She's Such A Nerd

15: Being Suspicious

15: Being Suspicious

"Emmy."

Poke.

"Emmy."

Poke.

"Emaline."

Poke.

"You can't ignore me forever."

Poke.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that mad," Mark whines. I continue to ignore him. If it hadn't been a Thursday, I'd have no problem staying home. However, Maria made me come to school again. What is it with these boys making me want to stay home and hide from the world? I'm still mad at Mark for completely ditching me at the party. You had to have known that wasn't going to happen. Mark's words ring in my head. I can't believe I trusted him so easily. Jake and Mark don't know that I heard their conversation. If they do, they're doing a good job at hiding it.

Mark pokes me again. Jake groans. "Give it up, dude. She's not going to answer."

"Sure she will." Mark stares me down. "She's Emaline."

"No duh." Jake rolls his eyes. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that she's stubborn. If she's not talking to you now, she won't for a while."

Mark scoots his chair closer to mine. "We'll see about that." He continues to stare, trying to get a reaction out of me, and I continue to ignore him. I keep my attention focused on the paper in front of me, writing down every major point from our project.

It's due next Friday, and it feels like none of us are prepared. I've already sectioned out our parts of the speech and printed off copies for each of us. While I have begun memorizing my part, Jake left his copy at my house (like the genius he is), and I'm sure Mark has barely skimmed over his part. A lot of hard work has been put into this project (mainly by me), and I'm determined to not let these two ruin it. Even if it means I have to stick around these two dorks to get them to practice. Without looking up from the paper, I ask, "Are you guys coming over after school?"

"For what?" Jake doesn't take his eyes away from his phone. Mark doesn't say anything as he continues to stare intensely at me.

I roll my eyes. "To prepare for our presentation." I finish scrawling out the last few words as Ms. Kelley tells us to pack up our things.

"Don't forget that your presentations are next Friday. I need to see that you've finished or nearly finished your essay by Wednesday," she informs us. "Your written report is due when you turn in everything the day of your presentation. Also keep in mind that there won't be any more time in class to work on it. For those who aren't close to done, I suggest getting it done this weekend." The bell rings as she finishes her reminder, causing the class to disperse.

"So," I trail off, getting all my stuff together.

"So, what?" I shoot Mark a look then roll my eyes. "Oh, yeah, I can come over."

I look at Jake, who's on his phone. He looks up briefly. "Uh, yeah. I just have to run an errand first. I'll meet you guys there."

I raise my eyebrows as we walk out of the classroom and down the hall. "An errand, huh? What for?" We come to a stop at my locker, which I quickly open.

Jake pauses. "I just have to grab a few things for a friend. Don't worry about it." Jake types on his phone for a moment before shoving it in his pocket. "I'll see you guys in a bit." With that, he leaves, heading to the parking lot, I assume.

I close my locker, turning to Mark. "Was that strange or what?" Mark shrugs his shoulders as we start walking out to my car. I frown, narrowing my eyes at him. "Do you happen to know what he's doing?" He avoids my gaze, shrugging again. I hit his shoulder. "You're a horrible liar. You do know!"

"Ow!" I roll my eyes as his reaction attracts the attention of some students still in the parking lot.

"Why didn't you just say so?" I unlock the car and climb into the driver's seat, tossing my bag into the back seat, as it dawns on me. I turn my head to look at Mark, who's focus is on buckling his seat belt. "He didn't want you to tell me, did he?" I make a face and start the hot car. Surprisingly, Mark stays quiet. The radio immediately starts playing Rachel Platten's Fight Song, which I notice has been played a lot lately. I pull out of the spot, heading home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark flicks my nose. "Stop rolling your eyes so much."

I scrunch up my nose and say, "Then focus." I sit at my desk and read over the essay again as Mark goes over his part. Glancing at the time, I notice that it's been about an hour since school got out. I still haven't heard from Jake. I mean, I have no reason to worry. Or wonder. It's none of my business. It's not like I like him or anything. I don't... do I? Liking Jake. That would be ridiculous. I can't like him in that way. Even if I did like him, I wouldn't be able to tell him. He'd laugh. Wouldn't he? What if he would be weirded out? Then it would just be awkward. Sure, he's annoying, but he's a good friend. Oh, gosh. I can't believe I'm actually thinking about this.

I close my laptop, turning to Mark. "I'm going to go grab a snack," I say before leaving the room and walking downstairs. Hearing voices, I pause on the last step, out of view.

"This should be good. Thank you," I hear Maria say. I peak around the corner, spotting Maria and Jake, before returning to my hiding spot. What on earth...

"No problem," Jake responds. "Is everything ready?"

"Just about. All that's left is getting the food prepared and getting everything set up."

"Got it. I just need to-" At this point, I loudly come down the last step, coming into view.

"Oh. Hey, Jake," I say, acting surprised. "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago," he smiles at me. "I was just chatting with Maria before I came upstairs."

"Cool." I nod my head. "Well, Mark's upstairs. Your copy of the essay is on my desk, where you left it. I'll be up in a minute." He heads up the stairs as I turn to Maria. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, sweetie. We can talk as we bake."

It isn't until we're getting a batter for cupcakes going that I start talking. "I'm glad you're baking today. It always seems to calm me down. I'm not sure why. I love making cupcakes, though. What kind of frosting are we doing? I was thinking we-"

"Emaline," Maria cuts me off, "you're rambling." She gives me a look that says "start talking."

I sigh, focusing on mixing the batter. "I don't know what I'm thinking. I'm confused."

"About?" She stops what she's doing, giving me her full attention. I tell her everything I was thinking about regarding Jake.

"How do you know if you like someone?"

She sighs and tucks my hair behind my ear. "Well, darling. The only way to know if you care about someone is to know how you'd feel if they weren't part of your life. If you can live without Jake being in your life, then maybe he's not as important as you think." I take a minute to ponder what she says, but she cuts me off before I can say anything. "I'm not saying that you wouldn't care at all. Just take the time to think about it before you jump into anything. If you like the boy, don't let him go. He's a sweet kid."

"I think I like him," I whisper. "But what if he doesn't like me back?"

"Then that's just something you'll have to live with. Sometimes, you have to take risks in order to get anywhere. Whether you go down one road or another, wouldn't you rather have found out than go on not knowing?" I nod. "Then when the time is right, you'll be able to tell him."

"Thanks, Maria." I kiss her cheek. "I needed that."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

I smile. With a bit of wisdom, I head back upstairs.