hey rockstar

sixteen ; joy

TENLEY

I sigh looking at my phone, Calum was spending today in the studio finalizing something for the album and designing some general merch, so he was quiet. Which isn't usually a bother to me but JOy and I had made a bit of a date today. She was going to stop by to see my classroom and get to know me and I've never been more nervous in my entire life. And of course today is the day that he doesn't get the chance to answer me.

***the panic is much worse, brb jumping out the window***

I sigh at my last text message, and return to my lesson planning before a small knock echoes through my classroom.

"Come in!" I watch the door slowly creep open, the smiling face of Joy Hood poking in. I smile back at her as she steps in the room, Liz following shortly behind with a tray of coffee cups. "Joy, Liz hi!"

"Hey kid, how are you?"

"Oh you know, getting farther in the seniors lessons. What about you? Are you done yet?"

"Nearly, I'm teaching the young ones this year too, it's been a long time," I smile, standing from my chair. "I see you were given the approval to touch up?"

I nod, watching as Joy scans my room intensely, a smile on her face the whole time. I push back my nerves as she steps up to my wall of graduates - featuring photos of students I've taught that have graduated with pieces of work and a picture of 5sos for motivation. I give a side glance to Liz as she laughs, nodding her head to one of the front tables. I follow her as she sets down the tray, handing me a cup.

"I got you a tea, no need for you to be up all night right?"

"Thank you," I sip the tea, watching as Joy reads poems and introduction paragraphs, moving around the room to see the different things I've added on over time.

"You know, she was so excited to come and see you. She says Calum talks about you everyday when they call, and she wanted something to say back."

"Well that's sweet," she finally sits at the table with us, her smile still wide.

"Liz has always said that you have the nicest classroom, and I believed her but this is amazing. Your students must love it."

"Well, they do keep adding to my walls for me. Frames and everything."

"I wish Calum had a teacher like you in school. He wasn't a terrible student but...he didn't have that one teacher - the one that makes everything better, you know? Mali-Koa had her music teacher and Calum had...well I guess he had you Liz."

"I was going to say," the older women laugh and I can't help but smile.

"How long have you been teaching? It looks like it's been a while but you're so young?"

"Oh I've been teaching two years now. I managed to fast track to some school and get my degree a little early so I am pretty young."

"Oh, so you liked school then?"

"High school I didn't mind. College was a little different but I took some college credits while in high school, I was just lucky they transferred over."

"Oh, you're such a smart girl, don't deny it," I blush as Liz gives me a gentle tap on the hand. "You know, I wish the boys would go back to school. Not that music isn't taking them anywhere but geez, sometimes they say the dumbest stuff."

"Oh I know," laughter echoes through the classroom. I take a moment to admire Joy and how she is the epitome of her name, something that was passed down to her son.

"Maybe they should have Tenley tutor them?"

"Oh I don't know if I could handle them, they seem like a disruptive group."

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it!" I raise an eyebrow at Liz remembering that she didn't necessarily teach them much, and it was mostly tutoring.

"When they would come over to the house they would be so loud. Not even playing music just running around and yelling at one another," Joy sighs, reminiscing on the old days. "They used to eat all of our food, I had to hide all of the good snacks but they still found them?"

"Greedy buggers," Joy giggles at my comment, nodding all along.

"When they would rehearse it was terrible. They could never remember the words, or the chords, it sounded like a band of racoons. And I love Luke very much but before he really started practicing he was..."

"Oh weren't they all? I'm so very proud of them for getting better, but if the world knew how many voice crackles and wrong notes happened in our homes..."

"I'm sure they still sound like that sometimes. I mean, who shares the stuff they don't sound the best in."

"You're exactly right."

We spent the next few hours elling stories about the boys and mostly my time back in Canada. Neither of the older women have spent much of any time there over the years of touring. We managed to stay on campus for nearly three hours together, eventually deciding to leave so we could at least get home in time for dinner. While packing my bag I notice an incoming call from Calum just in time.

"Cal, hey."

"I've called like eight times, I thought you were dead for a minute there," I chuckle as I tuck my laptop into my bag.

"No, I was talking with Liz and your mum, we got a little carried away."

"No kidding, they were there for what three hours?"

"Yeah something like that,"I leave my classroom, door unlocked and make my way downstairs hearing the faint voices of Liz and Joy down the stairs.

"So, you didn't jump out a window. That's good right?"

"Well yeah. But Liz was also here and I mean I've known her for three years so there was a bit of a buffer."

"Is that what you call that?" I can hear a faint yawn over the receiver.

"What time is it there?"

"Close to midnight, why?"

"You're just getting home?"

"Yeah it was a long day, but we've got practically everything done - which is amazing."

"Oh that's good. But you should probably head to bed, shouldn't you?"

"But I'm talking to you..."

"Simp," I mumble to myself as I walk across campus, waving as the two women drive past me.

"What? What did you call me?"

"Nothing. So, you're mum is actually the sweetest person alive. I almost want her to adopt me."

"Well that's a little weird. Would you rather be my sister than my girlfriend?"

"That's a weird image. That's a gross image actually. Now go to bed, I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Fine. I miss you?"

"I miss you too, goodnight." The line goes silent as I pull away from school, questioning what Joy really thinks of me.