Monday, 29 May, 16:15 GMT 12 Years Ago

He checked his wristwatch as he sat down next to her. They had finished conferencing with their last tutoring charges for the day.

"You heading to your Chess Club meeting after this?" Phillip asked.

"Yes. Professor McGill moved the meetings to 4:30 p.m. We've got four Year 12 students taking Professor Kaiser's AP Bio this year," Drew said as he snickered. Drew rolled her eyes. "And since basketball season is over, I get to spend time with my chess friends."

o-o-o

Monday, 21 November, 16:40 GMT 13 Years Ago

True to her word, she showed up to tryouts on the Monday after their game of Twenty-one. She remembered him nodding at her and smiling to himself. She smirked at him before taking part in the assigned drills.

o-o-o

Monday, 21 November, 18:05 GMT 13 years ago

Phillip handed her a cup of Gatorade as he pulled both his and her duffle bags onto his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow and he just shrugged. The gym emptied rather quickly as the 28 other potential ballers exited the gym.

"I think we're going to be good with you at the helm again," he said, finishing off his own cup of Gatorade.

"Wow," she said drinking the rest of her Gatorade.

"I know," he laughed, "Don't count my chickens before they've hatched."

She laughed as she followed him out of the gym. "There are thirty of us trying out; twelve of us at the guard positions," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but you saw how they ran the offense," he said, canting an eyebrow. "You're a lock."

"Suddenly, you're Nostradamus?" Drew laughed.

"Yeah," he said, smiling. "Dad's going to post the roster on Friday. We're going to be on it. We're going to win the Championship, too."

"You're incorrigible and now you're reaching," she said as she extended her hand for her duffle.

"You might be right on both counts," he said smiling. "How are you getting home?"

"I was going to catch public transport," Drew said, still extending her hand. "It's kinda cold out."

He laughed. "Dad's stuck here for another half an hour. I'll drop you off at home."

She studied him for a moment before nodding. They exited the Athletic Complex, walking to the old blue BMW, both blowing into their cupped hands for warmth.

o-o-o

Phillip had been right about the roster his father and the coaching staff had chosen. She was amongst the 12 student athletes that had made the cut.

Her extra-curricular activity calendar was now quite busy. Along with practice and game schedules, Drew had signed up to volunteer her time on the Mondays for after school tutoring in the sciences. Although not limited to athletes, the school's tutoring program was always held at the Athletic Complex. Coincidentally, Phillip had also signed up to volunteer his time with English Language Arts.

The only thing that Drew missed desperately during the basketball season was the camaraderie that she had with her fellow Chess Club members. She got all the news from Dean during their lunch hour and the four Year 12 Chess Club mates who volunteered their science skills at the Athletic Complex as well.

The basketball season was a perfect one. The five Year 13 starters led the Wellesley Lions to an undefeated season and the London High School Boys Basketball Championship.

Off the court, they grew closer. Phillip would eat lunch with her and Dean once or twice a week. He would find out that Dean was thinking of going to the University of Cambridge. He also found out that Cambridge was also on Drew's very short list along with Oxford University. It seemed like she would be leaning towards Cambridge, though.

Drew would find out that he was heading to Syracuse accompanied by his brown-haired blue-eyed girlfriend. Kelsey Benson was a gifted footballer. With the help of Phillip's father, she connected with the women's soccer coach at Syracuse. She secured an athletic scholarship.

The atmosphere in Professor Conner Ingles' English class was much less uncomfortable. Drew, Dean, Phillip and his friend Aston would always seem to be in the same work group. The Four Horsemen, as the professor once dubbed them, worked extremely well together.

o-o-o

Monday, 29 May, 16:20 GMT 12 years ago

"So, we graduate next Friday," he said as he looked up at her.

She took in a breath. She shrugged, "Yeah. Where has the time gone?"

He laughed good-naturedly. "We should celebrate," he said,
"How about dinner?"

Drew's ears started to flush. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Your girlfriend's name is Kelsey, right?"

"Ha ha," he said as he took in a breath. "I mean, a double date. Kelsey and I, you and Dean."

She laughed. "Dean is an old friend."

"I just thought," he said, shrugging. "I mean, you two are, like, always together."

"It would be like dating my brother," she said. "Our families have known each other since they attended boarding school."

"Hogwarts," Phillip said.

"Yeah," she said.

"So, okay. I've never seen you out on a date before," he said.

"Wow," she said as she nervously hooked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, "Suddenly my personal life is an open book."

"Oh, come on," he laughed.

"I've been on a date before," she said, maybe a bit too defensively, "Dean set me up with one of his friends."

"Wizard or Mongol?" Phillip said.

"That's Muggle," she laughed. "Mongols are from Mongolia."

"Ha ha," he joined in the laughter.

"He was a wizard," she said, looking down for a moment. "He couldn't stop talking about Wizarding Chess and Quidditch."

His face was full of confusion. She just chuckled, "A Wizarding sport. Too hard to explain."

"Okay," he said. "So, if I find you a blind date, will we be set for this Friday?"

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," he said. "You only live once, right. Live a little."

"You do realize what happened the last time that was said, right?"

He smiled. "I will make sure we don't walk down any alleys. Dinner and dancing. And then straight home."

"You're incorrigible," she said, shaking her head.

"So?"

"Okay," she agreed as she stood up.

