Degrees of Desire (gxg, txs)

chapter eighteen

-Isabella

Iris hadn't picked up any of my calls during the rest of the weekend. She hadn't even shown up to school on Monday.

Nate sent me a message that she would be going to school today. She had asked him for a ride to school. It made me feel a little sad because we always ride to school together.

I walked into my first period class. I was nervous for some reason. My next period I'd see Iris but I wouldn't know how things would go. Would she talk to me? Is she going to ignore me?

Nate walked in right as the bell rang. Mr. Thompson gave him a scolding speech on how he had to get here on time or else he'd start giving him more detentions. Nate apologized and took his seat next to me.

"Hey. How is she?" I whispered to him.

"She's okay. She didn't want to talk much. I tried to ask what was up but she refused to say anything." He says back quietly.

"Can we move forward with the plan then?" I leaned even closer to say.

"You got it."

"Miss Gray and Mister Cruz. Do you have something you'd like to share with the class?" Mr. Thompson says out loud, causing all eyes to land on us.

"No, sir." Nate responds curtly.

"That's what I thought. Do your work."

The class period had felt excruciatingly long. I was staring at the clock the whole time, waiting for the class to be over. I wanted to see Iris. I wanted to try to talk to her before class started.

When the bell rang, Nate and so quickly got out of our seats and bolted out of the room. I found Iris walking out of her class with another girl. They were in the middle of a conversation when I approached her.

"Can we talk?" I asked following behind her as she walked to our next class.

"Maybe later. We have to get to class." She says with a cold tone.

"Since when do you care so much about getting to class on time?"

"Just drop it. I need to get to class." She looks at me with a straight face and walked away.

I followed right behind her into Diana's classroom. Iris sat in her normal seat and I sat down right next to her. She didn't even bother looking up at me.

My eyes traveled to where Diana's desk was. She was looking at me with a concerned look, almost asking me if everything was okay. I quickly nodded and averted my eyes to the ground.

Throughout the entirety of the period, Iris didn't speak to me. She didn't even look at me. The silence was killing me. I just wanted to know what was wrong.

I kept my head down for the rest of the day. It was bothering me to see the both of us act so distant towards each other. But no matter how hard so tried to fix it, nothing was helping.

During gym class, both her and Nate played basketball. I sat in the bleachers because I started getting a really bad stomach ache. This usually happens when I feel really nervous or upset about something. It's been like this since I was a kid.

I began walking towards Diana's classroom. I was looking forward to the time of the day where I didn't have to worry about looking in her direction for too long. This was our time for ourselves, where we could actually talk.

I knocked on the door before hearing her voice. "Come in." I opened the door and slipped in, shutting it right behind me.

Diana was sitting at her desk with her legs crossed, a book in her hand. She seemed to always be reading on her free time, just like me.