Second Chance

Chapter 10 - Fear

"Fear"

"Fa-Father, can I talk to you?" I say as soon as I peek my head out to his study room. I've only recently gotten used to calling him my father in my head but it's still awkward to say it out loud.

"Come in, Luke," He says in a low and sweet tone.

I walk in still feeling awkward and just stand there a couple of steps away from his desk. He has his head to the paper he's reading but his eyes slowly travel towards me.

I rub my arm and shrink myself down. This is really awkward, I think to myself.

"What's wrong? Please sit down," He gestures to the chair in front of his desk.

I slowly walk there as if to buy some time. I probably need more than courage. I'm not afraid to ask but I'm afraid he would turn me down.

My eyes are looking straight at his figure, still reading the paper in his hand. He rubs his chin and he looks like he's in a deep thought momentarily. After a few moments of pondering, he finally puts down the paper, writes something on it, and puts it next to the small pile of papers on the left.

He turns his attention to me and I try to smile but I bet it comes out awkward. I take a deep breath. The sooner I ask him, the sooner I can get this over with.

"I want to take on a project..." I trail off. This is so not me.

"Oh, really? What kind of project? Is it school project?" He asks looking enthusiastic about it.

"Uh- yeah. Sort of... More like self-study project?" I end it with a question, feeling unsure of what I had just said.

Father hums as if to tell me he understands and he wants me to continue.

"I want to try and reconstruct orphanage system and try it on a real orphanage," I speak with confidence that I know I have in me.

Father leans forward with his brows furrowed. He's probably thinking something. I'm not even sure. He probably doesn't believe I can do it.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I want to try and learn how an orphanage system works and then I want to see if I could make it even better. Abby said that practical learning is better than theoretical so I want to try it on an existing orphanage,"

Father nods his head and begins to rub his chin.

"Do you have an orphanage in mind?" He asks without revealing his emotions.

My mouth gapes open but no words come out. I clamp it down quickly to regain composure.

"Rosette's Orphanage," I mumble.

"Pardon?" He asks because I know he couldn't hear me. I take a deep breath and look straight into his eyes.

"Rosette's Orphanage" I say louder this time.

"Why does it sound familiar?" He asks in a curious tone.

"It's in the next town," I reply softly and hang my head down since I'm worried that he won't approve.

I hear him hum again but I make no move to look up to him. I hear the papers shuffling every now and then. Then I hear some clattering to which make my eyes trail over to his desk and notice he is taking a notepad and a pen out of his drawers.

He lifts his phone and appears to be dialling someone as he puts it by his ears. It doesn't take long for the other person on the line to pick up the call.

"Find out everything you can about Rosette's Orphanage located in the next town," His voice sounds authoritative and I hear that the other person replies quickly before my father hangs up the phone.