Life At Green Havens II

CHAPTER TWENTY

CALEB’S POV

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take no for an answer. What did she mean by she wasn’t ready and she didn’t want me?

“Cora, I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to look after me. I need you to learn to love me. Learn? Heck! I know you feel something for me and you have been giving mixed signals since I got here and I know that it can be hard but I need you to understand that I want to be your safe space. Why are you making this so difficult for the both of us?” I asked her.
“Making it difficult? Is that what you think all of this is about? Playing hard to get? Caleb, my life is complicated” she said to me.
“And mine isn’t? Have you met me? Have you ever been to my house just to drop by to say you want to see how I live? Where I live? You conclude and act like you are right. You are not! This life isn’t even mine to start with! I act happy but my parents have me all twisted in their drama. I am at the center of it all and I used to have you to talk to and now, you wouldn’t even speak to me. I just want you back in my life and if you think I am moving too fast about the girl friend issue then I want my friend back and I want to take you on a date, this weekend” I said to her.
“It is just Tuesday” she said back to me.
“Exactly. That is more than enough time for you to think and come up with an answer. I would be needing one. I am serious about you and maybe I haven’t been intentional enough. I plan on being as intentional as I can possibly be. I would try to call you tonight if you don’t fall asleep and I would really love to face time you since I would be free” I said to her.
“I don’t know what to say, really. You are being really sweet to me and I feel like it would only get you hurt. You don’t know anything about me. All you know is what I have decided to show you and whatever front I put up in school” she said to me.
“I don’t know you and you are right. I don’t know you and I don’t know anything about you but I am willing to learn all there is to learn. I am willing to take it slow just to get to know you” I said to her.
“And what if there is nothing to know? What if you get to find out that I am just another boring person? What if you find out that I am just another boring person and there is nothing to me?” she said to me.
“You are Cora Macaulay. You are intelligent and smart. You are a blogger and you were the first person that I talked to when I resumed at Green Havens. You are far from boring and I would like to prove that to you, if you let me” I said to her.
“What do you have in mind?” she asked me.
“Let me pick you up for dinner on Friday and then invite you to my birthday party. It is in two weeks. You could wait in school for an extra hour help me compile a list of people to invite and not invite tomorrow. You could let me be a gentle man to you and maybe let me get to be your boyfriend” I said to her.
“The boyfriend idea is really far off but I would really like to go out with you on Friday evening” she said back to me with a smile.

The bell went off and I realized that I told the coach that I was going to see him before the end of the day.

“I really have to go, Cora. I need to see the coach. I would text you when I am done and if you are still in the school premises, we can get to hang out. I am so sorry to leave the conversation mid way. I would call you at night so that we can talk” I said to her.
“You apologize a lot. It is fine. You can go” she said to me with a smile
“Thank you”I said, smiling at her stupidly.

She looked at me and shook her head. I didn’t know what to do. I was so in love with her, in love with her smile. I didn’t know what I was going to do if she said no to all of my plans. She turned to walk away and her face was engraved in my mind. I turned around and I immediately bumped into a girl.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there” I said to her.
“It is fine, actually. Don’t let me ruin that amazing smile of yours. Whoever has you smiling like that is either lucky or maybe you are the lucky one” she said to me.
“Let’s hope that you are right. I don’t think I have seen you around before. My name is Caleb, I am in year eleven” I said to her, extending my hand to her.
“Caleb, that souds familiar. I am Neriah. The reason you have probably not seen me around is because I am in year ten, well, at least until next session. Who has you smiling like that?” she asked me.
“I don’t think that is important right now. I would like to scream on top of my voice and tell the world that a girl has me smiling but I really have to get to the coach’s office” I said to her.
“Football?” she asked me
“More like basketball” I said to her.
“Well, good luck with that” she said to me with a smile.

I smiled back and wondered if she found me weird. I didn’t really care though. I headed to the coach’s office. I was just coming out when I saw a girl walking towards me. I looked far off and saw Clinton with some other dude. Maybe he was really popular but I wasn’t interested in Clinton. I was interested in the girl that looked extremely flushed.