Rachelli sat down, too, a little sigh of relief escaping. She and Etty were good again; she needed that
This time, the substitute teacher was young and unfamiliar. Honey-colored hair pulled back with a headband, small gray eyes behind round glasses. Rachelli decided she couldn’t be much older than Tehillah.
“I don’t know why we’re even coming to school anymore, our teacher never shows up,” Tova grumbled. Chaya turned around and gestured to her to be quiet, and the substitute blinked a little nervously and said, “Shh, girls, please continue davening.”
The room quieted. Rachelli stared into her siddur without seeing anything. How long could the façade go on? Would Mrs. Hertz just hide away for the rest of the year? What did divorce mean, anyway? Had it happened yet? Was it happening now? When would people find out?
When Etty stood for Shmonah Esreh, Rachelli startled back to reality. Already, there were murmurings in the room, a few girls putting their siddurim away. Someone opened a bag of chips and there were giggles and crunches from the back of the room. Miss Marcus — the substitute had managed to introduce herself — was trying valiantly to maintain control. Rachelli sighed and turned her attention to figuring out what tefillos she had time to say. It was going to be a long morning.
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