Falling For The Nerd

The Final Announcement

        I woke up in the morning and it took me a while to remember where I was. I looked around the room. Sunshine was pouring in from the large French windows. The desk in the corner still had a few books kept on it. I tried to turn around, but my arm was stuck under a weight. I looked down to see Melissa lying next to me. I remembered last night's events and smiled. Sometime while we were asleep, I had wound my arms around Melissa's waist, not only above, but also through below her body. My arm was starting to go numb. "Melissa, wake up." I whispered, lightly shaking her shoulder. "Mmm. Go away." Melissa groaned and pushed me away from her. "Lizzie, you've got to wake up." I looked at the clock that was on her study table. It read 7:28 am. I shook her with more urgency. "Lizzie! Wake up! We need to be in school in less than half an hour!" I almost screamed. That woke her.

     "What? How did this happen?" Melissa said, shocked. I massaged my numb arm and said, "We overslept. C'mon. Get ready!" On a regular day, I would be leaving my house at this time. This was not good. We had an orientation about finals week today. We jumped off the bed. I grabbed my toothbrush and used the washroom in Melissa's parents bedroom. In five minutes, I was done with my shower, but Melissa was still bathing. Supressing a groan of frustration, I ran down to kitchen to get us some breakfast like Melissa had asked me to do. On the counter there was a letter from Diana.

       Dear Derek and Melissa,

I've had to take the five a.m. train to New York. Remy is ill. Very ill. She needs me there. I will be spending a week here. Dad will join me here. Derek, I hope you can take Melissa in for the week. Take care, and have fun in school!

                                                                                                                     Love, Diana.

      Melissa came down then and I handed her the the letter. She shoved it into her bag and we both wolfed down a bowl of cereal. On the car ride to school, I called mom and told her about Diana having to leave for New York and to make arrangements for Melissa to stay with us. When Melissa and I pulled up in school, the hallways were empty. We ran towards the gym, where every student from our grade was seated. We reached just in time. The orientation hadn't begun yet. We heaved a sigh of relief and we headed our separate ways: me towards the other guys from the football team and her towards her gang of girlfriends.

      "Welcome students." Mr.Zhang, our principal, greeted us. "From today onwards, you have exactly two months till finals week. As expected, our teaching staff has covered the entire syllabus. Now it's upto you. If you are wise or ambitious, you will utilise these two months to the fullest. You will begin to prepare for the finals. Now, attendance rules will be followed with leniency. You can stay at home and study or come to school and attend revision lectures. However, attendance is compulsory every Friday, as we will be conducting mock tests from 10 am onwards. The schedules are put up outside. I hope everyone takes these tests seriously. You are dismissed." With that, Mr.Zhang walked off, and the students began to disperse. I walked to my English class with Jake and Leo. "So, you're gonna be coming to school now?" Jake asked. "Yeah. I think I will. It's easier to go through stuff with the teachers again." Leo replied. "What about you?" Jake asked me. "I think I'll revise with Melissa." I said. Leo snorted. "Yeah. That's going to work out well." he said smirking. "I swear, Melissa is going to make me work my arse off." I said. I said goodbye to them and headed to Melissa who was at her locker. "Hi." Melissa smiled at me. I took her hand and said, "Lizzie, will you tutor me for the finals?"

      "Of course I will! Provided your ready to work and not goof up every two minutes." she said, grinning. "What? Me? Goof up? Never!" I said feigning hurt. "We'll have a separate time for doing the serious stuff" I said and Melissa nodded, "And a separate time for studying!" I finished. Melissa groaned. "The only serious thing that will happen, is studying. See you later Derek." Melissa kissed my cheek and went for her lesson.

      After school, Melissa and I drove to my house. Mom had already picked up Melissa's stuff from her house. "So, today, we make a time-table for our studying. We have our schedules for the mock tests, so we can prioritise accordingly." Melissa said as she turned into my driveway. I nodded in response. We grabbed our bags and went inside. Surprisingly, the house wasn't empty as I had expected. I could hear mom talking to someone in the kitchen. "Mom? How come you're home?" I asked her. She was apparently video chatting with someone. "Hi Derek, Melissa. I'm talking to Diana, come here and say hello." Mom said. Melissa stepped forward so that she was in the frame of the camera. "Hi mum, what happened to Remy?" she asked. Diana smiled at us and said, "Hi kids. Melissa, it's morning sickness." Diana said with a smile. For a second, Melissa was quiet and then she screamed so loudly that my ear drums hurt. "Oh my God! Are you serious? How far is she?" Melissa asked. "It's almost a month now." Diana said. Mom began to congratulate Diana. Meanwhile, I stood there, not quite following what was happening. "Derek, isn't this great?" Mom asked me. "Huh?" I said. "Remy is pregnant!" Mom shrieked. "Oh! Um, congrats Remy." I said managing a small smile. "Emily, you stayed home just so that mum could tell us this?" Melissa asked, hugging mom. "Not quite." Mom answered. "Diana? I think you should do this." Mom said.

     "Well, now that your finals are coming up" Diana started hesitantly, "both of us and your fathers think it will be for the best if you both can put a hold on your relationship." I stared at my mother with a blank expression. "Yes. I completely agree. You see, at your age a relationship (that to one as serious as yours) could be termed as a distraction. We are not asking you to break up or anything", mom assured us, "We just want you guys to take it slow. Hold it until your finals are done. Focus on your studying until this is done." "For two months?" I asked incredulously. My voice came out funny, as if my throat was clogged. "Yes." Mom sighed. No. Way.

A/N: So...the parents want Derissa to stay away from each other. Do you hate the parents for this or do you agree with their reasoning?

          This chapter is dedicated to

You should check out her story 'Love? Maybe!' on her profile. it's an amazing book- work in progress, but amazing.

Also, FFTN has only about ten chapters to go before it ends. I'm not sure yet, but I'm positive that it won't be very long before I start another book. Tell me what you think!!

Lots of love-D. <3