Midnight

10

To my surprise, Everett wasn't there during our last period. And, to make matters worse, Damon wasn't either.

I wished desperately it was just a coincidence, and Everett hadn't gotten himself into trouble with that foul excuse of a human.

But, without their ever-present gaze on the back of my head, I was able to get some decent work done.

It was hard to begin our essay without the in-person section completed, but it was easy to map things out.

Because Everett chose to study plants, I wondered where we'd go. A garden? A hike? What would Everett want?

What was Everett doing right now?

Would I text him? Or should I save myself the embarrassment, judging from last time? Or could I get away with calling him? Would he pick up?

Before I could back down, I found myself up and out of my seat, snatching the hall pass and darting out of the classroom.

I headed down the hall, looping around the school twice before I talked myself into pressing on his contact.

I was in the courtyard by then, snug in the middle of the school, but it was thankfully empty.

Each ring drilled into my head as I waited, and after the fifth, I figured it was a lost cause.

Until I heard a grumble from my phone.

"Everett?" I jumped up from the bench I was sitting on.

"Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Certainly not the response I was hoping for, but it was Everett, and Everett was always upset over god knows what.

"Oh, well, yes," I sat back down. "But, shouldn't you?"

To my surprise, he chuckled. Angrily.

"Where are you, Cel?"

"Where you should be," I fiddled with the hall pass. "How am I supposed to work on our final without you?"

"Are you ditching?" He gasped dramatically. "Is Celestine Flaire, the straight A student, ditching?"

"No, I'm not!" I declared. I huffed an angry breath, letting the silence blanket us. I was not ditching.

"I'm outside the gym."

"What?"

"C'mon," I could hear his eyes roll. "If you're going to ditch, do it in fashion."

"Everett, I called to get you back in class, not to get me out!"

"Hurry up," He grunted, and I could hear him begin to  walk quickly. "That old hag of a hall monitor is onto me."

"You can't be serious right now," I pulled my phone away from my ear, checking the time. I had been gone for nearly fifteen minutes. "I have to go back to class soon."

"No, you're going with me," I could picture a sly grin on his lips as he spoke.

"Since when are you deciding that for me?"

"Since the school year chose to come to a close," He sighed, not in a sad way. "Cel, we've got two weeks left. Ditching won't kill you."

I bit my lip, contemplating.

Mr. Lindsay, hopefully, wouldn't be upset that I never came back. In fact, he had his nose stuck so deeply into the novella he had his hands on, I doubted he even noticed me leaving.

He and I got along anyway, he was my favorite teacher and I could only hope he enjoyed my work as a student. Maybe he would cut me some slack. 

We had until Thursday next week to finish, which was more than enough time for me to write an essay.