Delicate

Chapter Thirty Eight

"Mr. Sorkin? You wanted to see me?" Leo asked after knocking on his math teacher's classroom door.

"Ah, yes. Come on in, Leo." Mr. Sorkin nodded.

Leo entered the room, and took a seat in front of his teacher, who was looking through some papers. Mr. Sorkin removed his glasses, putting them on the table before finally facing his student.

"I was reviewing your papers. And all the extra credits that you've been working for," Mr. Sorkin paused. "Quite late to try to pull up your grades."

"Oh."

Leo felt his heart sink. He knew he was late, but at least he had tried. The thought of repeating his senior year made him gulp. He knew Roan and Kai wouldn't throw him out or be angry, but they would certainly be disappointed. Even if they wouldn't show it. And what would Milan think as he heads over to his ivy league college? That his boyfriend is a failure?

"I don't know how you did it but... somehow you've managed to get enough credits to graduate." Mr. Sorkin said, and Leo blinked in surprise.

"Seriously?" He was shocked.

"Indeed." Mr. Sorkin nodded. "As long as you get a passing grade in all of your finals... you'll be graduating this year."

"I— that's great," Leo said, still in disbelief.

"If I'm being honest, I never thought you'd be able to do it. But you did, and I'm proud of you." Mr. Sorkin smiled. "Have you thought about your plans after highschool? What about college?"

"Education isn't my thing," Leo answered with a dry laugh.

"Well, I'm sure with the right motivation you'll be able to figure it all out." Mr. Sorkin continued, "best of luck for finals and for your future, Leo."

Leo took that as a hint to leave, so he got up from his chair and turned around to leave. Once he reached the door, he paused as he gripped the door knob.

"Mr. Sorkin?" Leo called out.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Leo said sincerely. "For making me join the Matheletes."

Mr. Sorkin furrowed his brows, looking puzzled. But he nodded, giving Leo a tight lipped smile. Leo returned the smile, before walking out the door. Leo's smile turned into a wide grin as he realised that he had a real chance at graduating.

Leo refrained from sharing the news with his family and his boyfriend. There were still the finals to go, so he didn't want to celebrate prematurely. And he didn't want to raise anyone's hopes either. For the first time in his life, he was feeling nervous about exams.

Milan was anxious about the upcoming finals too, even though Leo was sure he was going to ace them like always. The two made plans to study together. Milan tutored Leo, who was a fairly quick learner, and in turn that helped him revise.

Days were passing by in a blur, and prom was only a couple weeks away. Leo would wake up, go to school, go to the library with Milan to study, drive home, eat, study, eat again, sleep and then repeat. He had never had such a strict routine in his life prior to this, but he was motivated to graduate.

A part of Leo was glad for the distraction too. But when the day of his father's death anniversary arrived, he couldn't focus on the textbooks anymore.

Leo took an off from school. He laid on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He knew that Roan and Kai had taken the day off from their respective jobs as well. They didn't disturb Leo, and gave him his space, but it was their way of expressing that they were there for him.