My Teacher, Louis Tomlinson

Chapter 30- News to me

Recap:

I never told Skylynn the court date, so I'm not going to tell her the outcome. I can't let her know that I've failed her.

Skye's POV:

It's been about a week since Mr. Tomlinson invited me for breakfast. I'm anxious to know if he'll become my new guardian, but so far he hasn't said anything.

It's the last day of school before spring break, so all of my classes are relatively chill. I even risk it and stay after school with Mr. Tomlinson. He makes us tea and asks me how things have been at the orphanage.

"Fine... how's the adoption going?" I dare to ask him.

There's a bit of silence before he finally says, "I don't really know yet."

He quickly changes the subject. That can't be a good sign.

I head back to the orphanage an hour late and I'm met with a slap in the face from the apparent orphanage owner, whom I've never met before. I soon taste the familiar metallic taste of blood.

"Your foster family will be here to pick you up any minute now, which you would have known if you would follow instructions once in a while!" He booms.

I cower backwards and run up to my room. What? Foster family? Since when?

I grab the clothes that are scattered around my area of the room and any other spare belongings I can think of before reluctantly going back downstairs. Going to a new place is always a toss up. Odds are, this one should be good, but you never know.

A friendly-looking woman is standing with the orphanage owner. They're chatting and laughing. When the woman sees me, she gives me a big hug.

"Oh, sweetie, what happened?" She asks, looking at my busted lip. I don't respond. What am I to say?

She brings me to her car and tells me that her name is Laurie. She doesn't give me her last name. She lives with her husband and her father not too far from the orphanage place, so luckily I'll still be at the same school.

When we arrive at her quaint home, her husband Mark is away. Her father, who used to be a doctor, is named Howard.

"Dad, this is Skylynn. She's the girl I told you about yesterday. She's going to be staying with us from now on." Dr. Howard nods.

"Alright Skylynn, I'll show you where you'll be staying and give you a little tour of this place." Laurie says.

She takes me around the house and shows me the various rooms. My bedroom is one of three rooms upstairs. The other two are a bathroom and Dr. Howard's room. Dr. Howard insisted upon staying in the room upstairs because of the view. He is apparently a very active 77-year-old.

Over dinner she informs me that her and Mark are usually gone during the day, but Dr. Howard is almost always home. Mark still isn't home, but she gives me the whole "you're part of the family now but trust must be earned" speech. Dr. Howard doesn't say much.

I am instructed to go to up to bed around nine each night, which seems a bit early to me. Dr. Howard and I play some cards before I go up, though. Dr. Howard is a very interesting character. He informs me that he used to be a doctor in the army, and he survived two wars. Nowadays he spends his time reading and writing, and he goes out every Tuesday evening for bingo, and on Fridays he has dinner with his army friends. He's surprised when I call him "Dr. Howard," since no one has called him that for years, but he chuckles and says he likes it.