Page 17 of Echoes of Us

“It is literally impossible for me to talk to you about anything without you being gross. I am going to bed,” I say angrily.

“Fine. It isn’t my fault you spend all your time complaining and not talking about stuff we enjoy, like football, lacrosse or what we want to do on the weekend. It is getting so annoying, Emmaline. Screw me for having an opinion!” He hangs up.

I throw my phone onto the bed and fall face first onto my pillow. I love the guy. I mean we’ve been together since freshman year, but I cannot handle him always focusing on three things: football, parties, and hooking up. I don’t think I can do it much longer. Maybe next year in college I will find something deeper than what Devan and I have now. Eli jumps onto the bed and wobbles up to me. He kisses my cheek and then, rather aggressively, lies down next to me. His head is on my chest, looking up at me. I start to rub his ears. “I love you, too, buddy.”

I just want someone who gets me.

Chapter 17

Teagan

I wake up to a faint knock at the door and look over at the clock on the nightstand, 6:45 a.m. I roll out of bed, throw on a T-shirt and shorts, and open the door. Eve is standing in the hall holding a purple backpack and a hanger with a white button-down top and a plaid skirt.

“Good morning, dear! Here is your uniform for your first day. It’s an older one of Emmaline’s, but it should fit you since it is before her last growth spurt. I also bought you a backpack that has a laptop case for your first day!”

“I hate purple,” I say as I look from the backpack to Eve.

“Oh, well no worries. I think we have something….” Eve starts.

“I’ll carry my books. Thanks,” I cut her off.

Eve looks over my shoulder and sees the laptop on the floor charging. “Oh good you set up your laptop! I hope you like Macs. If not, we can always get you a Chromebook or something else.”

“This is fine,” I say flatly. I’m too embarrassed to admit I’ve never owned a laptop or know much about them. It’s not like I’ve been living under a rock; I just never needed to learn. At home, I couldn’t really keep valuable things around. They always ended up stolen or sold, so Mom and her friends could indulge in their habits.

“Okay then! Em and EJ usually leave around 7:30, so just make sure you’re downstairs to ride with them to school!” Eve says as she hands me the uniform and turns toward the stairs.

I set the uniform on my bed and look at it with disgust. Who the hell thought this looked good on anyone? I can just picture the school now, a bunch of robots walking around and holding hands singing ‘Hallelujah’.

I knock on the bathroom door to avoid a repeat of the other day, but there’s no response. I open it and peek inside. The lights are off, but warm steam from a recent shower clings to my skin and fills the air. Princess’s lights are still on in her room, so she must get up super early to get ready for school. I bet it takes her an hour to just do her hair and makeup to make sure she looks perfect. Her version of perfect, at least. I hate when girls try to change the way they look in public. They just end up looking like circus clowns. I laugh to myself and shake my head smiling.

I shower and dry my hair before checking my phone. 7:22 a.m. Shit. I need to hurry. I go into my room and reluctantly put on the uniform. I grab the laptop and head downstairs. At the foot of the stairs, I notice the blue backpack, which I assume is EJ’s, that has sat there all weekend is now gone. I walk into the kitchen to find it empty.

“EJ? Emmaline?” I call out hesitantly, but there is no reply. I head back upstairs and walk to EJ’s room. I knock and open the door to find it empty. Next, I go to Emmaline’s room and knock a little more forcefully. Nothing. There is no way she left me. I run back downstairs and into the kitchen. Before I have a chance to call their names again, I hear the side door open behind me and turn.

Eve stops and looks at me wide-eyed. She takes out her Air Pods and looks around, “Did you decide not to ride with Em and EJ?” she asks.

“I came down and they weren’t here,” I reply as Eli comes in from behind Eve.

Eve looks annoyed for a moment and then shakes it off. “Em must have forgotten you were riding with her today. She is a creature of habit and is not a morning person, but no worries! I have to run an errand anyway. I’ll drop you off!”

I shrug and go into the garage to wait by the car. The door unlocks as Eve steps into the garage and walks toward the car. She drives the car you’d expect a mom like her to drive. Her black Lexus SUV has all the bells and whistles. I roll my eyes as I put on my seatbelt. Just from selling their cars, these people could feed everyone in my neighborhood for a month or two.

After ten minutes of silence, Eve mentions she and Ethan received an email from the headmaster outlining my first day and where to go when I arrive.

“You know where the front office is, but there is an amazing young woman who has been assigned as your new student mentor. Her name is Grace Hoffman. She is such a sweet girl. I play tennis with her mom on Wednesdays. She will give you your schedule and escort you to all of your classes.”

I continue looking out the window, barely paying attention to what Eve is saying. I did catch the part about a new student escort, though. I have never heard of a new kid getting a “buddy” to follow them around school. At my school, well…my old school, you figured it out as you went if you were new. No one babysat you or told you where to go, you learned on your own.

We pull up to the massive school. When I first came to take the entrance test, the headmaster went on and on about the school, the history, the students, etc. I remember him mentioning that each grade level only has around sixty-five students on average. They do this deliberately to ensure there is a smaller teacher-to-student ratio for optimized learning. My old school was half the size, and we easily had over two hundred students in each grade.

Eve stops the car in front of the high school building. I begin to exit the car before Eve puts her hand on my shoulder and gives it a slight squeeze. “Have a great first day, Sweetie. We are so excited you are here. I hope you know that. You can text me if you need anything at any time,” she says.

“Thanks,” I mutter, attempting to give her a small smile. I open the door and step out. My mouth drops.

Preppy. Robots. Everywhere.

Chapter 18

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