Room 206 - Luke Hemmings

forty

Time continued to slip right between my fingers. I savored it with Luke, not sure if I should be certain that we'd be together after graduation or not and I found myself wishing it hadn't approached to me so quickly. I should have been excited but instead I was nervous and unsure if it was what I really wanted.

Two weeks before graduation, El and I sealed the deal with our party and sent out invitations. I sent them to all of my friends and even people I'd only speak to occasionally. I also invited all my favorite teachers, not wanting it to be suspicious had I only invited Luke. These included Professor Irwin, Clifford, Hood and even my old English professor before Luke, Professor Henderson. Eleanor warned me that it might be awkward having both of them there but I insisted it would be fine.

The last week of school was a nervous blur for me. Although Luke was still being loving and affectionate like always--except in the public eye--he still hadn't said anything about where we stood in our relationship and I was beginning to worry that maybe this was going to be the end.

My parents travelled out of London to our school to watch for my graduation, staying in the nearby town at a hotel for the few days beforehand. I greeted them with hugs and they were very emotional for me but I tried my best to keep them cool. They of course hugged and were emotional over Eleanor too, who was literally family at that point.

"Daisy, your father and I would love to meet your English teacher," my mother said to me when we sat at the cafe for breakfast the morning before my graduation.

My father nodded in agreement. "We'd like to thank him for being such a big help in getting your grade up when it was slipping."

"Mother, I don't see why that's necessary," I said, taking a bite from my muffin.

"We'd just like to meet him," she said. "Most students in public school, their parents will meet their teachers and be on a personal level with them actually."

"I heard he's quite young too," my father said. "He was probably easy to relate to and get to know on a more personal level."

You have no idea.

"Oh yeah, we get along great," I nodded. "He's my favorite teacher actually. He's helped me a lot this year." I stopped and realized that I never would have thought I'd be saying that at the beginning of the year.

"I'm so glad to hear that," my mother smiled at me.

"Well, I'll go find him after we finish eating and you guys can meet him," I said. I knew Luke would be nervous about it but I also knew my parents wouldn't suspect anything and that it would all be fine.

I left my parents in the dining hall, which was only barely populated as most students were still in their classes, but those of us in Year 12 were finished a few days early. I knocked on the door to Luke's room and waited to hear his familiar soft voice say "come in."

I cracked the door open and peeked my head around the corner. He was staring down at a stack of papers in concentration, eyebrows furrowed. He looked up at me from his work and immediately smiled behind his glasses. "Daisy."

I stepped in and greeted him with a smile as well, letting the door shut softly behind me. "My parents want to meet you."

The color and smile drained from his face. Maybe I should have eased the information to him instead of just throwing it at him.

"What?" He croaked out, then cleared his throat. "I mean, why?"

"They want to thank you for helping me get my grade back up and all," I rolled my eyes, approaching him at his desk and hoping that keeping a relaxed demeanor would ease his nerves too. "Don't worry, they don't know about anything and they'll love you."