I'm Normally Perfect (re-upload)

Chapter Twenty-Two

'Please, I can't wait to have a girlfriend, be nice to have someone else do the washing.'

I knew he was kidding and, giggling, I took a swing at him over my head. 'Sexist jerk.'

'That's me, babe.' After we stopped laughing he asked, 'What about you? You seeing anyone?'

'Not interested in anyone.'

'Maybe if you paid more attention to people you'd find them to be interesting.'

'I pay attention to people.' That was a lie.

'Please, Catherine. I've waved to you several times around the college and you've never noticed me. At first I thought you were intentionally ignoring me, then I realised you were just in your own little Catherine Perfect world and probably didn't notice me. Whenever I see you around you always look so...intense. Like you've just been told really upsetting news.'

He wasn't the first person to say I appeared to be lost in my own thoughts, oblivious to the world around me, but that didn't stop his statement being annoying.

'Well, maybe I'm waiting for a person who's worth paying attention to.'

He snorted, 'God, that's not stuck up.'

'Or maybe I'm not waiting for anyone at all, and am fine with my life the way it is.'

'Or maybe you're scared of people and you'd rather live inside your head. I read that short story you wrote. The one about the girl and the maids. Nobody talked to one another, but they thought all this stuff, their inner lives were very full. I thought each of the characters were a part of you.'

Where did he get off reading that much into it? 'Even if that's so, it's my choice to live in my head, isn't it?'

He sighed, 'Whatever you say, Catherine Perfect. But I'm here to tell you that the world is an interesting place. Probably more interesting than the inside of your head.'

I laughed derisively, 'I doubt that, the inside of my head is pretty interesting.'

He got that I was being facetious and laughed, 'I'm sure it is. Not that you've ever given me the opportunity to find out.'

I groaned inwardly, I really didn't want to have an argument with him, as I was feeling pretty mellow, having survived the first few moments of the party. 'I'm not ready to let anyone else in there, I've only just achieved some sort of order and they might go messing it up.'

I could hear his smile. 'Will you at least let me wander around with you some time? Give me the time of day on occasion? If I promise not to try and get in there and mess things up?'

'I don't know, that sounds like an awful lot to ask.' Why would he want to hang around with me if he wasn't planning on asking for more at some point?

'I'm only putting it out there. I promise to behave.'

'Maybe.' I didn't want to commit myself to anything until I saw if he had truly reformed.

'Let me know. Because I genuinely do like you.'

'Yeah, yeah.' I didn't want to hear anymore of his proclamations, whether they were heartfelt or not. It grew tired after a while.

'I do.'

'I believe you, now shut up about it, would you? What happened to that famous British restraint?'

He chuckled, 'All right. So...what did you get for the professor for Christmas?'

'A jumper.' I had also made a card for her, but thought of that as a private thing.