It's Thursday night and I'm half way through a Government essay. We all got given a country and have to explain their current Parliamentary system. I got the Republic of China, incase you were wondering.
True to Mr Yomati's style, it needs to be handwritten and we need to include a reference list. Next to the thick notepad of lined paper sits my laptop, with almost a dozen reference pages open and a Facebook tab.
When my hand gets to the bottom of the first page, my laptop chimes with a Facebook notification. It's probably just Joss, whinging about Michael again. That's right, it's been almost a week and she's still mad at him. I wish she'd just put him out of his misery already and invite him over for make-up sex already. It's not like he did anything wrong.
I'm onto the second page of writing now and my hand is starting to cramp out. Screw you, Mr Yomati: just because you grew up before computers were invented and therefore had to handwrite all of your assignments does not mean we should have too.
The laptop chimes again, and I put down my pen.
I click the little red button next to the friend icon first and my mouth falls open slightly. I click on the Confirm button quicker than I ever have and then click the other notification. It's a private message and I'm trying not to get my hopes up.
Sure enough, though, Calum's face is next to the little bubble:
Thanks again for giving me your brothers number. I just heard back from his boss and I'm booked in for work experience next month :)
I reread the message three times, and then my fingers are hovering over the keyboard as I try to think of what I can reply. I need something that he has to reply to. I'm not ready for the conversation to end before it's really begun.
That's awesome news! I type, and then delete the exclamation mark. That sounds too enthusiastic. Is that what you want to do next year... become a mechanic?
I stare back at my Government assignment for a second and then push it over to the side, so I don't have to lean over the notepaper to type.
The laptop chimes again: Nah, not really. I think that's what people expect me to do. I'm thinking of going to uni. I wouldn't mind doing a science degree.
My mouth falls open again. I mean, I know Calum's smart but I never really pictured him studying something like science. My mind starts to wander, imagining a crisp white lab coat against his dark skin, as he mixes coloured chemicals in beakers. I wonder what uni he's going to...
Calum types again: I want to major in Astronomy and Astrophysics :)
I smile, typing: You really like stars, hey.
Calum: I think they're interesting. Every day we wake up, destroying our own planet and pretending that we're the most important things in the universe, but we're so insignificant. There's so much more out there, so many things bigger than us.
Me: Like aliens?
Calum: Maybe. I'll let you know in a few years when I'm the youngest scientist to find life on another planet :)
Calum: Are you going to uni?
Me: Yeah, definitely. I'm leaning towards nursing or psychology or something. Maybe we'll see a bit of each other next year on Campus :)
Calum: Aw, unless you're planning on moving away, I doubt it. I'm hoping to get into USU.
USU is the about two hours from us. They specialise in science based degrees, like astronomy and sport science and... psychology.
Me: I've heard good things about USU. Hope it works out for you :)
Calum: You too, with whatever you choose.
Calum: You know, you're pretty cool Ruby. It's been nice talking to you. See you at school tomorrow.
He thinks I'm pretty cool? Me? I let out an involuntary squeal. If only he knew just how nice it's been talking to him. I type a quick goodnight and shut the lid of my laptop down. I get up from my desk and flop down on my bed, trying to figure out how Luke's plan has managed to work and how Calum could be even more perfect than I imagined.
My phone is in my hand and I swipe open the messages, typing to Luke to tell him about my conversation with Calum. My bedroom door swings open and Dad's standing there, his eyebrows pinched with worry. "Are you okay? I heard you scream."
"What? No I didn't."
His eyes do the detective scan of my room, "Yes, I did."
Oh. I did squeal, didn't I? Which I suppose could have been mistaken for a scream. "Oh, right. There was, a, um, bug. On my window sill. It's gone now. But," I add with my eyebrows raised, "Even if I did scream, you took at least 65 seconds to get up here, so you couldn't have been that worried."
Dad looks at me suspiciously but really has no choice but to believe my story. He shrugs, shutting the door halfway again and walking back down the hall.
The message I was writing to Luke is still on my phone but instead of pressing send, I backspace it all and write a different one: Do you want to come to the dog shelter with me on the weekend?
He writes back almost instantly: i know puppies are calum's weakness but a puppy? really? ;)
You know who it's for, I reply. So is that a yes?
its a yes :)
On the way to school the following morning, I'm still thinking about my conversation with Calum and how weird it would be if we ended up at the same university next year.
"What are your plans for next year?" I find myself asking Luke, who's driving today even though we're in my car.
"I don't know, really. Might hang around here for a year and start up a little band or something. Uni can wait a year."
"Since when is your lifelong dream to be in a band?" Luke has an amazing voice but he's never once mentioned any aspirations to be in a band.
"You obviously don't approve of the idea," he answers with a deep laugh. "I don't know, maybe I'll just get a job and then see what happens." He reaches over and pokes my cheek with a finger, "Why? What a your plans, Miss Smarty Pants?"
"I don't know," I say, suddenly conflicted. Last night I fell asleep thinking about USU and how much of a great fit it would be and now, I'm second guessing my choice. "I think I want to study psychology, but I'm not sure where yet."
"Doesn't USU have a good psychology program?"
"I don't know," I snap a bit too harshly as Luke drives into the only vacant block.
We've got some time to kill before class so we head to the seniors lounge for a coffee. It's basically just a classroom that Miss Mackey turned into a group study area for seniors. Most of our grade only goes there to use the free coffee machine.
I'm surprised to see Joss in there, stirring her cappuccino with a little plastic spoon. She generally avoids caffeine unless it's exam period because she claims it's akin to poison.
"Finally decided to switch kale for caffeine?" I joke when we reach her, taking two mugs while Luke gets the milk from the tiny bar fridge.
"I had a late night," she answers with a flat voice.
"Everything okay?" Luke asks, handing me the milk.
"Everything's fine," Joss says, forcing a smile at us both. "But if you must know, Michael and I broke up and no, I'd rather not talk about it."
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Hoodwinked | Calum Hood AU
Fanfiction"That's never going to work, you idiot." It's her senior year and Ruby has vowed to tell her long-term crush, Calum Hood, exactly how she feels. But when things don't go to plan, she skeptically takes on the help of Luke, the boy next door, who beli...
