A Kiss at Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 112

I

“You should go first.”

You go.” he gave me a look, but I didn’t budge, and eventually, he sighs before leaning forward to brush his lips on mine in quick kiss.

“See you later.” he he steps away and opened the door, slipping out of the closet.

The second he was gone, I fixed my hair, smoothed down my skirt, adjusting everything else that probably looked slightly out of place. My lips presses together, trying desperately not to smile.

Well, who would’ve thought Caelum had that in him? He really did have a way of surprising me.

Taking one last breath, I carefully opening the door and the moment I stepped into the hallway, the final bell rang. A moment later, students began spilling out of their classrooms, filling the halls with noise and movement

I blended into the crowd and continued down the hallway

Ħ

AD

A KISS A Midnight

NEW CHANCE

Bve, Caclum was already at my house and we have settled in my room almost immediately, with my books spread across the desk and the work he had given me sitting between us.

He had been quiet for most of the session, occasionally pointing something out whenever I made a mistake or explaining something when I got stick.

Now, he was going through my work as I sat beside him, watching his pencil move across the page as he marks each answer, and there was something strangely satisfying about seeing how seriously he took this.

Then his pencil come to a stop, followed by the faint scrape of his chair against the floor, when I finally looked up, he was leaning back in his seat, one arm resting across his torso as he looks at me, our eyes met.

I held his gaze for a second before looking back down at my work, more because I suddenly became aware of how closely he had been watching me than anything else.

In all honesty, my grades weren’t terrible anymore, I had managed to pull myself up to a mixture of B’s and C’s in most of my classes, with a few A’s beginning to appear here and there. Considering where I had started, that was a pretty big deal.

And the more my grades improved, the more I realized how much of my previous failure had actually been my own lack of effort. I had stopped trying and had lost interest, barely understanding what some of my teachers were trying to teach me, and instead of anyone figuring out why, I was simply allowed to fall further behind.

Some teachers had tried, and I appreciated them for it, while others seem to decide very quickly who was worth their time and who wasn’t. If you were already doing well, they pushed you further. If you weren’t, well..good luck.

I had never understood that

A teacher was supposed to help students become better, not decide who was smart enough to deserve their attention.

Caelum suddenly spoke. “You’re really good at Media Studies.”

I looked up at him and the way he said it made me pause. “Yeah,” I said slowly, “I guess.” Glancing at the shelves behind him, “my books probably gave that away.”

He smiled faintly.

Reading hadn’t always been something I enjoyed, I just liked stories, the fashion, the flow of words.. If I had never developed the whole popular girl persona at school, there was a good chance people would’ve labelled me a book nerd instead.

Caelum shook his head. “No. I mean you’re really good,” I looked at him again, “your grades in it are almost always A’s.”

“Oh,” I had never really thought about it, some subjects just came easier to me than others. Media Studies was one of them.

“I spoke to Mrs. Hughes after my class,” he continued and I frowned.

“About me?”

He nods, “After you told me about your conversation with her about college, she mentioned where you wanted to go and what you were hoping to study.”

My attention sharpened. “Okay.”

“Apparently, something happened at the open day. Mrs. Hughes had contacted them after your conversation, she wanted to find out whether there was any possibility of you being considered.”

My heart began beating a little faster. “Considered for what?”

ARINA Midnight

He leans forward slightly. “Northwestern.”

ps parted in a gasp. “Northwestern University?” he nods again, the name alone was enough to make my mind go blank. Northwestern, one of the imiversities I had spent hours researching and the one of the places I had actually allowed myself to imagine attending.

The journalism and media programs were incredible, and the idea of eventually working in fashion journalism had become something I was genuinely excited about. I could study journalism and media while building toward the fashion side of the industry.

But that was a dream, a very big one. And dreams weren’t exactly things I was used to believing I could reach.

“Apparently, someone from the university saw some of your Media Studies work through the information Mrs. Hughes sent, over.” I continue to stare at him, they sent a response to the school today,” my heart stop for half a second again

“What did they say?”

His eyes stayed on mine. “They’re willing to consider you for admission,” and I froze.

For a moment, I honestly wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly. “I’m sorry.. what?”

“They said that if you can bring your grades up to the required level, they want to have a proper conversation about your admission,” I stared at him and there was no punchline or smile hiding behind his words.

Heck, there was no sign that he was about to tell me he has made the entire thing up.

“You’re serious?”

“Completely.”

I gave a small, disbelieving laugh. “This is a joke.”

“It isn’t.”

“Caelum.”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” my smile disappeared, because suddenly, this felt real.

Too real

I had spent weeks looking at university websites, comparing programs, imagining what it would be like to leave here and actually build a life somewhere else and had already started planning how I would improve my grades even more

How I would convince myself that maybe I wasn’t completely hopeless and now there was actually a chance, a real one.

“You’re telling me Northwestern might actually take me?”

“They might, yes.”

I stared at him. “Are you sure you’re not messing with me?”

“Delilah,” his voice was calm. “I wouldn’t do that.”

I gulped. “I’m trying really hard to believe you right now.”

His expression softened. “Do you not believe me, or do you not believe that you could actually have an opportunity like this?” I didn’t answer, because I knew exactly which one it was.

14:56 Mon, Aug 24

A KIN AT Midnight

My eyes dropped to the papers scattered across the desk. “Northwestern.” I whispered, the name felt strange coming out of my mouth, like something that belonged to someone else, someone smarter, who hadn’t spent the beginning of the year

rely caring whether she passed.

“How?”

Caelum’s expression changed slightly. “Your work, for one. Mrs. Hughes said you’ve improved a lot, and apparently what you’ve been producing in Media Studies has been getting attention. She also told them about how much your grades have improved. They know where you started, Delilah. That’s part of why they’re interested. You’re not just sitting there with perfect grades. You’re actually showing progress.”

I didn’t know what to say. “They think I can get in?”

“They think you have the potential to,” my chest tightened, “but there’s a condition.”

Of course there was

“There always is.”

“You need to bring your grades up significantly, they want to see A’s across the board before they’re willing to seriously discuss admission.”

“All A’s?” My stomach dropped.

He nodded. “All A’s.”

I leaned back slowly.

Northwestern.

The university I’d been secretly hoping for.

The place I’d imagined studying journalism and eventually finding my way into fashion journalism.

And suddenly, it wasn’t just some distant idea anymore.

It was sitting right in front of me.

I just had to become good enough for it.

My thoughts were racing so fast I could barely keep up with them. “I..” I stopped as nothing came out, my hands felt strangely cold.

Caelum reached across the table and took one of them. “Hey,” I looked at him.

“They haven’t accepted you yet,” he reminded me. “You have to earn this part. It’s going to take work.” I nodded faintly, “But

I’ll be here.”

Looking down at our hands. “You really think I can do it?”

“I know you can.” I let out a shaky breath.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify