EMILY
On Monday, the last thing I expected was to be trapped between two strong jock boys who I've come to hate for as long as I've been in high school, one more than the other. Roland McKinney had made my high school life miserable, and it wasn't even for any grudge he had against me, he just liked seeing people in pain, preferably me. Psychotic that he was, he wouldn’t let me live through my senior year of high school.
He was a Defenseman on the team along with Shane who was the goalie. They were tall with broad chests and ego the size of a hot air balloon mostly inflated due to the unwavering attention they received from more than half of the female student body. Seth was somehow one of them but a different species altogether. While Roland and Shane spent most of their free time terrorizing the weaker kids, Seth tried to make up for their asshole-ish behavior, but a hockey team captain could do so much.
They were wearing playful smirks on their faces as they blocked my way. I hugged the books to my chest, anxiety swirling around me.
What did they want now? I met their gaze head-on because I refused to be intimidated by their stares.
"Get out of my way, Roland," I said softly.
His mouth pulled back into a smirk. Shane elbowed him, chuckling.
I took a step towards the right and he did the same. When I stepped towards the left, Shane blocked me.
My heart thundered. "What do you want?"
"Nothing, Emily. We just wanted to see the girl who's gotten our Captain pussy whipped." He sneered, giving me a dirty once over. He looked at me like I was a KFC bucket that he couldn't wait to devour.
"And? I'm supposed to be flattered?"
"Flattered? Oh no, you should be fucking conceited, what with you wrapping a playboy like him around your finger like that. Sweet-Potato Emily's achieved what no one else has." There was so much bullshit that was coming out of Roland's mouth, I didn't know what to make of it.
"What got his attention? The milkshakes?” Shane interjected.
Then the two roared with laughter at their immature jibe, slapping each other.
Why wasn't anyone in the hallway?
Shane's eyes were glued to my breasts which I might add were covered. I never came to school wearing low necklines for this reason. I mean girls shouldn't be subjected to wear outfits because guys couldn't keep their eyes on their faces and yet this is what we are usually taught.
Dress appropriately so the boys don't get the wrong idea.
But here's me wearing a baggy t-shirt and yet Shane was finding it difficult to look away.
"If you're done being dicks, I'd like to leave."
Roland slid his hand between us on the wall stopping me.
"If you touch me, I'll tell Seth about this." I threatened them.
His smile turned that of a Cheshire Cat. He raised his hand's palm up, mocking me, "We mean no harm."
"Then leave me alone!"
"Well, I didn't realize you had so much fire inside you. I mean, where was that spark before? You're not that timid girl anymore, are you?"
He was right. Seth had given me so much strength just being there for me, I wasn't scared of anyone anymore. I used to be a broken girl, one who used to feel sorry for herself and never talked back, never answered to the bullies. I was broken, lonely, feeling like I wasn’t anyone other then a potato.
Seth had carefully reconstructed this new person that was me.
"You're right, I'm not the timid girl who's bothered by bullies anymore. Can you please step away so I can walk to my class?"
"Sure." He gave me a lopsided grin, "Just wanted to show my gratitude and thank you personally for everything you've done for our team.”
Confused, I looked between the two of them, "What are you saying?"
"I mean, Emily-Mae. We're thankful to you for keeping our Captain happy."
Shane chuckled. I understood what they wanted to say.
"Aw, don't be blushin like that. We're telling the truth. If it weren't for you, he'd still be making the wrong decisions.”
"Whatever. Now move out of my way."
Surprisingly, they stepped out of the way to let me through. I could feel their eyes boring holes into my back as I passed them.
Bunch of idiots.
I had a feeling they were going to cause more trouble.
*~*
SETH
It's a rare occurrence to be home earlier than usual and imagine my surprise when I found out that my girlfriend was still not home. I didn't have practice today because the coach told us to take a day off. The guy finally took pity on us and decided it was time we relaxed before the big game of the season.
