Fix You (Sequel to The Arts)

Chapter 29

My fellow classmates slowly file in one by one. I take a swing of my signature tea mixed with tequila from my thermos as I await the class to start.

It's only been about four days, now five, since I've been sitting in English all alone and I'm still not getting use to it. I suppose I have been doing pretty well, I mean, I'm attending classes after all, but that's only because Camila isn't.

Monday was the first and last time I've seen her since the breakup and I'm not sure what to make of it.

Has she been ditching to avoid me? Has she moved schools altogether?

Every time I ask Dinah she just brushes me off. I feared that she was doing that typical girl thing where you start to hate on your best friend's ex immediately after the break up but Harry convinced me that Dinah just wants us to spend time away from one another and her giving me details about Camila isn't going to help my case.

Still, I imagine every possible reasons why she isn't here and it doesn't take long for my mind to enter that dark place. I take a glance at the vacant seat beside me and sigh.

"Mr. Malik," Mr. Hemlock addresses me, pointing towards my backpack on my desk, a pet peeve of his. I obey and place it in the seat beside me. He holds his stare for a moment, asking me silently if I was doing alright.

Mr. Hemlock has always been that teacher that we told everything to. Whenever he'd stay at school for lunch, in his classroom, he'd partake in our conversations on life as we ate in here. Sometimes giving us life advice, other times just adding commentary. He was more than a teacher. He was probably the person that helped us the most after Sinu passed.

It was something odd about having an outside perspective on such a difficult event that comforted us. Mr. Hemlock never gave us typical teacher advice or advised us to speak to one of the school's guidance counselor. He treated us as equal and gave us real advice, whether we agreed with it or not.

After coming face to face with Mila in the hall on Monday, I grabbed my stuff out of the locker and found myself in Mr. Hemlocks class freaking out. Luckily, he didn't have a class and he talked me through everything..

Apparently he had done the same with Camila early that morning.

He's such a real and genuine person with us. He's one of the few people that Camila has opened up to voluntarily... and now me.

I just give him a simple nod, hiding the pain and fatigue I knew I carried in my eyes. With that, he begins class.

He goes on for the first ten minutes about the book we've been reading; the one I haven't touched yet. He starts signifying a few key events I make sure to write down, and flips through the slideshow. He pauses when the door opens and infamous latecomer, Lauren Jauregui, walks in.

I don't think anything of it until a second body follows behind.

I almost choke on my spiked tea when I see Camila with her.

I hear few murmurs and clench my fist to stop me from smacking out any of my classmates.

Sure, Camila was use to the murmurs and whispers of people in the school, I was too if I'm honest, but everyone pretty much cut it out once news of Camila's mom passing spread. Apparently that's where they found empathy within themselves. Until now.

I quickly scramble to throw my bag out of her regular seat and onto the floor. Camila, however, doesn't bat an eye in my direction. I could tell she was purposely ignoring me by the way her body tensed as she passed by me, and followed to sit beside Lauren on the far end of the classroom.