligent and caring person like you would be unhappy.”

Bette looked away; she had said a thousand times she wasn’t all that, but ms Kennard kept on saying it. They were past the point where Bette denied it. She cursed silently when she felt a first tear creeping out of the corner of her eye.

“Come here,” Ms Kennard said when she saw it. Bette took a deep breath, turned around and walked towards her teacher.

She took the emotional brunette in her arms, holding her tight for the second time in her life. Bette was trembling once again, smelling her scent and desperately trying to remember it. She would need it in the months to come.

“You’re a fantastic person with so much talent, you’re going to have a great life. Your father will regret doing this to you.” She rubbed Bette’s back.

“I don’t know,” Bette answered. “I mean, since Emily and I broke up, I’ve been thinking a lot. It’s not that I would like to be with a man, but it is easier. It is what a lot of people think is right. What my father thinks is right.”

Ms Kennard held Bette at arm’s length. “You have to promise me that you will never get into a relationship that doesn’t feel good to you. This is your life, not your father’s.”

“I just want him to be proud of me,” Bette said in a tiny voice.

Ms Kennard squeezed her hand. “You’re gonna be a big time author one day and he’s going to regret this, believe me. And we can always talk. I do have electricity during the holidays, so you can always mail me,” she smiled.

“I promise I’ll try not to mail you too much,” Bette vowed. “I mean, it’s a holiday and I don’t want to disturb any of your plans.”