Capstone

Chapter 2 - October

In a blink, it was October, just as I had feared. The leaves were turning to late fall's warm colors, and I had made zero progress with Cale. My grade didn't depend on him, but part of the project was to work together. Still, how could I work with someone that didn't want to work?

"Mrs. Sommers, he won't do anything. I need a more supportive partner," I argued after school one day.

"Dee, you are an excellent student; organized and prepared. I can understand why you might struggle with Cale, but believe it or not, I paired you two together on purpose. I think a little thought diversity will be good for you. Give him a chance; he may surprise you."

My mind whirled; she had done this on purpose. It felt like a betrayal. I was all for thought diversity, but Cale Benton needed a thought before he could provide any diversity. It was ridiculous.

I was still cranky when Chris caught up with me at my locker.

"Oh no, what happened?" He let out a chuckle at my annoyance.

"Don't laugh at me," I shot at him.

"I can't help it. You're adorable when you're mad."

"That's belittling. You wouldn't say that if I was a guy."

"Last week, when I was pissed, you called me adorable," he argued. "And last I checked, I was a guy."

"Yes, but that's because you were mad that Cami beat you at checkers; it was adorable," I shot.

"Well then, what's the reason that you may or may not be adorably mad?"

"Cale Benton," I muttered.

"What's the deal with you and him? He's just your capstone partner. You don't even have to meet with him."

"We're supposed to use our partners as our sounding board for our ideas. The last time I tried to use him as a sounding board, he fell asleep."

"Well, it sounds like he mastered the bored part, at least," Chris offered.

"Not funny," I said as I pushed by him and charged down the hall.

"Oh, come on, terrible puns are your favorite." The pounding of his footsteps echoed around me as he chased after me. It was easy for his long legs to catch up to my barely 5-foot-5-inch pace.

"Seriously, Chris." I stopped short, causing him to collide with me. "What am I going to do about Cale?"

I didn't bother to collect myself; I knew Chris would keep me upright. His hands fell to my waist to prevent me from ricocheting off him as he lifted me a bit, so I was on solid footing, and then set me back down.

"I don't know, Dee. Honestly, I'm a little tired of hearing about the dude. Maybe you should think about something else for a little while."

"Like what, Chris? What do you suggest I think about instead of my future getting flushed down the drain by the prom king?"

"What about the Fall Ball? It's just around the corner. We should go, right?" He offered.

"Of course, we'll go; we always go." His question felt inane and flared my annoyance further.

"No, I mean like together," Chris added as he peered at me.

"Yeah, we always do. That's fine. I don't have enough time for boys, anyway. It's our junior year; this is the year that all the universities will look at," I absently said.

"Right, junior year," he muttered to himself.

"Ugh, I should go find Cale; we have to set up our next collaboration session. Apparently, he's going to provide me with 'thought diversity,'" I grumbled.