The shy boy from math class

Chapter 37| Catching up

Two months later...

"Have you heard back from any schools?" I ask Grayson as we walk down the hallway.

He shakes his head no, breathing out through his nose. "I've applied to six and haven't heard back from one."

"Six? I only remember five?" I furrow my eyebrows.

The bell rings and Grayson quickly kisses my cheek. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

Before I can answer him he disappears into the crowded hallways and I stand there speechless. I walk into my English class and sit next to Scarlett who has her face shoved into a book. Scarlett was always the friend that was a big reader.

She read all genres. Except for poetry but she had a love for fantasy books. She used them as an escape from the real world and imagined herself as a knight fighting off a dragon or a princess falling in love with the rival kingdom's son. You could get her any book at all and she would read it in less than a week. Well, she did that a lot in middle school.

I haven't really talked to her since the day she came over to my house to apologize. I haven't talked to Gaby either. I mainly stuck to Genevieve and Grayson. I miss talking to Scarlett. She always made me want to live life on the edge. Of course, that hasn't happened but it was always a thought.

She also made me laugh like no other. The type of laugh where your stomach starts to hurt.

"Hey Scar." I smile as I slump into my seat.

She looks up from her book and her eyes light up once she realizes it's me. "Hi, Sel."

She goes back to her book and I stare at my cuticles. We should catch up. I should ask her to lunch. What if she says no?

"Hey Scar?" My voice almost comes out as a whisper.

"Hm?" She hums, her eyes never leaving her book.

"Do you want to get coffee later?" I blurt.

She slowly looks up at me and I can see a slight rise in her eyebrows. "You mean like me and you?" She points back and forth to me and her.

I nod.

I swear her eyes lit up when she replied with, "Of course."

☆

"I'm sorry, Gray." I constantly look over my shoulder to make sure Scarlett isn't nearby. "We can hang out tomorrow or something."

"I thought you didn't like Scarlett?" He asks.

"I don't like her brother. That's not the point. The point is that I'm going to use this time to catch up with her. I haven't talked to her since last year!"

"Okay, Okay. Have fun, I'll call you later." He chuckles.

I take a deep breath and say, "Bye, I love you."

"I love you more." He says then hangs up the phone.

I shove my phone into my pocket and walk back to the table where Scarlett is sitting. Once she realizes I'm sitting back down, she shuts her book, putting it into her bag.

"So," she smiles, picking up her mug with both hands, "how are you and Grayson?"

I smile at the thought of him again. She takes a big gulp from her mug and quickly wipes her sleeve across her top lip after.

"Amazing," I say gently. "He brings out a side of me I didn't know existed."

Her smile widens and a small chuckle escapes her lips. "I'm so happy to hear that! I see you two walking the hallways together sometimes and you guys look so in love. It's nice to see your smile when you're with him. I haven't seen that smile in months."

"I didn't expect myself to move on pretty fast but then again, I wasn't the only one to move on fast," I mumble.

Her smile slowly fades and she drinks from her mug to fill the silence.

"So do you have a boyfriend yet?" I ask.

Her smile returns as she eagerly nods. "His name's Kiersten and he's a junior in college."

She pulls her phone from her pocket and scrolls through it for a second. She turns her phone and shows a picture of her smiling widely next to who I assume is her boyfriend.

He has shaggy blonde hair and his arms are covered in tattoos. Not exactly the guy I imagined but if he makes Scarlett happy, I don't mind.

"You guys look so happy together," I smile, looking up at her. "I'm really happy for you, Scar."

We both smile at each other when her phone gets a phone call. She takes the phone back and her smile drops. She declines the call and shoves her phone back into her pocket.

"It was uh-"

"I saw," I say quietly.

Her cheeks hint a pink color as she bites her lip.

"How is Calvin? Feels like I haven't heard from him since- - well you know." I finally ask.

"He's a nervous wreck. He and Gaby are both a nervous wreck. Their baby is due any time this month, actually." She admits.

"This month? God, it feels like it was yesterday when Gaby took the pregnancy test." My eyes slightly widen. I take a sip from my mug as Scarlett nods in agreement.

"I haven't talked to my brother ever since all of this happened. He moved out last month to those paid apartments in Lakeside. You know the ones that are basically paid for by the state for low-income parents. The state found out that they were teenagers and offered them a place right away- - oh shit! You probably don't want to hear about any of this-"

I shake my head no and chuckle. "It was the only thing on our minds anyway."

Her worried look turns into a smile as she nods. "They're doing fine. Just anxiously waiting for Gaby to go into labor."

"Does she knows what she's having?" I ask.

Scarlett nods, showing me a video of Calvin and Gaby popping one of those gender reveal balloons. The balloon pops when Gaby poked it with a needle. Blue confetti flies everywhere and all I can hear are cheers. Gaby eagerly jumps up and down and so does Calvin. I catch myself smiling at their happy moment.

My smile fades away as Scarlett takes back the phone.

They're having a boy. A baby boy who's expected to arrive any day this month.