The teacher's voice, a steady drone in the dimly lit room, was the only thing Emma could clearly hear. "So then you'll substitute the X for 28..." he said, the squeak of chalk on the board a familiar, grating sound.
Emma was sitting in math class, her face leaned against her palm, her forearm resting on the worn wood of the desk, which felt cool against her skin. She was between Reina and Heather, but she felt a million miles away, a ghost in her own life. On the outside, everything had gone back to normal. She had caught up on all her missing work, thanks to Reina and Blake.
She was grateful to Reina, who had been truthful about not telling anyone where she'd been. Sure, a few people had come up to her, their voices laced with feigned concern, asking questions like where she'd been for the last few weeks. To those questions, she would lie, her voice smooth and confident, and say she had gone on a holiday with her family. The nightmares she had were getting better with the medicine, and, of course, with Blake occasionally sneaking through her window to hold her to sleep.
"Now, turn to page 294, everyone. Which hopefully everyone will remember that's the page your homework came from," the teacher continued. A few students snickered as they turned pages. Emma turned her page, too, when Reina's hand discreetly pushed a small, folded note across the desk.
"We'll be reviewing your homework, and then I'll pass back your papers I've already graded." Emma quickly hid the note in her lap, her heart doing a little flutter of anxiety, before reading it.
R U alright over there? U seem out of it
It was true she was completely out of it, and she'd rather not even be here today. But could anyone really blame her after everything that had happened? She scribbled a reply on the back of the note before passing it back under the desk.
Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks again for helping me to understand all this stuff.
Reina read the note, a small, genuine smile gracing her face as she looked in Emma's direction. "The answer was 75. I saw most of you got this question correct," the teacher said. Reina wrote something else down on the note, passing it back. Emma hid the note in her book, her fingers trembling slightly as she read it over. Have the police got any leads or anything?
A flicker of frustration went through Emma. She hadn't heard from Mr. Gates since the day at the hospital, and since her phone had been smashed to bits, she hadn't heard from Ms. O'Connor. Though she did have a new phone that Blake had bought for her, she had misplaced Ms. O'Connor's number somewhere in her room. She needed it to tell her about her new number. She didn't know if either of the police officers were keeping her parents updated on the situation, but she had a nagging feeling they weren't. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Heather's hand shoot up in the air. The teacher called on her.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir. I don't want to get them in trouble, but I don't think Emma and Reina are paying attention to you, sir," Heather said, her voice dripping with feigned innocence.
Emma couldn't help but glare at her. Heather texted in every class Emma was in—was she being serious right now?! Emma hid the note under her book as the teacher looked in her direction, his gaze falling squarely on her "Is this true, Emma?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
She shook her head, her heart beginning to pound. Of course, she wasn't about to tell him the truth and get in trouble. "No, sir, I'm paying attention. I don't know what she's talking about." he nodded, looking up at the board. "Then you won't mind solving the problem we're on. What's the answer?" Heather looked at her smugly, a cruel smile on her face, along with Raven, who was on the other side of her.
Emma's eyes slightly widened because she hadn't been paying attention to anything all class. She didn't know what question they were on. They had been working for a few minutes, so she knew they weren't on question one or two. She looked down at her book for a moment, her mind racing. "Hmm..." she looked sideways over at Reina, a silent plea in her eyes.
Reina, without looking at Emma, tapped three fingers against her desk two times before casually leaning against her desk, her gaze fixed on the board. Emma could only guess that meant they were on question six. Her eyes quickly moved back to the book, her heart beating a furious rhythm in her chest.
She found question six and scanned it quickly, a wave of relief washing over her as she remembered the answer. "Umm, I believe the answer's 9 1/3," she said, her voice shaky but firm. He looked at her with a wide smile while nodding. "That is correct. Well done, Miss Pear. Oh, and Miss Jenning, please put your phone away. The light notification keeps going off."
The whole class erupted in laughter at Heather's shocked face. Everyone, including Emma and Reina, laughed. Heather glared at them before reaching onto her lap, grabbing her phone to turn it off. "Shut up! It's not her fault Emma was actually paying attention!" Raven said while standing up dramatically. It only made people laugh louder. The teacher tried to settle everyone, but it wasn't working.
Heather glared at her before standing. "SHUT UP, Raven!" she yelled, marching out of the room with a slight limp, leaving Raven standing there shocked. She huffed, chasing Heather out of the room. "Heather, wait for me!"
As Emma laughed along with everyone else, she noticed the way Heather favored her right leg, the subtle but distinct limp as she walked.
She turned to Reina, asking what that was all about "I don't know. People are saying she fell off the cheer tower and hurt her leg. Serves her right, honestly," Reina said with a small shrug Emma nodded in agreement It was always nice when bad things happened to bad people.
YOU ARE READING
It Started With Hello
Romance***** Emma Pear knew she wasn't the most popular girl in high school. Her nose was usually buried in a textbook, and her grades were as spotless as her reputation for always following the rules. "Nerd" was a label she'd long since embraced. Her pare...
