"I must ask you to reconsider," Ravi had spent the rest of his classes after English to garner up a sufficient counterargument. With the way they'd reacted to the news when they heard Shelby was willingly sitting and talking to him, he could imagine how mortifying it would be if she actually came.
Shelby stopped what she was doing-humming whilst attaching different kind of pins to her backpack-to give him a bemused look. "Reconsider what?"
"Your idea," he waited for a response but she was still confused. "For our project."
"Ooooh," Recognition flashed across her face. "Why's that?"
"I just think it would be wise to reconsider," he repeated. "You must be very busy after moving and I don't want to disrupt that. And I am very busy myself...with things," he said lamely.
"Silly, I'm never too busy for you," she told him as though it was obvious.
A strange warm sensation filled his entire chest but he shook it off. It didn't matter how many times she rattled off about their alleged friendship or proclaimed about how Ravi was her best friend, his guard was still up and it would be a long time before it was down.
"That is not the point," Ravi argued. "Would you parents appreciate me coming over when they're probably in the middle of unpacking?"
"They're at work," Shelby sucked on a juice box. "My dad's a teacher. He teaches first grade, but no; he didn't teach my class. That would've been so cool! I know most kids wouldn't like to be in the same class as their parents but I would! It would be amazing if he taught high school instead, don't you think? Oh! And my mom's a nurse. She works in the ER. I went with her once, on one of those bring-your-kids-to-work-day's. Elliot got sick after seeing all the blood but I didn't! I think I might do something medical after I graduate. What about you? Have you thought about what you want to do?"
"No," he said flatly. But back to the original subject. "I really think we should wait. Your parents probably wouldn't want to know at the last minute that I'm coming over."
"I could text dad."
"That would still be inconvenient."
Shelby shrugged. "They never said I couldn't have anyone over."
Ravi could tell he was losing the battle. "Perhaps we should go somewhere else."
"Like your house? That's a great idea! Oh my gosh, I can't wait! I'll text dad now!" she seemed very pleased by his 'suggestion'.
"No, no. That's not what I meant!" he panicked.
"But you just said-"
"No," he said it a little more harshly than he intended for it to be. "You cannot come over."
"Why not?"
B-because, err," he had to think quickly. Then a thought occurred to him. "Because my living room isn't cleaned and Jessie doesn't allow us to have anyone over if it isn't." He did the most fake apologetic head shake he could muster.
He barely stopped himself from making a face at his ridiculous excuse. There was no way she would believe that.
"Oh, I see," she said like it made sense. "So where would we go? Or are we not working on it today?"
Hmm. Had she just asked that in the first place, maybe he wouldn't of freaked out so much. "I do not know." He could ask Jessie for permission to be out until dinner. He and Shelby could find a place, somewhere in the public view for them to rehearse. "Perhaps the library or the park?"
"I like that!" Shelby bobbed her head. "How about the library? I love it there! I used to sit at the one back home for hours and read."
Ravi was okay with that. Moreso, he was pleasantly surprised at the information she revealed. Hardly anyone he knew voluntarily spent their time reading. "Alright."
She cheered, only to be shushed by the lunch monitor. Her giggles quietened. "This means we'll get to walk together after school! Won't that be great?"
"Sure," he lied. He hoped Jessie would inform Luke and Zuri so he didn't have to himself. Or run the risk of Shelby meeting them.
"Great! It's a date!"
He choked on his water.
"Excuse me?"
"Relax, silly," she broke out into a grin as she handed him a couple napkins. "It's not a real date. We're just working on our project."
He wiped away the excess water from his chin. "Right," he muttered.
Shelby occupied herself by texting her dad to see if it was okay to go to the library. Ravi was doing the same with Jessie.
Is it okay if I go to the library after school? It's for a project.
Jessie replied a couple minutes later. She must have been eating lunch as well.
Of course, sweetie. Just be back by dinner. I'll tell Luke and Zuri so they don't wait for you.
"My dad said it was okay," Shelby grinned.
"Jessie did as well."
