Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 32

It was evening after a long but productive day. Ella had gotten another test back from her math class and had gotten another A. Her grades were one of the only things that made her happy here...well, her friends and her grades. All of them were sitting around the supper table discussing what all had happened to them since lunch. For the most part, everyone had had a good day, and everyone was in a good mood. It was Thursday, and they were looking forward to the approaching weekend. Ella was starting to feel a little more lighthearted as every day and every week seemed to be a little easier for her.

"So, who do you think is cute here?" Lucy asked Ella. It seemed to be one of Lucy's favorite questions for Ella. Ella had been in class for many weeks now and Lucy was sure there had to be someone that she thought was cute. She wasn't going to leave Ella alone about the subject until she named someone. Boys and flirting were two of Lucy's favorite subjects and she thought it should be everyone else's too.

"I don't know." Ella was too shy to speak to most guys. She was friends with Lucas and Oliver, but so were the others in their group. She knew they all thought of the boys as more like brothers and they were not the type you would flirt with. She did enjoy spending time with them though, and they often studied together.

"Come on Ella, there has to be someone you think is cute."

"Not really. There are a few that I think are really nice, but I'm not sure about cute."

"Who do you think is nice then?"

"Um, I think Lucas is nice and so is Oliver. They help me get through Doctor Moustakas's class which can be really hard sometimes, especially with Christopher in there. There is another guy in there that is sort of cute, but I don't talk to him or even know his name."

Sibylla looked at Ella ..."I think his name is Julian. The one you think is cute."

"Oh ok...I had never heard anyone say his name. Anyway, I do think he is sort of cute, but I don't like him. I'm mean, not like that. I'm sure he is nice and all."

"Actually, I've seen him looking at you before." Sibylla chimed in. "I think he may think you're cute too."

This did not excite Ella like it may have someone else. She actually didn't like the idea of someone looking at her. It made her feel self-conscious. Anyway, she had never noticed and thought maybe Sibylla was just saying that to make her feel good. She had learned from her friends that most girls would consider it exciting to think a boy liked them or was watching them. She wasn't thrilled though.

"Maybe you should get to know him, Ella. Maybe you could ask Dr Moustakas if you could sit with him."

Ella laughed before she knew it. "I don't want to sit with him Lucy and I'm certainly not going to ask the doctor if I can. I get the feeling Dr Moustakas is not interested in facilitating any relationship, especially one in his class." She thought to herself how funny it would be if she really were to ask him to sit with someone because she thought they were cute. She could only imagine his reaction. It was almost comical to think of.

"What are you thinking about?" Millicent asked Ella with a chuckle mixed in with her words. "You are sitting there with a half grin on your face."

"I was just thinking of what Dr Moustakas would say if someone really did ask him to change seats because they liked someone. Wonder what he would say to that?"

The other girls all looked at each other and they all started laughing. "I think you may see steam coming from his ears." Lucy laughed.

"I wouldn't want to test him, but I honestly don't think he is as bad as what everyone makes him out to be." Millicent chimed in.

"I am not going to test him or even talk to him unless I absolutely have to. He has such a forbidding aura to him. I mean how does he have girlfriends?!"

As Ella was starting a rare rant, Millicent caught a motion out of the corner of her eye. It was him. He was walking toward their table, and he was getting close. It seemed he checked on them at least once every day now. She knew it was because he was keeping a watch on Ella at the request of Agatha. She had heard Aunt Mary and Agatha talking about it. She also knew this wouldn't bring any sort of comfort to Ella though, who was being unusually vocal tonight about how she felt about him. There was not a break in her words as Millicent kept trying to warn her. She even had called out Ella's name, but it was like she didn't notice. She was trying so hard to tell her he was coming. The doctor was going to be right behind her any second. She looked at Ella with a pleading look on her face, as Ella was very uncharacteristically, blurting some not so nice words about the doctor out of her mouth, but Ella didn't notice any of Millicent's warnings.

"He's a doctor. He's supposed to be nice to people. He could smile once in a while! I don't understand why he has to be so intimidating towards everyone! One day soon, I'm gonna tell him what I really think, and I think he is a bully!"

"Well, I'm glad you were planning on discussing this with me. When would you like to sit down and talk?" The deep voice came from behind her, and the words were spoken with a sincerity that they knew was meant to both soften and accentuate the sarcasm of his statement.

Ella's heart dropped and she froze, looking straight ahead and not daring to look behind her. The others noticed as a quick pink hue covered her cheeks to be followed by the draining of all of the color from her face. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak, but she couldn't. Her face immediately had a strange numb feeling to it. It felt as though her heart had fallen into her stomach and she had the slightest pang of nausea.

Nicholas could tell that Ella was panicking even as he stood behind her. He had to remind himself that she was speaking out of frustration and fear. He knew she didn't want to be here as much as he really didn't want her here, but there was no choice in this matter. She could not safely leave the school to go back home. This was not her fault or his fault, it was a fact. "Ella, it is ok. I have been called much worse and I assure you, I am not the least bit offended or upset with you for what I just heard. I know you want to go home. We will get you there as soon as it is safe. Until then, we will just have to tolerate each other."

With this statement, she realized he wasn't exactly thrilled that she was at the school either. There was a brief moment of something that flitted through her on top of the humiliation she was already feeling. She wasn't sure exactly what the troubling feeling was, but she couldn't shake it. She wanted so badly to disappear. She could not wait to get out of there and get to her room.

"Now that we have that out of the way, I wanted to check on you young ladies to make sure everyone was doing ok." He obviously wasn't affected by any of the comments that he heard. He stood over them and waited for an answer. Everyone spoke softly, saying they were fine, except for Ella. By now, he had walked to the other side of the table, so he could look directly at her. "Ella, are you ok this evening?" He wasn't about to leave the table without making her answer him. He had to admit secretly to himself that he was enjoying watching her squirm a little.

She knew she had to answer before he would leave. Without raising her eyes to look at him, she answered. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." She finally got the words out. She didn't think she had ever been more ashamed of herself before this. She also knew that she owed him an apology, but there was no way she could do that now. She wanted to get away from him, and even her friends. She wanted to be by herself for the rest of the evening.