10 Things I Hate About You- a.i

I

"Calvin--"

"Calum, It's Calum." Calum corrected the guidance counselor wearing hideous yellow grandma lensed glasses and a vomit colored blouse. All Calum felt when he first laid eyes on this woman was how unwelcome he felt at his new school when he knew she was trying to accomplish the opposite. 

"Calum Hood. Peculiar name,  are you sure it's not Calvin?" The guidance counselor, Mrs. Carter squinted her eyes and leaned closer towards Calum, placing her elbows on her desk.

"I think if you read my paperwork you'll find that my name is not Calvin. It is Calum. "Calum retorted, getting quite annoyed, staring at the door out of the counseling office, hoping he will be dismissed soon."I'm sorry, ma'm that I was not named Calvin or.. some other stereotypical name for men these days but that is besides the point, can I be dismissed to go to class?" Calum truthfully did not understand why Mrs.Carter was still keeping him. 

"Wait just a minute, Calvin. You need someone to show you around, show you the ropes. I know just the person." Mrs.Carter stood up, sporting not only the ugly blouse, but a long brown maxi skirt and a fanny pack. 

Calum rolled his eyes, not even bothering to waste his breath to correct her name slip again."Make sure they're cool. It's my first day and I don't want to be pegged as a loser already."

Calum wasn't unpopular back at his old school. He wasn't the most popular guy around either though. He knew the kids that were popular and they could be scary and just down right mean to the invisibles but they were tolerable to him though because he wasn't the scum of the school. He would hate to be the scum of the school here.

"I know just the kid then. Luke Hemmings. I'll go get him, I'll be right back." Mrs.Carter practically ran out of her office excited.

"Well she's incredibly unprofessional." Calum mumbled, waiting patiently in the office staring at Mrs.Carter's 14 framed photos of each and every one of her cats hanging up on the wall. Calum learned a lot about his new guidance counselor on his first day, more than he wanted to know.

About 10 minutes passed and Mrs.Carter came back to her office with a kid who he assumed to be Luke. Luke had a sandy fringe and a Green Day shirt on. He didn't look like a computer nerd or a mathlete so fortunately for Calum, being shoved into a locker was probably not in his distant future. Mrs. Carter was about to introduce Luke to Calum when a boy with long curly hair and ripped up clothes came into the office in a huff.  Whilst Mrs. Carter dealt with that mess Luke took the initiative."Hey, I'm Luke. Welcome to hell on earth." 

"I'm Cal--"

"You're trying to tell me that Erica's hair just magically caught on fire and it had nothing to do with the cigarette you had in your hand....outside of the student smoking section, I must add!? I admit I'm a little bit of an airhead sometimes but how dumb do you think I am?" Mrs.Carter announced quite loudly, angrily spouting off at this kid, so even Luke and Calum could hear. Mrs.Carter realized Calum and Luke were still present and said to them." Luke, please show Calvin around now. Lunch just started. I have a situation to deal with." 

Luke and Calum exited Mrs. Carter's office, much to Calum's delight."So Calvin, did you bring a lunch or will it be cafeteria food from hell for you?"Luke asked as they walked down the narrow hallway towards the cafeteria. Calum's old school was much bigger so learning his way around this tiny place would be practically nothing.

"It's Calum by the way. Mrs.Carter didn't seem to understand that. I didn't bring a lunch but I'm not so hungry anyways. So who was that kid back in Mrs.Carter's office that she was shouting at?" Calum asked Luke and Luke laughed. 

"'That ' kid was Ashton Irwin, only like one of the weirdest kids in this school. I heard from someone the other day that he was in jail for a short time over the summer for something weird like pissing on someones lawn or burning mannequins at department stores with his cigarettes, or both. Both wouldn't surprise me actually." Luke told Calum as they reached the cafeteria. Calum chose not to comment on what Luke just told him. Ashton seemed like the average school freak to him.