Chapter 17 Gabe
Tuesday September 2, 8:00 AM
The bell had rung. Gabe’s stomach was full with another glorious muffin from Doreen. Taking roll was done. The history students were reading the assignment and typing out answers to questions. Then they’d discuss.
Avery was teaching creative writing elective down the hall. And he had brought lunch for her this time. He had insisted over text. Originally, he had thought to go all out. Watch a YouTube video making something amazing, buy all the ingredients and even put it all in a fancy container.
But Sunday night after texting her, he had an epiphany. Calm down, Gabe. He had to focus on friendship. Quit going so overboard. Avery would appreciate anything, right? He had decided to go simple. In his shopping cart on Monday, he threw in a selection of meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies, crackers. At home, he arranged them in containers like a makeshift charcuterie.
He made sure to pack their lunches in a small cooler with ice packs to keep them fresh. Gabe was proud of himself for the idea.
Yep. He was super grown up. Gabe leaned back in the teacher’s chair while he waited for the students to finish their assignment. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
CLAIRE: You can’t avoid me forever.
CLAIRE: I want to talk.
CLAIRE: Meet me for lunch? Or during a prep period or whatever?
CLAIRE: Please…. Gabey baby?
Gah. His jaw tightened. He hated when she called him that. He closed his eyes. She wasn’t going to leave him alone.
GABE: Fine. Prep period after lunch. Meet you in front of your gym. I’ll text when I get there.
He closed his phone and tried not to think about what in the world she wanted. To get back together? To explain herself?
“You texting the other sub down the hall?” a student on the front row blurted. Everyone else giggled.
Gabe shook his head. “I’m texting the principal about your behavior.”
“Oooh!” A bunch of students reacted and the student in question smirked.
“Alright, how about five more minutes? I’m dying to talk about history!” he said excitedly while the students groaned.
He paced the classroom, monitoring students as they worked, all the while trying not to think about Claire. Or Avery. Or the food near his desk.
Finally the lunch bell rang and all the students scattered. He pulled a small table from the corner of the room into the front near the white board, then wiped it clean with a Clorox wipe. He looked around, wondering if teachers kept tablecloths in their classrooms.
He shook his head. “Not a date. This is friends. Eating together.” As he placed the food on the table, a little knock sounded. Avery peeked in through the window. She smiled, and his heart warmed.
Good grief. Get it together, man.
The door creaked open as he placed the last of the food on the table. Avery came in. “Oh, wow. Look at this feast!”
Gabe ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s nothing. Glorified Lunchables.”
“It looks great. I’m starving after the morning I’ve had.” She pulled up a chair across from him and sat as he handed her a paper plate he’d brought.
“Oh? Creative writing isn’t all unicorns and rainbows, eh?” He sat across from her, but waited until she filled her plate before he loaded up his own.
She shrugged. “I don’t get it. These kids come here to learn, right? They might as well make the most of it. Maybe I’m the odd one out, but I think creative writing is fun.”
He smirked. “I hate to break it to you but you are a little odd.”
She scowled playfully, reached across the table and whacked him on the shoulder. “Hey!”
Rubbing his shoulder playfully, he almost asked if she worked out at the gym, but he didn’t want to go down a road that could possibly lead to Claire. He was not looking forward to meeting up with her after this. He tried to put it out of his mind and focus on the moment.
Avery put together a sandwich of crackers, meat, and cheese. “Everybody likes stories. Books. Movies. Digging up fossils and figuring out the story of an ancient civilization.” She winked at him, and he tried not to read anything into it. He stared at her eyes, then her lips, wishing they could relive the moment in his truck on Saturday.
“Hello? Gabe? You okay?”
Snapping back into focus, he smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We love stories. But maybe we like consuming them and aren’t sure how to create them. How do you teach someone to make a story from scratch?”
She looked up as if in thought, bobbing her head as she considered his question.
Gabe nibbled a cracker on its edges, turning it around and around until the cracker disappeared. “I can take stuff I find on a dig site and put the puzzles together to create what I think makes sense. But how do you make something up?” He shrugged. “No idea. I bet most of your students don’t either. They need somewhere to start. To get the ideas flowing.”
Avery followed his cracker devouring with amusement as she rested her head on her hand. “You are a paradox, you know that?”
“What do you mean?” A few cracker crumbs flew out of his mouth and they both cracked up laughing.
