Teacher's Girl (Aflyingwhale)
Chapter 74: Missed Opportunity

Chapter 74: Missed Opportunity 

IAN’s POV :

The last time Emma and I talked on the phone was probably last week.

We discussed our plans for spring break and that was it.

She planned on staying in the dorm, catching up on much needed rest because she was slaving awaythrough her midterMs.I, on the other hand, was planning to do more work.

There was so much to do with the gallery’s grand opening in just two months.

I was commissioned to make about seven pieces for the gallery and so far I only had three.

I was in a rut.

I felt so uninspired because I wasn't able to see my girl.

Okay, maybe I was just a big procrastinator.

But still, with Emma around I always felt motivated and inspiration would flow so easily out of me.

My life without her was bIand and that translated to my work.

Everything was so bIand.

Looking down at my hand, I was holding on to a paintbrush and the bracelet Emma got me waswrapped around my wrist.

Putting the brush away, my other hand went to squeeze the bracelet, sending her my thoughts.

Usually, when I squeezed the bracelet, she would squeeze back.

It was a cute way of saying ‘l miss you’ and ‘I miss you too’.

Weirdly though, when I squeezed it this time, there was no response.

I tried it again and there was nothing still.

It was around 5 PM and Emma should be done with her exams hours ago.

"Maybe she was busy or something?"

I thought to myself.

Letting out a sigh, I turned away from the bIank canvas and slumped down on the couch.

It was spring break and school was off for a week.

It was the perfect time to catch up on my work for the gallery, but without an inspiration, I couldn't doanything.

This was probably the most important thing in my art career, and I wouldn't wanna half-ass it.

I started thinking back on the times when I was most inspired.

They were always moments when I was with her.

She made me feel things I’ve never felt before.

She made me feel full and art was spilling out of me.

I never had to force anything out.

I started thinking about her and how much I wished she was here.

I missed her eyes and her smile, her kiss, and the way she buried her face into my chest when she gotembarrassed.

I missed her little humming and the little dance she did whenever she sipped her first cup of coffee.

God, I even missed the way she breathes.

Everything she did was beautiful.

Everything about her was always right.

With that thought in mind, I reached for my sketchbook and a pencil, and I started drawing.

I wanted to see her face so bad, I started drawing her features on the piece of paper.

I drew her hair long and it was flying all over the place.

I loved it when strands of her hair fell on her face and I got to be the one to put them away.

Damn it, I miss her so bad, my heart was hurting.

My hand reached for my phone instinctively and I called her.

Putting the phone to my ear, I was excited at the thought of hearing her voice.

Goddamn, I'm whipped.

The line didn’t even ring and it went straight to voicemail.

Weird.

She wouldn't turn off her phone.

Even if she was in class, she would just put it on silent.

I thought it must be a mistake, so I tried her again.

But still, the line went straight to voicemail.

What's going on with her? We just texted each other this morning.

I wished her good luck for her last exam.

Everything was fine.

Maybe she went out to celebrate and her battery's dead? If she was in Georgia or I was in Philly, Iwould get in my car and drove straight to her place.

Not because I was clingy or possessive or whatever, I just wanted to make sure she was okay.Whycan’t I just do that? Or...wait a second. Why don’t I just do that? I'm a grown ass man, I could get on acar or a plane and go to her.

It was spring break after all.

That's crazy though.

What's so crazy about a guy flying 800 miles to see his fiancée? I hadn't seen her in almost fourmonths.

I had the means necessary to make this trip, so why can't I just do it? Why didn’t I think of this sooner?That's right, I'm gonna go see her! This was exactly what I needed to do.

I leaped to my feet and went straight for my overnight bag.

My hands were busy.

One hand was shoving clothes into the bag and the other hand was booking a plane ticket on myphone.

Moments later, I was all packed and a plane ticket was booked.

I was getting on the next flight out.

I hadn’t done anything this spontaneous or crazy in a long time, and this felt so right.

After I got changed and made sure I got all my keys and wallet and everything else I needed, I jumpedinto an Uber and headed for the airport.

I tried calling Emma again, but her phone was still off.

That didn't matter, though.

I was gonna see her in a couple of hours.

It was 6 PM now, and my flight leaves at 8.

I would arrive in Philly at around 10, and before the night was over, I would get to hold her in my armsagain.

The thought of seeing her tonight made my heart feel full.

I couldn't stop smiling as I made my way through the security checks at the airport.

People normally wouldn't be smiling as they were being patted down by the airport security, but I was.

Throughout the two hour plane right, I was still smiling.

I got a window seat and my eyes were glued to the view of the night sky.

With every minute that passed, I TW as lam bet knew I was getting closer and closer to her and that feltso great.

I never knew I could miss someone this much before.

I never knew I could feel this much before.

Suddenly I was feeling so inspired.

I had the napkins they gave me at the beginning of the flight and I used it to do more sketches.

I did a sketch of her hand reaching out for mine and they almost touched.

"We're almost there,"

I said to myself.

"I'll hold your hand in mine tonight,"

Once I got off the plane and got my bags, I grabbed a taxi and headed out to her dorm on campus.