We practiced our asses off on the rink, day and night, weekends included so yeah, I deserved this time for myself. I studied for an hour and got some sleep.
When I woke up, Emily wasn't home so I texted her asking "where are you?"
Her answer was immediate.
Emily: Stuck on a sociology group project. I'll be back home in an hour.
Seth: Kay. Want me to make you something to eat?
Emily: Tacos? 🌮
Seth: LOL! It's always tacos.
Seth: I thought you'd like to eat something else.
Emily: Like what?
Seth: 🍆
Emily: I like eggplant. Forget the tacos. Make me Eggplant Parmesan 🥰
Seth: That's my dick, you idiot.
Emily: Lmao.
Seth: 🧖🏽♀️🧖🏻🚿💦🍆🥰👩❤️💋👨
Emily: What do these emojis mean?
Seth: Shower sex when you get home. You've gotta learn the emoji language, babe.
Emily: omg! Perv 🙄
Seth: 🛏🍆🍑🥰👩❤️💋👨 guess this?
Emily: I think I know what it is.
Seth: Yeah, we makin love in bed
Emily: perrrvvvv
Seth: I love you.
I typed the words and my thumb hovered over the send button.
I was too chicken-shit to send it so I backspaced it.
Seth: Miss you
*~*
The afternoon wasn't eventful. While waiting for Emily, I made an eggplant Parmesan and because I had more time on my hands, I also prepared dessert which was Oreo cheesecake in tiny glass cups.
After that embarrassing incident with my mom, I hadn’t texted her. I mean, how could you face your mother knowing she almost saw you buck-naked having sex with a girl. It was a good thing I had the blankets wrapped around us. It was going to be hard to face her from now on and I had to live with it. When she called to check on me, she never mentioned that evening which was a relief.
I'd poured the cheesecake batter into the cups and placed the dessert in the refrigerator which is when the doorbell rang.
Emily had a key so why was she ringing the doorbell?
I padded into the living room and looked into the peephole. There was no one standing there so I opened the door only to find Emily’s bff Indigo on the doorstep.
He stood there in his six feet glory, wearing an American Eagle baggy sweater and faded jeans. I still couldn't understand how Emily never liked this guy. I could try and be friendly when Emily was with us but I was going to drop it when she wasn’t around.
The two had sleepovers and pajama parties when until their teens. Give me a fucking break.
“Indigo, right?” I knew his name, of course. I liked being an asshole sometimes. “May I help you?”
He seemed unsure at first like he was contemplating what he was going to say.
“My car has issues and I tried to get it to a garage but they are mostly closed right now. Emily told me you knew a lot about cars so I decided to check with you first.”
I gave him a nod, "alright. Just let me grab the toolbox."
A minute later we were both outside. The sun was already setting, the orange and the yellow hues blended out into the blue sky like an oil painting. Korean boy leaned against another car, watching me like a hawk, probably judging the shit outa me.
"Sick ride," I said looking, no scratch that, admiring the vintage black Mustang Fastback 1966 with the slick chrome wheels on the tires.
"Thanks, it was owned by my grandfather. Now it just sits in the parking garage which is a waste. I was trying to see if I could get some work done on it."
Must be nice to have a car worth something like forty thousand dollars lying around in the parking garage because ‘no one was using it.’
I could use some of that nonchalance to get my fines and the lawyer paid, but that’s not really how the word works. The rich become richer, and the poor…well…that’s another story. Not that I was feeling sorry for myself, I’d dug up my own grave with the arson shit that went down. There were no do-overs. I only had to work harder to make my life better and maybe one day, I could be as nonchalant as Indie.
Of course, Indigo Park hadn’t worked hard to own the luxurious cars, it was his grandfather who had migrated to the country, worked hard and started various businesses. The fruits of labor were now enjoyed by his grandson. I couldn’t blame him for that now, can I?
I went down to work on his car and then opened the hood. After some checking, I had the gist of what the problem could be.
"I think it needs an oil change. You should get that done ASAP and it would be best to take it to a workshop."
