𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟐𝟒

"𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

NOAH safely returned home from the party the night before.  She managed to mask the alcohol in her system from Emily and slept like a baby.

Noah's eyes flutter open and she quints from the blinding sun peeking through her curtains.  The teen rolls over and grabs her glasses from the nightstand.  She lazily stands to her feet and makes her way to the bathroom.

Emily pours a coffee as she hears the teen's footsteps upstairs.  She takes her mug and places it on the coffee table in front of the couch.  The woman turns her attention to the news playing on the TV and watches until Noah comes downstairs.

"Hi, sleepy." Emily giggles as she takes in Noah's appearance.  The teen has her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and is wearing sweatpants with an oversized tee that is tucked into the waistband.

"Good Morning," The teen says with a yawn.

"We didn't talk much last night, you seemed tired." Emily says as she watches Noah pour herself a coffee in the kitchen, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, we had a great time." Noah beams as she sits next to Emily and sips her coffee.

"Good, I'm glad you're making friends." Emily says, "You never talk about your friends from Seattle.  What were they like?"

"Well, there was one..." Noah trails off.  Emily sees the shift in Noah's face as she thinks about her old friend.

"We were close.  We understood each other in a way that no one ever had." Noah says, "It was the only friendship I ever put energy into."

"Do you still talk to them?"

"No," Noah says shortly and takes another sip from her mug.  Emily can feel the teen distancing herself in the conversation, so she stops her questioning.  She has learned how to back away and what lines she can step and which ones she cannot.

"Was there anything you wanted to do today?" Emily asks.

"No, I just have some geometry and chemistry homework," Noah says with a frown.

"How can someone love to learn, but hate homework?" Emily asks with a chuckle.

"Listening to my teacher talk is learning.  I don't need to do thirty math questions to prove that I was paying attention." Noah rants.

"Yeah, but some kids do."

"And I'm not even in the advanced class—"

"Is Geometry not the math you need to be taking—"

"No, it is, but some of the kids in my grade are already taking Algebra II." Noah says, "And if I take Algebra II, then I can move on to Precalculus next year and then take Calculus and Statistics my last year." Noah explains to Emily, who seems to be clueless.

"Well, maybe you can double up this year and take Algebra II next semester," Emily suggests.

"True," Noah says with a shrug.  She stands from the couch and grabs her bookbag from the floor next to the front door.  She starts doing her homework at the dining table while Emily does her Sunday cleaning.

—

"Almost done?" Emily asks as Noah pulls out her last homework sheet.

"Yeah, just starting chemistry..." Noah trails off and writes her name on the paper. Emily smiles as she looks over Noah's shoulder. Suddenly, her smile fades into an expression of shock.