The morning light had barely touched the walls of her room when Lori's phone buzzed with the email notification.
She had been half-asleep, tangled in her blankets, still drifting in the haze of a dream she couldn't quite remember. But the sound cut through the fog, sharp and insistent, pulling her toward consciousness.
She reached for her phone with a groggy hand.
The screen glowed.
*Application Status Update - Headmaster's Office*
Her heart stopped.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but stare at those words while her pulse hammered in her throat.
*This is it,* she thought.
She opened the email.
*Dear Miss Thompson,*
*We are pleased to inform you that your application for the position of Temporary Administrative Assistant in the Headmaster'
