You Are the Shell to My Tortoise | ✓

76

"I'm back!" I playfully whispered as I stepped into the astronomy clubroom which Nolan had just unlocked.

After I had finished dinner earlier, I found him waiting outside the dining hall for me. He said that there was something he wanted to tell me. I was a little baffled by his vagueness, but Nolan swept me up into a quick but warm hug before leading me away by the hand.

We left our bemused friends still standing by the open entrance.

Once we were out of earshot, Nolan finally answered me about where we were going. He needed some privacy for what he was about to discuss with me, so he was taking me to his clubroom.

So here we were, standing in the darkness again because we couldn't turn on the lights.

Somewhat quietly, he snorted after closing the door behind us. "Do you say that when you return to your room after school?"

"Of course not! I only said it because you're here."

I peered around, trying to make out the shadowy figures in the room. It didn't seem to have changed much since the last time I came in here. The large white telescope was still stood out the most, standing before the central windows.

"Oh, yeah," I said, gently grasping at the sleeve of his hoodie—it felt so thick and soft to the touch—before he could go any further. "I totally forgot; you never did tell me how you got the key to this room. Are you going to tell me now?"

"I forgot too. It's a very basic answer, though." He took my hand and walked me to the telescope. "I asked my father for a spare key. Sometimes I come in here to use the telescope. It's way better than my binoculars."

I raised my eyebrows. "He just gave it to you? Is that even allowed?"

"Not really," he said. "But I probably only use it about once a month. I'm usually too busy catching up with schoolwork to come here, even when I want to."

"Oh. Why couldn't you have just said that when I asked you?"

"You didn't know about my father yet, remember?"

I'd totally forgotten.

"Oops. That's true," I said. "So what did you want to talk about? You looked like you were in a good mood."

I sat down on the sturdy school chair he'd placed in front of me. Nolan pulled up a chair next to mine and dropped himself onto it.

The night was humid enough for me to feel the dampness on my skin, causing me to sweat more. I squirmed in the plastic seat, wishing I'd worn a skirt instead of jeans today. Even my legs were sweating. Pressing the sides of my calves against the cold metal legs of my chair, I held back a relieved sigh.

"Seeing you puts me in a good mood," he said, leaning over just close enough for me to see the smile on his face through the minimal lighting in here.

I laughed softly and bumped my shoulder into his. "Sure, but that's probably not all, or you'd look this happy every day."

"I wanted to tell you some good news," he said, sitting back in his seat. "After talking to you and thinking it over the last couple of weeks, I decided to talk to my father again. I went to him after school yesterday."

"Oh, good." I couldn't help but smile. Since he said that it was good news, I had to assume that it went really well. "What happened?"

"I told him that I blamed him for what happened to me. He apologized again and said that he understood." He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "He apologized for not being a good father. It was the first time we'd ever had a conversation like that before. I can't even imagine him being able to understand. But he said it."