Extra Credit - S01 E21

8 months ago

Extra Credit - S01 E21

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 21

Calista

"The Break Room, huh?" Ella repeated from her bed. She was laying on her stomach, chin perched on a dainty wrist, her cat-like eyes digging through my soul. "And how did that happen? Last I heard you and Lincoln were in a little bit of a lover's quarrel."

I rolled my eyes at the last bit. "We had called it quits for studying. He was hungry. I was hungry. We went to get food. Simple as that."

"Simple," Ella repeated, popping the last syllable. "Whatever you two have got going on is anything but simple."

Light from the afternoon sun beamed through the window. The apples of my cheeks warmed. I closed my eyes, basking in it as I twisted my hair into a new bun. "I don't want to overthink it."

"Of course not." Ella scrolled through her phone, a teasing grin etching itself onto her face.

I knew what she was thinking. Like Ella, I was very much career motivated. I had dreams and ambitions that I had been chasing since I was a little girl. Men were not something I had on my radar very often. Since Ella and I had become friends I had been on one date—and it was casual at best. A guy in my program who had been asking me to go out for coffee with him for months.

I hadn't spent this much one-on-one time with a man in... well, ever.

Lincoln Pierce, while still infuriating, was starting to grow on me. I was beginning to see another side of him. A side that I found insanely attractive.

I pulled in a heavy breath of air through my nose before releasing it.

Keep it professional, Cali.

"Any plans this weekend?" I asked Ella, derailing the conversation.

Ella didn't look up from the small screen in her hand. "One of the sororities is throwing a Halloween party this weekend."

"That sounds like fun," I said trying, and failing, to refocus on the notes in front of me.

"You're coming."

"Am I?"

"You absolutely are. I can see how down you've been since you've started placement. Clear your schedule sweet cheeks," Ella said. "No studying, no tutoring, no babysitting. We're going to party."

When was the last time I'd been to a college party? I couldn't even remember. The thought of breaking away from my stale routine didn't sound so bad. She was right. After everything that has been going on, I could use a break.

"Yeah, I'll come," I said, opening and shifting through a notebook. "I used to love Halloween."

Ella rose a perfectly arched brow. "You're not going to fight with me, complain that you have too much on your plate?"

I flashed her an easy smile. "Nope, I think I should go."

"Well then," Ella's hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She moved onto her back, her blonde head hitting the pillow. "Maybe Lincoln Pierce has been good for you after all."

I rolled my eyes. "Lincoln has nothing to do with it. I realize how hard I've been working and how stressed out it's been making me. I deserve a break."

"Good on you. I'm glad you can finally see that."

A brief quiet settled over us for a moment before a thought came to mind. "So... costume ideas?"

"I was trying to convince Harper that we should do the Powerpuff girls. You know," Ella gestured to her shiny locks. "Because of our hair colour."

"That's a fun idea, why don't we do that?"

"Harper shot me down," Ella sighed. "You know how she is with dresses."

"We could wear shorts?"

"I'll run it by her again, if not I'm sure we can come up with something else. I want to make sure you look good."

A airy laugh escaped from me. "Why are you focusing on how I'm going to look?"

"Because all of Fenton's sports teams have been invited," Ella said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe Lincoln will make an appearance."

My spot by the window got too warm all of the sudden. I pushed my chair back, allowing it to scrape against the carpet, and slipped my sweater over my head.

"There's a high probability that Lincoln won't even show up. Besides," I said, tossing my sweater onto my bed. "Why should that matter?"

"I don't know," Ella went back to scrolling on her phone, speaking in a nonchalant tone. "Sometimes the most unexpected things happen on Halloween night."