Meet Me After Class

Chapter 43: Confusing Times

My nerves were immeditately on edge as I headed to Brown's after school that day. Plus, I still couldn't stop replaying my brief talk with Mr. Scott.

I walked into the room after school, my nerves tingling with anticipation and anxiety. As I approached his desk, I noticed him grading papers, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Um, hi, Mr. Scott," I greeted, my voice wavering slightly.

He glanced up, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Ah, Wendy, good to see you. How are you doing today?"

I tried to sound nonchalant as I replied, "Oh, you know, hanging in there."

Mr. Scott nodded, his gaze thoughtful. "Well, I just wanted to say that, um, congratulations again. You've got real talent, Wendy. Don't ever stop writing."

Sure, he didn't ask me to prom or anything, but he kept callingme "Wendy" the whole time—right there in the classroom! When had he gotten so bold?

"Thank you, Mr. Scott," I murmured. My hands as usual, were sweating like crazy in his presence.

When he looked down, I thought he was going to address the kiss, but he just looked at me in the eye for a few seconds, which made me flush. Instead, he simply met my gaze, causing my cheeks to flush.

"However," he began, his voice firm, "I need to address something else. This is your last warning, Wendy. I've noticed you and Penny passing notes in class again. If it happens again, I'll have no choice but to take you both to the Principal Peels' office. Understand?"

My heart sank as I nodded, my palms growing clammy with anxiety. "Y-yes, Mr. Scott. I understand."

His sudden sternness caught me off guard.That feeling only grew when he left things at "Talk to you later" instead of a normal "See you tomorrow."

With a curt nod, Mr. Scott returned to his grading.

But what did he mean by that? Was he going to call me later? Did he mean in class? Or—my nerves jangled at the ridiculous thought—was he implying he'd drop by my house after school?

Oh, here comes the overthinking express again, making stops at every possible scenario.

I knew the last idea was ridiculous. But I couldn't stop dissecting everything from our conversation—every look and gesture. My thoughts chased each other until I finally arrived, heart pounding, at the familiar Brown's front door, the glass blurry between its wooden frame.

Part of me equally dreaded facing Adam after our big fight. I hadn't worked here for days because of it. Belle told me Audrey kept asking if I planned on coming back. I made up excuses not to explain things to Audrey or Mrs. Brown. But now I had no more left. So here I stood, nerves on edge, unsure of what waited for me inside.

The bell chimed as I pushed open the door to the shop. Behind the counter, Audrey's head snapped up. Her expression flashed both relief and annoyance at the sight of me.

"Oh, so you finally decided to show up," she said, not even trying to hide her irritation.

"Sorry," I mumbled, walking over to lean on the counter. I glanced around—no customers yet. "You're working tonight?" I asked, immediately regretting it as Audrey launched into a rant.

"Of course I'm working tonight. Thanks to you and Adam, I've had to pick up extra shifts." Letting out an indignant huff, she straightened up and smoothed her apron.

"Sorry," I said again.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Adam is being a total drama queen, refusing to work if you are—"

"Wait, seriously?" I interrupted, my eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. "He actually said he doesn't want to work here if I'm around?"

Audrey dialed it back a bit. "Well, he didn't exactly say it like that, but it's pretty obvious. And now Mom is riding my case about what's going on between you two lovebirds." She rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated by the situation.

"We're not—you know what? Forget it."

"Yeah. Forget it. Like I don't have enough on my plate already! I'm a student trying to have an actual social life here, but nooo... I have to spend my nights dealing with family drama and running this bookshop."

She shot me a withering look, daring me to argue. I hesitated, choosing your words carefully.

"What exactly did Adam say?" I asked carefully.

That only riled Audrey up more. "Nothing! Just that he's too 'busy' suddenly to work. For over a week now! I'm the one busting my ass here covering for him!"

I hesitated, nervous to push further. "So...what makes you think we had a fight?"

Audrey gave me an incredulous look. "Because he won't say a freaking word about you. That's how I know. And if you need a more obvious reason: you guys aren't hanging out, duh!"

Somehow we ended up arguing about how Adam and I were apparently ruining her life. My guilt made my tone sharp. "Well, you can't always get what you want, can you? Belle had to give up going for captain since you..."

"Oh, save it!" Audrey snapped, making me flinch. "Belle already told me everything. She's chicken scared that I'd be too busy to hang out with her, so don't try and guilt-trip me."

I bit my lip, feeling like some wicked witch just trying to spread misery. Since when did I become so spiteful? "I'm sorry," I muttered as she rolled her eyes.

What was happening to me?

A few hours of tense silence with Audrey passed, interrupted only by the occasional customer. Then Mrs. Brown called and asked us to close up early. I decided to swing by Cup and Saucer since I wasn't ready to go home yet.

Dad was still there when I came in. I offered to lend a hand, telling him Mrs. Brown had decided to close early. We ended up chatting in the kitchen as he was cleaning up his desk.

"So, everything okay with you and Adam? I heard you two had a fight," Dad said. He was concerned. Adam was his favorite. Of course, he would be.

I waved a hand absently. "Oh, we're fine. We're not fighting...or anything. We're just both really busy lately, so we haven't hung out much..." I trailed off, hating to lie but not ready to explain things either.

Dad nodded, his eyes full of warmth and understanding. "You know, sometimes even the closest friends go through rough patches. It can help to give each other space for a bit. Time has a way of smoothing things out."

I bit my lip. Dad always seemed to see more than I realized. But he was considerate enough not to pry.

We talked some more, and somehow I ended up admitting I felt confused about a lot of things lately. I appreciated being able to open up to my dad; he was an easy person to talk to.

Dad nodded thoughtfully at my vague worries. "You're young; you're allowed to feel confused and explore your options. There's no need to make any final decisions yet, kiddo."

Then we talked more about my vague worries—college, leaving home. Finally, Dad put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Sweetheart, there's no need to figure everything out yet. Give things time and keep an open and forgiving heart. The rest has a way of working itself out."

I smiled wistfully. I knew we were thinking of two very different sources of confusion. He meant college and Nepal. I was thinking of other things. But his reassurance still made me feel a bit better.