Pieces of Love

Chapter 7

"Oh my gosh I'm literally crying right now," I laughed and rubbed my eyes. Lily and Sophie chuckled but similar tears were also flowing down their faces. We were currently in Lily's huge house having a sleepover. I wasn't kidding about how big it is. It was practically a mansion. Her parents must be rich, no doubt, to afford this kind of pleasure. It was a typical girl's sleepover and we were watching the Taiwanese movie, Our Times, courtesy of Xavier, thus the cause of the tears.

"I can't after all these years he still remembered her!" Lily exclaimed dramatically as the movie credits started rolling in. She grabbed the remote and switched off the television in her room. I had to admit, I was jealous of that luxury. It was the last week of the term and Lily decided to have a sleepover to celebrate and to spend some time with me since I was busy for the last month preparing for the music competition.

"While on the subject on romance, had any crushes yet?" Sophie piped up. Had I mentioned how boy crazy she was yet? Her bedroom walls were plastered with posters of boy bands. To be honest, I was a little creeped out by the giant Teen Wolf poster with Tyler Posey's face on it, luring over her bed. "I don't have one," Lily replied, shrugging.

"How about you, Emma?" Sophie turned around, her eyes brimming with eagerness. "Not me," I said nonchalantly. "Oh come on guys! There are a lot of cute guys around," Sophie said, sounding disappointed.

I rolled my eyes. I was expecting a rebuke from her, but instead Lily spoke, "Emma, you and Jacob seem really close." I turned to her and replied, "We are just friends, trust me."

"That's what everybody says but we all know otherwise," Sophie butted in, a wide smirk on her face. Had I mentioned how annoying my friends can be?

"I totally ship Jemma," Sophie continued happily and my jaw dropped. What did she just say? I threw a pillow at her and she squealed. "I will personally murder you!" I growled as I pushed the pillow into her stomach, making her laugh breathlessly. Lily joined in and it soon turned into a massive pillow fight, three squealing girls in their pyjamas in the midst of all the pillows.

***

"Emma?" my mum poked her head through the crack at my bedroom door. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked. "Sure thing," I said, putting away my earphones and book. I was currently sitting down on my bed and reading so I got to my feet and walked over to my desk. It was a clear Saturday morning, well noon, seeing as I just woke up. Yes, I'm not a morning person. When it comes to school, I can wake up as early as five in the morning but when it comes to the weekends, I might as well sleep through the morning.

"What's up mum?" I questioned as I leaned against the table. "Mrs Schmidt just called," she said, her face expressionless. It was weird how these four words can make such a huge impact on me. My breath hitched and I knew immediately what this is all about.

I didn't say anything and my mum took this as a sign to continue, "It is about your results on the competition." I could feel the wild thump of my heart against my ribcage. I started breaking out into a cold sweat. A part of me wanted to not know the results until I was actually ready to hear them but another part of me just wanted to know the results and get it over with.

"You and Jacob..." she started but faltered when I shushed her. "I don't want to know the results yet," I sighed, making up my mind. Just as I was about to get back to my book, my mum grinned and said, "Really? Because the Emma I know would be pretty hyped up to know that you guys received first place."

My heart literally skipped a beat when I heard those words. The earphone which I was holding in my hands dropped to the floor as my jaw dropped. No, this is not true. There is no way that Jacob and I could have won. No, I refuse to believe it. This has to be some sort of cruel joke. Disbelief coursed through my veins as I stared, shocked at my mum. She was wearing a smile now as she observed my reaction. When she didn't say anything else, I could only assume that what she said was correct. It took roughly a minute for her message to sink in. When it did, my mouth curled into the biggest grin that I could manage, straining my cheeks.