He really, really didn't feel like going home. He was on a cloud, on a high like none he had ever experienced before, and he had absolutely no desire to come back down to earth any time soon.
We think you have great promise.
The words that the guy with the kind eyes had said to him kept floating through his brain, making him erupt in spontaneous grins, and this giant smile had been plastered on his face all afternoon.
He secretely hoped that that guy would be his teacher, even though he figured that would be unlikely. He was the head honcho, right? But somehow he was sure that they would work well together. The thought made him grin again and suddenly Brett grinned back.
"Happy, Eddy?"
"So happy. I can't believe it, Brett. I'm going to be a student there!" He almost started jumping up and down again on the spot as he said it.
Brett's hand brushed softly against his. They had opted to walk the whole way back instead of taking the bus, because he was way too excited to be on a bus right now, and they had made a stop at the bubble tea place. Of course. What else? Brett was still clutching his empty cup in his other hand.
"Yep. We're going to be students there together."
Brett's words were quiet but they had real weight behind them somehow, and they made it suddenly dawn on Eddy how much this must have meant to Brett as well. He had never said a word about it, but he could see it in his eyes now, hear it in his soft voice.
Oh my God, of all the sweet things.
He stopped abruptly and turned to his boyfriend.
"So... thanks for all your support, Bretty."
The house key felt heavy in his hand, and the door in front of him loomed large, like a spectre, like a dark cloud in the gloriously blue sky of the day he had had. What was waiting for him on the other side of that spectre?
Brett was standing beside him, not even saying anything, but he could feel the nerves coming off him, even.
How would his mum react? He realised suddenly that it didn't matter any more what had happened in the last while, it didn't matter what she had said or what she hadn't said. It would hurt, if she wasn't happy for him now.
It would hurt bad.
He swallowed and blinked at the lock.
"Okay, here goes nothing."
He stuck the key in the lock and turned. It made the same sound it always did, but it seemed louder, because he knew his mum would hear. He knew she would be in the door opening to the kitchen. Or maybe not, if she was real mad.
God, he hoped she wasn't real mad.
He squared his shoulders and opened the door.
Wait, what? She wasn't in the door opening? What the fuck? She was actually mad? His heart rate shot up and he almost tripped over the shoes he had just kicked off in his haste to get to the kitchen.
It was empty.
"Mum? Mum? Where are you?"
He ran into the living room. It was empty. The table was there, the chairs neatly pushed up to it, a little stack of magazines on one side. But no sign of his mum.
He jumped over to the door to the garden and opened it quickly.
"Mum?" he called into the garden.
His heart was pounding out of his chest now. He took the stairs two at a time and checked every room.
"Calm down, Eddy." Brett said suddenly, just as he skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs again. "I'm sure she's just stepped out to do some shopping or something. She didn't know exactly when we would be back, right?"
Eddy eyed him and tried to get his breath back. Of all the things he had foreseen happening upon his return home, this wasn't one.
"Yeah, you're probably right." he said then.
Now if only his heart would believe that too.