"Okay, cool. Thanks for the help!" He passed me a small smile.
"Do you mind if I sit inside?"
"Go ahead," He handed me the keys.
I settled inside the car and almost sank into the red leather seats. The scent of the old car welcomed me. When I turned the key into the ignition, the engine rumbled to life.
"Awesome!" I grabbed the steering wheels, running my fingers over the slick Mustang logo.
I hadn't even realized when Indie had slipped into the passenger seat. He had an amused look on his face. I most likely looked like a five year old girl in Disneyland.
"After I get the work done, you can take the car for a spin. Emily's gonna love that."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Girls are into that shit. It's always sitting in the garage anyway. You're welcome to use it whenever you want."
“Wow, thanks. I appreciate that.”
Maybe he was not as bad as I thought he would be.
"I guess I came off as too strong the first time we met and I apologize for that."
"Naw man, it's okay. To be fair, I judged you hard." I admitted.
He laughed, "I'm still kinda judging you."
The interior of the car was old but since Indie's parents were loaded, they had done an incredible job of restoring the car.
I was a little taken aback by how completely straightforward he was. Emily wasn't kidding when she said that Indie said whatever was on his mind.
"What are you judging me for?" I stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut.
"Emily's told me a lot of things about you."
"As long as she didn't tell you about the color of the underwear I own, I can handle it."
"Hell, she might have even mentioned that, who knows. I was paying attention to what mattered."
"Okay, let's hear it."
"I thought you're a typical jock, don’t get me wrong, but most guys in our school are pricks and those who play some kind of sport so when my bestie called me and told me about this guy she liked who by the way, sounded like some high school hockey-god.”
I burst into laughter. “High school hockey-god, huh?!”
“Something like that. It seemed to me like it wasn’t a one-sided crush and it was getting serious and I was getting worried.”
"What else?" I asked.
"Emily's always been difficult to get out of her shell, and she wasn't particularly confident around boys. And I mean boys who weren't me."
Was he being a little too smug about that?
“I had a feeling that you were using her for some ulterior motive, but then I’ve seen you two together which changed my perspective a little. She's very candid when she's with you. She laughs a lot, she’s having that glow on her face that I’ve never seen before so, I'll support you as long as you can keep Emily happy. It sounds cheesy but I’m just looking out for my friend.”
"I'll try my best."
"But if you hurt her, you should just go to the dentist and get your teeth pulled out because if you don't, I'll break them." He threatened me in the calmest most friendliest tone you could ever hear anyone deliver a threat.
"Got it."
"Since we have that out of our way, it's nice to finally meet you, Seth."
"Likewise."
"You go to the gym?" He asked.
"Nope. Can't afford that right now but I lift weights and play on the ice mostly. Do you play sports?"
"I played American football for a year and then I quit. I had tons of football scouts sniffing around me but I always used to win so it started getting boring, fast. Chasing after a ball. Yeah, not my thing. Nothing holds my interest longer than a year if it’s not a challenge. I took up gardening after that. Grew a bunch of roses, applied that in my house garden.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah, it made my mom happy.”
He was giving me some hardcore gangsta vibes. He did whatever the hell he wanted. I waited for him to pull out guns and sport a cigar, maybe recite a line out of The Godfather.
"You don't like Emily, right?" I asked, half expecting him to say yes.
"She's like a sister to me. Her asshat of a brother used to be my friend until things went downhill. Sometimes you're best buds when you're kids and then you grow apart. That's what happened to us. We’re almost like strangers now.”
He got inside the passenger seat and rolled down the window. "Listen, I have a party coming up next week, you should come with Emily."
Then he cackled, smacking the wheel, “Wait, I'm sure you guys do that a lot."
Oh, he had no idea.
"What I mean is, you should attend the party and bring her with you. She's not a party animal but needs to have a little fun. Know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I hear you."
"She'll be fine if you're around."
"Sure. We'll be there."