Never Before | ✓

Chapter twenty two

Chapter twenty-two:

The last night with my best friends was spent really well. Charles and Wes already left to get ready for school while Ellie and Selena are going to wear my clothes for school. I haven't told them anything at all. After all the drama and unsaid truth, I didn't wish to involve myself even more in what happened a long time ago.

We're early anyway so I suggested Ellie and Selena to have breakfast somewhere outside and partly lied that I just wished for Starbucks coffee.

An hour later, we enter our school and walk toward our lockers. I open my locker to take out a few pens and my textbooks. A loose page is hanging out of Caleb's book. I am about to take that out when I realize that I should respect his privacy. After taking all the things that I needed, I am about to shut the locker when I feel someone behind me.

"Wait, lemme take my stuff," Caleb says and I quickly turn around to see him towering over me. A small crooked smile is flashed over his handsome face. I gaze at his smiling face before moving aside. He rummages through his things while I'm leaning on the locker besides ours, watching his smile disappeared long back.

"You should do that more," I say while gawking at him with no shame. He furrows his eyebrows and gives me a questioning look.

"Do, what?"

"Smile," I smile. After hearing my words, he takes a moment before his lips twitch up with a small smile on his face. I stare into his gorgeous eyes and he holds my gaze before all of a sudden he pins me to the locker.

"Look at you, Sloane," he whispers. His smile now turning into a smirk. He leans down to my ear and I could feel his breath fanning on my neck.

"Seems like I am going to win our little game," he mutters only for me to hear. I take a sharp breath. I don't say anything and wait impatiently for him to do something—anything.

"Caleb..." I breath out. My mind has escaped to a place where it is just both of us. I forget everything and just feel his breath on me. He leans back and he holds my gaze. Within a minute, his eyes travel down my lips and mine does the same. I lean closer to me and in reflex, I do the same. He is about to kiss me when all of a sudden, he steps away. Disappointment flashes all over me.

He strokes his hair and smirks. "I like seeing you desperate." He winks and walks away toward his first-class while I stamp my feet in frustration.

Dang Caleb, I'm gonna get you!

°•°•°

The first lecture itself is French and I am sitting on the last bench right now while Mr. Bernard hasn't entered the class yet. Just as I was about to get up and bunk the lecture, he walks in and tells everyone to switch their phones off.

For a moment, his eyes meet mine and I immediately look away. Taking a deep breath, he begins teaching me something but my mind is taken off to somewhere else. I began to relive the moment with Caleb. The intensity between us was so strong. If it hadn't been the school or the little game, I would have taken a step forward to kiss him.

My daydream is disturbed by Mr. Bernard's loud booming voice as he taught about a few French terms. After what seems like forever, the lecture ends and everyone rushes out of the class, including me when I hear Mr. Bernard calling out my name. I stop dead in my tracks and slowly turn around. His face held an apologetic look.

"Can we talk for a minute?" He pleads me and I couldn't deny. I nod and walk in the class.

"Are things good between us?" He asks in a low voice. I avoid looking at him.

"There was never a thing between us," I concede with no emotion as I emphasise on the word thing.

He nods understandably. "I know. I just don't want to get things weird between us. I think we are okay being teacher and student. I know it was just that we both were vulnerable. Besides, I saw you and Caleb this morning. You two are perfect together."

"Thank you, Mr. Bernard." That's all I say. I don't wish to think about him right now.

"If that's all?" I ask, expecting him to allow me to dismiss him.

"Yeah. That's all," he quickly says and then I rush off to my next lecture which was Life Skills. I share this lecture with Charles and Ellie.

Mr. Thompson was already in the class but hadn't started teaching yet. Taking his permission, I go and sit beside Ellie. She whispers hey when Mr. Thompson speaks.

"Before I begin, there's an announcement I need to make. This year, the school is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and on that occasion, your dear principal, Mr. Mehta, has arranged a trip to woods in the next week for everyone and for free."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the classroom air fills with cheers and an eerie of happiness. Mr. Thompson calms the class and continues saying,

"It will be a whole five days trip. You all will be living in dormitories and have a lot of fun with all adventure sports and water activities in the lake and river nearby. But we need your parents to fill the consent form correctly. You can collect it from the office after your lunch break."

(A trip to the woods....yay!)