If Walls Could Talk

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty

"Life was never meant to be easy, nor was it meant to be fair. You don't always get what you give, and those who take don't always get back what they deserve. Everything about this life is filled with uncertainty. It fills us with the desire to find something better. To escape to a place where everything is perfect. But the thing is... we don't need perfection. We just need hope."

"Louis, I'm going to stop you there." The echo of Mrs Carter's voice battled Louis' as their voices danced around the small room.

They stood in Mrs Carter's small office: Louis near the door, and Mrs Carter standing just in front of her desk, leaning against it.

It was a Monday afternoon, and Louis had organised with Mrs Carter to perform the monologue he had written after school, and that's what he was doing. He knew that the longer he waited, the harder it would become for him to do it, so, getting it out of the way now seemed like his best option. Luckily, Mrs Carter had agreed to see him perform it. However, the sudden interjection surprised Louis, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned.

"Uh, I still have a little left to go," Louis shyly said, shuffling. He was never good in situations where he was the centre of attention, even if he was only with one other person.

"This is your own work?" Mrs Carter asked with her eyebrows raised.

Louis could feel his heart race as his brain scrambled for words. Did he actually come up with the monologue himself? Had he subconsciously stolen it from somewhere? Louis didn't think it'd be possible for him to do such a thing, as he was always so careful; but he couldn't stop his mind from going wild as Mrs Carter's words rang in his ears.

"Uh, yes. It is," Louis replied, sounding a bit unsure in himself, hoping that his teacher didn't notice the uncertainty in his words.

"How long did it take you?" Mrs Carter pressed.

Her questions seemed to have come out of nowhere, slightly accusing, but there was something about the look in Mrs Carter's eyes that caught Louis' attention. He didn't know what it was or what she was thinking, but he could tell the questions weren't meant to come off the way they were.

"A few weeks?" Louis guessed.

He really had no idea how long it had taken him to write the monologue. With everything that had been happening, with Isaac, his aunt, and just his life in general, it seemed like he didn't really have a grasp of time anymore. For all he knew, it could have taken him months to write it. But how could he explain all that?

"It's really good, Louis," Mrs Carter said after a few moments, and Louis gaped at the words.

"It is?" he asked.

While he was proud of what he had written, it was still a shock to hear someone else say that it was good. Isaac said it was, too, but Isaac wasn't an objective critic, or so Louis felt.

"It is. You should have more faith in yourself than that." Mrs Carter let out a chuckle before continuing. "The only reason I stopped you is because I wanted to ask if you were okay?"

Louis froze for a second at the words but quickly recomposed himself and responded, "I'm fine."

"It's just; the words you spoke seemed to be very personal. Like it was from experience, Louis."

"It was," Louis replied shortly, not really sure what else to say.

After all, Mrs Carter was his teacher, and he didn't feel like it was in his best interest to start exposing his feelings to her.