EMILY
***
“I didn’t know you took this class,” I said to Harry.
Harry was the student body president as well as the most popular person in all of Creswell. He was handsome, and smart and was also a member of the football team. He was expected to be a jerk given that he had all the qualifications, but he had a good reputation. He hadn’t dated anyone in all of Cresswell and all the girls who had tried to make a move on him couldn’t say anything bad about him even if they tried. No one dared to spread rumors about him or tarnish his name, because they knew there was no point. It was simply not true.
“I do. I’ve been sitting at the back of the class this whole time,” he said, smiling.
I realized something at that moment.
“How do you know my name?” I asked and he laughed. I didn’t know that it was funny.
“I debated asking you what your name was but I was afraid of sounding like a snob. Plus, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know you,” he said.
“How do you know me?” I asked.
“Well, you sit at the very front of the class and the professor is always calling on you to answer questions when the rest of us won’t,” he said and smiled. I had never interacted with him, but I noticed how nice his smile was. It took over his whole face. And it was infectious. I smiled back at him.
“Is that why you came to sit at the front? So he could call on you too? Are you trying to steal my thunder?” He laughed. If his smile was infectious, his laugh was something else entirely. It filled my chest with warmth.
“I didn’t know you were funny. I just thought you were smart. And really pretty,” Harry said. I felt my face get hot. I felt myself get tongue-tied. What was happening? This had never happened to me. I’d never allowed myself to get flustered by a guy.
“Most people think I’m not popular because I’m a nerd, but really, it’s because the rest of you wouldn’t stand a chance if I was,” I said, and rejoiced internally at the fact that I had managed to make a comeback and a witty one at that. Harry laughed again and I realized that I liked making him laugh.
“I’m glad I decided to come and sit next to you,” he said and I smiled.
I was glad he decided to come and sit next to me, too. Students started coming into the class and they looked over at what they must have thought was an odd pair before making their way to their own seats. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were thinking but I could make a few guesses.
That we were an odd pair. That Harry must have wanted a change of scenery. I was used to such things being said about me. I had been an outcast my whole life, after all. Mr. Thomas walked in and the class quieted down.
“Hi everyone,” he said and coughed.
“As we can tell I’m not feeling very well today so I suggest we take today’s class as a chance to read ahead. Remember that we have a quiz next week and you also have a report due. You can study here or wherever else you want to go. Have a great day,” he said, leaving the hall.
Some people left while others started talking to each other. Some, like Harry and I, decided to catch up on our reading instead. We sat silently beside each other for a few minutes before I let out a soft chuckle.
“What’s funny and on what page can I find it?” Harry asked, looking up from his book.
“It’s nothing, it’s just that this moment reminds me of when I was in kindergarten,” I said. Harry raised his eyebrow and I took that as a gesture to continue.
“We used to have Reading Time every Wednesday afternoon and it was just like this,” I said, gesturing to the hall, “except the rest of the kids made spitballs instead of using their phones.”
“And I assume you sat quietly and read your books because you were better than everyone else?” Harry asked.
“How did you know?” I said, letting out a fake gasp. We both laughed.
“It was our favorite time of the week. We always looked forward to it,” I said.
“We?” Harry asked, “don’t tell me someone else was nerdy enough to sit by you and read while they had the chance to run around and throw spitballs?”
I laughed.
“Believe it or not, there was someone else,” I said, “and we sat next to each other the exact same way we’re sitting now.”
“They must have felt the same way I feel now,” Harry said, looking at his book. My heart started pounding in my chest. Was I really falling for Harry and his mediocre lines? I decided to humor him.
“Really? Do you also feel uncomfortable and intimidated?”
He raised his eyebrow at me and laughed. In my short interaction with him, I had already found three things that were attractive about him. How he raised his left eyebrow was the third.
“If that’s what they said they felt, they were lying,” he said, turning serious.
“Really? What would the truth be?”
“Safe. Comfortable. Warm. And only slightly intimidated,” he said, nudging my shoulder.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, hoping that I wasn’t turning red in the face. This was not the time or the place to embarrass myself. We settled into an easy silence just like I used to with Gabriel in the past. I didn’t even feel anxious when I thought about him. The thought of him being in the same school as I did not scare me. I felt the exact same way being around Harry that Harry felt about being around me.
But of course, I wasn’t going to tell him. I couldn’t risk wearing my heart on my sleeve. Two hours flew by and by the time the scheduled class time was over, we were the only ones left in the room.
“See you next week?” Harry said as he picked up his books. I nodded, and I smiled because I had something to look forward to.
