Page 25 of Echoes of Us

She looks at me contemplatively for a moment. I see a moment of what looks like relief that quickly turns to annoyance. “Fine. My next test is tomorrow, so I hope you’re as smart as everyone thinks you are.” She turns and exits the car. Before I can even get out and close the door, she is six cars away. She yells over her shoulder, “2:45 or you walk home.”

This is going to be a long night.

Chapter 28

Emmaline

I guess this is better than the school tutor. No one will know I am getting help and I can use Teagan to my advantage. If she is going to live in my house, I might as well use her to ensure I play in the spring.

As I walk to my locker, I catch sight of the janitor cleaning Teagan’s locker. Her destroyed books are in a sad, soggy pile next to him, while a fresh set of duplicates and her laptop sit neatly on the other side. My stomach twists as I remember the hurt on her face yesterday. She walks up to him and smiles, patting his shoulder. He bends down and hands her the new books. Teagan glances at me briefly, then quickly looks away to start reorganizing her locker. Watching that unfold makes me feel ten times worse. She’s so cold to everyone, but then softens at the smallest act of kindness. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see that softer side of her. Not that I deserve it after the last few days. There is something about her smile that makes me want to know more about her and her past, even though I’m trying so hard to hate her.

Devan comes up behind me, followed by Mills and Gabe. Teagan looks toward us and Mills blows her a kiss, making Teagan turn a deep red. “Seriously, Mills. Cut it out. You really went too far yesterday and the last thing I need is for you to make things worse for me than they already are.” She gives the ‘I’m sorry’ look and raises her hands in surrender. I continue putting books into my locker.

“So, babe. How much trouble did you get in last night if you are protecting the new chick?” Devan asks.

“Not much, except that I have to let her tutor me in calc. They think it’ll make us friends or something,” I say, turning back to my locker.

“What the hell? You have to sit with her and study?” Mills asks, stunned. “Wait… maybe you can use this opportunity to your advantage. Fail on purpose and then tell your parents she taught you the wrong thing to make you fail. She will be toast.”

“Are you not listening? We are not doing anything else to that girl. We have done enough, and I already feel like shit about it. Plus, I actually have to pass the rest of these tests, or I can’t play in the spring, remember? It’s only a few weeks. I can deal with it. It’s just studying.”

Devan hooks his arm around my waist and turns me toward him, leaning down to kiss me. As I look up, I meet Teagan’s eyes again. A wave of discomfort washes over me, knowing she’s watching. I can’t shake the feeling that kissing Devan in front of her would somehow make things worse between us. My heart races, not from excitement, but from an odd mix of guilt and anxiety. At the last second, I turn my head, making Devan’s lips land on my cheek instead. I can’t quite understand why it bothers me so much, but I know I don’t want Teagan to have any more reasons to hate me.

We begin to walk to first period when I see Grace approach Teagan, pulling her into a hug. She says something and looks in my direction with a scowl. Teagan shakes her head, then takes Grace’s arm as they turn to walk away.

“I’ll meet up with you in a sec, Teags! I forgot something in my locker!” Grace calls and runs back toward us. She stops in front of me and smiles. “So, I heard two interesting things today. First, I heard you may get kicked off the lacrosse team. You’re making it so easy for me to win the Class of 2025’s Female Student Athlete Award.”

There is an award our school gives to a male and female student athlete in their senior year. The student must show excellence on and off the field for their four years of high school. They look at stats, grades, community work, church attendance, school attendance and anything else you can measure.

Grace continues, “Second, I heard what Mills did to Teagan yesterday. Honestly, that was even too evil for me. I genuinely felt bad for her when I heard about it and even more so after I talked to her this morning. She could barely talk about it. Anyway, as you just saw you are pushing her into my open arms. Maybe she will actually have me over sometime.” She looks triumphantly between Mills and me. “Making your life miserable at school and at home would be such a fun time. Keep up the bitchy work, Em.” She turns to walk away.

I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that Grace wants to use Teagan to get under my skin or the fact that she of all people called what happened yesterday evil. If Grace Hoffman is shaming me, I am really being awful. I didn’t even have anything to do with what Mills did…technically. I mean I joked about it with her the night before, but I called it off…kinda. Teagan is bringing out a side of me that I have never seen.

At this rate, I will lose myself at the end of all this.

Chapter 29

Teagan

I am not looking forward to walking into AP Latin after what I did yesterday. I may have gone a little overboard. Hopefully, Dr. Blake won’t be too hard on me.

I walk in and sit in the same seat as yesterday. Dr. Blake is at his desk writing on what looks to be a student’s paper and looks up at me. His brows furrow and he shakes his head but looks back down and continues to write. The bell rings a few moments later and just like yesterday, he stands and immediately begins to teach. Luckily, today he starts by telling us we are moving on to begin reading “Commentarii de Bello Gallico” by Julius Caesar. I read this for fun over the summer after my Honors Latin teacher recommended I get a head start on the required reading for AP Latin.

After class, I stand to leave. As I am walking down the aisle of desks, Dr. Blake calls out, “Ms. Parker, a moment.” Two girls stop and look between Dr. Blake and me, then snicker as they turn to leave. I walk back toward him and set my books back on my desk. “Ms. Parker, I first wanted to sincerely apologize for my rude comment yesterday. It was unsavory of me to doubt your previous curriculum or your abilities. It is clear through your quiz yesterday and your transcript I reviewed last evening that you are a bright young woman. I do, however, ask that you refrain from using that kind of language in my class again. That, too, was unsavory.” He gives me a small smirk.

“Yeah… I am sorry for being rude. I have a hard time controlling myself when people judge me without knowing me. Thanks for giving me a second chance,” I respond with a small smile. He nods toward the door. I grab my books and turn to leave.

In the hall, Grace is waiting to take me to AP Physics. I know the way to my classes now, but I kind of like having someone to walk with, especially after what happened at my locker yesterday. People have not stopped staring and giggling as I walk by, but I have noticed if I am walking with Grace, they don’t dare laugh or look my way.

“How do you get to the elementary building?” I ask breaking the silence.

She looks over at me curiously. “Uhh. If you exit the cafeteria on the opposite end of where seniors and juniors eat, their building is down a path. There is a jungle gym near the entrance, so you can’t miss it. Why?” she questions.

“I want to go see EJ sometime today. He wants me to meet his best friends. He is a sweet kid, so I figured why not. He is the only one who has treated me well since I got here.” She looks at me sideways, raising an eyebrow. “Well except for you,” I quickly add.

“That is nice of you actually. I think he is in 1st grade, so you’d just go in the entrance and turn right. The classes are in order, but kindergarten is it’s own hall on the left. So, 1st grade will be the first two classrooms in the hall on the right,” she says as we approach my next class.

“Thank you…and thanks for still walking me around today. I figured after what happened yesterday you would want to steer clear,” I say.

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