Emma: Freshman Year

Chapter 25: The Fight

Despite the fact that Brock had promised Emma the job at the grocery store, Emma spent all weekend worrying about whether or not she would get the job. She kept ruminating over the things she had said during her interview, worrying that they weren't good enough, or that she had made herself look stupid. What if Brock had decided that she wasn't right for the job, because of something she said or did? What if the dress she had worn to the interview wasn't professional enough? What if she looked and acted like a total dork? 

As she was boarding the bus early Monday morning after another sleepless night with her backpack slung over one shoulder, the only thing that had distracted Emma from her thoughts about the interview was Lizzie's yelling. 

"Hey, sweetie! Over here!" Lizzie cried loudly, waving both hands in the air frantically. 

As was the case every morning, Emma reluctantly took a seat beside her friend, faking a smile and pretending that she was excited to see Lizzie as Lizzie was to see her. Ever since Lizzie had apologized to Emma for ruining her relationship with Landon, Emma had been pretending that all was forgiven between the two of them, when in reality, Emma had been holding a grudge against Lizzie the entire time. She would never truly forgive Lizzie for destroying not only one, but two of her relationships with guys; however, she felt like she was forced to fake a friendship with Lizzie due to her mom's engagement to Craig. After all, Emma and Lizzie were about to become step-sisters, so Emma figured that she had better learn to get along with Lizzie before she had to live with her. 

"So Cody and I got into this huge fight yesterday," Lizzie began. "It all started when he wouldn't answer my texts. So I tried calling him." 

Emma sighed internally as she listened to Lizzie drone on. She honestly didn't give a shit about the fight that Lizzie and Cody had gotten into. They could break up for all she cared. She was so sick of Lizzie always talking, but never listening. If Lizzie wasn't going to be her step-sister, Emma would have just walked away from Lizzie and her exaggerated, far-fetched story. But she had to get along with Lizzie now, for her mom's sake. And that only made Emma even more resentful of her mom for getting engaged to Craig. 

Soon, the bus squealed to a halt in front of the school. As Lizzie continued to chatter, Emma stood up, picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She then slowly started making her way off the bus behind her classmates, with Lizzie at her heels. 

As the girls entered the school, Lizzie grabbed Emma's hand just as Emma was about to head in the opposite direction towards her locker. "Come with me to my locker, sweetie," Lizzie demanded, pulling Emma in her direction. 

Emma knew that that Lizzie only wanted to finish her story. However, instead of pulling away from Lizzie and walking away like she wanted to do, Emma obediently went with Lizzie to her locker as her friend continued to chatter nonstop. Emma watched patiently as Lizzie opened her locker, knelt down on the ground, and slipped her backpack off her shoulders. Unzipping her backpack, she grabbed a few books from her locker and switched them out with a couple books from her backpack. Standing up, she picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder as she slammed her locker shut. All the while, Lizzie was still talking to Emma without a single pause. 

Just then, the first bell rang. A knot formed in Emma's stomach when she realized that she needed to go to her locker yet. "I'm sorry, Lizzie, but I have to go," Emma interrupted Lizzie mid-sentence as she began to back away. 

"You don't want to walk with me?" Lizzie whined. "What kind of friend are you?"

"Lizzie, I still need to go to my locker," Emma explained, desperately hoping that Lizzie would understand. 

"You just don't want to spend time with your best friend!" Lizzie snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "That's just an excuse!" 

"No, it's not!" Emma protested, her heart pounding in her chest. "I really need to go!"