"Of Course Not, He's My Teacher"

6

THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-WRITTEN/IMPROVED  ✅

ELLA'S POV:

Calum turns to face me.
He is grinning a happy grin, and his hands are in his pockets.

"Do you two know each other?" Calum's Dad asks politely.

"We go to the same school, Dad. Ella's new." Calum nods at me as if to say 'hi', and I force a smile.

"Well, shall we sit? I've made a casserole that should be just about ready by now." My dad gestures towards the kitchen, and we make our way to sit at the dining table, whilst Dad starts plating up our food.

There's awkward silence for a moment.
"So, Calum, I hear you're quite the football star." My Dad says, attempting to break the ice.

Calum shrugs his shoulders and smiles.
"Well, I don't know about that, Sir."

Calum's Dad quickly chimes in.
"Oh, come on, don't be so modest, Son. Calum is captain of the football team at North High, and is already basically guaranteed a spot at any college he wants. We've had countless college scouts come to recent games and they all want him on their teams."

Calum rolls his eyes.
"Dad." He mumbles, embarrassed.

Ignoring him entirely, Calum's father continues to sing his praise.
He looks at me as if to say 'sorry', and I smile back.

Placing each of our meals in front of us, my Dad encourages us all to "dig in!"

"So, Ella, Marvin tells us you're more of the creative type?"
Joseph says, grinning in my direction. I finish chewing my mouthful of food before I speak.

"I guess so. I love reading, and all kinds of literature. I love art and really have an affinity for books." I reply, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"How coincidental! Calum also enjoys reading!" Joseph exclaims.
Calum looks at him, confused.

"No I don't."

My father quickly speaks over him,
"Perhaps you could show him your book collection!"

It's at that moment that I realise it's not only my dad trying to set me up with Calum, it's his dad too.

Once Calum and I's plates are clear, we thank Dad for the meal and reluctantly head into the living room, where I keep my massive bookshelf.

"So, this is it, really." I say, flicking on the lights and looking up at the tall full of novels.

"Damn. Lotta books." Calum replies plainly, clearly uninterested.
He slumps into the couch and takes off his jacket.
Damn, he's so ripped you can see practically every muscle through his black tee-shirt.

"So, I gotta ask, did you know about this? About our parents trying to set us up?" He chuckles and I sit down beside him, far enough away for it not to be weird.

"No, not at all. Dad said someone was coming over but I had no idea it would be you." I fiddle with the ring on my index finger as I speak, a little uncomfortable.

Calum just shakes his head and smiles lightheartedly.
"Are you liking the new school so far?" He asks, trying his best to make this less awkward.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I've made pretty cool friends, and I have great teachers."
Some better than others.

"Nice. Well, I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with Luke, are you two like, a thing?" He pries gently.

"I guess so. He actually just asked me to be his girlfriend." I say, unsure why I'm so easily opening up to this jock I've never spoken to before.