Fixing Up Valerie

At Least My Friend Isn't A Garbage Can - 4

Caleb is cute. There is no denying in that. But he must have a girlfriend; unless he was gay, then boyfriend. He noticed me staring and smiled at me. I gave a small smile back. He looked familiar but where?

"Okay, you guys must've noticed that I didn't call your names up along with everyone else right?," the teacher says. I look at Caleb and then back at him and nod. "Well I've looked back at everyone's past SAT's scores and you two interested me the most, in the reading and writing department of course. And since you guys understood everything I will be teaching this year, I'll be handing some advanced stuff for you to work on. But because it's only you two in all my classes you'll be working together a lot, outside of school grounds too. Anyways I just want to make sure if it's fine with you both before we begin. Is it?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. If I was getting advanced then of course anything to help me out after high school. Working with only one person for now seemed great. I don't want to socialize with everyone and just one person for now is perfect. I just hope Caleb agrees too. "Well if she's okay with it then of course I'll do this too." Caleb replied and smiled at me again.
"Perfect, thanks guys. I promise you'll be having a lot of fun," he headed back to the classroom but before he opened it he turned around to face us. "You'll also have to sit together so you can work. So choose where you wanna sit and that will be your permanent seat." Great.

"Okay so the assignment says we have to write a ten page paper about our opinions on how Missy Jane helped spawlding into the Oregon trail," He tells me and I nod. He's treating me like a child- like I can't read. Does he think I don't understand what the assignment is about because I already have an idea set up already. Like who do you think you are? My kindergarten teacher and I'm the student who doesn't know their own name?
"And since this is due next week on Tuesday we should work on this after school."
Well obviously.
"So my house or yours?"
Boom. Shots fired. I knew I was gonna hear this question and I thought I was prepared but since I'm shaking and moving around looking through my backpack for nothing. I'm obviously not ready to answer this. And oh jeez he's looking at me wondering if I've gone mad. "Uhm how about yours?" And with that I gave him a smile.

Caleb is still looking at me, shocked. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked him. He comes back to earth and shakes his head furiously "sorry it's just that was the first time you talked to me, I really believed you weren't going to speak to me at all." He chuckles slowly and smiles.
"I have to talk to you at some point don't I?" And with that I gave him a stupid look. Caleb starts turning red and rambles on agreeing with my remark. "So are you gonna give me your address or how is this going to work?" He stops rambling and pulls out some paper writing his address down and hands it to me.
"You can come by around 4 o' clock today, my mom will be there by that time so she can make us food. She's a pretty good cook by the way."
I just laugh at how he thinks he's so cool with bragging about his mother.

Mother. Mom. My mom, dead. Mom was pretty good at cooking too. How would she feel with me hanging out with another mom and eating her food?
I come back from my thoughts from a handing waving around my face.
"Hey Valerie, are you okay?" Caleb is looking at me very concerned. Before I could answer the bell rang and I got my assignment and Caleb's address paper and shoves it in my backpack getting up. "I'll see you at your house." I mumble and with that I speed walk heading to the office.

It's lunch time but since no one has paid for my lunch money I have to go talk with Mrs. Axel. When I come in I already see her looking at me, like she was expecting me to come. "I checked your account and it said you didn't have any money so don't worry about it, I order- and from now on I'll have to order extra for you Valerie." She gets yo and opens up a box with food. The smell immediately crosses through the room and it's good. She didn't order what I think I did.
"Chinese?" I asked her I started smiling a little bit once I recognized the smell.
"I remembered when I took you to the mall and we both fell in love with that Chinese restaurant, I've been ordering from that place ever since. You still like it, am I correct?"
I walk up to the kind lady and hug her. "Thank you for all this Mrs. Axel."
She laughs and shakes her head, "honey from now on you can call me carol."

"So how are you doing? Mentally I mean, like have you felt like having a breakdown yet?" Of course. Of course Mrs. Axel would ask this she's the guidance counselor for seniors, how convenient.
"Well I kinda almost did in language. This guy who's my partner for the whole year mentioned his mom and going to his house and I just thought about my mom and it hurt me. I'm grateful that he got me out of it before it went downhill." I mumbled at the noodles I was trying to get with the chopsticks. "Wait, what guy and why was he talking about you going to his house?," Carol started squealing like a 13 year old girl when she finds out the boy likes her too.
Really? Was that all you heard from what I had said?
"For an older woman that's married and had kids you act like a teen only interested in gossip." I giggle, ew gross.
"Hey! I'm a proud teen at heart Valerie and you can't blame me for asking. All you hear with the staff is what lessons they're gonna do next week," She rolls her eyes at the end. "It never gets more interesting than that. Well forget my problems- who's the guy?"

"Caleb something." I didn't bother listening to everyone's last name during role call. I explained everything to Carol that my teacher told me and the conversation I had with Caleb. Out of nowhere she tells me that he lives across the street, so she'll be dropping me off and picking me up. I told her it was fine but she insisted in doing it so I didn't push it. After lunch I said goodbye to carol and headed to my next class- we agreed that I would meet yo with her after school. So far my only friend is the guidance counselor who is in her mid forties but I'm not complaining; at least it's not a garbage can.