With a final disapproving groan, I flung the heavy, black purse over my left shoulder and threw a jealous glance at Luke, who was sound asleep somewhere under the lumpy bedspread. He gets to sleep in as long as he likes, I thought and huffed. The band was still enjoying their calm days off. Meanwhile, spring break had come to an end for the rest of us and we were slowly returning to having to force ourselves out of bed every morning. My walk to college was rather peaceful, though. I didn't have a hard time enjoying the fresh, breezy air, that held a subtle scent of rain. It wasn't the explosion of color, the bright flowers and pastel blue sky, that had me buzzing with an uneasy feeling. No, the walk itself was calming, almost took my mind off of what was to come. But adverting my thoughts was never an easy task and so, with those thoughts pilling up, I was extremely nervous when I reached the large school building.
Pulling open the heavy, front door, I immediately sank into the crowd of students, all rushing somewhere and worrying about something. See, you don't get to make many friends when you're in college, as there's not much time to mingle. Between long, boring lectures and intense studying for the finals, that were now breathing down our necks, I only got to meet a handful of people. I knew Lizy, from first period, Chris, from fourth period and Mandy, from highschool. As I plopped down lazily next to Lizy, my mind was set on one of the final's tests tomorrow.
"So, are you ready?" Lizy chirped.
"For what?"
"For the exams, of course. I've been studying all of spring break. I hope it's enough for a high mark." she said.
Suddenly, this pushed me to the guilty side. I've touched nothing for two weeks. Somehow, Lizy always managed to make me feel bad with how hard she worked. I never hated her for any of it, of course. On the contrary, I admired just how much she studied and really gave it her all. And her work showed, she'd never failed a single exam.
Our chat was cut short when the professor came in. She was kind enough to take advantage of our last class and help us revise for tomorrow. I found it slightly more difficult to keep up with most of the older lectures, since I haven't revised any of them. Luckily, it got easier as she turned to the ones that were fresher in my memory. However, I spent most of the hour pondering over how much I'd have to study that night. School dragged away uneventfully that day. I quickly gathered all of my notes and raced for the bus stop, just barely remembering to say goodbye to my friends. I caught the first bus I believed would take me nearest to Julie's house and used those ten/fifteen minutes for revising. I knew I couldn't stay long, so I worked out a small apology for Julie to explain why it was so important for me to study and get a good mark on tomorrow's exam. It was on the tip of my tongue when I burst through the door, but Ashton's presence threw me.
"Hey guys." I said, but it came out as more of a question. I closed the door behind me with a thud "Ash, aren't you supposed to be at band practise?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it practise, since we couldn't do much without Michael. We just had a meeting and discussed some things." he started, but my thoughts stopped at 'some things', since, if there was anything I loved, it was getting into other people's business. Ashton slung his arm around Julie's shoulders and continued "But it's nice to get to spend more time with my future wife."
"Wait, what things did you discuss?" I asked, suddenly interested.
"Well mostly about the upcoming tour." Ashton shrugged "We're not sure what's going to happen, since the doctor said Michael can't take his cast off for another moth. Then, of course, he needs to rest his arm..." he trailed off.
"Yeah, poor guy, he can't do anything himself..." Jenna added "Although, I'm not sure how much that has to do with a broken arm."
At that moment, a light went off in my head and I quickly spoke "Oh my God, Jules, I'm so sorry, but I really have to study. My exams are starting tomorrow and, if I wanna keep my scores, I need to leave now."
As I was collecting my stuff, I heard Julie adding some words in understanding. I bolted for the door, promising I'd be there to help as soon as I could. My mind was racing with new information I had to think about, but there was still the thought of college lingering in my head. Poor Michael, indeed. I wondered what they'd think of to solve it. I was fussing all the way to my doorstep. After stepping in, I kicked off my shoes and hurriedly hung my jacket on the coat rack. To my surprise, I found Luke in the living room, on the phone, an uneasy expression glued to his face. The person on the other side of the line was not quiet, I could hear them shouting from here.
"All right, all right. You're the boss. I'll tell them." he stammered, trying to calm whoever he was talking to. After a short pause, Luke finally hung up on the conversation.
I didn't even need to ask, I only shot my eyebrows up and rested my hands on my hips. He sighed "That was our manager. He figured out that Michael won't be able to play for the tour."
Luke sat down on the couch and I followed "We've only ever played without him once. And that was because he forgot his passport and we had no choice...now he's making us find a replacement."
"What? He only broke his arm, you don't have to replace him!"
"No, no! Only for the tour." he explained and I could see a faint grin comping up from his bad mood as I turned red "But still, I don't care what anyone says, no one can replace Michael."
I nodded. Then came an uncomfortable silence, not one of us knowing what to say. After a little while, I remembered my studying. I told Luke about it and he offered to help without hesitating. I took his hand and we moved to the bedroom, spending the rest of the day revising boring lectures and trying to make them sound fun.
~~~~~~~
hey guys
sorry about the lousy chapter, I did my best, but I haven't had much inspiration
this chapter is dedicated to @AllisonMarieMalik who always votes and comments, and makes my day, she's awesome :)
love you xx
