mr. hemmings // l.h.

1 • madeline

a.n. // the pov will be listed in the title of each chapter (ex: this chapter is in Madeline's pov ) 💖

...

It started out the way any other Thursday would. I woke up on time, put on my school uniform that consisted of a white button up, a green and navy plaid skirt, long navy socks and dress shoes. I brushed out my long straight hair, washed my face, and applied a little makeup.

I sent a good morning text to the group chat of me and my two best friends, Celia and Trisha.

Mads: good morning! anyone up for a coffee run before school?

CeCe: obvs! on my way!

Trish: THANK GOD. huge calc test today!

I smiled, put my phone back on my bed and gathered my stuff.

Do I have everything? Laptop, textbooks, planner, and all of my homework. Check. I put it all in my backpack and swung it on, making my way downstairs.

"Hi, Nellie." I smiled, picking up my French bulldog puppy. "Mom?"

"In here!" She sang.

I followed the sound of her comforting voice to the kitchen, where she was flipping eggs.

"Smells good." I chuckled, putting Nellie down and giving mom a quick hug.

"Good, because I made you some." She grinned. "A fried egg and avocado sandwich to go. I made Celia and Trisha one each as well. They're picking you up right?"

"Yeah, Celia is on her way now. We were gonna go get Trish and then get some coffee to take to school." I smiled. Mom loved my friends, and they loved her as well. "Can they come do homework with me tonight?"

"Yes," she nodded, "but don't leave the house. I won't be here tonight."

I raised an eyebrow, "Going out with Brian again?"

She blushed, "Possibly."

I smiled. 15 years after her divorce with my dad, she was finally putting herself back out there.
"Don't be embarrassed, mom. It's cute."

"I'm getting too old for this." She laughed.

"You're only 38." I rolled my eyes.

My mom and dad were married young. Mom was 19 at the time, and dad was 20. They had me quite young, too. And clearly, it didn't work out.

Dad left when I was 2. And, I hadn't seen him since. I didn't remember much about him, and couldn't even tell you what he looked like. He moved all the way from our home in Washington to Jupiter, Florida. He wrote to me sometimes, but I refused to read them.

"Knock knock!" Celia burst through the front door, instead of actually knocking. It was that kind of friendship.

I laughed, "Morning, come get breakfast!"

She squealed, "Breakfast? Deb, you've outdone yourself!"

My mom laughed, "Here, my love." She handed Celia her sandwich, which was packed in a ziplock bag. Celia happily took it, giving mom a hug as well.
I took my ziplock bag and Trisha's, and waved goodbye to mom.

"Bye girls!" She called, "Give Trish my love for me!"

"We will!" We giggled.

We quickly got into Celia's cherry red Ford Fiesta, and turned on the radio to something cheerful. Celia only lived a couple houses away, but Trisha's house wasn't too far, either. We picked her up, gave her her breakfast, and took off to the McDonald's drive through for coffee.

Trish got a caramel macchiato, I got an iced mocha, and Celia got a French vanilla cappuccino.

"So tell me about this calc test," Celia smirked, "did you study?"

"Of course I did! For hours!" Trisha groaned.

"I'm so glad I didn't take calculus." I shook my head. "Im a disgrace when it comes to math."

"I can't believe I have a major test on the first week back from winter break. Isn't that child abuse?" She whined.

Celia laughed, "Definitely."

We pulled into the school parking lot, and walked in together as always. We had a bit of free time before the bell rang, that Trish used to keep studying for her test, and Celia and I gossiped a bit. Then, the bell rang.

"See you girls at lunch!" I waved, and they waved back enthusiastically.

First class of the day, was French 4. Then, AP Literature. After that, Art 4.
Then it was finally lunch time.

I sat with Celia and Trisha as usual, as well as Gabe and Cameron, two of our guy friends. Celia and Gabe flirted with each other for a while, Trish was feeling much better about her calculus test and said it went better than expected, I showed off my current artwork I had finished in class.

After lunch I had 3 more classes to go. I made it through computer mathematics, chemistry 2, and then finally, my world history class.

That's when it happened.

"Alright class, take your seats." Mrs. Reynolds said, frantically storming in the door. "We have a lot to cover today."

I sighed, and took my seat in between Georgina and Cheryl. Jada sat in front of us. They were casual friends of mine. Not that we'd hang out over the weekend or go get lunch together or anything like that, but more like an alliance to get through class without being too bored.

"First order of business," Mrs. Reynolds said, "I have someone to introduce. This, is Mr. Hemmings."

My heart dropped the moment he walked in.

Woah.

"He is a college student at Seattle University, and is majoring in history education. He'll be my student teacher for the remainder of the semester, and will help teach the class."

Jesus. He was gorgeous.

He smiled at the class, with a little wave. He wore a pale gray dress shirt, buttoned up and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had on a navy blue tie, and perfectly ironed dress pants, and lovely brown dress shoes. His long blonde waves were slicked back a bit, and he tucked a piece behind one ear. He had light facial hair, piercing blue eyes, and was currently melting my heart.

I was speechless.

"Introduce yourself." Instructed Mrs. Reynolds.

"Well, hello." He chuckled. He was relaxed, and confident. His accent was thick. "I'm Mr. Hemmings. I'm from Australia, but I'm currently studying at Seattle University, as Mrs. Reynolds said. I'm a huge history enthusiast, and I love to teach, and I've actually got a part time job at the Seattle Children's museum." He grinned. "Any questions?"

Georgina's hand went up. "What age would you like to teach?"

"Probably high school." He nodded. "There's so much more history to cover, and I feel like it's kind of watered down until high school."

"What part of Australia are you from?" Jada asked next.

"Sydney." He beamed. "Born and raised."

"Do you have a hot girlfriend?" A boy asked from the back of the class, making everyone else laugh.

Mr. Hemmings laughed too, "I actually don't have a girlfriend, at all."

I smiled. Perfect.

"Settle down, guys." Mrs. Reynolds said, purely annoyed.

I rested my head in my hands, as Mr. Hemmings took a seat at Mrs. Reynold's desk, and Mrs. Reynolds began to teach the lesson. I watched him intently, Cheryl noticed.

"Madeline?" She whispered, "Are you okay?"

I looked at her, and smiled, "I'm great."