My Imaginary Boyfriend

My Imaginary Boyfriend *Antisocial

“We’re going to have a field trip.”

Excited chatters fill the room after the statement of Mr. Tyree. When my classmates settle, they soon ask questions on where, and when we’re going to have our tour, and how many days, if it’s overnight—which is unlikely.

“Class, class,” Mr. Tyree warns, “You’re disturbing the other classes that are having their lessons.”

Still, my classmates aren’t lowering their voices. They continue to talk, ignoring Mr. Tyree who’s looking impatient and stressed at the same time.

“Aren’t you excited?” Caleb asks, leaning towards me.

“Not really,” I answer.

“Why?” he asks curiously, raising his eyebrows.

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “Maybe because the old field trips we had been to were not really exciting. I don’t want to let my hopes up.”

“Where did you go before?”

“In a boring museum,” I say, remembering old times.

And then I tell him everything about all the previous trips we had, while Mr. Tyree sits in his chair, fuming with rage.

When we went to that old museum, I was alone. Kamille was absent that day because she was sick. My other acquaintances didn’t take the subject Geography that year. The students who took Geography were the only ones required on that trip.

So I was left to walk around inside the museum, staring at the old ceiling above me, and the paintings of the infamous artists on the wall.

I love art. I appreciate the paintings, but there was something about the building that was creepy. Especially, I was alone. The other students had their friends with them.

“One time,” I continue, “We went to a botanical garden. A student tried to catch a butterfly, but he didn’t know that in the end, he caught a bee. He was so afraid, running around, until one of the gardeners took the bee away.”

Caleb laughs at that. A smile makes its way in my face as I watch him catch his breath. Caleb always smiles and laughs. It comes easily to him.

A thump in front of the room makes him stop from laughing.

Mr. Tyree glares at the students who aren’t looking at him. “I know you’re all excited about the trip, but you shouldn’t act immature about it!”

Some looks down in embarrassment.

“Your tour is on October 1,” he continues. “It’s not really an educational trip because your trip is in an amusement park.”

“What?” Several voices ask at the same time.

“The details aren’t final yet,” he says. “I’ll tell you when it’s official.”

At his last word, the bell rings. Nice, the one hour of the subject is just for the discussion of the tour. Actually, it’s just like a chat time for us, students, because Mr. Tyree didn’t really discuss it.

Standing up from my chair, I say, “Goodbye,” to Caleb.

“Wait,” he says, following after me.

When we’re at the door, Maegan walks by.

“Caleb!” She says, glancing at me up and down.

I bite my tongue before I can say bad things to her. Who does she thinks she is to look at me like that?

“Bye,” I mouth to Caleb.

He looks at me worriedly while I walk away from him.

Kamille and I meet halfway in the cafeteria. She chats along the way, not bothering to check if I’m listening or not. After we order our food, we sit across from each other in our usual table.