Classified ☑

[ chapter 06 ]

Thankfully Mr. Hall only lectured during class and dismissed us once the bell rang. Students packed up their things as chairs scraped against the floor. Before I could walk out of the classroom, Mr. Hall called my name.

"Yes?" I asked, walking up to his desk and noticing only a few students left in the classroom, Cole being one of them.

Mr. Hall glanced at the remaining students as well, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Finally, he looked at me. "Are you alright?"

I adjusted the strap from my backpack on my shoulder. "Yes, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

He glanced at my hands and nodded. "Because your hands look like that."

My heart dropped as I looked at them, I'd completely forgotten about having to hide my hands. "Oh, it's from punching a punching bag without any tape on."

Mr. Hall pressed his lips into a thin line, like he was thinking about whether I was telling the truth or not. It meant a lot to me that he was asking if I was okay, but I also didn't want to be fussed over and have people think something else was going on when it wasn't.

I felt a presence behind me as someone walked up. "She's telling the truth," his deep voice said. Cole. I turned around to look at him but his eyes were on Mr. Hall, avoiding my gaze. "She was at the gym I workout at and I saw her last night."

Mr. Hall's eyes glanced between the two of us and settled on my hands for a brief second. "Okay," he said reluctantly, "you two better go if you want to get to class on time."

Cole and I nodded our heads before leaving his class. The door closed behind us and I turned to Cole. "Uh," I paused. "Thanks for helping me." I pointed to Mr. Hall's classroom door with my thumb, referring to what he just did.

His eyebrows slightly raised in surprise, like he couldn't believe I was talking to him. "Don't mention it." He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot before turning around and walking away.

Quietly, I sighed. At least I had tried. Before I even took two steps in the opposite direction of Cole, he called my name.

"Nina."

I turned around to find him walking back towards me. A wave of nerves rippled through my body as he got closer. "Yes?"

He stopped right in front of me and looked down, his eyes flickered as he searched my face for something. "I want to say I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I should've never made those comments."

My guard dropped as his shoulders tensed up in anticipation of my response.

For a moment my mouth hung open as I tried to find the words. "You're sorry?" I asked, pointing at him. I mentally wanted to slap myself for that response as hurt flashed through his eyes. "No, no! That's not how I meant it," I spoke quickly. "I meant that I'm surprised you're saying sorry."

His face morphed into uncertainty as he took a half step back. "Um-"

I slapped my face, lacking the capability of being able to explain how I felt. "What I meant was I think I should be the one apologizing," I finally explained.

Cole's shoulders slumped down as a slight smile pulled at his lips, like he found me amusing. "You have a great way with words."

I took a deep breath and blew it out, turning around to head back in the direction I needed to go to get to my next class. I wanted Cole to know I didn't blame him, but I also wasn't going to stand around and get laughed at.

"Wait, wait," Cole said, jogging to stand in front of me. He held his hands up for me to stop. "Please wait. What I meant was that-" he closed his mouth as he thought about what he was trying to say. He opened his mouth and closed it again quickly.