Professor Cumberbatch

Part 2

My father had been gone for two weeks, and I still thought about him every single day. I definitely had the time to spare because I hadn't been to school since that day.

"Amelia, honey, you need to go back to school. I'll give you one more day, but tomorrow I am driving you there."

"Mum, I don't think I can." I was under my covers, hiding from the bright lights she had turned on.

"If you keep telling yourself that, you won't. However, you need to get something else on your mind. Some mathematics would do wonders." She then sat on the bed next to me and wrapped her arms around where she assumed my body was. "I know it'll be hard, but you know you can't stay in bed forever."

"I'm safe here though..." I muttered under my breath, just quiet enough so she wouldn't hear.

"I'm expecting you downstairs for lunch in an hour. You didn't eat yesterday, and I am not letting that happen again."

I listened as my mother left my room, closing the door softly behind her. I could hear her sniffles as she walked down the stairs, and I knew she was crying again. It broke my heart to see her this way: trying to hide emotions in front of her children so she didn't upset us more. I felt awful knowing that I was lying in bed all day and she was working her arse off trying to make ends meet for our family.

I wanted to do something for her, or at least let her know that I appreciated what she was doing.

For now, however, the only thing I could think about doing was going back to school to make her happy.

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I went back to school the next day, and as I had expected, it was terrible. I just wanted to have one day where I wasn't thinking about my father, but everywhere I went, people kept expressing their condolences to me. The only times people weren't talking directly to me were during my classes. Even then, I was just confused because I had missed so many lessons and was so far behind.

Professors were giving me folders of make-up work and telling me to take my time on it, but it was all weighing me down and exhausting me.

By sixth period, my English class, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. Professor Cumberbatch put on a documentary film about Shakespeare, so I laid my head down, accidentally falling asleep.

I completely slept through the next bell, and I didn't wake up until I felt someone shaking my arm.

"Amelia... Amelia Parker... Wake up." I instantly recognized the deep voice in front of me, and my eyes shot open. "You slept the whole class period. You missed the bell as well."

"Are you going to give me a detention?" I yawned as I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"No, you looked exhausted when you walked in, and I didn't have the heart to say anything when you fell asleep."

He chuckled quietly, but it soon disappeared, and I knew what he was going to say next.

"I heard about what happened, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss. I can't say that I know how you feel, but I can guess that this is a very difficult time for you." He cleared his throat and then continued speaking. "I've put together a folder of assignments for you of things that you missed while you were gone. I cut quite a few of them out actually, but there's still a good amount of work in there. You can take your time on it."