65. From cold shoulders to classroom chaos

Carl only noticed that Anderson wasn’t keeping up with him when he was almost at the end of the hallway.

Anderson looked like he was miles away, frozen like a statue in time. When Carl took a step towards him, his first image of him changed. Anderson was completely *white!*

He looked like he had just seen a freaking ghost and panic immediately ripped through Carl’s chest instantly. He suddenly rushed to him.

  Carl’s footsteps propelled Anderson out of the dreary trance he had been trapped in. He immediately switched off his phone before Carl could look.

 “What’s the matter?”

Anderson shook his head, oblivious to the fact that his body had gone pale and goosebumps were littered all over his skin. “It’s…nothing.” His choked voice was barely above a whisper and with an effort, he managed to take a step forward.

Carl clutched his arm firmly, stopping him. “You look awful! And I know that anything that can make you completely forget about a class that you’re late for has got to be damn serious. So, come on, spill.”

  “I said it’s nothing, Carl.” Anderson repeated, his thin voice suddenly hardening.

Now Carl frowned, a lace of annoyance slipping into his voice, “You can’t possibly tell me that it is nothing when-”

“I said nothing!” Anderson bellowed, the anger in his voice echoing through the barren hallway. “Why the hell are you being so clingy? Just take an answer and leave it at that! Gosh!” He snapped and snatched his arm away from Carl’s grip.

  Carl felt like his chest had just been hit with a swinging boulder…he was stunned like never before. He watched Anderson walk away in awe. Only his father had ever spoken to him in that manner. A char of anger burned deep in his heart and he felt stupid for telling Anderson about his past. But that surely couldn’t be what this was about, could it?

    A very familiar voice that got Carl agitated boomed through the intercom, freezing both men to the spots they stood. Anderson’s fists clenched with anger for the first time in a very long while. He had never been this tempestuous, his blood burned with a mixture of anger, confusion and fright.

  “Mr. Brimmer and Mr. Wells. Report to the Dean’s office right now.”

Anderson heaved a deep, furious breath and grunted. “This morning can’t possibly get any worse!” He grumbled under his breath.

  But he was very wrong.

Mr. Jenkins pushed down his circular-rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose and squinted at both guys suspiciously, “Was it a struggle I saw in the hallway a few minutes back, gentlemen?” he asked softly, nonchalantly lighting the cigar in between his thin fingers.

   Anderson cleared his throat and was about to speak up before Carl cut in.

“No, it wasn’t.”

Anderson was shocked by how rude Carl sounded, how could he address the dean in that manner?

  Mr. Jenkins eyed him, “Oh, Mr. Brimmer. I guess my eyes must be failing me then?”

Carl shrugged indifferently, “You could say that. Don’t you think they’ve seen enough through the years? You’re not that young.”

Jenkins’ wrinkles deepened and congested into a frown. Anderson’s heartbeat surged and he shot a side glare at Carl. But to his surprise, Mr. Jenkins burst out in a feat of laughter.

  “Good Lord! You do have your father’s sense of humor.” He cackled and slapped a folder on his desk. “You know what? You two get out of here.” He said cheerfully, but his face lost its humor when his eyes narrowed on Anderson, “But if I see you two snooping around the hallway during lecture hours without a hall pass or getting into any sort of haggle, then you’ll be suspended. Have I made myself clear?”

  Anderson wondered why Jenkin’s stern gaze was only fixed on him. He swallowed and nodded. Carl, on the other hand, didn’t even mutter a word. Outside the office, Anderson felt a jab of regret in his heart. He glanced at Carl and sighed; he should have never spoken to Carl that way, regardless of whatever mood he was in.

  “Carl, I’m really sorry for-”

Carl walked away before he could finish his sentence, his heavy footsteps echoing in the silent hallway. Anderson’s face dropped and so did his faintly beating heart, but he managed to drag himself to class.

   He was a shadow of himself for the rest of the day. Even Mia couldn’t lighten up his mood and neither could Arnold’s sneers dent it any further. The worst part of it all was that, the only person who currently made Beale Crest worth going to was sitting right next to him, but Anderson still felt disconnected, from everything and from everyone. The chatter of the others in the class dulled into a low hum and it felt like he was suddenly underwater.

    “Anderson…” A distant voice called.

Anderson was staring out of the window and the clouds formed a new, frozen world that looked a lot like the pictures of Antarctica that he had seen on the internet and in books. Could someone be calling out to him from Antarctica?

  Something shook him roughly and his eyes flickered. He stared at the worried expression on Mia’s face and his heart clenched with a frosty sensation when he realized that the entire class was staring at him. He gasped and his eyes met the stony gaze of the lecturer.

   “Seems like you have other psychological engagements, Mr. Wells.” The beautiful redhead who grumpily taught them History, remarked dourly.

“I’m sorry, Miss Taylor.” He said, cringing with embarrassment. “Is there anything I am missing?”

Mia sighed and looked away. She still felt guilty for the previous night. Why in the world would anyone even be locked up in a gym locker at such an unruly hour? Now that she thought about it, Jason and her had no reason to be there either, safe for their uncontrolled libido. Jason, although, not too attractive, was a smooth talker and knew just the buttons to press.

   And boy, was he a good fuck!

She had been shocked down to her bones when she saw Anderson, but then the worry that was etched on his face and him running off right after made her anxious. She clearly remembered the look on his face, as if someone has stabbed him mid-sentence. Was it that he had seen her face? Or...he had seen just enough?

Something strange was going on in Anderson’s life and now that she had lost his trust, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to elicit it from him.

   “Oh yes, Mr. Wells. You have missed an awful lot. If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that I was grouping students into pairs for a project.” Miss Taylor replied, “and there are only four of you that haven’t been paired. So, will you all rise to your feet? This shouldn’t be too difficult.”

   Anderson swallowed and rose to his feet. His shoulders dropped and he gasped in shock when Mia Greyjoy, Arnold Pierce and unfortunately, his roommate, Carl Brimmer all rose to their feet. He was appalled by what he saw. Nature just had a way of proving him wrong. These were the worst possible people for him to get paired with!

    “Alright then.” Miss Taylor said and the classroom fell silent.

Anderson was buzzing with tension. He shot each of them a brief stare, praying dearly that Miss Taylor would just cancel the entire thing and everyone would leave. She suddenly pointed at Mia and Anderson’s heartbeat surged uncontrollably when her finger seemingly fell on him.

   “Mia Greyjoy. You’ll be paired with Arnold Pierce.” She said suddenly and Anderson froze.

Apparently, she had been pointing at Arnold who stood behind him.

 “Anderson Wells, you’re with Carl Brimmer.”

‘*What?*’ Anderson’s heart sunk to his stomach.

Miss Taylor moved on with the class, oblivious to the wreckage she had just left behind. It felt like his insides had been rocked by a bomb, he couldn't breathe. Miss Taylor had just left him with the same person he had just pushed away on a week's long project.

Why did this have to happen now?