My attention was pulled from my research as the little notification box for Skype flashed in the bottom corner of my screen and rang it's tune.

I smiled at the name attached and hit the video call button. My mom soon popped up on the screen to greet me. She looked a little frazzled, but still smiled when she saw me.

"Hey hun, long time no see. How are you doing?" She said a little hurried.

"I'm doing alright, Mom. Classes are going well. I just have a couple papers to do for the end of year projects. You caught me working on them." I told her, gesturing to the spot in front of me with my work sheets.

"Is it a bad time? I'm sorry. I can call back later if you want." She looked flustered but I waved her off.

"No, it's a perfect time. Really. I needed a break anyways. What's up?" I tilted my head. She looked a little upset, so I knew this wasn't a regular call.

"I was talking to your sister the other day, actually. She said that you expressed the wish that you could have come home for the holidays. What ever gave you the impression that you weren't welcome home for Christmas sweetheart?" She explained. She looked hurt and confused.

"You don't know?" I murmured sourly. I had a realisation at that moment. My father and my Mom were not on the same page. He was keeping secrets, and those secrets were causing part of the rift between my Mom and I.

"Know what? Alexander Kensington, you tell me what is going on right this instant." She pointed at me through the screen. Her arms were crossed and she looked annoyed.

"Sorry Mom. I thought you knew. I mean, I hoped you didn't but I figured he wouldn't just do whatever behind your back. It's not really my place to interfere." I stumbled over my words a little at her stern gaze.

"Tell me. Now young man." She was glaring. I cleared my throat.

"Dad arranged for a school stay over at Christmas. He called the General and said to keep me here. I only went to my friend's house because the General told me I was permitted." I explained to her. She looked a little stunned.

"And the break?" She managed to ask. I shook my head.

"Nope. Stay over. I really did want to see you and my sisters." I insisted to her sadly. "But I can't do anything by myself."

"No. No, I don't expect you to. I'm sorry I didn't ask you directly before. This is my fault." She looked upset.

"No, it's not your fault Mom." I tried to say, but she waved me off and interrupted.

"No. It is my fault. Alex, as your mother it is my responsibility to know what is going on with my children. Even if your father is keeping things from me, it is my job to make sure that you are okay." She had her head in her hands and looked so disappointed.

"You do. I mean, you have. We text now, and you Skype me out of the blue just to see how I am." I told her with a grin. She gave me a weak grin back.

"I should be doing more. I know I should. I just... I didn't want things to go like this. I hoped your father would just... I don't know... cool down?" She was crying and it nearly broke me. I hadn't seen my Mom cry in years.

"Ma... It's okay. I am okay. I have lots of friends here. The General is fair and my school work is going great! I promise. Look, he even wants me to apply for University." I held up the book the General had given me to show her.

"Really? He said that?" She was sniffling and looking at the screen with a scrunched face. I nodded.

"Yeah. He said with my marks I can probably get a scholarship to their sister school. Wouldn't that be great?" I told her proudly. She tried to smile and nodded.

"Yeah, that would be amazing. You know I have put some money aside for your college fund. It might not be enough by itself, but if you work or get a scholarship then you can probably manage." She stated, then wiped her face with a tissue.

"You did? That's really awesome, Mom. Thank you so much." I replied. We both laughed a little and looked away.

"Well, I should be going soon. I have to get dinner started. Make sure you text me this weekend, and don't forget to tell me when your graduation is. I don't want to miss it." She said between sniffs. I nodded and she ended the call. I felt a little bittersweet about the conversation.

*

"Hey Alex! Did you write down the homework? I barely got my notes from the board and had to leave." Ferret looked stressed and I clapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, no worries man. I'll let you copy them in the common tonight. I gotta get to my next class." I turned down the next hallway and he turned around to walk backwards as he went down the main hall.