"I can't believe we're gonna hangout!" she squealed. "I didn't know if I could because my brother and I have chores to do after school. Just simple stuff like taking out the trash. Do you have a lot of chores to do or does someone do it for you? Did that sound mean? I hope not. Sometimes people think I'm nosy but I don't mean to be. It just comes out that way."
"I do my own chores," he said, not addressing the fact that he was the only one of his siblings that did. Bertram didn't do much other than the occasional dust or maybe laundry. It was Jessie who took care of things. "And no, it wasn't mean," he added. A little nosy on her part yes, but he didn't take it as being mean.
Interesting that you felt the need to say it
What? I'm just being nice. It isn't a crime
No, but I thought you didn't care about her?
I...I don't. Not like that
Shelby reached over to squeeze his hand as a kind of thank you. "I'm so glad I met you. I told my friends back home about you and they want to meet you sometime! Caleb's the only guy in our group so he'll be happy to have you to talk to."
Ravi's mouth went dry at the thought of meeting new, strange people. If Shelby acted the way she did, he could imagine the people she was around. "Oh, no, I don't think so."
"Why not?" Her wide, bright eyes looked so innocent.
Ravi caught himself staring but quickly retracted. They were just very green and he wasn't used to seeing green eyes.Yeah, that's it. "I just don't." He didn't feel like explaining.
Shelby shrugged. "Okay."
Shelby needed to grab something from her locker before they left. It was fine by Ravi. He slipped into the bathroom to relieve himself and afterwards he met her at the end of the hallway. Most of the students were already gone, except for those in extracurriculars and the teachers that were preparing to leave.
Shelby tied her hair back in a high ponytail and rolled up the short sleeves on her t-shirt. "Ready?" she had a bounce in her step. He dearly hoped she was not going to skip on the way there.
"Yes," he nodded curtly. "Let us go."
They walked out of the school, side-by-side (although, Ravi made sure they weren't touching by any means), down the steps at the front entrance and they made a left turn. By now, the street was crowded with a mob of people rushing around as it always did. He was caught off guard when Shelby suddenly grasped a fistful of his shirt as they maneuvered through. Even the noise of the city did not detour her from talking.
"We didn't have this many people back home. My town's super tiny and I know everyone. Do you know a lot of people here? I used to say hi to my neighbors and I had this one grumpy old guy who always ignored me until I gave him an apple pie as a Christmas present. You should've seen his face, he was so happy! Do you like apple pie or any kind of pie? I kinda like pecan but I love cake more, I like the frosting. Pie's okay but it's not something I'd choose over cake."'
She chattered on directly behind his ear, causing him to wince at her volume.
Dear Gods, does she ever stop talking? I cannot take much more of this
Finally they made it out, and only after he inched away did she release her hold on his shirt. "Sorry," she giggled.
Ravi squinted his eyes when the sun beamed down right on his eyes. Never did it occur to him to bring sunglasses; of course, never did it occur to him that he would be going anywhere else besides school that day either.
"Are you hot?" Shelby broke through his thoughts.
"What?"
"Your face," she pointed to her cheeks, "it's red. Wanna stop for a drink? I can buy, I just got my allowance. But I am trying to find a job. Back home I helped the local farm because he lived alone. Have you ever milked a cow before? It's so fun! You should totally do it sometime!"
He cut her off before her speil ran any longer than it had to be. "I am fine, thank you. Perhaps later."
Unbeknownst to her, he never intended for later to come.
"Okay!" She did one high skip then resumed her normal walking pace.
Unlike any of the times they'd walked together around school, Shelby seemed absorbed in her own little world, not offering any kind of conversation. It was honestly refreshing. Ravi sideways glanced at her, from the corner of his eye he saw her eyes lighting up as she took in the sights and sounds of New York. She reminded him of himself when he first arrived; when everything was so new and exciting. It must have been the same way for someone raised in a rural area to be uprooted to somewhere else so big and different from anything they've ever known.
Someone's being sympathetic!
