Life Goes On (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 2 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Thirteen

❝teacher (pronounced ˈtiːtʃə or tee-cher), noun
someone who teaches as a profession❞

Elle woke up and felt tired. Her nose was cold, but the rest of her was very warm. Her Papa was snoring a little bit, but that was okay. She didn't mind. It was still dark, so she shook him awake. "Papa?"

He woke up. It was like he hadn't been asleep at all. "Hmm?"

"Were you asleep?"

"Yes, I was."

"You woke up so quick."

"I haven't been sleeping well these days, darling."

"What's the time?"

He fumbled around for his phone and squinted at the brightness. "It's six am. The sun will rise soon. We'll watch it, then we'll go home."

"No school?"

"No school," Hunter confirmed, then pointed. "Look!"

The sun was beginning to rise, spilling its rays over the fields in slow motion. The world stayed quiet, because of how far they were into the countryside. Warmth seeped into the land, and made everything look warmer and more welcoming. The sky became a reddish pink, Elle's second favourite colour, and her eyes were filled with wonder. "It's so pretty, Papa."

"Yeah," said Hunter quietly. He remembered the time when he had gone over to Lilly's apartment, days after their second-first kiss, and watched the sunrise together. "I watched this with Mama once. She loved it just as much as you."

Finally, the sun was almost all the way up, and Hunter sighed, beginning to pack up. "I brought some sandwiches, if you want breakfast."

"Okay."

Elle started eating a jelly sandwich, while Hunter tested his coffee. A little colder than he would've liked it, but alright. He began to drink it, while starting up the car. While the engine was heating up, he and Elle packed all the pillows and things up. Finally, they began the long drive home.

<><><><><><><><>

Lynette sat in the staffroom. The teachers slowly started filing in, beginning to drink coffee and tea, and discussing things that had happened in the classroom that day. The constant buzz of voices was normal for the staffroom. Lynette went and sat beside Ryan Lockhart, who was the music teacher of the school. "Ryan, darling, how are you?"

"Alright, ma'am," she said softly. She was always very quiet and exceedingly polite. Lynette knew almost nothing about her. She kept herself out of the gossip circles, and usually looked over her children's work while in the staffroom. "And yourself?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Have you seen Elle at all today?"

"Elle Hayes? No, ma'am. I don't think I had her class today."

"Hmm. That boy must be keeping her home from school for some reason." Lynette pulled out her phone, and Ryan went back to reading over an essay. She worked part-time at both the elementary school and the high school, and her students were doing their final exams.

"Hello, Hunter? Where's Elle?... you didn't bring her to school today? Why?... The flu?!... Well, I'll come over with some soup or gumbo or something- what do you mean, no? She has the flu, she's certainly not fine... you did what?! She needs her rest! I'm going to come over once you're home from the studio." Lynette hung up. "Would you believe it?! Elle's at home with the flu, and he's taken her to the studio because he can't miss a single day of his recording! My word."

"Maybe she's not really sick, and she's faking it," murmured Ryan. "So she said she couldn't come to school, but she was okay, so she told Mr Hayes she wanted to go to the studio."