Unexpected

Chapter 9.

It's a half past five and I'm glad that I feel a lot more better than a few hours ago.

I don't feel so stupid because I didn't do anything stupid actually. I was just worried. Albert is almost a friend to me so I think that it's normal to be worried about him.

I put my black and white jumper with my black jeans and a black cap. I grab my backpack and I'm ready for another day of high school.

Sophia is already seated when I arrive to Advanced English. Her face is buried in a sort of appointment book and she barely notices when I arrive, it takes my books hitting my desk for her to gaze up at me.

"Hey." She smiles.

"Hi," I take my seat next to her and pull out my textbook and my case.

"How was the rest of the night?" I ask.

"It was good actually, he came after all." She shrugs.

I'm relieved that he came back home. He made the right thing.

"Well, that's certainly a good new.. he finally decided to talk to his mother.."

"Yeah.. his mother was so pissed with him." She laughs.

"He said that too, he knew that running away it was a bad ideia.. I think that he was just feeling lost.." I say.

"Yeah.. well who can blame him? Even my father was feeling a bit lost last night.." She says with a laugh.

"Really? Why?"

"He was so nervous about meeting Albert that he barely ate!"

"Wow.. Well he surely was afraid of Albert's reaction.."

"Yep. Probably.. His mother was nervous too.."

"She was?"

"Yep!"

"Well that's not surprising.. you can be really intimidating sometimes.." I say with a laugh.

"I know! I forced you to go shopping with me, remember?"

I point at her in reassurance and she laughs.

"So you're as a sort of a family now?" I ask.

"Yeah, I think so.. Maybe having a step brother isn't as bad as it looks right?"

"Yeah.. maybe not."

"Did you call him last night?" Sophia asks looking at me.

"Yeah. I called him."

"And.."

"And nothing. I gave him an advice and apparently he followed it."

"You gave him an advice?" She says with a laugh.

"Yes. It's what friends do right?" I'm trying to ignore the situation.

"Yes. What FRIENDS do.." She wides her eyes in irony and starts writing on her appointement book again.

"What are you doing anyway?" I ask trying to change the subject.

"Writing all the things that I have to do today!"

"Wow.. looks who is planning now.." I say with a laugh.

"This is not planning. This is.. ahm.. programming things ahead of time.."

"That's planning, Soph."

"It's not."

" Whatever.." I say shaking my head.

"Alright, today we are having a new student with us. Welcome to our class, Albert!" The professor says opening the door.

I immediately look at the door and I'm stupefied. Albert in our class?! Since when?!

"Look who is trying to be a friend, Emily.." Sophia says hitting me in the arm.

What the hell?

Albert look at the professor and then he looks at me. Why is he looking at me?

"You can take a sit, Albert." The professor says.

"Thank you." He answers as he seats in the desk next to mine.

"Hey," He says looking at me.

"Hi," I'm dead. I can't breathe and I'm dead.

"Now Albert makes part of our class. Let's start with our lesson. Open your book on the page eighty-four please." The professor says sitting on his desk.

I stop looking at him and look at Sophia.

He's looking at me. Stop looking at me.

"Why is he here?!" I rhetorically ask.

"Probably to be a better friend of yours, Ems.." She laughs.

"Or a better brother.." I look at her.

She looks at me with a thoughful expression.

"Naaah, to be a better friend."

I look at my books trying to ignore her and avoid the fact that he's right next to me. How?

Ninety minutes and the class is over. It wasn't to bad though.. I thought that I would be blushing all the time when he looked at me but I didn't.. I just looked at my books and to the professor..

"Do you want to have dinner at my house tonight, Ems? Sophia asks me.

"Your house or yours and Albert's house?"

"My house. He's only living there in the next week." She says.

"Okay.." I think that a dinner it's not going to be awkward if he's not going to attend.

"Great!" She says with an excited tone.

"Emily, can I talk to you for a second?" Albert asks and I turn back to face him. I love the way he says my name. He just suits his lips perfectly in my head.

"Yeah, sure!" I politely say.

"I wanted to thank you for calling me last night and for giving me advices. You made me do the right thing.."

"You don't need to thank me. You're Sophia's step-brother now so you're kind of my friend too."

"Yeah.. I think so.." He seems disappointed. He always seems disappointed when I talk.

"Well, I really need to go to geography so.." I don't like awkward sillences. At all.

"Me too.. we are on the same class, remember?"

Drag me to hell!

"Right! I almost forgot that! I'm sorry. So.. shall we go?"

"Yeah."

We're walking and I wonder why Sophia always leaves me alone with him. It's not like we're saying something that she can't hear.

I'm kind of curious to know why he changed classes..

"I think that it's really good you're trying to be closer to Sophia.." I think that's the reason he changed classes. What other could be?

"Actually I didn't change classes because of her."