The Gay Gatsby

Chapter 17: Calla-Gay and Chance Fight the Forces of Evil (Teenagers)

After completing her marking, Ms. Riley turned to me, artificial smile plastering her lips.

"Chance, how have you been doing?" She chirped, closing the previously opened laptop in front of her.

"Fine, I suppose," I answered with honesty. "I'm excited that winter break is coming in 2 weeks."

"As am I," she laughed to herself. "But what I was really meaning to ask is - how is the project with Callaway going?"

"Pretty well, actually." I shrugged. "We're already done our first draft and I've started the visual aid thing."

Ms. Riley nodded stiffly. "That's reassuring. And uh - how is working with Callaway?"

Oh, that's what this was about.

"It's great. He's really smart and a generally interesting person."

I smiled at myself. Yeah, definitely interesting.

Ms. Riley frowned at my admittance. "And you two are getting along well? There better not be any issues in presenting the project on the assigned due date."

"We've been getting along fine. I like to think that we've become close friends even." I bit my lip, trying to restrain form grinning. "And I assure you there will be no delay in presenting our project for you and the class."

She smile thinly at the reassurance. "Good. I'll have you know that I expect a lot from you, considering your distinct inability to complete the essay I had assigned. I will not accept a mediocre project, Chance."

"And you won't get one, Ms. Riley."

And with that, I fled the class. I flew past the familiar students peppered around the hallways, ignoring them as I sped to my Pre-Calc class. On normal days, I got to class the second the bell rang; late enough to be comfortable, but early enough to not get chastised. Though today, my discussion with Ms. Riley had me later than usual, causing me to get to class a minute after the bell. I walked through the door, muttering an apology to Mr. Franklin, who only shook his head at me.

I stalked over to back of the room, sliding into a desk as I set my notebook and pen in front of me. I could hear a hushed murmuring around me, which was expected. Sitting in the back was not abnormal for me, but sitting beside Callaway was unheard of - for any student. Assigned seating was rare for seniors, and so people took advantage of that fact. Students sat close to the people they liked and sat far away from those they disliked. Callaway was one of the lucky few to be widely disliked around the school. Therefore he was always awarded by being surrounded by empty desks, no matter which class he was in.

That was until a few days ago, anyway. Nowadays, I always took the liberty of sitting right beside him. We hardly talked, but I found that I liked his silent company more than the company of the boisterous teenage boys I was used to.

I was surprised that I got a curt nod from him today, usually my arrival was met with a frown. I beamed back at him before beginning to to scribble down the notes written on the blackboard.

I had finished writing the second last sentence when I noticed a small folded paper in the line of my vision. My eyes widened at it. I was used to getting notes in class, like most teenagers were. Zander had passed them to me almost every Biology class, but Zander wasn't in my Pre-Calculus class.

I wouldn't have been surprised if it was another poke at my supposed relations with Callaway. I had gotten a couple of those. Some were quite harmless, and sometimes endearing:

Callaway and Chance 5ever!

Chanway is my OTP.

Just have sex with Callaway already omfg. You already have eyesex all the time, save us from the sexual tension.