The Blind Teacher's Bait

Chapter 17~ I don't

dedicated to Onyinye25 ❤❤❤

well, this is it. I wrote this half dazed. XD

CARMEN WOULD NEVER CHANGE, I mused to myself as I continued the drawing I had been working on all morning. It was for one of my classes and the whole thing was getting complicated with each passing second.

James had offered to help at the outset but I had rebuffed his offer and was currently debating on how to ask for his help again without looking stupid. I dropped the pencil, resting my chin on my palm and stared at the pencil drawing.

I was going to have to call James sooner or later.

"Jules?" I heard Car call from the phone I had placed on loudspeaker for over twenty minutes now. I had basically zoned out of hearing her voice and was jolted back into reality. "Are you listening to me? Are you still there? Juniper!"

"Don't call me that, Carmen," I muttered, picking the pencil and trying a few adjustments at the side of the drawing. "And yes, I can hear you. It's just that this stupid assignment is tensioning me."

"That word tensioning sounds super weird and stupid," she sniggered and I involuntarily gave an eye roll.

"Virtually every word sounds weird and stupid to you. Remember how you kept on going on and on about that 'discombobulated' word in junior year?"

"That word should not be a word." She paused to take a breath, probably breathless from the non stop talking. "It legit sounds both stupid and weird."

"Whatever you say, Car. You were saying?" I urged on for her to continue with her train of conversation.

"Oh yeah, that can I give Ryan your number?" She asked, excitement evident even from her tone. Ryan Short had been our classmate in high school, tall, dark and shy and had evidently been super into me. I wasn't allowed to date then, so I hadn't given him much thought until Car had brought up the topic of running into him in town. They had talked and he had asked after me but Car hadn't handed out my number, she wanted permission first.

"I don't know..."

"C'mon," she pressed on, still excited. "You think he's cute too and he's like so into you. You guys would be perfect together."

"I'm really not into dating at the moment."

She went all silent all of a sudden then her tone became accusatory. "Are you seeing someone there? Is there a guy you're not telling me about? You know we promised --"

"There is no guy." Unless you counted the dumb crush I had on my teacher, it was the truth.

"Are you sure because it's sounding like there's a guy --"

"Car, there is no guy I'm into here --"

James chose that moment of all moments to walk in, bare chested and in only his black boxers. He was holding a plastic container of frozen yoghurt and had the spoon between his pink lips as his baby blues greeted mine all friendly.

"What's this lie you're telling Car, Jules?" He started, jamming the small spoon into the container again and scooping up the white and green substance into his mouth. "What about that guy with the red eyes that won't let your phone rest?"