"Wow," Shelby murmured, taking in the buildings and flashy signs. It was, possibly, the shortest sentence she'd spoken since she moved there.
"It's nothing special," Ravi didn't know why he felt the need to be negative.
Shelby turned to face him, smiling like she was reminiscing. "We don't have these fancy things where I'm from."
What do you have?
"I suppose it's not special to you since you're probably used to it and all," she half shrugged. "But for me, it's like winning the prize for the biggest pumpkin."
He looked at her puzzledly, not understanding.
She explained right away. "Nobody but Old Man Bobby Joe ever won the pumpkin contest. Nobody ever knew why, but he did it every year. He also made the best pumpkin pie, too."
"I thought you said you did not like pie very much?"
"Well, not really," she said. "But you can't not on Thanksgiving, even if it doesn't taste as good as cake."
This time, he shrugged. "I've never had any."
She stopped walking-he did, too, confusedly-and gasped. "Never ever?"
He wasn't sure what the big deal was. "No?"
"Why not?"
"No one in my family likes it so I suppose that's why."
"Remind me at Thanksgiving to save you a slice," she nodded, saving that thought into her memory bank.
"Oh, no. That is not necessary-"
She slapped his back, a tad hard. "Well, sure it is! Besides, sharing is caring!"
Unless what you are sharing is germs
"If you insist," he said hesitantly.
"Course I do," she told him. "You may not get to have Old Man Bobby Joe's but my dad'll bake it and it's pretty good. Do you like whipped cream? We always have whipped cream on ours but if you don't like it, I'll tell dad to keep it off."
"...Yes." He was the only one in his family that did, Jessie and Bertram included.
"Great! We'll keep it on!"
Yay. Ravi forced a smile.
"Oh, we're here!" She pointed at the library. "It's much bigger than the one back home. Ours used to be someone's house, which was kinda cool but didn't really have a lot of space unless you went to the basement but that was the kids section."
The inside of the library was calm and soothing. Ravi had come there prior to this, seeking refuge in books and silence. It wasn't completely silent, but better than the penthouse. The stacks of books on the shelves excited him, not quite the same way anymore, though it didn't leave him altogether.
"Wow," she repeated. Ravi had to agree with her. "This is so cool!"
The librarian, a young college girl who obviously didn't want to be there, threw them a dirty look that clearly told them to shut up-or else.
"Volumn," Ravi whispered quickly. The last thing they needed was to get kicked out for insubordination.
"Oh, right. Sorry. This is so cool," she said quieter, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.
Oh Gods
"Where should we go?" Shelby craned her neck, looking for a spot.
Ravi prayed that no one from school, the nerds that were even against him, weren't going to show up here. So far, he didn't see anyone he knew or recognized, as it was mostly vacant. "I am fine wherever."
"Great, how about there!" Shelby was referring to the spot right next to an open window (which was strange considering the air condition was on, but he digressed).
"Sure," Ravi agreed.
They sat their backpacks on the table, unpacking the necessities: pencils, a notebook, the papers from English on Shakespear, the Romeo and Juliet book and the rubric. Ravi sat down whilst Shelby was across from him, just like at lunch. After she pushed her chair forward, she smiled at Ravi and he realized he didn't know what to say.
His mind went blank.
"Did you decide on what part we should choose?" She was the first to speak.
It was then he had to admit. "I was hoping you did."
She giggled. "Oh. That's funny."
Not really
"Well, we could either do the balcony scene or the one with the two friar's, I think that's what we talked about in class, right? So what do you wanna do?"
"I do not know," he hated that he was bing so indecisive. It wouldn't matter down the line so why was he being so picky? He frustrated himself sometimes more than others did.
Shelby bit her lower lip, sinking into deep thought. "Well, the rubric doesn't say the scene has to be timed, so if you want, we can do the friar scene and get it over with so you won't have to be up there long."
He eyed her warily. "I thought you wanted to do the balcony scene because it was romantic?"
