"Great, we can start working on the school website," Felix said, clapping his hands as a smile played on his face. Felix, Ji-Hun and I were in the Arts and Design room with two other people. Felix had called a small meeting to sort out things concerning the school website so we could start working on it properly during the next council gathering.
It was the period after break, and one of the Art teachers, Mr. Dave, had allowed us to use the art room. We were all sitting on individual donkey benches, with our laptops cradled on our laps as all our chargers meet in a shared extension box.
"That looks nice." I felt myself tense up when I heard Felix's voice behind me as the sound of the nearby bench being moved accompanied it. Soon enough he was sitting beside me, his head cocked a little so he could see what I was doing on my laptop. I was just starting to update the code while Ji-Hun, who was sitting about three donkey benches away from me, worked on the site's media.
"Yeah," I mumbled, trying to work on the site while ignoring his presence beside me.
"Thank you," I mumbled, running the fingers of my free hand through my short curls as the fingertips on my other hand moved against the laptop's keyboard.
"Are you uncomfortable with me watching?" he suddenly asked. I felt myself sigh in relief as I bit my bottom lip before nodding.
"I... Yes. It's kind of uncomfortable," I admitted in a short breath, turning a little so I could see his face in full. He frowned a bit, making me worry, but the small smile that followed allowed me to relax a bit. He leaned away from me, stretching his arms before nodding.
"Okay, I'll leave then," he said as he got up from the bench he'd been sitting on. "I'll check up on Simon and Ji-Hun," he announced before walking away.
I watched him from my seat, looking away when he took the donkey bench between Simon and Ji-Hun and immediately got involved in what they were doing.
You asked him to leave, didn't you? He didn't just get up on his own. I scolded myself when a sad feeling started to prick me in the chest when I heard Simon's laugh ring through the room. I've always had a problem with jealousy. I got so easily jealous and it was irritating — even to me.
I tried to concentrate on the work I was doing, but boredom soon took over, and I was soon loading and playing the Zuma dulex game on my PC.
"What a way to slack off," I heard someone say from in front of me. I frowned, not being able to recognize the voice. Looking up, I spotted the young Art intern named Toby that had joined the Art department to work with the current art teachers a few months ago. I had a feeling he liked it here, and would probably be offered a job in the department when his internship was over.
"I'm just taking a break," I mumbled, making him laugh as he shook his head. He had chestnut colored hair and bright brown big eyes. I couldn't place his age exactly, but I doubted that he was over twenty-five.
"Okay then, just make sure your break isn't too long," he said, sarcasm playing in his tone before he turned and walked away. I watched him move to the new desk put in place for him in the art room. My brow rose with interest when I noted Caleb sitting beside the desk the art intern went to sit behind.
Huh, he's usually at Mr. Dave's table. I turned away, deciding it was better to mind my own business. I played the Zuma game, switching between it and the school website. The period soon ended, making everyone pack up to head out of the Arts and Designs room for their next class.
Felix stood at the door, thanking everyone for their work as the passed by him and out the door.
"Good job Ben," he said with a wide smile as I got to the entrance. I nodded, running a hand through my hair nervously before slipping through the door. I was still going to meet up with Felix after school to help him with his personal project.
It'll be fine. I tried to convince myself as a nauseous feeling whirled up inside me as I thought of Felix and myself in his car alone. I've been alone with him a few times already, and I wasn't sure why I was so paranoid.
Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts before heading to my locker to change my books and grab the stationary I needed for building tech. It was one of the classes I didn't have with Wyatt or Ji-Hun. Wyatt would be having the second lap of his biology period while Ji-Hun would probably be heading for his psychology class at the moment. Aiyana also had History I suppose.
The rest of the day went by slowly, and eventually, the school hours came to an end. I told Aiyana that I wouldn't be heading home with them today as well. She'd frowned at me, but had shrugged soon after before leaving me by my locker alone. I looked into the crowd of noisy students, waiting for Felix to show up. He'd said that we'd meet at my locker today.
