You sighed quietly, lowering your gaze onto your food. "no." you admitted, your shoulders slumping slightly.
"I see," she remarked.
"i wonder why the other teachers don't seem to mind him, though..." you continued on, frowning. "like, isn't he kind of suspicious? he looks different than all the other students."
your mother nodded slowly. "I know," she agreed, looking at you curiously. "why would he be different?"
you were silent, letting your thoughts drift into the deepest reaches of your brain as you pondered over the question. your mom was usually very busy working, but sometimes she'd take the time out of her schedule to go out with you on weekends. she loved spending time with you, and she knew you loved spending time with her as well. you were her favorite child, and she wouldn't trade you for anything else in the world. but recently, she' d been getting quite a lot of overtime hours lately, and you knew she didn't enjoy having to work so much because she wanted to spend more time with you.
"because," you began. "he has a weird way of walking around the dorm rooms. he makes it a habit to walk behind all the other students while they're doing their homework, which means nobody's ever noticed him, except for me. i thought he was just weird or something when he walked in, and now that i've actually seen him interact with everyone else here, i don't think he looks all that bad."
your mother chuckled lightly. "you're awfully observant for a five year old."
"you're not gonna tell me that it's a sign that i'm going insane again, right?!" you asked anxiously.
your mother laughed once more, shaking her head in amusement. "of course not," she assured you. "maybe we should have a nice, long talk with him when he gets back?"
"no," you declined immediately. "we'll leave him alone, i don't think he wants to talk to us." you frowned slightly. "isn't it kind of strange that nobody seems to notice him? i mean, everybody acts like this mysterious foreigner is invisible, like he doesn't exist... how do they think he gets around? i mean, he' d walked by everyone and not made a single sound. what exactly does he look like?"
"uhm..."
"is he cute, like, attractive?"
"he's very beautiful."
"did you fall in love with him?"
"no."
"...are you sure?"
"yes."
"okay," you sighed, looking down at your hands. "i'm sorry for making a big deal about nothing. i guess i'm just worried about him, is all."
"it's fine, sweetheart. it's only natural to feel that way," she reassured you.
"are you going to try and find out who he is? the reason he came here, i mean?"
She hesitated slightly, before answering slowly. "… yes, I'm going to try and figure him out."
"good luck," you mumbled. "but please make sure you find out who he is first."
"of course I will," she promised, reaching across the table and pulling you into a quick hug. "don't forget to eat."
you groaned in annoyance, causing your mother to giggle. you shook your head, laughing weakly before you pulled yourself away from her grasp, pushing the chair back from the table and standing up quickly.
"have a nice day at school, lovey," your mother said to you as you walked towards the door, grabbing your bag off the ground.you turned around to face her for a moment before leaving the house.
"thanks mom!" you shouted back, flashing her one last wave as you shut the door behind you. you sighed as you entered the elevator, closing your eyes briefly. you hoped she didn't end up hurting herself or something. you didn't want to cause her pain, especially since you were the source of it.
you let out another sigh as you walked up to the front desk and spoke with the receptionist. you had decided to wait on the second floor for your father to come get you. you weren't ready for today yet. you wondered whether or not he would come after all. maybe it had been a mistake to invite him to stay there, after all?
your heart broke slightly at the thought; after all he had done for you...
you sat in the waiting room for several minutes without moving, staring vacantly ahead of you. you couldn't believe that he had left you, all because of a stupid assignment. you knew his life was important, but what did that really matter if he chose to run away from his responsibilities? you didn't understand what the problem was, anyway. he hadn't been there for you when you needed him, he hadn't stayed through high school and become your best friend, he wasn' t even around when you needed him the most. he had been gone for nearly eight months now, and he still hadn't returned.
as the minutes passed by, your emotions got the better of you. you began to sob quietly as you held back tears. you wished that you could turn back time and save him... you wished that he would come back and apologize and promise you that he was never coming back for good... that he was never going to hurt you again.
you were crying uncontrollably, unable to wipe away your tears. you wanted to shout and scream and cry until you stopped feeling anymore. your chest began to ache, and you cried louder, holding your stomach tightly in hopes of soothing the pain.
after a few moments of crying, you calmed down and stood up shakily. you wiped your eyes harshly, sniffling before you opened the door to exit the waiting room.
