Spitting Image • TFC 3.0 • l.t. au

Chapter Fifty Eight

58

MEG'S POV

Let me just say how annoying it was to listen to Milly ramble on for the past fifteen minutes to QIU. After I parked the car, I had to quickly turn the engine off and follow Milly as quick as I could. She's walking so fast to the direction of the office.

She didn't bother to knock and simple just burst in. I was ready for the other teachers to scream at us but luckily, the whole room is empty. Well, except for the two kids and Harry and Louis.

Apparently I've been arrived here a little too late because when I reached Louis' table, they were already discussing something.

"You've made this decision on a whim, are you sure about that?" Harry asks him.

"I'm quite sure." He says in a monotone without looking up from his desk. "I've been putting up with his shit for years and I've had enough, all right?"

They all seem to know what they're talking about except me. So I had no choice but to butt in. "What's going on?" I ask and all three of them looked at me.

Milly opened her mouth to speak but only to be stopped by Harry. "We'll give you both some space-"

All of a sudden, Louis drops his pen and stands up. "No, it's fine." He says, going around his desk. "Let's go for a walk, Meg?" He asks me.

Milly gave me a confused look but I simply ignored it. I turned back to him and nodded. He pushes me to the door gently without another word and I simply follow him to wherever we're going. For a while, I just followed him around. Until finally he leads us out to the empty stadium and he simply stands in the middle.

Curiously, I follow him to the middle as he looks around the empty space. I was wondering what he was looking at. There's nothing to see here but an empty stadium, the vacant seats and the open football field.

"I've always been comfortable out here. Whether I'm the one on the field or watching the players." He says, looking at me. "Some people get too overwhelmed by the vast space but..."

"You're not like those other people." I finish for him. He smiles and nods.

He takes a deep breath and puts his hands in his pockets. "I can't believe I'm saying goodbye to this place." He says.

I look up at him curiously. He doesn't look too upset but rather he's smiling. "What do you mean you're saying goodbye?" I ask him.

Is he going to say what I think he's going to say. "I'm leaving QIU... For good this time." He says in a flat tone with a straight face.

"What- why? I don't understand, you love this place..." I tell him but he simply smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "You're serious about this." I whisper.

"It's not that I hated working here; I loved every second of it. But the shit I go through with my boss..." He takes a deep breath, "Let's just say you've got to know where to draw the line. Thought I'd let you know. Well, you deserve to know, actually."

I nod, understanding what he means completely. I've noticed the only person triggering his stress is Jerry. He's very efficient and he takes his job seriously but he rarely gets credit for it. It's all right the first few times but to handle that for years? He's right. Enough is enough.

"You've been an asset to this university since you were just a student here. You've really made your mark here." I say. I find myself looking around as well and memories just come flooding back.

He chuckled and ran a Hand through his hair. "I guess I have..."

"They'll be very disappointed to see you go." I tell him.