Caught (Camren)

•5•

I skipped down the stairs the following morning in a much better mood than the day before for obvious reasons. I managed to get more sleep than the night before despite laying awake for hours thinking about what I'd done with Lauren and her sudden confession of her attraction to me. I didn't think she even had any desire to be my friend, and the next thing I new I had her pinned against my desk with her lips on mine. It all happened so quickly, but that was what was so enticing. It felt like an adrenaline rush, only it lasted into the next day. Still, even after the way I'd touched her the night prior, all I really wanted was to see her. I just wanted to get to school and find her smiling at me when I walked through the door. I wasn't used to girls giving me attention for more than a few hours at a time, and despite the amount of attention I was receiving from Lauren, something told me that even if we hadn't hooked up, I would have been perfectly fine just talking to her. It was a whole new experience for me. She was a whole new experience. It was like an adventure, like a high that I didn't want to come down from.

I ran outside and hopped on my bike, not even bothering with my car in my attempt to get to school as early as possible. I revved the engine and sped off, making my way to the school in record time and bursting through the double doors. I walked briskly to class and was almost there when I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, pulling me backwards away from the door.

"What are you in such a hurry for, Cabello?" Mr. Patterson demanded.

"I'm just trying to get to class, sir," I answered honestly.

"The bell doesn't ring for another fifteen minutes. What are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything," I insisted.

He nodded in the direction of the main lobby and started forward, motioning for me to follow. I rolled my eyes and backed away from the door, following him to his office and taking a seat inside.

"I want to talk to you about something Ms. Lloyd brought to my attention," he told me.

"Can we make this fast? I have somewhere to be."

"Just listen to me," he begged. "I've heard that you're arriving early to class almost every day and you haven't talked back in quite some time. In fact, Ms. Lloyd even said you're a pleasure to have in class now. You...a pleasure to have in class."

"So what's the problem?" I wondered.

"Well, it's just not like you," he sighed. "It's great, but you have to understand how it looks from my perspective. You've been a pain for three years and all of a sudden everything just...stops. What's changing your behavior all of a sudden?"

"You want the honest answer or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?"

"Be honest with me," he pleaded.

I stood up and picked up my bag, swinging it over my shoulder and stepping towards the door.

"I've been at this school for three years, and if I've learned anything, it's that no one is going to approve of me no matter what I do," I started. "I make one mistake and the whole school's breathing down my neck. Maybe that's why I make so many- because it doesn't matter how much I do right. You and all the prude ass teachers at this school are always going to judge me. Luckily, I found one person that might not be that way, so excuse the fuck out of me if I want to arrive to school on time to talk to her before class. Your 'visits' don't help me and neither did your fucking support group, so you can take both and shove them up your ass. God forbid I actually do something right for once. Wouldn't that be shocking."

I walked out and slammed the door behind me, not waiting to hear his response. Aside from my immediate group of friends, Lauren seemed to be the only person that enjoyed my company and didn't only have something to say to me when I was making a mistake. I didn't have time to be kept from her. I stomped down the hallway and back to Ms. Lloyd's room, making it inside just as the bell rang.