A Plagued Winter

Chapter 14

I was hoping... we were safe.

Andre

I've been dying to ask her. It's all I can think about really. Ever since last week. Ever since I felt the impact of Carlee's true feelings, the weight of The Question has been pressuring me to wits end.

I'm just waiting for the right moment. I have a set date now for when I'm going to ask her the question. Even though our feelings were more than proven the day we skipped school, I wanted to do things right. Respectfully, with class, I wanted to be smooth. I was going to ask Carlee to be my girlfriend on Friday, two days from now.

Friday is the last day until winter break even though, strangely, our final project for photography class is due on Sunday the 17th. My plan was to ask Carlee, hopefully have her say yes, and then spend winter break hanging out together as an official thing. Cause' if I was being honest, we pretty much already are an official thing at our school but without the title.

I wasn't one for those. Titles don't give you the position you're in, they label it. Though, I also wasn't into physical contact without some form of string attached. Those kinds of relationships were gross in my opinion. Sharing the person that's supposed to be YOUR person, doesn't sit right with me.

I glance down at Carlee. I had my arm wrapped around the back of her chair and she was using the crevice of my side and shoulder as a living pillow. Despite the numbness that was beginning to spread throughout my arm, I smiled and held back on kissing the top of her head in the middle of class. Most of my left side had to be used as an anchor because she kept slumping down every few minutes. About half an hour ago, I discovered that Carlee had been sleeping ever since she sat down next to me. Her hair was the only thing that kept her from being caught asleep.
The thought of calling this little weirdo my girlfriend was enough to keep me smiling all winter break.

We were supposed to be using class time to work on our project, but it was honestly not even worth the whole week we were given. Mr. Clementine wanted us to take scenic photos for our project, which he taught the meaning of during class on Monday. My pictures were already taken and ready and all I had to do was go to Walmart today to print them out. Carlee said she owned a little binder that we could use to make our book, so we'd get it turned in two days before the due date. I didn't know what Carlee's pictures looked like but if I had to take a guess, I would say that her pictures were of the same origins as her forest picture for our first project.

Mine were mostly of my street. One was taken of bare winter trees on the side of the road by my house. Another was a foggy morning as the bus pulled into my neighborhood. One was of the constantly blinking streetlight at night. Another was of the playground Carlee, and I went to. It was of the bench in the middle of the field adjacent to the tree line. Lastly, a picture of a rose bush in my backyard.

The quality of my photos turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. Most times I did the bare minimum just to pass a class but the little effort I put into the photos still had them looking professional. I was so excited about them, that I showed Carlee the preview on my phone, and she said her favorite was the morning picture. I think mine is the rosebush, though.

"Okay class." Mr. Clementine stood up from his desk and centered himself in the middle of the classroom.
"Remember to work on your scenic photos you have until Sunday to turn it in but that's only for those of you who want the C and are only turning in a digital copy. For others, the deadline is Friday."

The bell rang right after his reminder and he waved an exhausted hand at students rushing out the door like he accomplished something with his students instead of staring at his computer screen all period.
Who was I to tell? It was finals week after all, and kids loved to suddenly pick up their grades towards the end of the semester. His class was too easy to fail though, so I honestly doubted he had a lot on his hands.