"Hey, Drew, you coming?" one of her Chess Club mates asked.

"Yeah, Denise," she said as she grabbed her bookbag.

"So, we'll pick you up at about 6:30 p.m. so we can make it to London in time for dinner," Phillip said, nodding.

"Okay," she said as she started walking away from the table. She turned back to look at him, "Friday, 6:30. Don't be late."

He watched her exit the Tutoring Hall. He blew out a breath and then smiled to himself.

o-o-o

Friday, 2 June, 18:30 GMT 12 years ago, blind date

"Should I come out to say, 'Hi,' to Phil and your blind date?" Dr. Hermione Granger Malfoy asked, a little tongue-in-cheek.

"Mum," Drew said, shaking her head. Her mother laughed and held up her hands.

"It's too bad Dad won't be home for another forty-five minutes," her mother joked.

"Please tell him not to send a tracer, Mum," Drew said as she sighed. "I'll be fine. I still have the photo as back-up."

"I know, Drew," her mother squeezed her hand. "They're waiting for you."

Drew took in a breath as her mother helped her with her black cardigan. The older woman nodded at her.

"We'll be home by midnight," Drew said, as she kissed her mother on the cheek before exiting the house.

o-o-o

Drew smiled as the black-haired, blue-eyed classmate held the car door open. 'Phil is so going to get it,' she thought to herself as her date closed the door. He entered through the other door to join her in the back seat.

"Drew Granger, Aston Baguio," Phil said looking in the rearview mirror at the couple as he pulled from the curb. The pair laughed out loud.

"So, we've got a 7:30 reservation at Forge," Phil said as he drove down the block.

"How lovely," Drew said as she turned and smiled at Aston.

o-o-o

The forty-minute drive was filled with lively conversation about the last days they would have left as 13th Year students. 'It was interesting to know that the cool kids spoke about regular topics like the geeks did,' Drew thought to herself.

Aston smiled as he nodded at her. She shook her head smiling as he offered his hand. She rolled her eyes as she took it. Drew didn't notice Phillip blow out a breath.

"I'm so glad the year's almost over," the brown-haired female footballer said from the front seat. Drew noticed her take hold of Phillip's right hand that was resting on the middle console, interlacing her fingers with his. Phillip smiled at her. Drew looked out the window at the scenery as Kelsey said, "Can't wait for our university experience to start."

"Aw, come on Kelsey," Aston said, "We had some good times over the past four years."

"This guy," Kelsey said as she squeezed Phillip's upper arm, "didn't notice me until six months ago."

"Well, everything worked out," Phillip said, not noticing that Drew blew out a breath.

"So, we're ending our high school careers," Aston said, changing the subject, as they approached their destination, "Which professor are you going to miss the most?"

"Professor de Lacroix," Kelsey said with no hesitation, "évidemment."

"Professor Kloetzel, the missus," Aston said, touting his culinary arts professor for the past four years.

"Professor Ingles," both Drew and Phillip said at the same time. They both started to laugh.

"Ingles?" Aston said, smiling at Drew as Phillip pulled into a parking stall.

"Yes," Drew said as Phillip turned off the engine. She watched Aston get out of the car as Phillip did the same.

Aston opened her door for her. She continued as the blue-eyed young man helped her out of the car, "Professor Conner Ingles is an amazing teacher."

"I would have figured it would be Professor Kaiser," Aston quipped.

Phillip smiled to himself as he helped Kelsey out of the car. He watched Aston extend his elbow to the brunette. The American watched her smile before she took his hand. "Very funny, Aston," Drew shook her head as the young man led her to the restaurant's entrance.

Phillip blew out a breath before he extended his hand to Kelsey. She smirked at him for a moment before taking it. He smiled, "Shall we?"

o-o-o

Friday, 2 June, 19:30 GMT 12 years ago, blind date

The host had sat the teenagers at a square table. Aston had pulled out the seat for Drew and helped her drape her cardigan over the back of her chair before taking the seat right next to hers. Phillip had done the same for Kelsey.

The two couples continued to reminisce about their days at the comprehensive high school while they waited for their order. Both Aston and Phillip ordered the 12-ounce grilled sirloin on the bone while Kelsey ordered the Scottish salmon whole food salad and Drew had asked for the half a fragrant spiced, spit roast chicken.

"So, are you two excited about moving to New York for university?" Aston asked the couple opposite him as he took a sip of his Victorian Lemonade.

Drew looked up at the pair as she placed her glass of lemonade back on its coaster. She watched as Kelsey leaned into Phillip's body. The brunette gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"It will be exciting," Kelsey answered. "Our parents are taking us apartment hunting two weeks after graduation. We're making it a vacation.

"Phillip, here, can show us the town," she said, smiling at Drew and Aston.

"Sounds like fun," Aston said as he nodded at Phil.

Phillip laughed. He took a sip of his Coke. "So, did you decide where you're heading yet, Aston?"

"That's a great question," Aston said. "There's a lot of culinary schools around. Dad's letting me figure things out."

"Well, you could always take a couple of courses at Cambridge," Phil said as the servers brought their orders to the table. "Join Dean and Drew there for lunch."

Aston looked at Drew and nodded. Aston smiled at the group. "That sounds like a plan. Speaking of, this food is ready to be tucked into."

The rest of the group laughed. Drew looked at Aston and nodded, silently thanking him for changing the subject. The group started their meal.