out of my league

chapter nine - headache

"Callie, can I talk to you after class?" Mr. Greenstone comes up to me and asks with a weird look on his face. I look down at the floor, as if it will offer an explanation, and then look back up at him.

     I gulp. "Oh. Sure..." I say nervously. "Am I in trouble or-"

"No," he cuts me off. "Just want to do a little check in." I fake a smile at him, and go back to shredding my eraser into tiny bits. The old wooden desk is covered in small white flakes, but honestly I don't care a single bit. My mind is still in a bit of a funk, and I just need to do something mindlessly. Last night was extremely chaotic, and I did something that I... really regret. I'm always stupidly reckless when I'm sleep deprived. And that's something I always end up regretting.

       Someone passes my desk and 'accidentally' bumps into it, causing my book to fall on the floor. I look up for a second, but then immediately tilt my eyes downwards again. Oh, fuck. It's Tubbo, and he looks really pissed for some reason. Today was the first day in a while that he didn't sit next to me, and he's assumed his seat at the rowdy boys' table again. They're all laughing when I look over, and one of them points at me. I can't see Tubbo's face from this angle, but he's probably shit-talking me to them.

    When I woke up this morning, Tubbo was gone. And I overslept. I had to quickly get up and pack my bag, and basically run to school on an empty stomach. I talked to Tubbo's mum, and she told me that he had already left. I got to class late, and everyone was staring at me as if I were part of a freak show. And when I got to Mr. Greenstone's class, he was sitting with the boys, ignoring me. Did I do something wrong? Obviously I kissed him, but I thought that he... wanted it. After all, he was the one that was flirting me and going along with Tommy's couple jokes. Plus, he kissed me back... right?? If this is what love is, it's complete shit. And honestly, if he doesn't want to be in a relationship with me, we can just be friends. It hasn't even been twelve hours since I last talked to him, but I'm already missing him.

     The bell rings suddenly, and I'm overcome with a wave of dread. After everyone leaves, I slowly brush the shit off of my desk and get up. I walk to the front of the room, and awkwardly hover by Mr. Greenstone's desk.

    "You said you wanted to talk to me?" I ask him quietly. He adjusts his glasses, and peers down at a stack of papers, shuffling them.

   "Ah, yes." he says, sighing. "Is everything okay, Callie? The attendance says you were late to maths this morning. And I couldn't help but notice that you're wearing the same outfit as yesterday. Tubbo also seems to be ignoring you. Did something happen between you two?"

I blush, embarrassed. There's a long pause as I figure out what to say to him, and I can feel his eyes burning holes in my soul. "Umm... there was just some drama and we're trying to figure some stuff out." I explain awkwardly. He grunts and looks at his watch.

    "Well. I wish I could stay here all day, but I have places to be. The school counselor has asked to see you. Do you know where her office is?" he says tiredly. I shake my head, and he once again sighs loudly before explaining how to get there to me. I'm once again filled with dread. I hate having deep talks with people, and I'm not really in the mood to have one with a shrink.

    When I step outside of the classroom, I'm surprised to see Tommy waiting by the door, cheeks pink for the snow.

     "Hey, Callie," he says with obvious pity in his voice. He takes his hands out of his pockets and grabs mine. "Are you... okay?" he says, trying to look into my eyes as I avoid his gaze.

   "Umm... I could be better? Apparently the counselor wants to see me, and I'm not gonna lie - I'm kind of freaking out. My teacher noticed that I was acting 'weird' and must've contacted her about it." I say. He looks at me for a second, and then lets go of my hand and starts walking.