The Raven and The Dove

Chapter 4

A small sigh escapes her lips, as soon as she knows she’s out of view. She could feel a slight blush dusting her cheeks, but she was hoping it wasn’t noticeable. If anyone asked, she could just say she’d been running, which wasn’t a lie. 

Opening the door to the classroom, she tries to sneak in undetected. She was almost there! Just one more step…

“Melia Summers!”

Melia freezes, mentally cursing at herself, before she slowly straightens herself, sending the teacher an apologetic smile.

“Yes, sir?” she responds, trying her best to both look and sound innocent, though from the glare she was receiving, it clearly wasn’t working. 

“I assume you have a good reason for being late?”

“I’m sorry, sir, I overslept.” She lowers her head slightly, expressing regret, which makes the teacher let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Look, since you are usually always on time, I’ll look past it this once.” he says slowly, before looking back at Melia with a stern look in his eyes.

“But do not let it happen again!”

Melia quickly nods as she mumbles a brief ‘thank you’, taking the last step towards her desk and sitting down. She ignores the small chuckles from some of the other students, knowing they probably enjoyed seeing the perfect student getting in trouble.

Pulling out her books, she had every intention of listening to the teacher, but somehow she didn’t hear a word he said, her thoughts lingering at the small conversation in the hallway. It had felt so casual, yet she had been holding herself back. Oh, how she wanted to tease him. Kiss him. Maybe even…. 

No, she couldn’t! She briefly shakes her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts, but they seem stuck in her head. That assertiveness, which seemed to be a cover for his shyness, judging from his general behaviour.

Did that mean he wasn’t actually the bad boy, that everyone thought him to be, though? She was unsure, but somehow she felt he was undeserving of his bad reputation. Not that it would make him any less attractive, because he was still one of the hottest guys, she’d ever laid her eyes on, but it did make him seem a bit less exciting.

Maybe she should test it out. See what she could drag out of him. Who knows, he might be even more fun than she expected. At that thought, she bites her lower lip lightly, a smile slowly spreading on her lips. Oh, this should be fun.

Caleb has been standing in the same spot for almost three minutes, Melia long gone, her words filling his head. Did she mean that, or was she just teasing? He had been trying to figure out what to make of her comment, but he had been unable to actually think about it.

The clicking of heels, brings him back to reality, looking around quickly to spot the source of the sound. It didn’t really sound like the typical perky walk of the female students, so he figured it was probably a teacher. Just what he needed. 

Thanking whatever deity is out there, that he always wore shoes with soft soles, he turns around and bolts, practically sliding around a corner to avoid being seen. He was really not up for getting detention today.

As luck would have it, though, he ends up almost colliding with the gym teacher, only barely managing to stop in time. Great, out of the frying pan and into the fire. He was probably going to have detention for about a week, just for that.

“Mr. Black, how kind of you to show your face.” 

Cringing a bit, Caleb slowly looks up to meet the teacher’s gaze, not holding it for long before he looks away, suddenly finding the wall very interesting. If looks could kill, this man would’ve been a murderer several times over.

“I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.” he mumbles, spouting off the same line as always.

It wasn’t like he was always purposefully late, he just had certain…. Issues in the morning. Those ‘issues’ were basically just him having a hard time getting off his ass in the morning. Usually also forgetting to set an alarm. 

“You say that every time, yet here we are again.” the teacher says, sounding tired. 

“Not only that, you’re also running in the hallway and you almost ran into a teacher. I’d say a month of detention would do you well.”

Caleb’s jaw drops as he looks at the teacher in front of him, disbelief written all over his face.

“A month?! Are you crazy?!”

The words slip out of his mouth before he can stop them, and he’s already regretting his lack of self-restraint. Of course, he had to dig his own grave. 

“Two. Care to make it three?”

“No, sir.” Caleb quickly says, regaining his composure. Any arguing would only make it worse.

“Good, now get to class!”

He glares at the teacher’s back, considering if there was a way to somehow get back at him. Detention for two months? That was going to be absolute hell, especially if his mother found out. Not that she was likely to, but on the off chance she did…

Shaking off the thoughts of that, a sigh leaves him. Detention, huh? Well, at least he was kind of used to it by now. Might as well make the best of it, right?

He spares the clock on the wall a glance, then decides to skip first period. It was halfway through, anyway, so no reason to go there now. Besides, if he skipped first period, he might be able to catch Melia between classes. He knew where her locker was, so it should be fairly easy, provided he didn’t run into more issues. Now, he just had to figure out where to hide until the bell rang.

Janitor’s closet was a no-go, since a lot of people had hidden there to skip classes, so the teachers had gotten aware and regularly checked that. Outside, maybe? Nah, it looked like it was about to rain, and he didn’t feel like getting drenched. Bathroom was too cliché, and honestly… Gross as hell.

His eyes light up, when a thought occurs to him. Of course! Why didn’t he think of that immediately? He moves towards the nearest staircase, practically jumping down the steps as he makes his way towards his goal.