I don’t know. Ask him. He hasn’t even reached back out to me.
you told him you needed space.
Yeah… but I think I might have ruined things. I definitely overreacted.
you don’t know that. but I really think you need to talk to him.
And say what? Sorry I freaked out on you last weekend but do you want to go to homecoming with me?
i like your style.
What? No, Ryen. Absolutely not.
okay but maybe talking about what happened last week might be good.
Idk Ry. I’m starting to think it’s best we don’t complicate things.
no. i’m sorry girl but i’m not going to allow you to give up on this dream you’ve had since you were like eight. i still remember the first time you told me his name. it was in your eyes. he’s your soulmate.
Okay, overnight lover-girl. Where the heck is my Hades at?
exactly. i’m Hades, you’re Persephone. you’re the one who should be all lover-girl and here you are giving up hope because of one minor inconvenience.
and before you say anything… yes I know Persephone is not a love goddess or whatever but I think it fits so sue me.
I chuckle at her message, which causes me consequence.
“Miss Castle. Care to share with the class what’s got you so distracted over there?”
I spring my head up, the teacher is glaring at me. And I realize the whole class now has their eyes on me as well, my brother included.Shoot. How long had I been texting Ryen?
“Umm,” I start, never having been in this situation before. “It was nothing. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” I say as I attempt to lock my phone screen and put it away but that doesn’t seem to satisfy her.
“Uh huh. I’d like for you to read the last text message in your phone to the class, please. Maybe we can decide if it was worth the distraction.”
My face heats, I can feel the blush cover my skin. There’s no way this is happening right now. I've never been the center of attention and certainly not like this. But I don’t have it in me to beg otherwise. So I reluctantly lean over and grab my phone once more, opening up the text thread between Ryen and I. I silently read the last text, and a sigh of relief washes over me when I see that it doesn’t really divulge too much of what we’d been talking about.
“We’re waiting,” Miss Riggs says and I take a deep breath before starting to read the text.
“Exactly. I'm Hades, you’re Persephone. You're the one who should be all lover-girl and here you are giving up hope because of one minor inconvenience. And before you say anything . . . yes, I know Persephone is not a love goddess or whatever, but I think it fits so sue me.”
I hear a few people let out a quiet laugh and I don't dare to look around. I know I'm being stared at.
“Hmm. Seems we have a little case of Greek mythology being used as an example of how behaviors reflect actions. Perfect. Since it was so important for you to have this discussionduringmy class, you can also have this discussionwiththe class. I would like you to write a three-page essay identifying which one of the common types of fallacies of relevance is used in your comparison of Hades and Persephone to the idea of being a . . . what did you call it? Oh, right. A lover-girl.”
The bell rings and I groan while everyone else shoots out of their desk and hurries out of the classroom. As if I didn't already have enough on my plate, now I have to add this embarrassing task to the mix.
“I want the paper on my desk by Friday morning, Miss Castle," the teacher tells me before I gather my own things and attempt to make an exit.
“Wow,” Brayden says, coming up from behind me. “I can’t believe I was alive to witness my own goody-two-shoes sister getting called out by a teacher. Texting in class, huh? What’s gotten into you? Who's got you feeling hopelessly in love?” His tone is sarcastic and playful, but my embarrassment grows. I cannot believe I just went through that.
I’ve never been as distracted in class as I was today, and I know I can’t let it happen again. I’m just grateful the text wasn’t more revealing.
I roll my eyes as I swat my hand at him, causing him to flinch and laugh. “Go away,” I warn him, and he chuckles as he exits the classroom. If only he knew.
I turn down the hall and start walking down the hall before I pull my phone out again, opening the thread with Ryen.
Just got busted in class. Do you work today?
