It Started With Hello

Chap. 15

"Mother, could I please have my phone back?" Emma begged, trailing behind her mother. It was Monday morning, and her mother, the mayor's secretary, was already getting ready for an early meeting. Her father, an attorney, had long since left for work. Emma had been trying to convince her mother to return her phone ever since she ran into Blake the other night. Usually, she wouldn't care so much; she was always too busy to make friends and rarely used it. Her parents had given it to her mainly to keep tabs on her.

But now, she just needed to send one message to Blake, to explain that Jason wasn't her boyfriend and that she hadn't been on a date "I told you, no, Emma," her mother said, sliding on her suit jacket and buttoning it. Emma stomped her feet, her temper finally boiling over. "I went to dinner with your friend like you wanted! Why can't I just have my phone?"

Her mother turned, surprise flickering across her face at the outburst. She walked closer, pointing a finger in Emma's face, glaring down. "Listen here. I don't understand where this sudden attitude is coming from, but I don't like it one bit. I let you go to your dance, and then you came back way past curfew. I'm keeping that phone as long as I like, do you understand me?" Her eyebrow rose as Emma looked down at the hardwood floor, muttering a quiet "Yes, Mother."

With a sharp nod, her mother turned, walking to the front door. "Good. Now, go make yourself presentable for school. You have dance right after, don't be late." She walked out, closing the door tightly behind her.

Emma stood silently for a few minutes before letting out a frustrated groan and trudging up to her room. She was dreading school today; the attention would definitely be on her after what happened at the dance on Friday. As she got ready, she couldn't help but wish she was the tough type of girl who would just ditch school, but that wasn't her personality.

She finished dressing, looking at herself in the mirror: her long black hair pulled back in a low ponytail with a pink scrunchie, a white button-up shirt, and a plaid dark blue and white knee-length skirt. Her eyes glanced at the cowboy teddy bear on her vanity, the one Blake had won for her. She let out the heaviest sigh. "Here goes nothing," she whispered, grabbing her bookbag off the bed along with Blake's jacket, which she'd promised to return. Then she walked downstairs, out the front door, and headed towards school.

****

Two things became clear to Emma by the halfway point of the school day. First, she was definitely the center of attention. Kids whispered about her as she walked down the hallway, not even trying to be discreet. Girls looked at her with jealousy, as if to say, "Why would Blake waste time with someone like her?" Guys looked at her like she was some new prize to be won, and she hated every minute of it.

She wasn't an object. None of these people had acted like they knew her just a few days ago, but now it was as if they couldn't look away. Second, Blake was totally ignoring her existence. She tried to approach him once to return his jacket, but he completely turned the other way. Disappointed, she ended up just putting the jacket in her locker.

They had a few classes together; he usually sat at the back, and she sat at the front. At one point in class, a group of girls gossiped about them, saying how plain she looked compared to any of them and how Blake was probably just going to "fuck her and move on." As they laughed at their jokes, her face heated with embarrassment. Even though the teacher told them to settle down, they continued to whisper amongst themselves.

She felt watched. She looked back at him, making him quickly look away from her, down at the paper on his desk. He was acting as if he hadn't seen or heard anything that just happened, but it was totally obvious he had. It wasn't that she wanted him to jump to her defense, but it would have been nice if he had said something.

Somehow, she made it to lunch despite the overall embarrassment throughout the day. She sat at one of the tables, picking at the plate of food in front of her "I bet you think you're so special, huh, perra~?" Reina said, standing behind Emma with her minions, Heather and Raven, beside her. Reina rolled her eyes at Emma's attempt to eat in peace. "You couldn't get with Chan, so you moved on to Blake? You're really sad."

Emma's body tensed, but she chose to ignore them, continuing to face forward.
Reina clicked her teeth. "He's just going to fuck you and leave you. That's the only reason he's giving you any attention." She put her hands on her hips, and Heather and Raven chuckled beside her.

Emma felt thousands of eyes on her as her hand tightened around her fork.
"Don't you hear me, whore!?" Reina said, more frustrated. Suddenly, Emma felt cold liquid cover her head, seeping into the front of her white top, staining it quickly. Her black bra became visible, making her quickly cover her chest. Her mouth gaped open in shock. She turned around, seeing Reina holding an empty red Gatorade bottle. "Oops," Reina shrugged, laughing along with her friends.

Emma's body started to shake as other people began looking on, joining in the laughter, which grew louder and louder. She put her hands over her ears, about to have a full-blown panic attack.
"Fucking cut it out!" Blake yelled a few tables away, standing up, making the whole cafeteria go quiet.