The Promposal (COMPLETE)

11- Two Calculators

Jonah's POV

After the very chaotic week of being a camp counselor for the YMCA and tending to stabbed children, I have to admit that I was kind of glad to be back to school. Monday was a whirlwind of me forgetting where to go during passing periods and what order my classes were in. Although, because of block schedule, I only had three to go to.

I feel a bit better on Tuesday, if not partially because I get to see Cynthia in physics. She'd been gone for the week before spring break, suspended because of her plagiarized paper. I wonder if she's doing alright, with the whole school spreading rumors about her.

When the bell rings for class, I'm there early. Although Cynthia's not in my table group, I try to think of a way to talk to her, to say something. I spend the five minute passing period coming up with a plan, and then eventually decide on something.

When she enters, Cynthia looks more reserved than usual. She throws her backpack on the floor and sits down without lifting her eyes from the ground. She ignores a couple of people who say her name, and seems to be trying to fall asleep. I feel a sudden wave of pity for her, but also take it as an opportunity to check her out.

Then it's time for my plan. I stand up to get a calculator from the front of class, but grab an extra to give her. On my way back to my desk, I stop by hers and offer it to her.

She looks up at me, as if waiting for me to ask her something about what happened. But instead, I just smile and hand her the calculator. "Here," I say quietly while giving it to her. 

"Thank you," Cynthia responds. I see her smile a little as she grabs the rest of the materials from her backpack, and think that maybe I helped to improve her mood.

"Is that all?" she asks when she realizes I haven't moved.

"OH. Yeah," is my response, before shuffling back to my desk. I mentally kick myself for being awkward, and that momentary victory I was feeling suddenly fades away. For the rest of class, I try really hard not to make eye contact with her, which is somewhat difficult considering she is within the line of sight of the teacher. 

At the end of class, I pack up like normal, rushing so that I don't keep Nolan's mom waiting. In my hurried packing, I don't notice Cynthia walking over to my desk until she's already there. She stands over my desk, and reaches out her hand for my calculator. Her kind expression makes me realize this is her way of thanking me for earlier, while I'm just glad she doesn't think I'm too weird. I hand over my calculator without saying anything, to avoid any further embarrassment. But I can't keep myself from smiling slightly, and she does as well. 

After class, I spend quite a bit of time replaying that moment in my head. Is there anything I did that was embarrassing? I mean apart from the standing watching her that apparently she didn't find too creepy. 

When I get in Nolan's mom's car, he asks "do you want to come over to play Halo?" 

"Yeah sure." I quickly shoot off a text to my parents, but figure they'll respond that it's okay. They always do.

Nolan's mom interjects, "only if you boys don't have any homework for tomorrow." 

At this, Nolan laughs. "Jonah always finishes his homework the day its assigned, he's a nerd."

"It's true Mrs Lee," I respond politely. She nods and gets to driving. But I can tell she's still suspicious about her own son's homework load.

A few minutes later, we're parked outside Nolan's house. It's fairly large, nothing over the top, but definitely impressive compared to my box-like place. But the main feature that makes me come over here so often is the xbox. 

"Is it alright if I invite Justin over?" Nolan yells from the kitchen.

"Yeah sure," I respond while setting up the xbox. He appears a few moments later with some chips, and then we get started with the game.

While playing, I tell Nolan about what happened with Cynthia during physics. He seems amused by the story, rolling his eyes and cringing at the embarrassing bits.

"You really should've just asked her to prom you know?" he asks. I know the question is kinda just rhetorical, but I respond anyway.

"Yeah, you know that wouldn't have happened," I say.

He shakes his head, "but at least if you went solo you guys could've paired up at some point during the dance."

I turn away from the game for a second to give him a judgmental look. 

"I mean, it seems like she likes you too," he says. I'm a little tired of this topic, so I don't respond. Instead, I just keep overthinking it, not giving Nolan the satisfaction of hearing my doubts out loud. The last thing I need is more 'I told you so' moments.

Eventually, Justin shows up. "Hey!" he announces as he enters the front door. Nolan points to make sure he takes off his shoes, since Justin seems kind of distracted. He also seems kind of out of it in general, but I let it slide.

Soon we're situated again, ready to go with the three player split screen. While playing, we talk a little about planning for prom. Justin admits that he's got the limo rental all paid for, and explains how we'll split the price. I ask the others if they know where to buy corsages, since Edith had asked for one. They explain that someone at school has been selling them on instagram, and I can just get it from them.

Finally Nolan brings it up. "Justin, what's up?" His tone is concerned, so it's clear he's going for a serious answer and not just some joke about the sky or something else stupid.

Justin puts his hand to his head like he has a migraine, "I don't know." 

"Is it girlfriend stuff?" I ask. And by his expression, I know I was right.

"I've been dating Camila for six months now, and she's making a huge deal out of this prom thing. It's making me realize that I don't know how I feel about her," Justin explains.

Nolan seems surprised. "You're thinking of breaking up with her a week before prom?"

A guilty look shows that Justin has indeed been considering this. I'm completely shocked honestly, but Nolan seems to understand. I seem to remember he was in a similar situation with a girl before the homecoming dance a few years ago. But they at least stayed together until after the dance.

"Don't" is my response. 

Nolan nods, "It seems like the dance is a big deal to her, so that would be really bad timing." 

At this, Justin seems to deflate. We continue playing Halo, but don't really talk about anything else for awhile. It seems that each of us has our own reasons to be dreading prom now.

Me, because I wasn't able to ask Cynthia to be my date. Nolan, cause he doesn't have a date at all. And Justin, who's waiting to break Camila's heart until after.

It's all kinda messed up if you ask me.