airports // 5sos au

iii. luke's introduction

(luke)

The cold wind pokes at my face constantly, but somehow I find myself fond of the wind.

The air isn't very cold, but cold enough to make my cheeks pink. It's a gorgeous September morning and I'm glad I got out of brunch. Sunday brunch with my entire family I something I dread. There's a lot of people and it's just pure madness.

The calm atmosphere of the hidden fish pond behind my parent's garden is soothing and I love every second I'm here. I've been coming here since I found it when I was about ten. It's like a little escape that I have whenever I need it.

The calm silence is broken by my phone vibrating in my pocket.

"Hey, all the guys are at the field, where are you?" Calum's voice says quickly.

"What?"

"Where are you?"

"At home..." I trail off confusedly.

"Get your ass over to the field, Luke." Cal groans.

"Why?" I grit my teeth. Calum's my best friend and he always has been. I love the guy to death, but sometimes he gets to be a bit much.

"All the guys are down here."

"I can't," I sigh.

"Why not, mate?" Michael, my other best friend, says over the phone.

"I have homework." I admit.

"Oh, come on! You have all weekend to do that, so have some fun."

"Guys, I'd love to, but I want to get this done." I say.

"Fine, have fun." Cal sighs and hangs up.

I takes deep breath and shove my phone in my pocket.

Burying my face in my hands, I hear my Mom calling my name from the back porch. I know she doesn't like to be in the cold for long periods of time, so I decide to head back to the house.

About two minutes later, I'm walking into the kitchen, "Yes, Mom?" I ask.

"You have someone on the phone for you," She says.

I smile and take the landline from my Dad. Running up the stairs excitedly I take the caller off of hold and sit on my bed. I never get calls from people other than my Mom and Calum, so this is extremely exciting for me.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hi, is this Luke Hemmings?" A man asks.

"Yes, sir. May I ask who's calling?"

"Mr. Smith."

"I'm afraid I don't know a Mr. Smith." I say hesitantly.

"I'm looking for a math tutor for my daughter, and I was told by the administrative office at Fairfield High School that you're on the tutor availability list."

"I am, sir." I slump. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this call, but certainly not a tutoring request.

"I was wondering if you'd be up to tutoring my daughter, Emily."

Emily Smith? That name doesn't really ring a bell, "You said math, right? What level?"

"Pre-AP Geometry."

I studied that last year, "Okay."

"How much do you charge?"

"Ten dollars a session, sir. Normally they run from one to two hours."

"I'll give you twenty a session." He says confidently.

"What?" I stammer, "Honestly, sir, I'm perfectly okay with ten dollars."

"My Emily is a nice girl, she's smart and works hard, but she can be a little stubborn about change, so I'm going to give you twenty a session. I'm not changing my mind about this."

"Oh, alright. Thank you for your generosity, sir."

"What day can you start?"

"Whenever I'm needed. I can do after school, but I prefer to keep weekends open."

"After school is perfect, maybe two to three days a week?"

"Whatever works for you and your daughter, sir."

"Thank you, Luke, you're really helping a great deal here."

"Of course, sir. Have a good day." I say politely and hang up.

Sighing, I rest the phone in my hands. There's something wrong, but I can't pinpoint it. I walk downstairs to put back the landline.

"Who was that, a friend?" Mom asks.

"No, a tutoring request." I say quietly.

"Oh, okay." She smiles.

My phone vibrates and I see that it's a message from Michael.

Should've come, mate!, the message reads as it's accompanied by a picture of a group of guys, all my age and familiar, playing a huge game of soccer.

Biting on my lip ring- Calum's gift to me for my seventeenth birthday- I sit down and remain quiet for the majority of the night.