Chapter 8: The day after tomorrow.

Charlie's POV:

As she heard Marcus call her Charlie slid off Sarah's desk where she'd been sitting and walked into the office, trying to stop her expectations running away from her as she was about to meet the student who achieved such outrageous results. As she entered the office two faces swung her way and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as she saw Humphrey looked normal enough. That being said he appeared quite tall and was very handsome, 'He'll definitely break some hearts in his time.' She thought to herself as she sat down next to him, accepting the hand he offered and shaking it.

"So Humphrey, this is Charlie Imnriss, a PE teacher as well as the basketball team coach. She recently joined our staff after finishing her university degree. Charlie, this is Humphrey." Marcus said, gesturing to each as he introduced the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Imnriss." Humphrey said to her. Charlie didn't want to say she was surprised at how well mannered he was, but she had to admit, she was. 'There're so few students his age who have good manners.' She thought to herself as she returned his sentiment. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Humphrey."

"Charlie here is a registered foster parent. I've already spoken to her about it and, if you're interested and willing, she's agreed to foster you until you finish your time here." Marcus explained, watching Humphrey for his reaction, which was clearly surprise judging by his expression.

"Really? You would do that?" He said, a little incredulously as he turned to Charlie for confirmation, which she gave with a nod.

"Also... if you don't mind me asking, as I understand it's rare for someone so young to be a foster parent?" He asked. Charlie nodded slowly at the implied question, 'Only fair I suppose. It IS rare for someone my age to foster.' She thought to herself as she replied. "I have an estranged son. It's a long story but I kind of miss having kids around."

Humphrey's POV:

I nodded at Charlie's answer, it made sense to me, more or less.

"Well if you're willing to have me then I'd be delighted to stay with you. I admit I didn't really know what I was going to do." I said, chuckling a little as there were smiles all round that everything had worked out.

"Oh, one other thing." I said suddenly, remembering the potential problem sitting out in the car park. Charlie and Mr. Shirley looked a question at me as I continued, "I have a car. It's a family heirloom of sorts..." I explained slowly, nervous that they'd say I'd have to get rid of it or something. My fears were short-lived however at Charlie's response.

"Don't worry about it, there's a spot in the garage you can have." She said, smiling and waving her hand. "You'll have to clean it up a bit to make room though." She added, to which I smiled. "Already giving me chores huh?" I said jokingly. Charlie gave a slightly evil smile and was about to reply when Mr. Shirley cut in.

"Humphrey, how do you have a license?" He asked. Figuring it would be easier to just show them I pulled out my wallet, extracting the card and handing it to him.

"It's a Special Exception license. I was allowed to apply for it since I was on my own and had the car as inheritance. Had to pass a driving test obviously." I explained, placing the card back in my wallet as Mr. Shirley handed it back. "I see-" He was suddenly cut of as Charlie let out a panicked cry, looking at her watch.

"Is it that time already!? I have run, I'm late for practice." She said looking at me apologetically before turning to Mr. Shirley. "Marcus will you give him my address?" She asked before running out of the office as soon as he nodded.

"I had no idea it had gotten so late." I said, looking up to see the clock on the wall which showed that it was already 3:15pm. As I looked back down Mr. Shirley handed me a booklet and a piece of paper with an empty table on it. After a moment I realised it was a timetable and the booklet was a guide to all the subjects they offered here.

"Well the last thing to do is organise your timetable and then you're all set." Mr. Shirley said. We spent another half hour sorting my timetable as we discussed the pros and cons of the various options. I was forced to take English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science, which was a broad subject and included a range of fields such as Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Mr. Shirley insisted that I enter class 1A for all of these which is the top stream for juniors and I saw no reason to refuse. Since I only had two remaining choices I decided to take Automotive Engineering as my father had taught me plenty about cars and I'd learned as much as I could on my own throughout the years after his death. The final option had to be a physical based subject so I looked through the options for a bit before something caught my eye.

"Can I take basketball as my final subject?" I asked, pointing to the option in the booklet. Mr. Shirley hesitated for a moment, giving me a look as though he was sizing me up. After a moment he seemed to make a decision and nodded, jotting it down.

"You'll have to try out. If you get in then that's that. If not then we'll find something else." He said as he wrote down a note next to my selection which I saw read 'Pending Approval'.

"Well you're all sorted. It'll take some time to get you into the system and I'll let the teachers know that you'll be joining us at the staff meeting tomorrow. So..." He caught my eye and gave a wry smile before continuing in a lighter tone. "Unfortunately you'll have to wait until Wednesday to start here." He finished, his emphasis on the word unfortunately making me chuckle as we both stood up. I followed him to the door which he held open for me.

"Oh by the way, here's Charlie's address. She should be home by now." He said, giving me a piece of paper before shaking my hand once more. "Welcome to Jasper High Humphrey." His tone was warm as he said it and I smiled.

"Thank you Mr. Shirley." I replied before leaving the office. I walked once more through the empty halls, retracing my steps to find the entrance. As I stepped out I noticed that the sun was already sinking below the horizon, throwing splashes of pink, orange and gold over the sky. I couldn't stop the smile that worked its way onto my face as I approached my car, getting in and shivering a little at the exhaust note as I turned it on. 'Music to my ears.' I thought to myself as I pulled up Charlie's address on my GPS and backed out of the park.