"Oh, I do," she said. "But I also don't want you to have stage fright. My friend Isabella had it when she did her first play, The Little Princess. She was the lead, Sara, and it was her first time as the lead and she froze up right on stage! Poor Bella. She was so upset after, even though she remembered her lines and finished. I wouldn't want that to happen to you. Bella was so embarrassed, she didn't want to come to school for a while."
I wouldn't want to go to school either way
You should thank her
Why?
She's being nice. God knows you don't get that often
A cluster of thoughts, burdened memories, fogged up his mind to the point he was tongue tied.
"I swear if you say another word, I'll kill you."
"Class, this is your new classmate: Ravi Ross."
"You talk weird."
"I bet he smells weird too."
"Ravi! If you keep talking to Mr. Kipling, people are gonna start thinking you're weird. Trust me, you can't afford it."
Shelby sat patiently, blinking. Rather unnerving, he should've asked her to stop but he couldn't. He didn't know why, why he couldn't just speak but there was too much going on at once.
His head shot up at the sound of a water bottle being put down in front of him.
"I forgot I had it," Shelby was speaking softer than she was when they came in. Was it because she was aware she needed to use an inside voice or did she sense a change in him? "Go on, I didn't drink out of it, I promise."
He took it, only upon the realization that his throat and mouth were unnaturally dry. He was absolutely parched. As he sipped, careful not to push himself into shock, he heard Shelby talking again.
"You looked hot. Your face is still red and you're sweating. I didn't want you to get heat stroke or something. That happened to someone I know, once. It was awful. He thought he was dying. He passed out right in front of me. If my mom wasn't a nurse I don't think I would've been as calm. Bella would've freaked out, I know that. She isn't always good in an emergency."
"Thank you," and he meant it. He was about to hand her the bottle back but figured she probably didn't want it after his mouth touched it.
"You can have it," she said nicely. "I have tons of them laying around." She really did. A glimpse inside her backpack showed at least three others. Well, he inwardly scratched his head, on the bright side, Shelby was properly hydrated.
"Thank you," he muttered with humiliation that made him want to cover his face and hide. Whatever got him so worked up, that disrupted what was supposed to be their study time, made him feel so small. Luke wouldn't have acted this way. He would've pulled through it.
There you go comparing yourself again. Makes you feel good, does it? I mean, why else would you constantly think about Luke?
"I think we should do the Friar scene," he recalled what she said earlier, in between the unnecessary details, about her friend having stage fright. It would be a nightmare if that happened to him, if he made a fool of himself like that. It was nothing compared to what it would be like if he did it within view of Mitch, but he preferred not to think of that scenario.
"Sounds good to me, Bright Eyes," she said cheerfully.
He stared at her, perplexed. "Pardon?" He didn't know if he should laugh at the absurdity or make a break for it.
"I called you bright eyes," she explained, despite not needing to. He very well heard what she said. "Because you have bright eyes. They're pretty. Caleb has pretty eyes too, his are blue."
"Okay?" He was thoroughly confused but he wisely kept it to himself so she didn't spend any more time on it than need be.
"I've been trying to find a nickname for you since we met but I didn't know what to call you. I like Bright Eyes, it fits, don't you think?"
"Do you have nicknames for all your friends?"
"Not really," she only added to his confusion. "Unless you count Bella for Isabella and Emmy for Emily. You're the first, isn't that great!"
"Fantastic," he said dryly. "I'm thrilled."
"Me too!"
The grumpy librarian shushed her again, harsher this time around. Her arms were in the air and she carried this "Seriously?" vibe with her. With a huff and shake of her head that jiggled her bun, she went back to whatever she was reading on her phone.
"Sorry," Shelby said with an exaggerated whisper. The girl never acknowledged her apology. "She looks annoyed," she observed.
Rightly so. "She must be having a bad day," Ravi said. And your lack of volume control isn't helping matters.
"Wait right here," Shelby was out of her chair before her command had time to register in his mind.
"What are you-" but it was too late, she was already approaching the girl. He could only hope she didn't say anything that would result in them being barred for life.
