F-ing Perfect (Girl x Girl)

43: Jumping Ship

Grace jumped a little as if she'd forgotten he was there. Her face morphed into a smile that Cal could easily see was fake. It was somewhat uncharacteristic for Grace...she must've just acted like this around her teachers.

"Oh, well, uh, we were talking in class about how we both didn't pick it as our first-choice elective, so we wanted to switch," Grace lied.

The counselor raised an eyebrow, obviously unconvinced. "Are you sure it isn't just about you two not getting along?"

"Of course not! We don't even really know each other! Right?" Grace turned to look at Cal for confirmation. She was smiling, but there was a hint of a threat glimmering in her eyes.

Cal felt a tug at her heart at Grace saying they didn't know each other well. Even though it was a lie, the prospect made the taller girl feel irrelevant in her ex's eyes. In spite of not knowing each other for very long, Cal felt like they'd been through a lot together and shared secrets that other people didn't know about.

But look where they were now.

"Ah...right," she finally agreed, trying not to give away disappointment in her voice. This was the only way of getting transferred out of sociology anyway...

"That's funny," the counselor replied, "because I recall an incident where you two were causing a scene in the cafeteria before break. Based on the yelling and name-calling, I assume that you guys have become relatively acquainted."

Grace paused a second, but finally, she dropped her ruse, and stepped forward to plant her hands on the counselor's desk.

"Alright, fine, we don't get along. But isn't that cause enough to switch one of us out of the class?" Grace pleaded.

"Yeah, I didn't ask for this elective anyway," Cal chimed in. "I thought we got some better scheduling priority as juniors."

"You usually do, but this year's junior class is unusually large," the counselor explained, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, but they're really cracking down on class sizes, so we can't change electives unless there's a legitimate reason. You two are highschoolers. You need to work out your differences yourselves. Just don't talk to each other in class."

Grace looked like she was ready to argue, but she just ended up sighing. She obviously wasn't one to talk back to the teachers or school staff.

"Alright. Fine."

"If you two need to talk it out, you can come to my office," the counselor said, his voice becoming more gentle and understanding. "I know it's not ideal, but my hands are tied this semester."

"Yes, sir," Grace and Cal replied in unison.

The two girls walked out of the office and another student headed in after them. Once they were back in the hallway, they awkwardly turned towards each other, not making eye contact.

"So...you had the same idea to switch electives?" Cal asked.

"Yeah...you did too?"

"Yep."

The silent pause was ridiculously uncomfortable, and Cal shifted her weight from one leg onto the other.

"Well...you sure have a lot of nerve," Grace said suddenly.

"Huh?" Cal asked, confused. "For wanting to do the same thing you did?"

"Yes," Grace said, holding her chin higher, hands settling on her waist. Now the two were looking each other in the eye, and the action sent chills down Cal's spine. Still, the taller girl held her ground.

"And why are you allowed to transfer out and not me?" Cal questioned. "Are you that offended that I didn't want to be in the same class as you?"

Cal thought she saw Grace's cheeks redden a little, but she convinced herself it was a trick of the light.

"Of course not! That's what I wanted anyway." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, then I guess we'll have to try and get along, like the counselor said," Cal remarked in an obviously sarcastic tone. She stared Grace down, happy to be getting any reaction out of the honor student. Although she'd hate to admit it, she'd been somewhat starved for the shorter girl's attention since they'd stopped seeing each other regularly. The desire lay dormant in the back of Cal's mind, but it was still there nonetheless.

"Yeah right," Grace shot back. "Just stay out of my way. You and Dana can keep messing around in the corner like idiots."

And with that, Grace took off, bumping Cal out of the way with her shoulder in the process. The small touch sent waves of electricity through Cal's body – she couldn't remember the last time they had any physical contact. Reeling from her reaction to the touch, Cal just watched as the pretty brunette stalked down the hallway, even flipping her hair in the process.

This semester's gonna suck...