Tattered Blinds

Chapter Four

Alex

"So did you fail your test?" I asked Emma climbing into the tree house. 

"Alex," Emma giggled. She waited a moment. "Yeah," she hesitated to say.

"What? Really?" I asked her. She nodded her head silently. "No way, when you get that paper back, you need to let me take a picture of it or something!" I was really surprised that she actually did it. "What made you do it?" 

"Well, I was sitting down taking the test, and everyone made a competition of whoever got a higher score than me would get free lunch for a week, and I'm tired of it being a competition, so, I just failed it!" Emma blushed. I went and sat in a chair. 

"That's a girl!" I smiled. 

"I wonder what my mom will say," Emma said. 

"I'm sure she won't care, I mean, it is just one spelling test!" 

"True." Suddenly Emma's mom popped her head through the door.

"Hi sweetie!" She said to Emma and I could see her blush. "And look at you Alex, all big and muscle-y!" She laughed. I sightly laughed, to make it less awkward. 

"Hello Mrs. W," I said back to Emma's mom. 

"How was school today sweetie?" She asked Emma. 

"It was great mom, really great, thanks!" Emma answered shortly. 

"That's good, what do you think I made you kids some sandwiches? Would you like that?" She asked us. 

"Sure mom, thanks," Emma urged, wanting her to go.

"Okay, I'll be back in ten!" She walked away from the tree house belting out a song that sounded like it was from her era. 

"Your mom always makes me laugh, she is so nice," I said to Emma. 

"Yeah, a little too nice for me!" She laughed. 

"So you really failed the test?" I asked Emma. 

"Yes." 

"Would you believe that, Emma Watson of the seventh grade failed her spelling test! Good golly Emma, you are such a beast!" I made her laugh, but it started to become an uncontrollable laugh. She was just sitting there laughing at pointing at me. It was one of those laughs that you can't breath because she was just sitting there with no sound coming out at all. I sat there. Finally when she caught her breath she started to speak again. 

"You actually believed me!" She was rolling with laughter as I sat there with my mouth wide open. 

"What! That's so not cool!" I said to her. 

"You know me, I can't fail anything!" She was laughing. I started to laugh too, then she snorted. we both took in what just happened and started to bust out laughing again. We started to calm down before we said anything else. 

"You really had me going," I said. 

"Yeah, Mrs. Duffer recommended me to try out for the drama department, ya know?" She replied in a prissy, snooty way, which was not Emma at all. 

"Really, well, then you better start practicing!" I said in an British accent. She giggled. I watched her arms move to the shelf where her book was and she grasped it. She then put it on her lap and flipped to the first page. 

"Emma, are you sure you don't have that book memorized by now?" I asked her jokingly. She read it every time we went into that tree house, which was almost every day after school. 

"I do," she smiled. "I know I have at least the first six pages memorized." 

"I'm not surprised, you have had that book since you were three, so you have had a lot of years!" I smiled and I grabbed my backpack. I zipped it open and took out my cell phone that I always kept in the very back pocket, teachers never looked there. I had a new message from Elijah. I wasn't sure what he wanted, the last time he ever text me was last year and that was only because he wanted to know what time practice was. I hesitated to open it to see what it said. I flipped it open and was completely silent. 

Hey broski! What's goin' on my man, so uhhh about 2day, sorryyyy about that! Sooo i was wonderin if u cud do me a favor and well i guess im tryin to ask u cuz u are such good friends with Emma, that i like her! So thanks for that, see ya at practice bro!

I froze with my mouth wide open. I couldn't believe that Elijah Pike, liked Emma! He, one of the most popular kids in the school, liked Emma, who, not trying to be rude, barely stood out, and when she did it was because of awards for her good grades! "Is everything okay?" Emma noticed me sitting there staring at my phone with my mouth open. I suddenly snapped back into reality. 

"Yeah," I said suddenly. 

"Are you sure, you looked pretty surprised right there," she asked me looking worried. 

"No, everything is okay," I said closing my phone. 

"Okay," She replied doubtfully and then she went back to her book. I started to go over what was happening.  I just got a message. That message was from Elijah. Elijah only texts me when he wants something. That something was him wanting me to tell Emma that he liked her. Elijah liked Emma. Elijah liked Emma. Elijah and I both liked Emma.