Love Is Not My Forte

CHAPTER 5

Woah! Look at that! I managed to type up the next chapter quickly, so I figured I'd post it. Hope this makes up for the long wait you guys had for the last chapter. Enjoy! Cheers, Nicole <3 

        The next day, I get to the dining hall early for lunch just in case Callie decides to come ten minutes before everyone else like she usually does. Putting my bag down at our group’s normal table, I go off to get some food. By the time I get back, I recognize Michael’s, Emma’s, and Jennifer’s bookbags, but still no sign of Callie. I glance at the time and see that it’s already past the meet up time of 12:30. It’s unusual that Callie would be so late, but I figure everyone has days where everything goes astray, so I assume she’ll just turn up soon.

However, she’s still not at the table fifteen minutes later when the other three have already returned with their plates and are well into a conversation. If it were anybody else, I would have ignored it, but Callie absolutely hates being late and if she’s not going to join us for something, she always sends a text.

“Hey, where’s Callie?” I interrupt the mundane conversation about classes and speak up for the first time that day.

“Oh. She sent out a text saying she’s got a horrible headache so she won’t be coming to lunch,” Jennifer states.

“Yeah, she said she’s not doing anything today until the Advil kicks in,” Emma adds, shrugging, “Sounds like a hangover to me.”

“Were you two taking part in some questionable and risky behavior last night without our supervision?” Michael quizzes me, one eyebrow raised.

Of course that earns a laugh from the table. The mere thought of Callie and I doing anything pertaining to drugs or alcohol was hilarious because if anyone in our group were to do those things, it definitely would not be the honors student and the sheltered homeschooler. As we all laugh, I remember what Jennifer said about Callie’s text. I whip out my phone to look for it, but see nothing.

“Hey, you said she sent out a text? I didn’t get anything. Weird.”

“She probably just forgot to add your name. Don’t worry about it,” Jennifer says.

It bothers me that she has dismissed this so easily. In fact, all of them have already seemed to forgotten all about the incident. The three of them have gone back to their previous conversation about whatever happened in their morning classes. Why can’t they see how weird this is? So rather than let the topic drop, I decide to push it further and see what Michael, Jennifer, and Emma really think about this situation.

“Guys, come on. Seriously? No one finds that weird?” I state, but I realize my voice is a little louder than I had intended, earning some shocked expressions, so I try to remain a bit calmer as I add, “We’re talking about the honors student. The girl who texts with perfect grammar and spelling before triple checking for any errors. And you don’t find it a little strange that not only would she not show up to lunch, but that she would also ‘forget’ to add my name to the list of receivers?”

“Dude. Calm down. She’s got a headache, so she’s clearly not feeling well. Forgive her if she made a mistake,” Michael says, clearly a little thrown off by the raising of my voice and the rant that followed.

“Yeah, seriously. And if it helps you relax, she spelled ‘headache’ wrong in her text so we know she’s actually sick,” Emma informs me.

That fact shuts me up as it’s true. There’s no way Callie would spell anything wrong unless there was a really good explanation. I look at my three friends and mutter a quick apology. I get up from my seat, giving some excuse of wanting to get to class early to speak with the professor. That part’s false, of course, but I need to get quick walk in to think before I sit in a lecture hall.

What in the world happened back there at the lunch table? I never raise my voice. Especially if the subject is something so stupid like a text message. I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Or maybe something about last night is still bothering me. Was it just coincidence that Callie would “not feel well” the morning after we had that long pause yesterday? I’m still not sure about what all of that had been, but it was surely awkward. If that were the reason and Callie was still feeling a bit uncomfortable about all of that, then it was definitely enough reason for her to miss lunch.

I’m happy with the conclusion I’ve come to, but as I get closer to the lecture hall my class is in, I start to think that maybe there had been a reason for that awkward pause last night. The thought is one I’ve never even figured to be a possibility before now. Maybe the pause had occurred because in that moment, Callie had realized she had feelings for me that went beyond our platonic friendship. I smile at this idea, but try to push it aside because I don’t want to overthink it too much. Yet it makes so much sense to me. I decide to approve this idea as I settle into my seat because there was evidence to support it: the very fact that the word to cause the awkward silence had been “love.” It was very little to go off of, but for the duration of my class, it would be enough for me.