It was a cold morning, the same like the other five before. And with the tiny couch he slept on and the loud yells and thuds coming from the three teenage boys since five in the morning, his wake was never pleasant.
“Are you going to come to school?” Ashton asked with his mouth full of toothpaste.
Luke groaned, flipping over. “Do I have to?” He covered his eyes from the bright lights of the early morning.
“Xitlali said that the more places you visit where you’ve been might jog your memory.”
Luke furrowed his eyebrows. “And Xitlali is . . .?”
“Your girlfriend.” Ashton said slowly. “So are you coming now, or not?”
Luke closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before rolling out of bed, letting his body crash onto the rough carpet. “Give me ten minutes.”
ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ) ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ) ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)
“Mr. Hemmings? Please step down and talk to me. Now.”
Luke glanced back at his friends who shrugged at him before proceeding down the long stairs, towards the Language professor.
“Yes, uh, sir?” He said, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater.
“I completely understand the stress of what you’re going through, son.” He said supportively in his thick Scottish accent. “My wife had the same scenario and it was so hard to go through the entire process of her memory loss.”
Luke nodded. “Was everything fine in the end, did she ever regain her memory?” He asked. He was so desperate to find some comfort in regaining the life he supposedly lived.
“No, she died of depression. Well, committed suicide.” He stated. “But I did not ask you to come down here to talk about my life story, I wanted you to know that I am giving you extra time on all assignments from here on out. I understand that regaining what you’ve lost will be very difficult, along with getting accommodated with everything.”
Luke nodded, smiling softly. “Thank you, sir.”
“Just Mr. Riley will be fine, thanks.”
Luke nodded and turned to catch up with his friends. Halfway up the steps, he stopped and turned around. “Mr. Riley, how did you find out about my incident?”
“That lass you have,” He gave an encouraging smile. ”She cares for you a whole lot, you know?”
Luke gave a nod. “Thank you.”
He turned around and watched his feet as they skipped every other step up the walkway. His mind was cluttered as he made his way past the people filing into the room, not watching where he was going. He accidently knocked into someone, making them let out a small yelp and stumble backwards.
“I’m so sorry!” He said, helping them regain their balance.
She stared up at him surprised. “It’s fine!” She said, shaking her head.
She was the same girl from the hospital! Her eyes were the same dark brown he remembered. And her short height that came up to about his chest was something to take note of. She was like a small child in a way.
“How are you?” He asked, trying to make conversation as he pulled her away from the crowd that was still pushing their way inside the classroom.
“Not the same,” She gave a small laugh. It was so carefree, but he knew she was forcing it, why would she be happy? “I came here because I am Mr. Riley’s assistant. But, I could get out of it and-if it’s not too much trouble- maybe we can get coffee?”
Luke opened his mouth before closing it. 'The more places you visit where you’ve been might jog your memory,' Ashton’s voice was repeating in his head.
“Have we been there many times?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She nodded, a small smile creeping on her lips.
“You would not believe how many hours we spent at that place; it was the next best place you liked to hang out.” Xitlali looked at him with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “So is that a yes?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to get coffee with you."
XItlali gave a pleasant grin before rushing inside the classroom to tell the teacher that she’d be off.
Luke leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. She seems nice. But that was all. Of course, her Blink-182 shirt was not something to overlook. Neither were her curves that stood out as she walked in those tiny shorts.
She came back, smiling excitedly as she gestured for him to follow her. “C’mon.”
dedicated to Xitlali: we had a freaking deal, ( ﾟ,_ゝﾟ) why did you back out of it
