Thorne waited all day for the lunch bell to ring.
“No running,” he reminded one of the students as they hurried to leave the classroom.
Thorne understood the impatience, but he still had to enforce the rules. One kid running would become five, then twenty, then kids would be getting hurt left and right. He waited until the last student had left then pulled out his lunch bag and started for the lounge, but stopped as he stepped out the classroom door. He might as well check and see if Nancy was ready. They could walk together.
Her classroom door was closed, so he peeked through the small window to make sure there were no students before pushing the door open and looking around the corner to where she kept her desk. But the room was empty. He hoped nothing had happened at home to make her
