Behind Classroom Doors II

CLIV- The Other Shoe

"Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Becca asks at an arm's length.

I nod, "Yeah, I'll come visit soon." I promise as I hug her one more time. I'm trying not to wince, but my torso is healing and it hurts to put weight on it. I take a deep breath after we pull away and force a reassuring smile on my face.

I move on to Jenny, she hugs me from the side. "Call me when you get home."

"I will, and I'll send you pictures of Noelle. Or not?" She asks, treading lightly.

She's not offending me, "Of course I want pictures or her."

We pull away and the last person to say goodbye to is Luke. Despite my pain, I wrap my arms around him. We've never needed words to express our friendship. So he smiles at me, "Take care, Livia."

They call their plane over the intercom, warranting me one last goodbye before they board. My mom leads them on the plane, making sure to wave one more time. When I can't see anyone but strangers, I turn to Seth and Hunter. "Thanks for taking me guys, Shawn had to work today."

"No problem, they're our friends too." Hunter says. Seth hasn't said more than a few sentences to me. "When do you go back to school?" Hunter asks as the three of us walk through the airport.

I look up at them, "Tomorrow. Today I have a meeting with someone from the school board today."

Hunter stops walking, "What? Why?"

I shrug, "Probably because of Dean. I was kidnapped on campus and Dean went to school here." The thought of Dean transferring schools here still startles me.

I hear Seth sigh beside me. "Oh. Do you want us to walk you to class after?" Hunter asks as we continue walking.

"Yeah, like you did last year. No, thank you." I laugh dryly even though I'm appreciative of them. It's just that no one knows anything happened to me. I can go back to school, and pretend like nothing happened. For once, I have an advantage in the situation.

We make small talk for the rest of the time. Nothing really from Seth but I don't push him to say anything. Seth and I have never been as close as I've been with everyone else. I almost feel bad for not letting him in on everything, but I just wasn't ready. Either way, I'd like to fix our relationship. When we get closer to the car, Hunter begins walking ahead of us. I turn my attention to Seth and talk quietly. "Hey, can we talk later?"

"Just us?" Seth retorts.

I nod, "Maybe we can meet at the diner later?"

For a moment I think he's going to say no, maybe tell me to fuck off. But he doesn't. "Yeah, okay. There's something I need to tell you anyway." This surprises me, but I agree and we make it after my meeting.

"Are you guys ready?" Hunter asks as we get to the car.

"Yeah."

When I walk to the office I'm supposed to be in, the receptionist lets me in pretty quickly. There are chairs for multiple people, but only one man in the room. "Livia Gardner," He says, standing up and holding out his hand. He's an older man, in his late forties, with dark skin, and a bald head. "I'm the Dean that covers your area of studies, my name is Mr. Garret." I shake his hand and smile politely.

Once my arm falls back to my side, he tells me to take a seat across from. "It's nice to meet you." I say, then I lift up the folder I brought. "These are my doctor's notes for the school. I figure this is about why I've been out?"