I started toying with my watch when a reasonable amount of time passed by and I hadn't spotted Felix.
Maybe he's not sure where my locker is.
"Hey, Ben!" I raised my head up a little too quickly, startled as well as happy at hearing Felix's voice. He was staring at me, his lips in a small smile before he looked down to go through his phone with his right hand.
"Ready to leave?"
I nodded, removing my weight from the locker behind me. His smile widened for a brief minute before he turned and started walking towards the school's entrance. I followed behind him, embarrassed by the way I was staring at his shoulders through his long-sleeved green shirt as he walked in front of me.
His shoulders. He has a nice build. I found myself thinking as I tried not to pay much attention to him as he headed for the entrance.
Something I noticed was how people automatically seemed to make way for him when he passed through, allowing me to move behind him without the difficulty I usually faced when moving through the crowd by myself or with the others. I knew people respected Felix, but it was interesting to see it up close without any words being exchanged.
We eventually got out the building's doors, and I followed Felix down the concrete stairs and out into the school compound. We walked to the parking lot together, and for the second time, I got into his red SUV.
"Can you set up your laptop here?" he asked, making me nod as I got to the passenger seat. The space was a little tight, but I could manage.
"Okay, that's great," he said, smiling before he pulled his bag from the backseat to search for his tablet. "I can't set up my laptop now because I'm not willing to adjust the steering wheel today, so I'll just use my tablet," he explained, taking out his iPad before returning his bag to the back seat of his car.
We talked for a while as we set up before we quieted down to work on our individual parts until a groan from Felix made me turn to him with a worried look.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he shook his head at me.
"It's just..." he started before frowning as if wondering whether he should continue his sentence. "It's just frustrating to suck so much at something you like to do, you know?" Felix finally said, before letting out a frustrated sigh.
I just sat there like a chess piece, not knowing what to say.
Come on. This is the part where you're supposed to say something cheesy and inspiring to comfort him. I scolded myself, sitting up before taking a look at him again. He was now working on his design again silently, like he'd not just dropped an insecurity bomb on me.
I wish Ji-Hun was here to spare me some tips. Cheesy inspirational quotes were his thing, and they seem to work with Wyatt.
"I think you're great," I soon found myself saying. I wasn't sure if I'd messed up when the words left my mouth. It sounded like a half-hearted phrase from a 'how to' book — maybe because it was. My mum had a handful of those laying around the place in my house.
Felix shrugged, not saying an. His Teletubby smile was now gone, and he seemed rather distant as his fingertips tapped against his tablet's screen.
I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable because of the silence.
"Hey, you said you were self-taught, right?" I said, recalling one of our conversations online when he'd brought it up. Felix looked up from his tablet soon after, muttering a small 'Yes'.
"You're pretty good for someone who picked this up on their own..." I trailed, mentally awarding myself brownie points when I spotted a hint of a smile on Felix's lips.
"But you're self-taught..." he trailed, looking straight at me with his dark eyes. "You're pretty amazing, you know that, right?"
I blinked, trying to digest his words and when I did my face warmed up. "Not really. My dad owns a tech repair store. I spend a lot of time there—"
"Yeah, but tech repair has very little to do with building platforms from the scratch," Felix said, giving me a warm smile. I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him blankly. He eventually looked back down at his tablet that was sitting on his lap.
"I think that's it for today. Everyone's left the parking lot, let me drop you off," he said as he put his iPad away before turning the key to the engine and putting on the radio.
A smile broke across my lips when I heard Overjoyed by Bastille seep through the speakers and into the car. All the awkwardness from a few moments ago vanished as I mouthed the lyrics under my breath.
"You like it?" he chuckled, making me nod in reply.
As he drove the car out of the school gates he started singing along to the song. He had a good voice — smooth and clear. I let myself enjoy his singing until he pulled up at my stop. I got down, watching Felix drive off before I turned and headed to knock at the front door of my house with a small smile playing on my lips.
Felix had shown me his vulnerable side today.