"Thanks man! I owe ya." His voice drifted away as we got further from each other. I waved back at Mike as he ducked in his classroom when I passed. There was a line to get in our class, which meant the teacher wasn't there yet. I leaned against the wall and waited with my stuff tucked under one arm.

My gaze drifted to the wall opposite. It was covered in student council posters, notices from the staff and tutoring requests. The biggest, brightest, and most annoying one on the wall however... was the 'Student Council End of Year Awards' voting poster. There were some amusing awards listed as I read through, such as weirdest roommate and smelliest room.

Our teacher showed up and let us all into the room, and my attention refocused to getting to my seat and getting ready to learn. He handed out sheets to everyone from the front. I passed the stack after grabbing mine, and had to hold back a groan. This would take me all night to finish if I wanted to hang out with my boyfriend this weekend.

Either way I was losing time that I wanted to be spending with Vincent. I sighed and paid attention to the lesson, scribbling notes next to the questions so I could answer them faster later. Besides, if I could keep my marks up then maybe I would be able to follow him in another year. I didn't want to take the same program as he was, but there were a few possibilities that I had marked down so far.

One was in communications, so I had to get good marks in this class. It may not be a prerequisite, but if I had two years of high marks for the subject then I had a better chance of getting a spot over someone else. Even if I didn't get into the same University, marks in the last two years were my ticket to scholarship money and bursaries.

I felt like the time in the hourglass was drifting away faster than I thought it would. Our finals were only a few short weeks away and everyone, including my boyfriend, were starting to get on edge. We were each other's support, and also an escape from the pressure. Not everyone had that here and we counted ourselves lucky.

Lucky that I had someone to hold at the end of the day. I had someone to hug when I felt overwhelmed. I had someone who encouraged me to do my best and keep going no matter how hard it was. I wanted to be that person for him also. The song 'Lean On' drifted through my head and a grin grew on my face. My pen tapped to the beat as the teacher went through the lesson.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when it was over. I rushed out the door and flew through the halls with a smile on my face. Vince was just getting out of his class when I turned the corner, talking to a bunch of people. I came up and wrapped an arm around his waist, smiling at the other senior. He stopped long enough to say 'hey' and wrap his arm around my waist.

They talked as we walked out of the building to the courtyard. We hung out there chatting for a few minutes. It was getting a whole lot warmer and I enjoyed the breeze that ruffled my hair. The sun was shining through the clouds and the trees were swaying their leaves in the wind. I took in a deep breath and Vince looked over and smiled at me.

"Let's do our homework out here today." He said in a low voice. I nodded and let him lead me over to a picnic table on the side. We sat down and worked on our sheets, laughing when the breeze tried to lift them and steal them away.

"Hey, we wondered where you two went off to." It was the group coming from the common room building. We smirked and shrugged.

"It was too nice out to stay in." Vince said with stretch. The others crowded around. I gave Ferret my homework list from our class together and he hastily scribbled the notes down as he sat on the grass criss-cross.

"Well with you two we never know. You could be out necking somewhere." Nate teased us with a nasty gesture. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.

"Easy Nate, I'm starting to think you might be lowkey gay." Vince said with a smirk as he continued with his worksheet. Nate looked at him like he was offended and I couldn't help a laugh.

"What the hell!? I'm not gay." He growled. Vince raised a brow and gave him a look.

"Yeah? Why you so interested in us necking then?" He insinuated as he glanced over at him. Nate went speechless. He fumbled a little over some words and Jack started teasing him.

"No it's... I just... You two are the gross fuckers doing that crap all over the place!" Nate spluttered.

"Aww! Nate's jealous he's not getting any gay love. It's okay Natey baby. I'm sure some big strong man will come and sweep you off your feet." Jack was sniggering and Nate shoved him off the edge of the table where he was sitting. He fell and then shoved Nate back. Then they were wrestling on the grass while the others jeered.

"Looks like he's a closet masochist too." I commented without looking. Vince just threw his head back and laughed.

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