Extra Credit - S01 E24

8 months ago

Extra Credit - S01 E24

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 24

Calista

It was officially November. The last month of the semester. At this point I was counting down the days—practically crawling towards the finish line. Exams, while I wasn't ready for any of them, couldn't come soon enough. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I needed a fresh start. One that didn't involve the extra tasks I had taken on this term.

Divya sat next to me in our usual spot, off to the side of the lecture hall. Her head was in her hand, eyes fluttering shut as Professor Hamilton droned on about today's topic. To be honest, even I was having a hard time listening. The energy had been zapped out of me ever since Friday's events. For one, I suffered from a wicked hangover the day after. But what was worse was that I was left worrying about Lincoln. As much as I wanted to shoot him a message and check-in to make sure he was okay, I decided it was best to give him his space.

"Alright," Professor Hamilton said about ten minutes after class was supposed to end. "Ensure you complete the readings for chapters fourteen to eighteen by the end of this week. You're free to go."

The sound of chairs scraping and groaning carried around the room. I stood from my seat, stretching my hands above my head in a poor attempt to wake myself up. I was getting too old for the party scene. Even at the tender age of twenty-one, it took me too long to recover afterwards. But I refused to tell Ella that. She might just scalp me.

"For just one week—just one—I wish we didn't have to read more than two chapters," Divya whined as she packed her laptop into her bag.

"I don't think that's possible with Hamilton."

"How was your Halloween? You ended up going to that sorority party, right?" Divya asked as we made our way down the steps of the lecture hall. "How was it?"

Bits and pieces of that night flashed to my memory. Namely Lincoln and how he had pinned Silva to the wall. The way his face contorted in anger was something I hoped I never had to witness again.

"It was fine," I said. "How about you? Did you end up doing anything?"

"I went with a couple of friends to a bar off campus. You wouldn't believe the amount of freaks that come out of the woodwork on Halloween night."

"Oh," I breathed as we reached the bottom of the steps. "I can imagine."

"Calista," Professor Hamilton waved me over to the platform at the front of the room. "May I have a word?"

Divya regarded me with curious eyes. "I wonder what that's about."

"No idea," I affirmed, stepping around a few students who were on their way out of the lecture hall. "I'll call you later."

We exchanged brief goodbyes before I made my way towards the front of the lecture hall.

"Hi Professor," I said as I stepped up to the podium.

Hamilton shuffled through the papers he had spread around his desk. "How are you, my dear?"

"Fine, thank you. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." He paused his fiddling to regard me over his glasses. "I would ask how tutoring is going, but you seem to be managing."

"We've made it work," I replied with a small smile.

Hamilton nodded, his white hair flapping with the enthusiastic movement. "That is an understatement. Mr. Pierce has improved exponentially within the course. You've done wonders for him."

"He's been working really hard," I said, unable to take all the credit.

Hamilton's eyes glimmered. "Spoken like a true educator. Are you sure you're in the correct program?"

I laughed, "I've dreamt about being an RN since I was a little girl. I don't think I could even consider doing anything else."

Becoming an RN was what I truly wanted. The plan hadn't changed since I was twelve years old. Ever since I learned about the dreams my mother had before she got pregnant with me. But even as the words danced off of my tongue they left me with a bitter taste.

"Very well," he continued. "Regardless, I wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about our little arrangement. You're well on your way to receiving that letter of recommendation. Keep up the good work, Ms. Hale."

A sense of relief flooded my chest. "Thank you, Professor. I plan on it."

"Excellent," he said, his moustache twitching upwards with the curve of his lips. "We'll be in contact. Have a good rest of your evening, Calista."

I wished him the same as I moved away from the front of the room and out of the lecture hall. That was it. The moment that was making it all worth it. All the struggling, all of the preparation, all of the bickering with Lincoln. Professor Hamilton acknowledging my progress with him was the biggest milestone, and I just hit it.

As I weaved around hoards of students my phone vibrated from within my pocket. I fished it out, thinking it was Ella asking me where I was. Instead it was a text message from Lincoln. I stepped to the side of the busy hallway, finding some space by a large window that overlooked the campus greenhouse.

Lincoln: Can't make it to tutoring tonight. Sadie is sick and I have to stay home with her.

An unfamiliar emotion pooled within my stomach. Lincoln had been radio silent since the Halloween party. A few days had passed since then. I allowed him space. Not wanting to stir things up and jeopardize our arrangement again. So either this was an unfortunate coincidence or Lincoln was back to trying to avoid me. Something told me it was the latter.

I clicked on the text box and typed out a response. I wasn't going to let him shut me out again. Not when we had come this far. Not when Hamilton had just told me I was well on my way to getting his referral.

Me: I'll come there then.

Lincoln's text bubble popped up almost immediately. The little dots bounced around for a few seconds before the whole thing disappeared all together. Time dragged on as I waited for him to respond. My heart jolted a little when a single word appeared on the screen.

Lincoln: Ok

A smile erupted across my face.

Me: Perfect. I'll be there in 45 mins.

Author's note:

Happy Wednesday! I think this week has been the most stressful week I've had in a while. If you have any words of encouragement or happy things to share, that would be very much appreciated.

Next chapter we will officially be half way through Extra Credit. Get excited!

Have a good rest of your week x