It Started With Hello

Chap. 100

It was finally time for lunch, which meant Emma would be meeting up with Blake for the first time all day. She walked into the busy cafeteria, her eyes scanning the room for him. She saw him sitting at a table in the far right corner, and he looked up from his plate, noticing her. She smiled, sending him a wave before making her way to the lunch line.
She picked up a dark blue tray and stood behind Raven and Heather, who were too deep in conversation to notice her.
"You're such a bitch, Heather," Raven said, laughing as she put a salad on her tray.

Heather rolled her eyes before picking up a simple green apple. "I'm just saying, once she blows up, she won't be able to do cheers with us anymore. I'm sure you saw the video by now from this morning. Maybe we should pick a new cheer captain this year." Emma pretended not to hear them as she put a chicken sandwich on her plate. Now that she didn't have to worry about her weight as much as when she was in dance, she could fully enjoy food again.

Raven put a bottle of water on her tray. "I heard colleges were calling her all summer about cheer scholarships. It would be totally fucked up if we let her get halfway through the year then kicked her out like you're suggesting."
Heather took a bite of her apple, grinning. "Well, let's just not let her on the team at all. I think it's time for a new cheer captain, don't you think? I mean, it's her fault she was dumb enough to get herself knocked up." Raven laughed and nodded, making Emma roll her eyes before picking up a bottled water.

The two girls walked out of line, still chatting as Reina walked into the cafeteria, looking a mess, her eyes all red. Emma rushed past the fake girls to the table where Blake was waiting. It was crazy how fake people were; one minute you're the queen of the school, and the next your best friends are plotting your downfall. Reina made her way to the table with her so-called friends, which made Emma cringe slightly. They immediately started sucking up to her and kissing her ass, as if they hadn't just been talking crap about her.

She sat in the spot across from Blake. "Good news: I'm pretty sure we aren't the center of attention anymore. Everyone is talking about that Reina girl getting knocked up. I'm sorry you couldn't enjoy the limelight longer," he said sarcastically, with a smile.
He picked up a french fry, chewing on it. "Yeah, I saw it all firsthand," she whispered, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite.

He took a sip of his soda before continuing, "I thought you hated that girl. I have to say, I was expecting you to be a little bit more happy about seeing your enemy's downfall."

She sighed, looking over her shoulder at the table with Reina. Reina wasn't talking, her head was down while Raven and Heather blabbed on and on. "You would think so. Maybe I just have too big of a heart. Despite her hurting me and humiliating me publicly, I don't want to see her suffer, and I feel like her world is about to fall apart..." she said before facing forward again, seeing him smiling at her.

He reached out, holding one of her hands. "You're a good person, Emma. Of course, you don't want to see all this happen. But she brought this on herself. This is karma." He said before removing his hand and continuing to eat.
She nodded at him, taking one last glance back. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she whispered before facing forward.

****

Several weeks passed, and things settled into a new rhythm for Emma. Her life seemed to be going perfectly. She and Blake had lunch together every day, and he would always kiss her on the cheek when he saw her in the hall.

After school, she didn't have to worry about anything other than violin practice and homework. Blake would come over to help and bring Alex along; he would watch TV in the living room as they did homework at the kitchen table. Emma decided to keep her job at The Underground a secret to make money. She told her father she got a different job, and he let her use his car despite her mother's protests.

Though everything was looking perfect for her, things seemed to be going downhill fast for Reina. First, her so-called friends kicked her off the cheer team—or, more accurately, didn't even let her try out. Second, she had completely lost her status as queen bee of the school and was replaced by Heather, whom Raven was now following around like a lost puppy.

You would think Emma wouldn't care. Reina was always a bully and never showed her any kindness. But honestly, Emma felt bad for her. This was their last year of high school together, and this was one hell of a way to spend it: no friends and completely alone.

It wasn't always this way between them. Reina used to be a close friend of hers in elementary school. You wouldn't know it by looking at them now, but they used to live right next door to each other. Their parents would always let them hang out together and have little educational get-togethers, whether at museums or libraries. She was the only friend Emma had.

It all changed when Reina's father got a promotion and they moved away to a richer, snobbier part of town. Emma didn't see or hear from her the whole summer she was gone. Then, when they started middle school, Reina came back a completely different person. The girl Emma had grown up with had turned into a spoiled brat. And the worst part was, she just didn't even try to talk to Emma and rebuild their friendship. She just made new friends and left Emma behind.

Maybe that's why Emma felt so bad seeing Reina broken down like this. Their history together was unresolved, without an apology or a proper goodbye. The sad, lonely look on Reina's face was exactly how Emma felt when she realized she had just lost her best friend. There was no doubt this year would definitely have a little more drama than the others. Emma just hoped she was ready for all of it.

(Mia note- Yaaaaay 100th chap! I honestly didn't think this story was going to get this far but it's writing itself tbh I'm so sucked into writing it.