“I mean, here you are nibbling a cracker like a little kid, yet you have such mature insights.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. “Thank you, Avery. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Her neck and face flushed. Gabe really meant it. An entire childhood with his parents and they had never seen him the way she did. Gabe dropped her hand. “Uh, sorry. I wasn’t being flirty. Just friends.” That wasn’t entirely true. But if he had thought before he acted, then he wouldn’t have grabbed her hand. Her soft, sweet, gentle hand.
She looked down at her plate, then to her watch. “Guess I should get going. I need to get ready for next period.” She pushed her chair back and stood, then quickly headed to the door.
“Wait. Already?” He stood and met her at the door, grabbing the doorknob. She stopped and turned, her honey scent making him sigh. How could they just be friends when a little lunch set him off like this?
She glanced up at him. “Thanks for lunch.” They locked eyes for a few seconds, and he tried with all his might to not move closer to her. Without breaking eye contact, he opened the door and watched her walk away.
The door clicked shut and he took a deep breath. What was he supposed to think now? They were supposed to be friends, and he had crossed a line grabbing her hand like that. Clearly it upset her enough for Avery to get up and leave. Gabe glanced at the clock—another ten minutes until the lunch bell rang. She could have stayed, but he messed it all up.
Gabe put the food away without finishing his plate, then headed to the parking lot to find someone standing next to his truck. Someone with a tight workout shirt and leggings. Claire.
Ugh. His head fell back slightly and he closed his eyes. He straightened up and tried not to look annoyed. “I thought we were meeting at your gym?” he asked as he approached his car, looking around to make sure no one was watching them.
“I thought this would be easier.” She flipped her hair, one of her signature moves Gabe used to find attractive. Now it reminded him of how flippant she was about him.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk. You know, because of how awkward things were the other night.”
Gabe leaned against the driver’s side of his truck, Claire opposite of him a few feet away. He shrugged and folded his arms. “Okay. What?”
Claire held up her hands. “Don’t get so defensive.” She took a step toward him. “Seeing you made me realize”—she placed her hands on his elbows— “I made a huge mistake.”
He had folded his arms at her claim. “I don’t buy it.”
Claire gave him her puppy eye routine and stroked his arm. “You don’t believe me?”
Her touch made his skin crawl. Gabe shook her arm off his. “You were going out with other guys, Claire. You didn’t care about me. And then you see me and Avery together and suddenly you want me back?”
Her mouth dropped. “That had nothing to do with it.”
“Yeah, right. You were so totally jealous.” His blood boiled like the sun scorching his face. How were Avery and Claire even friends? He wanted to say it out loud, but kept his mouth shut. There must be a reason they were still close, but he didn’t trust Claire to answer honestly.
She sighed. “Okay, fine. You’re right. I was jealous seeing you two together. Because it made me remember how much fun we had. Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. Let’s let’s start over? Please?”
So, apparently Claire assumed Gabe and Avery weren’t suited for each other or weren’t pursuing each other?
“You’re not a very good friend, are you?” Gabe said. He wasn’t normally so direct in a way that could make someone feel bad, but it had to be said. Someone had to stick up for Avery.
Claire opened her mouth wide. “What are you talking about? You don’t know anything about Avery.”
Gabe rolled his eyes. He wanted to climb into his truck and hide, or head back into the school just to get away from her. “Actually, I do know Avery. She’s sweet, considerate, smart.” His tension against Claire suddenly melted as he thought about Avery.
“Woah, woah, woah. Are you like… in love with her?” Claire put her hand on her hip.
Gabe ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. “I like being around her. We’re friends.”
“Gabe, Gabe, why didn’t you say something? The other night when you two had been at the dance, I thought it was like, just a work thing. Come here.” She leaned in for a hug, and held him, but not like the old Claire. Gabe was confused. The hug was one-sided for a while, until it got so awkward that Gabe finally reached his arms around and hugged her back.
“Listen, Avery’s special. And she’s going through something hard right now. So be careful or I’ll kick your butt. And you know that I can.” Claire let him go, then reached in his truck and hung a lanyard around his rearview. “Come by the gym soon. I’ve got a lot more to talk to you about. But I gotta go.”
She walked to her car then turned. “Sorry I hurt you,” Claire added. “Most guys know that I am a player. I realized too late you were one of the good ones.”