The next day I'm taking a cab to our family home in Edinburgh. I took the late flight and it's
almost midnight when I finally arrive.

I close the door of the cab after I paid the driver. The weird thing is that the lights in the house are on, but none of my family members are in Scotland at the moment.

When I open the door I hear someone in the kitchen. I don't switch the light on in the hallway, I just walk on the tip of my toes, hoping the person in the kitchen won't hear me.

A tall man is standing in the kitchen, dancing to the music he's listening to in his ears. For a moment I just look at him. I have seen this person before, but where?

I slowly walk up to him and when he turns around he screams, scaring the shit out of me.

As a reflex, I punch him in the throat and he makes a choking sound. I recognise him after my punch landed on his throat.

'Fuck! You scared the living crap out of me, Ludovic!' I say, resting my hand on my heart.

He can't speak and I want to help him, but I realize I have no idea what to do after a throat punch.

I never had to help someone after I gave him/her a throat punch.

'Just breathe!' My dumbass yells at him.

I hand him a glass of water and somehow it helps. He rubs his throat, coughing really hard.

'Fucking hell, Liz! You can't throat punch every person you see!' He yells with a raspy voice.

'Looks like I can.' I drop my bag onto the ground.

'What the fuck are you doing in my house in the first place?!' I ask.

'Your family house,' He sighs. 'Lucifer gave me a key and told me I could stay here after everything between Zayneb and me... and Lucifer.' He says, eyes staring at the ground.

'I want you gone by the end of tomorrow.' I say.

'You can't just kick me out.'

I sigh. I'm tired. He makes me tired. I roll my eyes and walk away.

'Just-- just stay away from my room.' I say, walking up the stairs.

My room is exactly the same as I left it the last time I was here.

The job my dad got me while I am here starts tomorrow morning and I decide to go to bed. My old high school is twenty minutes away from our house. Maybe dad still has his car in the garage?

I call him to ask about the car and to tell him I arrived safely. I decide to not tell him about Ludovic. He clearly didn't know Lucifer allowed him to stay at our house, and I want to keep it that way. Lucifer kept my secrets for a long time too.

'Keys are in the cabinet your mum used to put them in.' My dad says.

My mum... I suddenly remember the reason why I didn't want to come back to this house. I have been so busy with Shawn and my own feelings I pushed her away in my mind. Somehow that makes me feel even more terrible.

I lay down on the soft mattress and look through the paperwork my dad gave me about the school before I left. An hour later I fall asleep.

-

The sound of my alarm fills the room and I startle awake, blocking my eyes from the shining sun in the middle of my bedroom.

'Certainly didn't miss this.' I say, standing up.

Ever since I chose this room the sun has been shining bright every morning when it's summer, waking me up every time. I considered choosing another room, but it was too much for me to drag everything downstairs again.

I pull my hair in a bun and change my clothes before going downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee.

When I walk into the kitchen, I see a sweaty Ludovic shaking some kind of green smoothie.

He looks at me with a smile, but my eyes trail off to his wet sleeveless t-shirt. I think he just came back from the gym.

'Morning, Liz. I made you coffee.' He says, turning around and grabbing a mug.

'I can make my own coffee, thank you very much.' I say with a snarky tone.

I take the mug from his hand and empty it in the sink. I don't like him and I don't want to drink his coffee.

When I'm finally drinking the coffee I made I sit down on the couch, turning my phone on. I have twenty-seven missed phone calls and twenty text messages from Shawn.

'For fuck sake.' I say, not realizing Ludovic is sitting across from me.

'What happened?'

'Ugh.' I groan. 'Your presence bothers me very much.' I say, pointing at his aura.

Why does he always have to bother me? I am talking about both Shawn and Ludovic. They are both annoying the shit out of me. Just leave me alone!

I jump up from the couch and walk to the garage, getting in the car and driving away.

The CD in the car starts to play and Adele's voice singing "I Miss You" beams through the car.

It's "25" the album. The album my mum always listened to. I close my eyes for a moment, a soft smile resting on my lips.

'I miss you when the lights go out, it illuminates all of my doubts. Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go, baby, give me light.'

The first person I think of while listening to this song is Shawn, but I don't mind. I do miss him and I want him to hold me tight, but maybe I just need to accept the fact that we aren't together right now.

Maybe that'll ease the pain.

It was all a lie, of course it was, but some things you can't fake. I won't deny the fun I had with him and I don't want to.

I turn the music up, singing along. This is a really good song.

Twenty minutes of singing later, I park the car in the parking lot of my old high school, amazed by how small the kids are.

The teacher getting out of her car next to me gives me a bright smile and I smile back, shutting the door of my car with a thud.

'Good morning. Are you a new teacher here?' She asks, walking next to me to the building.

'Oh god no! No offence. But I wouldn't be able to teach children this age. This is just a temporary thing.' I say, wanting to hit myself in the face.

Great first impression Elizabeth...

'Hi, my name is Isla.' She holds her hand out to me.

'Elizabeth. Nice to meet you.' I shake her hand.

Isla guides me to the classroom where I'm supposed to be.

Why does everything look so small? Was it also this small when I went to school here? I shrug and look at the desk. It's completely empty and dusty.

'Elizabeth McCullen?' A man walks into the classroom.

'Yes!' I say way too loudly.

'Good morning.' He chuckles.

'The social science teacher will arrive shortly, so will the students. He will tell you what you need to do. You can sit down in the back of the classroom.' He points at a shitty table in the back.

Why am I supposed to sit there? I give him a friendly smile and walk to the table as slow as I can, hoping he'll change his mind and give me a better place to sit, but he doesn't.

The bell rings and the sound of footsteps fills the school, the teacher and children entering the classroom.

The teacher must be around forty years old and walks to me with a big smile on his lips. His glasses are like the ones Harry Potter has and I smile by the good energy he sends me.

He introduces himself to me and tells me to walk to the front of the class to introduce me to the kids.

'Hello everyone.' I put my hands together. What the hell am I supposed to do with my hands?

'My name is Elizabeth McCullen and when I was the same age as you, I went to this high school too.' I smile, but everyone keeps quiet.

'I'm now a successful attorney, working in The Hague, The Netherlands. Does anyone have any questions?' I ask.

'How old are you?' A boy asks.

'Twenty-two.' Like you.

Fuck. Shawn needs to get out of my head.

The boy nods slowly and smiles, doodling in his notebook again.

'Miss? Will we have an oral exam at the end of this month?' A girl asks.

I look at the teacher. An oral exam? Why the fuck would I give them an oral exam?! I'm not a paedophile!

I look at the ground, biting my lip.

'If I'm correct, Miss McCullen will give you one speaking exam after she taught you about the law.' The teacher answers for me.

'A speaking exam...' I chuckle. 'Yes, you'll get one speaking exam.'

Despite my terrible first impression with the teachers and the students, the day goes by smoothly.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I quite enjoyed teaching those kids. Some were really smart and knew a lot about my job and the law. Some other kids didn't give a fuck, but I feel for them too.

'Goodbye, Isla.' I say, getting into the car and driving away.

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