My Two First Loves

Chapter 5: Favors and Fights

Emma's POV

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My sister had a knack for getting in trouble. 

Has she been bushed by a teacher? Or worse, the police? Did she have a secret boyfriend who broke her heart?

I paced as I waited for Mackenzie at the front o the school, my mind going wild imagining the possibilities.

By the time I finally saw her approaching, I was so worked up that, I sprinted over to her. 

"Mack! Are you okay? Tell me what's going on!" I asked, waiting impatiently for answers.

"Thank god you're here! I'm desperate." She said.

"I know, I read your text! What happened?"

"I got caught skipping English and I'm supposed to make up for it by taking photos of the football team for the school paper. But then I met these super cool kids in my art class, and they invited me to this kind of exclusive... er... event." She responds.

"Mack! You said this was an emergency!" I tell her.

"This is an emergency! When have I actually ha the opportunity to make cool friends? And I just thought, you know, since you actually like photography, maybe you could do the football shoot for me?" She asked.

"Are you kidding me? I was seriously worried! Don't scare me like that. What if you're in an actual emergency and I assume it's something silly like this?"  I said.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry. I was not asking for a guilt trip. I know it's asking a lot to pass this stuff off on you, but I really wanna get to know these people. I got so out of the loop this summer. I'm trying to find my friend group, you know?" She said, sadly.

With a pang of sadness, I remembered how much things had changed while I was away. I definitely felt her pain.

"And... I'll give you Sister Bucks." 

"Fifty." I said.

"That's extortion." She replied, shocked.

"Take it or leave it." I smiled.

"I'll take what I can get." She said.

Mackenzie grinned and held out the camera to me. It was a nice camera, and my fingers inched to test it out.

"I'll do the shoot. But you owe me." I said.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I swear I'll make it up to you." She excitedly said.

"Even if I spend my Sister Bucks on having you take over cleaning the bathroom?" I asked.

"Ugh. I'm torn between hating that and respecting your negotiation skills. But yeah, deal." She responds.

Mackenzie pulled me in to a tight hug before bounding off. I shook my head and smiled. My sister was nothing like me, but I loved her. 

-

I returned to the football field, where the athletes were still hard at work practicing.

My gaze was instinctively drown to Mason. He did look good in uniform. As he jogged by, he noticed me and smiled.

But then my eyes landed on Noah. He cast a glance at me, remaining stony-faced.

Both of them looked perfect for the camera.

I will photograph... Noah.

I raised my camera and snapped a photo of Noah.

But as I brought the camera back down, I noticed Mason looking at me, brow furrowed. He sprinted forward, right past where I was standing.