Training Wheels: Boyfriend Edition

7. free drink

At the exact moment that Mrs. Goodwin ended her lesson, the dismissal bell rang. Everybody loved her because she always timed it perfectly.

While almost every other student cheered and filed out of class in a hurry, Michelle leaned back in her seat and began tossing her belongings into her bag. Unlike most others, she liked taking her time to pack up her things when classes were over.

After all, the school day was finally over. She deserved to take it slow and relax a little. When the last item was chucked into the bag's main compartment, she zipped it up in a careless motion and shouldered it.

Then she strolled out of the classroom, which was empty at this point—even the teacher had left, whistling a tune to herself.

"Michelle!" a voice called out to her as she stepped out of the doorway.

She looked around for its owner before finding Caledon standing only a few feet away to her left. He gave her a tiny wave. Then he held out the can of iced tea he was holding in his other hand towards her.

She stared down at it.

"Hi, Caledon," she said, not moving from her spot.

"Don't you drink iced tea?" he asked, brandishing it at her.

"Yeah," she said. "Sometimes. Why?"

He looked confused. "Then why won't you take it?"

Understanding finally hit her like a baseball bat to the head. "Oh. That's for me?"

She reached out and took it from him.

"Thanks, I think?" she said uncertainly. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"No reason," he said. "I've seen a couple of my friends do that for their girlfriends sometimes."

"Michelle, dear," Mrs. Goodwin's elderly voice came from behind her, "my classroom doorway is no place for chatting. Excuse me."

She jumped aside instantly, making an apologetic face at her teacher.

"Ah, sorry Mrs. Goodwin! I forgot I was still standing here."

When Mrs. Goodwin shuffled off, Michelle turned back to Caledon.

"Is that like, the same thing as when my friends ask me to help them get something from the vending machine? I mean, I didn't ask for it though."

"What?" He looked weirded out. "No. I'm giving it to you just because."

"Because what?"

Her best friends never randomly showed up at her last class and gave her a drink.

"Because you're my girlfriend."

Since this line of questioning was going nowhere, she asked instead, "Why would your friends do that?"

Did her own friends' boyfriends do that for them? She couldn't quite recall, but that probably had to do with the fact that Michelle did her best to pay them as little attention as possible.

"Because they're their boyfriends."

That still wasn't addressing the why.

"My best friends never do this for me. Literally not one of them has come to me after my last class and given me a drink."

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's a thing my friends only do for their girlfriends."

Still confused, Michelle started walking in the general direction of the lockers. He followed her lead. After a second's hesitation, she reached out and slipped her hand into his. He gripped her hand in a comfortable hold.