A few hours later...

Oh my God, I'm gonna be so late! You have finished the job, but it overran as expected, and now in your haste you are struggling to lock the door on your way out. Why wont this fucking thing... click.... finally.

You check the time. Fuck my life, I'm going to turn up half way through the lecture. Again. You jog to the bus stop. Luckily the bus turns up just as you near it and you sprint to jump aboard. You know the driver, and he smiles as you nearly slam yourself against his cab door. He is a large, dark skinned man, with short cropped hair and kind eyes. You have known him since you were a child, and you always had great rapport with him over the years that he's watched you grow up. "No need to run those legs do fast Emily, I would never leave you there gal" he says with a slight Nigerian accent. "Thanks Trevor, I couldn't risk it today. I'm even later than usual, gonna need you to step on it man!" you say, breathing heavy, as you pay with your travel card. He laughs, and his smile brightens your mood as it always does "sit down gal". You smile as you walk to the back of the bus.

When you arrive at uni you are seriously late. You get to the door of your lecture room, take a deep breath to summon your courage, and then barge in. Why do you hate me God? This is do awkward. The room is packed and the lecturer stops mid sentence as you walk in. He turns to you, "Nice of you to join us young lady. Emily isn't it?"

"Sorry I'm late Mr Phelps, I'll do my best to catch up." You feel all eyes on you and become increasingly conscious of you slightly grubby looking clothes. At least Matt doesn't take this module. I'd die if he saw this.

"You'll have a hard time catching up, there's only 10 minutes left! No matter. Can you stay behind for 5 minutes at the end, I want to talk to you." he says, then he resumes the lecture. You quickly find your way to the nearest free seat and fall into it, saying a quick hello to the girls either side of you. They both completely ignore you. One of them even shuffles along her chair a bit to move away from you. I don't know if I can carry on here for much longer. Maybe mum's right, maybe I should just get a job and bring in some money. I could clean, it wasn't so bad this morning. But would Matt want to date a cleaner? He's probably going to end up with a good job like his dad. It's not fair.

You take nothing in over the next 10 minutes, lost in your own thoughts. Suddenly you realise everyone is packing away their things and leaving. God I'm hungry, your stomach reminding you that you've had no breakfast. You get up and start to leave.

"Excuse me, Miss? Emily?" You hear Mr Phelps speaking but it doesn't click that he's speaking to you. "Emily?" He steps over and intercepts you. "Oh, sorry Mr Phelps, I was miles away." You say. He looks slightly concerned.

You both walk over to the desk at the front of the lecture room and he sits on the table. You just lean awkwardly against a chair nearby, not knowing whether to sit or stand. Once he's sure everyone else has left he asks "is everything OK Emily, you look tired and I'm starting to see a pattern here."

You try your best to reassure him "oh yes, yes I'm fine. I was just up late with friends last night and then I over slept. I'm really sorry. I'll catch up with what you covered over the weekend, don't worry".

He holds your gaze. You can see he's not convinced. "Ok Emily. If you say so. But if you ever want to talk. You can talk to me. I know it's tough here for you. And I know you don't get much support at home." That's a polite way of saying that no one on earth gives a flying fuck about me. "I'm ok, really. But thanks Mr Phelps."

He nods and watches you as you walk to the doorway, slowly shaking his head behind you.

Outside in the Hallway Matt is waiting for you. Your hearts skips when you see him smiling at you. "Hey Emily, what was that about? Are you trying to chat him up to improve your grades?" he stops laughing when he notices that you're not smiling. "What's the matter? You look terrible. And I've been messaging you all morning to check we're still on for later?"

You can't help but chuckle at his bluntness "wow thanks, you really know how to make me feel better. I've just had some stuff at home, with my mum. I'll tell you about it later. I've basically had no sleep last night and I was really late today so Mr Phelps just wanted a word with me. But yes, we're still on for later. You are the only thing in my life keeping me sane right now!" You lean up to him and kiss him. He holds you and kisses you back, and now you're both making out in the hallway. "Eh hhem" you hear Mr Phelps clear his throat as he walks into the hallway from the lecture room, and you promptly break off from each other, looking rather abashed. "Ok, so see you later then yeah?" Matt says, "dinner is at 6 but come round early if you can. Later."

"See you, Matt." You watch him go. Just got to get through the rest of the day then at last I get some time with him.