GABRIEL***“It’s my first day of classes Mom,” I said to the phone as I put on my left shoe. I had taken to calling her every day so that she didn’t feel as lonely as she was. She was all alone. She was yet to make any new friends and I didn’t want to put her in a position where she had to call me instead of the other way around.“I know you won’t have a hard time catching up, but in case you do, please let me know. I know exactly who to call,” she said.“Really? Who?” I asked, genuinely curious. Who could my mother possibly know that could help me with my studies?“I didn’t want to bring this up until the weekend when we met but I met Terry. They moved here. Emily’s at Cresswell too,” she said.I froze. She confirmed what I knew but was trying to ignore. I had seen her a few more times around the campus and had taken to avoiding her because I knew that that was what she would have wanted. But more than that, I did it because I was also upset with her. She left without saying anythin
Bakersville Elementary, 1999 *** “Can I have lunch here, Miss Phoebe?” Emily said. Miss Phoebe looked sadly over at her and nodded. She had gone to the teacher’s lounge during the lunch break, when everyone else was having lunch in the cafeteria. She had been going for the past week, because she couldn’t eat at the cafeteria anymore. And it was all because of Gabriel. She settled into a seat next to the window and opened her lunchbox. Her mother had packed the green grapes again. She didn’t like them. She always gave them to Gabriel who gave her the red ones instead, the ones he didn’t like but she loved. She wondered if they would ever be friends again. It had all started when Gabriel decided to become one of the popular kids. Emily had supported him even when she knew that it was a bad idea. She knew it would end badly. She just didn’t know that it would end badly for her. The first and most obvious step for Gabriel to become popular was to stop hanging out with Emily. She was
EMILY***“His name is Harry,” I said into the phone, ignoring the fact that Nila looked up from her books when I did.It was not yet time for our weekly phone call but I just had to call Julie and update her on what was going on in my life. It was exciting, after all. I had only ever had one other boyfriend and after things ended the way they did, Julie kept encouraging me to try and like someone else, or, at the very least, to try and not sabotage things when I actually did, but I always did.I was afraid. But there was something about Harry that made me feel brave. Maybe it was the fact that this was a new environment. Maybe it was the fact that even with Gabriel here, I felt like I could start afresh in some areas because at least here my reputation was not tarnished like the way it was back in Bakersville.Knowing people your whole life did have some disadvantages. I smiled as Julie squealed into the phone. I was just as excited as she was. I told him about our interaction in cla
GABRIEL***“You did what?” I shouted over the phone. I would regret it later but I was too shocked to remember that my Mom didn’t like it when people raised their voices at her.“I called Terry. Planned a dinner date with the both of you,” Mom said, and I had to physically stop myself from screaming into the phone.I had hoped that moving to Cresswell wouldn’t mean my Mom and Emily’s Mom getting together, but then, it was just a matter of time before it happened. I guess what I should have hoped for instead was for it to take much longer than it did.“Have you told Emily yet?” I asked, putting on my jacket. I wanted to look for her. Tell her myself. Ask her to come up with an excuse, even. Or come up with one myself, so that we could push the dinner as far as we could.“I got her number from Terry and I texted her, telling her that we’d moved here and that you’re in the same school,” Mom said.“Really? Has she responded?”“Yes. She said you haven’t met yet but she’ll look for you n
EMILY***“Emily, come get the door,” Mom said.I wanted to ignore her but I knew she knew I had heard her. It was only the two of us in the house, after all. I didn’t want to get the door. I didn’t want this day to come. I had been dreading it but that didn’t change things. It was here. Oh well, might as well get it over with.I got up from my bed and made my way downstairs. The only reason I didn’t drag my feet was that Louise was outside. The other party, I didn’t care much for. I took a deep breath then I opened the door.“Hi,” Gabriel said as he made his way past me, making sure to hit my shoulder as he did.He was so full of it. I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn’t. I put on the warmest smile I could muster for Louise.“It’s so good to see you,” she said as she gave me a hug.“It’s good to see you too,” I said and I meant it.I had missed her. She was like my second mother and my friend. I had always been sorry about the way I left things with her. I should have told her I was
(Bakersville Elementary 2001)***“You will be doing your elementary school Science Fair Project in pairs,” Mrs. Berry said. There were mixed reactions in the class. Some people were excited. Others, not so much.Emily was excited. It didn’t matter who she got as a partner, she was excited about doing the science fair project. She already had an idea in mind.“Do we get to choose our partners?” a student asked, and everyone quieted down. This was the most important part. A ‘yes’ from Mrs. Berry meant the world to the elementary school class. it would mean they could choose their crushes. It meant their dreams could come true. Mrs. Berry had the rare and unique chance of being Cupid. Would she take it?The air was thick with anticipation. Everyone was holding their breath. Well, almost everyone. Emily didn’t care much for crushes. She didn’t have one, and she was sure no one had a crush on her as well.“No,” Mrs. Berry said and the class deflated with disappointment.Mrs. Berry smiled
GABRIEL***“I’m so happy for you,” Mom said as she reached her hand across the table to hold Emily’s.Emily had just announced that she was dating Harry. And I hoped she was lying. Besides, it didn’t make sense. The only reason Harry could have been holding Emily’s phone on the day we met was that he was giving her his number, and he’d also told her to call him. If they were dating, they wouldn’t need to tell each other that. Moreso, he wouldn’t need to tell her to call him. He would call her, right? Isn’t that what boyfriends did?I’d only come to this conclusion because I had been thinking about it for the four days that had gone by since it happened. It bothered me that they might have been dating this whole time. But that’s not what bothered me the most. What bothered me was how she acted when I grabbed her wrist. She said she was okay but I doubted it. I was worried for her. What had happened to make her so scared?I had debated texting her, to ask her if she was okay. I knew sh
EMILY***This is not what I had planned. I shouldn’t have allowed my desire for revenge to take over. I regretted it as soon as I said it, not only because I was dragging Harry into my drama with Gabriel, but also because Gabriel seemed unaffected by the news. I had a feeling he knew I was lying. It pissed me off all the more that he knew but he chose to play along.What pissed me off even more, though, was the fact that when he was asked if he was dating he said no. He didn’t play along. He didn’t try to pretend the way I was. It was like he was uninterested, unbothered. But the Gabriel I knew was not the type to be upstaged. I had hit him where it hurt. It’s not that he wasn’t affected. It’s that he was coming up with a strategy.I could tell by the way he got silent for the rest of the dinner. I could almost hear his brain turning. As soon as we waved them goodbye I ran up to my room. I needed to text Harry. I paced around my room. What was I even going to say? How would I bring i