It was a little over 11 PM, and I really wanted to see her before the night was over.

I kept telling the driver to speed up and I think he was annoyed by me.

I didn’t care though.

He couldn’t possibly know what I was feeling on the inside.

I wanted to burst at the thought of seeing her in a matter of minutes.

I didn't try her phone again, I wanted a dramatic entrance.

I was gonna show up at her door and knock.

She would open the door and see me standing there.

She'd probably lose it too.

I couldn't wait to see that smile on her face.

The smile I'll put on her.

As the taxi stopped in front of her building, I paid the guy and got out of there in a flash.

Someone was coming out of the building right at the moment I was about to go in, so I managed to getin without the access card.

Perfect.

It was like the universe was on my side.

The next thing I knew, I was standing in front of her door.

Taking in a deep breath, I knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds.

I didn’t hear a response or any sounds for that matter.

I tried knocking again, and there was still nothing.

Shit, maybe she wasn't home? And right at that moment, my phone started buzzing.

I pulled it out and saw the screen, Emma was calling me.

"Hey," I said quickly as I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hey, I got your messages and I tried calling you, but I couldn't reach you," she said.

"I know, it’s a long story," I breathed.

"I've been calling you too, but your phone was off?"

"Yeah. It’s a long story too, but basically I was on a plane for the past three hours,"

"What? Where are you?" I gaped.

"Panama City, Florida. You know my roommate Sophie and how she is, right? She demanded that wecome here for spring break and she wouldn't take no for an answer," she explained.

Wait a minute.

I just spent the last two hours on a flight over here, but she was also on a flight out to Florida? "Sothat’s why I haven’t been able to reach you, you were on a plane to Florida?"

I asked again.

"Yeah, I was gonna tell you, but it all happened so fast.Sophie found these cheap tickets and shebought it on the spot — "

"So, you're in Florida right now?" I said again, still unable to process the irony in this conversation.

"Yeah, we just landed like an hour ago.We're still in the airport trying to get a cab.There are so manycollege kids here, the airport is packed,"

"I see," I said bitterly.

"You're not mad that I’m going on this trip are you?" She asked cautiously.

"We're only gonna be here for a couple of days.

I promise I'll be careful and I’m not gonna do anything too crazy,"

"Um, yeah, no that’s fine,"

I sighed, pausing for a moment before continuing, "You go have fun.It’s spring break.You deserve it,"

I thought about telling her where I was, but if I did that, I would just ruin her trip.

She wanted to spend spring break with her friends and if I told her I was in front of her dorm room, shewould get all conflicted and she'd leave everything for me.

As much as I'd like for that to happen, I couldn’t do that to her.

I shouldn't have done something this spontaneous in the first place without telling her about it.

"So, how’s your painting coming along?" she said after a while of silence.

"It's...coming," I replied.

"You still have a lot to do?"

"Yeah, I've been feeling uninspired lately.It was getting hard to do them,"

I glanced down at my jeans pocket and saw that it was filled with napkins from the flight.

The napkins were filled with sketches.

"But, I'm feeling much better now.I took a little trip and I found some inspiration,"

"That's great," she said.

"So, what’s your plan for spring break?"

"I'll just stay in my room and do my work,"

That wasn’t a complete lie.

I was planning on getting a hotel room for the night and continue my sketches.

This little trip I took gave me a lot to think and draw about.

Love was a great source of inspiration, but misery and irony could do the same thing.

"Keep me updated.I wanna know what you're working on," she said.

"Emma! Come on! The taxi’s waiting!" I heard her roommate's voice calling out to her.

"Alright, I'll keep you updated.You go have fun.Your friends are waiting for you," I said to her, hopingshe didn’t notice the disappointment in my voice.

"Okay..."she trailed, as if she didn’t wanna hang up right away.

Letting out a sigh, I said, "I know it sucks that we're so far away like this, but be patient, okay? We'll betogether soon,"

"Yeah..." she sighed back.

"I love you so much, baby girl.I can't wait to have you in my arms again,"

"I love you too Ian, so very much," Her words were so powerful to me.

I had to close my eyes for a moment when I heard it, feeling all its intensity.

"Talk to you soon?" I asked her.

"Talk to you soon," she replied.

"Bye, Emma,"

"Bye, Ian,"

And with that, we ended the call and I put my phone away.

I stared at her door again for a few seconds before turning away and going for the exit.

This trip didn’t turn out as planned.

I was disappointed, sure, but it wasn't a complete waste of time.

All this longing for her gave me the inspiration I needed and I was able to finish my art pieces within thenext few days.

In the end, I never told Emma that I took this trip to see her.

I didn't want her to feel guilty about her spring break trip.

She didn’t need this piece of information.

All she had to know was how much I love her, and god I hoped I conveyed that through my work.

The gallery was opening this summer and I was moving to New York City in a month's time.

Everything would fall into place.

Emma would be there with me every single day for an entire summer and I couldn't wait to see the lookon her face when she sees that everything I've done, all the art pieces, everything was about her andfor her.

Because she's a reflection of my desires, anxieties, dreams, and needs.

She's my world.