There Is Nothing Wrong With Me

Just A Little White Lie...

Time ticked by and soon John could hear knocking, so faint that it was merely in the vibrations of the old wooden walls, but it meant she was getting closer. They had to hurry, please God let them hurry! John began thinking of cover stories in his head, they went to the bathroom, they went to get their books that they had left in the classroom, they had forgotten their shampoo in the showers...oh that was all pathetic, surely she'd heard all of those before. But why should she be suspicious, she wouldn't suspect anyone to go looking in her office, why should they? She probably assumed they were simply running around like hooligans, and she'd only give them a warning. The worst case scenario is that she found them in the office, or deduced that they had been on the phone. Then they would get in a lot more trouble, at least more than simply wandering the halls would get them. John started to hear the knocking with his own ears, sharp knocks upon the wooden doors and her cawing voice echoing across the halls. She was a nice lady, really she was, but she had a job to do and she always hated the upperclassmen for some reason. Maybe it was because they never followed the rules and always thought themselves better than anyone else. Yes, that was probably it. Nevertheless she was coming, and they still weren't back, John was starting to get nervous now.
"Lights out boys, come on!" Mrs. Hudson's voice got closer, and suddenly John was fixing his hair, trying to make himself look like a respectable Wisteria boy. A good cover story, a good cover story... He looked down the hall fearfully, where there was no sign of either Greg or Mike, whatever they were talking about better be important, if they were just moseying around and small talking John was going to throttle them!
"You there, Watson, what on earth are you doing in the hallway? Get to bed, go on!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, coming around the corner in her flower printed night dress. She looked very tired, which of course never helps an old lady's mood, and a feeling of utter terror flushed into John's heart.
"Sorry ma'am." John muttered nervously, fumbling with the door and slipping inside. Mrs. Hudson peeked into the room, however, and saw that it was unoccupied except for John. Her face hardened in suspicion, and she looked at him with a look of utmost disappointment.
"Where has your roommate gone off to?" she wondered with a very challenging look, looking positively terrifying for a woman of her age.
"Greg...Greg went off to get his book from the um...from the bathroom." John muttered, feeling the need to slap himself in the face for such a ridiculous answer.
"Why on earth would his book be in the bathroom?" Mrs. Hudson wondered suspiciously, looking about the room to make sure there was no one hiding under the bed or something preposterous like that.
"Because I left my bag in there, stupidly." Greg announced radiantly, stepping into the room and holding up his backpack proudly. John heaved a sigh of relief, feeling as though Greg's arrival was something of a miracle. Mrs. Hudson swirled around, clutching her chest in surprise as if she hadn't expected such an entrance.
"Lestrade, it's past curfew, you know that by now!" she exclaimed, moving out of the way so that Greg could pass through and toss his backpack onto the bed. John never remembered him bringing it to their phone call festival, but then again, Greg moved in mysterious ways.
"Terribly sorry Mrs. H, but you know how it is here. If I didn't do my homework I'll be strung up by my ankles!" Greg exclaimed.
"And why didn't you do it before?" Mrs. Hudson wondered, crossing her arms in a motherly sort of way. Greg just shrugged, sitting down on his bed and smiling at her as if this was their own little joke.
"Oh you know me." he said with a shrug.
"Yes, unfortunately I do. Now get to bed, both of you!" she exclaimed, waving her arms as if trying to get them to move faster. John dove under his blankets obediently, while Greg just sighed, setting his backpack down and making an effort of getting his pillow positioned just right.
"Yes ma'am." he agreed almost sarcastically, and Mrs. Hudson just sneered at him before making her exit, slamming the door behind her as if in an effort to shut them up. John sighed so heavily he thought he might cry, rolling over so that he could see Greg through the semidarkness their lamps had created.
"Where on earth were you?" John growled. "We almost got caught!"
"Sorry John, I was getting my books from the bathroom." Greg said with a little snicker, rolling into his own bed and pulling the blankets up to his chin.
"Oh shut up Greg, this is serious!" John defended in a harsh whisper.
"Well my apologies, it was an extensive plan, it had to be!" Greg insisted.
"It's only showing up here at eight o'clock, what on earth is extensive about that?" John defended in exasperation.
"Well they're coming, if you want to know the good news. All three of them." Greg added, as if he thought that simple information would ease John's mood a little bit. He was right, of course, John sank down into his pillow with a little smile, the promise of meeting Sherlock in a couple of days making his heart flutter in excitement.
"Wonderful." John muttered with a smile.
"That's what I thought too. It was so nice to hear Molly's voice again; it's been ages since I last saw her." Greg agreed in a grumpy little tone.
"It's only been a week or two." John defended with a laugh.
"Ya, ages. One week is one age." Greg agreed with a shrug, rolling around in his bed in an attempt to get comfortable. John just smiled, rolling so that he could stare at the ceiling and see Sherlock staring back.
"We better beat Musgrave into the ground." he decided finally.
"That's the spirit." Greg agreed in a sleepy voice. John just sighed, getting the message that their conversation was over and smiling softly to himself. The countdown was on, only two more days until he could finally see Sherlock again, until he could finally see that smile! It couldn't come fast enough, it seemed as though time was already slowing down as his heart began to beat faster. Only two more days...