Change of Plans - C.L. Blackwell Page 0,9

the same strand of hair escaped again. Before I had the chance to put in back in its place, Matt reached across the desk and brushed it behind my ear. I jerked back from the foreign touch of his hand on my face and looked at him. Oblivious to my reaction, he continued to work on his homework like nothing happened. I’m really hoping that was just a friendly gesture, not a hey-I-sort-want-to-be-more-than-friends gesture.

My eyes continued to wander to the clock above the whiteboard. I slowly counted down the minutes until the bell, homework forgotten. Still oblivious to my discomfort, Matt continued his homework. I was getting down to the last two minutes of class when he started packing up his stuff. My bag was already packed. In the last five seconds, Matt stood and grabbed my backpack, taking it with him to the door. The bell loudly pierced the air as he crossed the threshold and I stood to chase after him.

When I caught up to him in the hall I asked, “What are you doing with my bag?”

“Walking you to class,” he said casually, as if it was something he always did.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Because your class is on the other side of the school.” I threw my thumb back in the opposite direction toward where his class was to emphasize my point.

“I’ll be fine,” he responded. I could try to get my bag from him, but he was towering over me, and honestly I didn’t have a chance against him.

We walked the rest of the way to my class in silence.

Next I had science, my best subject, but for some reason it was my lowest grade. Not pointing fingers or anything, but I had a feeling that had something to do with my lab partner. Brody was also in the class, so by last name we should have been put together but the teacher was against putting siblings together so next in line was Caleb. Joy.

So far within the first six weeks of school we have broke three beakers, had to use the fire extinguisher twice, and got a toxic chemical in Caleb’s eye, not that he didn’t deserve it. Even after all that, the teacher refuses to change my partner. It would be a miracle if we didn’t burn the school down before winter break.

Today, we were testing something about mixing chemicals. So not only do I have to put up a guy that I almost kissed, I have to babysit him and make sure no one dies from poisonous toxins. Great, and I was probably going to get gray hairs out of the process.

Matt walked to my desk and set down my bag, giving me a big smile before turning to leave. As he was walking out, Caleb was walking in and they glared at each other. Guys. I sat on a stool while Caleb collected all the materials. He probably hasn't noticed that I’m in class yet, but he always collects the materials. Whenever I try to get up and do something, it’s always, “Don’t worry, I got this, you just sit your cute little butt back down.” Big ego, jerk, and sexist- every girl’s dream.

Chapter Eight

Chemistry

Caleb

I never let Allie get the materials. She shouldn’t have to, and my mom taught me better to sit around while a girl does all the work. Even though Allie was independent and strong headed, we had a silent agreement that I got the materials. When I turned around from grabbing a Bunsen burner, Allie was sitting on her usual stool, biting her lip. Not helping when all I could think about was kissing her.

Thanks to a little encounter with Golden Boy, I wasn’t in the best mood and accidentally slammed the beaker down too hard on the table, making Allie jump. I muttered an apology and went to grab more materials. As I saw my nails and hair growing into claws and fur, I finally took a deep breath and got myself under control. When I turned back to the desk, Allie was already flipping through the packet.

Through all the blowing things up, near death experiences with chemicals, and scoldings from the teacher in this class, we’ve grown a lot closer. The scolding from the teacher were bearable because I could tell she was trying to contain a laugh every time we blew something up, but the scoldings from Brody who sat right in front of us were getting old.

As we started setting the materials up, Brody glanced back