Page 48 of Falling With a Spin

“Fuck,” I yell and bang my fist on the dash.

I was supposed to see Emma during her shift. I open up the messages between her and me.

The text bubbles pop up and disappear, and I close my eyes, dropping my phone in my lap.

“Will I ever be good enough?” I ask myself.

Chapter 18

Emma

I’m sitting in my car, staring at the clock on the dashboard, which is showing eight-thirty. My test is scheduled for nine o’clock, and I’m counting down the minutes while giving myself a pep talk till it’s time to get out of the car. It’s a fifteen-minute walk to the classroom. Therefore I have fourteen minutes and fifty-five seconds to get my shit together and take this test. I take one last deep breath in and close my eyes before reciting my pep talk speech.

“You can do this. You are smart, You are kind, You are strong, and you are resilient.” I open my eyes and feel my phone vibrate next to me, Hunter's name flashing across the screen.

We really haven’t spoken in the past two days since I have been cramming in more studying, attending classes, and going to work right after.

It hurt that he never showed up during my shift when he said he would, especially after the kiss we shared. I’m not sure what it meant or what he thinks of it. But, after talking to Taylor about it, she ended up throwing a pillow at my head and calling me an oversensitive bitch.

She isn’t wrong.

Something probably did come up, but I’m not his girlfriend, so why am I so hung up on it?

“Hi,” I squeak out, my nerves showing in more ways than I intend them to. I grab my bag and water bottle from the passenger seat before getting out of the car and walking to the classroom.

“Hey Em, I want first to say I’m so sorry I didn’t show when I said I would.” His morning voice comes through the phone, and I'm just about melting right there on campus ground.

“Emma?” He says my name, and my heart skips a beat.

“Hi, sorry I zoned out there for a second. It must be the nerves about the retake. But don’t worry about it. Seriously. It’s okay, things come up. What matters is that you texted me.”

“Thank you,” he lets out a breath, and I smile to myself, “but it will be okay. You will do great. We've been preparing you for this for two weeks now, and you aced that practice test yesterday, too.” He reassures me.

“Technically, I didn’t ace the practice test. I missed two questions. But I appreciate you tutoring me. I really do. I know I was difficult to teach, but I wouldn’t have asked for a better teacher. I don’t know what I will do if I don’t pass this test.” I say, panic starting to rise in my voice as I get closer to the classroom with each step.

“I know, and I figured you would be a little anxious, so I messaged Taylor to go get you a few things. Check your bag, and hopefully, it makes you smile. Go kick ass at this test and come over when you are done, we’ll go out to dinner to celebrate.” Hunter hangs up the phone before I can say anything, and I look at the black screen, questioning what just happened.

Peeking into my bag, I find a packet of Oreo minis with a note attached to it.

Kick ass at the test, Love-H.

I smile at the note and open the bag of Oreos, plopping one in my mouth. I open the camera on my phone and take a photo of myself biting into the cookie.

I open the door to the classroom, and I see other students sitting scattered across the room. In the front row, I spot Layla, and I beeline over to the desk next to her, dropping my stuff on the desk before approaching the teacher.

“Hey, Teach, how are you?” I ask, anxiously playing with my fingers.

“Hi, Ms. deKanter, I’m good. How are you? Are you ready for the test?” He asks, looking up from the papers he’s grading.

“I’m doing well and as ready as I'll ever be,” I tell him with a small smile and walk back to my desk.

“Girl, I’m so nervous about this test. I’ve been studying every night up to today. Have you been studying?” Laney asks, looking at me while biting her nails. I grab my bag to take out my supplies, line them up, and plop an Oreo in my mouth one more time for good luck.

“Yeah, Hunter Beckett has been tutoring me for a little while. I feel pretty confident about this one, but that's how I felt about the first test, and we both know how that went.” I say, leaning back against the desk and stretching out my arms. I close my eyes and calm my breathing trying not to sike myself out of this.

“Oh yeah, he is the one that you have been hanging out with lately, right?” She asks me.

Before I can answer her question, the door to the classroom opens, and Chad walks through with Caleb right behind him. My body tenses up, and I feel all the color from my face drain as my mouth dries. Layla follows my gaze and then looks back at me with a questioning look.

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