Never been to the man's office before, and I dreaded every terrifying second on my way to Eric's office.
A spiffy girl with a double braid and eyes the size of a dinner plate greets me with a look of curiosity, and maybe a hint of terror in her gaze. I'm not sure, I may be reading it wrong.
Despite de oddly big eyes, she is very quirky with her colourful clothing. Something I didn't expect since Eric always wears a suit, and a very muted expression. I expected his secretary to be a little more somberly dressed and much, much older.
She doesn't appear to be that much older than me unless she is still a student. Seems unlikely but not entirely out of bounds.
She gives me a bright smile," Good morning. You must be new. Never seen you around. My name is Tamara, I love the name, love the attitude and if I put in some effort maybe she and I could be friends. However, with everything going on, I doubt that I'll find time to chum up with her.
" I'm Lily. Yes, I suppose I am new. Been here for a little over three months," She takes my hand and gives it a vigorous shake. Very excitable, I see.
Nothing like Laira, but so much like Riley. We can definitely be friends.
" He is expecting you," She waves towards the door, her smile fades and the reality catches up to me.
Right, consequences.
" Thanks. Nice meeting you, Tamara," I head for the door, without prying further, even though I have many questions for her.
She gives me a cheery smile and a wave, while I take a deep much-needed breath and face the music.
Sheepishly, I slink inside and take a moment to assess the office, which is nothing like I expected.
It's painted in a calming green, with family photos placed symmetrically on one wall, while the others are decorated with various paintings depicting landscapes, Morston seafront, a portrait of what I'm assuming belongs to his late father. There are a few little busts of animals and various colourful glass sculptures. Not at all what I expected. The dark wood desk stands out the most amongst all that colour, creating a focal point, and somehow it fits just right in among all that kitsch.
" Take a seat," Right to business, then.
" Good morning to you too," He raises his head, his cold gaze finds me, and I sit in the chair and keep myself as neutral as possible.
I knew this would happen, I've had time to accept it and now, I don't know. One day at a time, I suppose.
" Miss Abernathy, if you are trying to be amusing. You're wasting your time," His brows pinch together, his eyes assessing me. Dear Lord, I'm so screwed.
" Right. Apologies. You seem very tense. I was just trying to...," His eyes harden making me lose my train of thought. Oh boy, this is not working. Abort mission. A bit too late for that.
Clearing my throat, I fidget in my seat and take a split second to gather my thoughts.
For someone who doesn't leave the house much, I get into an awful lot of trouble.
" You are here to discuss your latest exam results," Oh, well this is not as bad as I thought," Among other things," Right, so still not out of the woods. Maybe I'll get expelled for not getting the required percentage on my exams. Plus a few other transgressions. But who's counting? Certainly, not me. Otherwise, I would've stopped a few bad decisions ago.
" Did I fail?" I dare to ask, but I don't see how that could have happened. I spent a lot of time with my nose buried in books. I doubt that I received a perfect score but still, couldn't have gone all that bad.
" It is common practice at the academy to insert questions from outside the curriculum. It is just for us to gauge how far ahead or how far behind some students are," He begins calmly, " The weekly exams that you take do just that, and you have surprised us. According to your professor's notes, you have read almost all the material assigned for the first year," I didn't know about that, maybe someone should spread the word. That's what I'll be doing once I'm out of this office.
" I see," I hum coolly, trying to keep my emotions in check, and doing a poor job of because I can see my reflection on the pen holder on his desk and I'm smiling.
" With that being said, if you can successfully cover the rest of the material by the end of the month we are happy for you to skip the rest of the year. Obviously, following a thorough evaluation of your accumulated knowledge," Can I just take a moment to breathe in the smell of success? And I do. I can see my eyes light up at the prospect of skipping an entire year and joining my peers in year two.
" Now, on the second order of business," He rises from his seat and rounds his desk coming to stand in front of me. Impassive, almost apathetic as he regards me from his perch.
In the moment he took to make those five steps, his entire demeanour changed from professional to something akin to a fatherly figure with a bone to pick.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, and ignoring the cold sweat that now is sliding down my back, I manage a meek nod. Sadly, Eric is standing in front of the pen holder, and I can no longer see my reflection. But if I'd have to guess, is somewhere between mortification, and remorse. With a hint of terror.
" I would like for you to take a moment to fully disclose what type of relationship you and Mason have," Crikey, the man has gone straight for the kill.
" Complicated?!" I'm not sure why it came out as a statement and a question, but here we are. No, going back now, are we, Lily?
Eric quirks a brow, chuckles mirthlessly and gives me a good look. Up and down his eyes go, probably wondering what Mason sees in me. I never doubted my feelings for Mason, up until this point. Although his were always in question.
" That doesn't suffice, Miss Abernathy. The potential for scandal is immense even if Mr Kinnaird would have been a free man. But he is engaged to the daughter of a man who has an outstanding reputation in Morston. If you continue this relationship, you can consider your time at the academy terminated effective immediately, regardless of your academic achievements. You have two days to think about it. I expect a response on Wednesday morning. Please let Tamara know a suitable time. For now, you are dismissed," Damn, the man is not playing around.
" If I could explain the circumstances-, " He raises a hand to silence me and works like a charm. I clamp my mouth shut because no matter what I say, the cat is out of the bag. Not to the whole world, but still this is just as bad.
I thought I was prepared to deal with the consequences of my actions, but this still stings. And sucks, majorly.