Covetous

Covetous- Chapter Seven

Mr. Caldwell cleared his throat and then ordered us all to get back to class. He stared pointedly at me and ushered me over to him. I was reluctant to leave Caleb, but I didn’t want to start any more rumours than had already begun. With one last smile, he turned and walked away, and I approached my teacher.

“Ms. Durham, I am very sorry about the question, but you dealt with it in a highly inappropriate, and, quite frankly, childish manner. If you had have come to me with your concerns, we could have arranged something that would not have ended in a disruptive spectacle.”

His nostrils flared in anger, which I matched with clenched fists. How dare he be so insensitive? I was tempted to flip on him; to yell and swear and wave my arms and make an even larger scene than the one I had just made. I wouldn’t even get into trouble for it once I explained the question on the test.

While my mother would call into the school and try to get Mr. Caldwell suspended, I knew that my dad wouldn’t be happy. He’s always told me that it isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. I can’t just use it to my advantage whenever things get tough. He says that if he played the ‘dying card’ every time that he wanted special treatment, when he actually needed help, no one would be there to give it, because no one wants to be around someone who takes advantage.

So I breathed in. I unclenched my fists, and I told Mr. Caldwell-very calmly and politely-that I would write a different test the next day because there was no way that I would be able to answer those questions. He accepted that. Really, what choice did he have?

Then, to vent his anger and frustration, he yelled at the class and told them that he wouldn’t give them any extra time if they didn’t finish. There were a few groans, but, I think that for the most part, my classmates were ok with trading a few minutes of test time for some juicy gossip. It kind of sickened me.

When the bell finally rang, I tried to get out of the class quickly, but I was swarmed.

“Oh my gosh, Alexis, I cannot believe that he did that to you, you poor thing,” cooed Miranda as she wrapped her arms around me. I felt extremely uncomfortable, but couldn’t think of an escape route. “But I had no idea that there was something going on between you and Caleb. When did that happen?” she asked. 

Her demeanour changed. It was fascinating to see firsthand how she could flip from seeming so caring and concerned to baring her fangs and getting ready for the kill. There was no way that she would let me leave without at least getting a small piece of juicy gossip, even if I had none to give.

“Today was the first time that I’ve ever seen him,” I said truthfully.

“Oh, like I really believe that,” she said with a coy smile. “You two seemed mighty close to me, and I can’t see you as the kind of girl that would just throw herself at a strange boy, but, who am I to know. What do you think Aimee?”

Great. The sharks were circling together. Now that they were ganging up, it didn’t seem so fun to be the focal point of their attention. But I was trapped.

“It looked to me like there was definitely something going on there, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it,” said Aimee.

“But I guess if Alexis says that she’s never seen him before, then she just clung on to the first male figure that she saw, and Caleb felt bad for the poor dear.”

I could feel them ripping me apart at the seams. I knew that by the end of the day, they would spread vindictive rumours around the school, calling me a slut and changing the story. They would completely leave out the part about Caleb being the one to continue holding on to me, and if they even mentioned why I was upset, they would twist it so deeply that I became either mentally unstable, or possibly that I was using my father’s disease as an excuse for bad behaviour.