What do you care? You're always cooped up in your room anyway
I would rather not be treated as though I am a criminal, should I ever want to return
Ravi shook his head, looking up just in time to see Shelby coming back. Behind her, the college girl was glaring at her.
"You," she said to Ravi, "tell your girlfriend to keep her mouth shut and stop talking to people like they're your best friend. It's weird and makes you seem like a creep."
Her words flew over his head. Although he would most certainly agree with her reasoning, one aspect was currently causing him more trouble than the rest.
She thought-
They were...
What?
"We're not dating,I assure you," he gestured between them.
Shelby nodded along. "We're just besties!"
The feeling is unrequited
The girl folded her arms across her chest. "I don't care what you're calling it," she waved a hand at them, "but like I said, don't do it. Now shut up and do what you're doing or leave. It's as simple as that." With a clearly fake sweet smile, she turned back around and disappeared into the ladies restroom.
Ravi was staring in horror.
I cannot believe this
"She looks upset now," Shelby noted. "I feel bad. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to cheer her up. I told her she was pretty and I liked her shirt. Mom and dad always told me compliments can make someone feel better. I didn't know she was going to get mad like that. I think I'll go apologize."
"No!" Ravi immediately grabbed her arm. "Please, I am begging you not to. That is a very bad idea."
"Why?"
He had to bite down on his tongue, hard, to keep his temper from flaring.
"Because she probably wants to be left alone. Not everyone is wired the same way."
"That's true," Shelby sat back down.
"Can we please continue working on our project now?"
"Oh, yeah!"
Thankfully, there was no more incidents after that. The conversation died off and they dissolved into silence. Ravi kept an eye on the clock so he knew when to leave (he was looking forward to it; he couldn't wait to get back to the penthouse so he could lock himself in his room). They worked out who would do what: Shelby would do the two page essay (and Ravi would look it over) while he did the glossary of terms and characters. He had the easiest job of them whilst she had to explain the significance of not only the scene, but the characters as well.
She scribbled down her essay (and promised she would type it up once she was home). The squeakiness of her pencil drove him mad and he was tempted to say something; however, he didn't want her to start talking again so he let it slide.
"Almost done," she informed him after she wrote on both sides of the first page. "How about you?"
Ravi had barely accomplished much of anything. He was working on the terms first. It was just so hard, after what just happened, his mind refused to let him be at ease and do what needed to be done.
"I,erm, I did three."
"Good work!" she congratulated him.
Ravi almost glared. That stung slightly, for he was sure she was being patronizing. "We should be finishing up so I have time to walk back home."
"Me too," she started to put her things away, not in an organized manner. "I had fun, Ravi! Well besides for making the librarian mad, I still bad. When do you wanna get together again?" She looked at him expectantly.
Never
"I don't know," he sighed. He was being honest.
"And how will I know when you want to get together or if you can't make it?"
"I'll tell you at school."
"Or."
He saw her grin mischievously.
Oh no. What now?
"Do you know what this means?" she was bouncing in her seat, unable to contain her glee like a normal person could.
"What?" he almost groaned.
If she started screaming, he swore...
"We should exchange numbers!" She hit her leg with her palm. He jumped. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" she hit herself on the head. "We could've been texting each other everyday!"
No, we wouldn't have
"Oh, no, that isn't necessary," Ravi tried to say but it was useless. Shelby handed him her cell phone, black with no case. He took it from her, holding it while glancing at her tentatively. He couldn't recall giving his number to someone else, and with such happiness from the other person. Shelby looked at him encouragingly-honestly, whatever deity made it happen did it. He typed in his number and gave it back to her. She squealed.
"Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! Here, I'll text you so you have my number too!"
Almost instantly, he heard his phone vibrate.
Hey bestie! Are you excited? I'm excited. I can't wait! Now we can have late night conversations! You know, as long as it isn't too late during school. My parents are kinda strict about that. Is Jessie strict? Because I don't wanna get you in trouble or anything. I'd feel awful if I did.
So she was capable of talking fast and typing fast. He had much to look forward to.
When it says, Mr Kipling, that was before they found out he was a she
