Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire, people, places, etc…don't sue me. I do own characters you don't recognize…i.e. Brenna, Carissa, Ethan's family, Kate's family and all medical personnel mentioned in the articles. And I don't own Peter Weir.
Thanks for all the good reviews! They always make my day!
Wow…two chapters in three days…go me! I can't figure out for the life of me how whenever I really want to write, I end up with the biggest case of writer's block ever, and then when it's the weekend before final exams, I get thirty billion ideas! Go figure…it's Jane's Law of…something…I'll figure that out later. Moving on…
Now Playing…Chapter 19!
Gordo groaned as his alarm clock went off in his ear. Loudly. "Why did I set it so early?" he muttered, reaching for the alarm. He fumbled around, trying to find the snooze button, and after knocking his phone off his bedside table, finally found the snooze. He rolled over onto his back, meaning to go back to sleep, but he never got that far.
Gordo's mind was racing. Today was the day. Gordo glanced at his clock, it was 8:30. In less than six hours he would be boarding a plane, leaving everything behind for two whole years. Gordo sat up wondering if he could really do it.
He'd never really had to leave like this before. Even though he had gone to college in New York, Gordo always knew he'd be able to come home. But now he was going to Australia. It seemed half a world away from home compared to New York. And essentially, it was. At four this afternoon, he would get on a plane for an umpteen-hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand where he'd change planes and take another flight to Sydney. So once he boarded that plane, there was no turning back. Not to mention the time difference. He'd looked at time zone maps a couple times, but succeeded into doing nothing but confusing himself. The only think he could figure out was that when it was 8 am in California, it would be 10 pm in Sydney. That would make keeping in touch with everyone back home difficult. There was always email, but it didn't really have the same effect as actually being able to talk.
Since there was only a three-hour time difference between New York and California, Gordo was able to talk to his family and friends fairly easily through instant messaging and the phone. In the year and a half he'd been at school, he'd kept in close contact with his parents and even closer contact with Miranda and Lizzie. Lizzie…
Gordo's stomach lurched. He'd forgotten to tell Lizzie! She didn't know he was leaving today. Gordo automatically reached for the phone and glanced at the clock. 8:40. She wouldn't be up yet. He'd have to wait to call her.
He lay back down on his bed, but thoughts kept running through his head at a rapid pace. Part of him wanted to just leave, and not worry about Lizzie. She had told him to go after all. But that's not fair, Gordo thought. She knew what an opportunity this was for him and she didn't want him to give it up. That meant she cared about him, right? Of course she cared about him, but not in the way that Gordo always wanted. He tried to imagine what he would do if Lizzie had an opportunity like this. Gordo couldn't think of anything specific; this wasn't his area, but he knew there had to be great opportunities in the world of veterinary medicine and he supposed some of them could be half a world away.
But what would he really do? Gordo had known Lizzie forever, and he didn't like the idea of not having her in his life. But if it made her happy… Gordo sighed, not at all sure what he'd do. He'd probably end up telling her she needed to make her own decisions, just like he always did. But would he have the nerve to tell her about his feelings?
He decided he probably would. That's what he would do; he'd tell her how he felt and let her make up her mind about what she wanted to do. He decided he would call Lizzie later and he reassured himself that if Lizzie had any feelings for him, she'd tell him before he left. Right?
"Right." Gordo told himself out loud. "I think…"
Lizzie awoke to Matt running down the stairs, yelling something about his last few days of freedom before school started again. Lizzie yawned, her mind still reeling from last night. She'd spent several hours talking with Brenna about medical schools and everything that went along with them. She'd been online so late, she'd even gotten an email response from her advisor, who had confirmed that Lizzie wouldn't have to change majors, but she would have to switch from pre-vet to pre-med and she would get a new academic advisor who could help her sort everything out. So now Lizzie was really looking forward to going back to school and starting her brand new plan.
Lizzie sat up stretching and glanced at her desk calendar. It was only Thursday. She still had a whole week and a day before she left for Colorado. As much as she anticipated leaving, she decided to thoroughly enjoy the next week with her family and friends; and with that, she headed downstairs.
Lizzie had barely made it halfway down the stairs when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." She called to her family in the kitchen and opened the door to reveal a very anxious looking Gordo.
"Gordo, what are you doing here?" she asked, looking at the hall clock. It was just after ten.
Gordo gave her a worried smile as he stepped into the house and Lizzie shut the door, now feeling nervous. Gordo turned to face her, restlessly shifting his weight back and forth.
"I-" Gordo paused and tried again. "I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving today. For Australia."
Lizzie felt her jaw drop. He's leaving? Today?!?
After a moment, Gordo continued. "They've already started pre-production, so they wanted me out there as soon as possible. My flight leaves at two.
Lizzie, still stunned from the news, sat down on the stairs, unable to speak. How can he just leave like this? We were supposed to have one more week together…
After another awkward pause, Gordo spoke again. "I just came over to say goodbye."
Gordo was starting to get mad. He decided that calling Lizzie to tell her he was leaving was a rotten thing to do, so he'd made the short walk to her house. He told her he was leaving. And now all she could do was sit there wordlessly on the stairs, staring at the floor.
"Well, I thought you might want to say goodbye, seeing as I'm not going to be around for the next couple of years, but apparently that's too much to ask of my best friend." he spat out. Gordo knew the words were harsh, but he'd expected at the very least an "I'll miss you." from her.
Furious at Lizzie, he turned to the door and took one last look at his best friend. "See you around." He said, knowing he wouldn't, and slammed the front door shut, not looking back.