A sharp jab in the side courtesy of Kiera's finger made my eyes fly open. I could feel my face flame, and I mumbled an excuse as I hurried out of the lunch room, dropping my tray in the appropriate place. Reaching my locker, I placed my overheated forehead against the cool surface and took a deep breath. What was wrong with me, I never act like this. I looked down at my ballet flat clad feet and virtually painted on jeans and realized what the problem was: this wasn't me.
Taking out my phone I found Theresa's number. Knowing it was going to go to voice-mail, I quickly rehearsed what I was going to say in my head.
"Hey mom, I'm calling to let you know that I'm leaving school early. No, you don't need to come get me. Yes, i'll be OK till you get home. No, nothings wrong I just don't feel good. No Kiera and I didn't get into a fight, we're still friends. And yes, Ben and Jerry's or Ghiradeli will make me feel better. I love you too". I hung up, softly chuckling to myself, knowing the questions that Theresa would ask, and thinking about her reaction when she gets the answers before hand.
Grabbing the homework that I had been assigned so far, and shoving it in my messenger bag, I walked towards the exit. I was almost out when I heard someone shout my name
“Carolyne! Wait!" the out of breath person grew closer. Knowing it was Aaron, I stopped, and steadied myself for the barrage of 'i don't know what you were thinking' and ' never talk to me again'.
"Look, Aaron, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. We'll never talk about it again OK? I have to go home, I think these jeans are cutting off the circulation to my brain." I mumbled the last part and resumed my attempt to flee my current humiliation.
"Caro, stop!" Aaron said again, grasping my wrist to turn me back around. "that's not why I'm here. I'm here to apologize". I finally looked up and realized how much taller than me he is. My breath hitched again as I met his piercing eyes, and I had to shut my own to make me say what I had to, or else the words would never get out.
"If anyone should apologize it's me. I had known you for all of what, 5 minutes, and I'm throwing myself at you." I gently removed his fingers from around my wrist. "I'm sorry. I'm too humiliated to do this right now". And with that, I turned from Aaron one more time, and headed on my way home.
Just as I was making through the door, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Since I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, or hear sympathy just yet, I ignored it. I needed to do something to get me back to feeling normal. The first thing I spotted when I walked into my room was my running shoes. Smiling I quickly changed, and headed out the door again, making sure the hide-a-key was still there.
As I ran I started to think over what had happened that morning, and try and figure out what in the world had gotten into me. My mind wandered onto Jack, and I wondered if he had gotten his notes from his friend or not. Thinking about Jack just made me feel worse about what happened with Aaron at lunch. Shaking my head to clear those thoughts I scolded myself. Jack was just a guy who happened to text the wrong number.
When I got back to my house, I figured once I took a shower, I should start on the homework I received, and email my other teachers, to see if they would buy the 'I went home sick, can you tell me what my homework was?'.
A few hours later I heard someone come home. "Lina!" Tye called up the staircase "You home?"
"Yeah!" I called out. I heard him climbing the stairs ad appear in my door frame a few seconds later
"You left your phone on the hall table, I wanted to make sure that you were OK. You girls are never without these things" he said jokingly, handing me my phone I had abandoned. " Where were you at the end of school? I didn't see you to take you home. Now that I think about it, I didn't see you after lunch. I saw you in the hallway with one of the Altis brothers. Where did you go after that?"
