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"This is a disaster…I feel like I'm in high school again."

Manny gave me an odd look and I frowned. Realization dawned; I was at work, so therefore technically I was in a high school. You have no idea how weird it is to be virtually trapped in the same place for more than half of your life…well, over-exaggeration is key, but hey, I feel like I've been in a drama-induced left tit for my whole life. This is my totally warped metaphor for Degrassi. That's what you get when you're an English teacher...

Degrassi; The Drama-Induced Left Tit.

Catchy…they should make a television show out of it.

"I mean like…emotionally."

Manny nodded.

"Yeah…"

Jay's little comment at Manny's set the other day was seriously messing with me. I had to leave before any explanation was given (actually I split like a banana and hauled ass out of there) so all I knew was Sean had called him and he was coming back. That was enough to make me call in to work for a temporary sub and go out in search of my two favorite boyfriends. Ben & Jerry.

But alas came the morning after the morning after (of Jay's little life bomb) and I couldn't just bail on work again, hence me being at Degrassi on break and Manny visiting to make sure I hadn't slit my wrists yet (and believe me, at Degrassi...anything is possible). I thought drowning my sorrows in trans-fatty acids was bad but being at work was even worse that salivating in 'Everything But The…' (my favorite Ben & Jerry flavor). Everywhere I looked I saw Sean. Everywhere. The place wreaked of memories…good ones, bad ones, scary ones…It was like an Emma scrapbook with Sean written all over it in some seriously intoxicating Sharpie.

"Em, just let it go. He's coming back, so what?"

Cue eyes bugging out my head.

So what?

SO WHAT?

Oh my God...I'm going to have a heart attack…

This is not a time for "so what" this is a time for action! Rash action! Maybe…maybe I can move to Mexico. I know, it's a 2 in 1 border hopping 'a fence' (pardon the pun…I know…I should be slapped), but it could prove to be highly educational. Maybe I could bring Ellie and she'll interview me about it (meanwhile Manny marries the devil and Sean plays "best man" in a nice, expensive, amazing looking tux with his hair slicked back and those dimples...)

UHG! This sucks…and blows. It sucks and blows and not the fun kind of "Suck and Blow" you do with cards at parties…I'm talking the shitty kind of suck and blow that gives you social diseases...

"This is huge, Manny! This is…this is…it's Sean, for god sake's!"

"Are you implying that Sean is therefore huge?"

That was funny…

"Manny! This is not the time for jokes related to cash and prizes! This is the time for comforting Emma before her break is over and she has to teach a bunch of kids who make Jay look like a friggin saint!"

"Would you quit with the chronic Jay hating? And Jesus, Emma, you're acting like a crazy person. When's the last time you had sex?"

Believe it or not, I had to stop and ponder for a second…have you ever heard an orchestra of crickets echoing into the pits of your brain? It's kind of nice.

"That's not even remotely relevant."

Yeah right Emma...Manny's totally getting somewhere with this...

"Oh my God. What? Are you saving yourself for this guy? Good Lord!"

"Manny! I'm a woman with certain needs, saving myself for him is a more than impossible feat!"

"Oh, I've seen the guy, it's not that impossible."

"MANNY!"

"Gosh, Emma! You yell my name like that one more time and some kid's gonna pass by and think something's up."

I rolled my eyes.

"Pssh, impossible, you're a girl."

Manny scoffed and then chucked a pencil at my face…but why?

"That was un-called for, Emma!"

…

Oooooh.

"I meant they know I'm not gay! God, Manny!"

"Sean Cameron?"

It was an odd feeling. I was unsure of what I should say to her. I had Van's glasses in my hand, surely she recognized them, and with them I held his favorite book. He had given it to me a week before the accident. Told me to catch up on my reading…Said I needed to get some-what smart if I wanted to lead a platoon any time soon.

"My boy told me all about you in his letters. Said you were like his brother out there."

You don't meet many good people in your life…well, at least I don't meet many good people in my life; but I know the goods ones when I see them. Van was my best friend out there in the desert and I wish the glasses in my hands were back on his gruff, smiling face, but as she stood in front of me I felt I had to be strong. I had to make sure she would be okay because I thought to myself that that's what Van would've wanted.

"Yes, Mrs. Grayson, I have his glasses—"

She took my by great surprise when she enveloped me into a tight hug, and that's when I realized she didn't need me to be strong. This woman who was at her own son's funeral...she had the heart to dress in bright yellow (at Van's request, I'm sure); she had the heart to wear flowers in her hair; she had the heart to hold her head high; she had the heart to hug a stranger as if he was her own. She didn't need anyone to be strong for her. She was strong enough all on her own.

Van always told me he loved his Mom more than anyone—even his girl, Brenda. I couldn't understand why because I had never experienced that maternal love before, but as Mrs. Grayson separated herself from me and then gave me a genuine smile I realized why she was so important to Van. It was because she loved him so unconditionally and she was willing to love him unconditionally even in his grave.

She looked at my hands and the sadness in her eyes proved overwhelming, but curiously enough the smile on her face grew as well. She gave a laugh; the kind of laugh you never hear the desert. The kind of laugh you never hear at all. It was a sound that was sad but also beautiful. She was remembering her son, and I felt I was intruding.

"He always hated those stupid glasses…said they were too big for his face. Vanny was right…they made his ears look big."

It was like I had known her my whole life.

All right. Kind of short...but I really love the part in Sean's POV if I do say so myself...it's kind of dedicated to a friend of the family soo...that's why I love it! I hope everybody enjoys this chapter, and have no fear, very soon the two lovebirds will meet again in all of their "awkward turtle" glory. Reviews are greatly appreciated, please keep them coming!