“I’ll take it,” Jake offered. My dad said thanks and Jake took the trays, dumped out the trash, and then came back to get Drake.
“I’ll see ya later, Emily. Nice to meet you, Mike.” He shook hands with my dad and waved at me.
“Nice to meet you, Emily,” Drake piped in, completely ignoring my dad.
I crouched down to come face to face with him. He held out his hand and I shook it. “It was nice to meet you too, Drake.” He smiled, waving goodbye as they walked off.
I followed my dad out and went home. Thank goodness.
School flew by. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Fridays do that to people. Everyone seemed focused on his or her weekend plans. I was just ready for that last bell. I had driven to school today because I had a few errands to run after school before Jake and Drake came over.
Dad wanted me to stop by the grocery store and pick up various items. Plus, I wanted to make sure we had snacks and extra drinks. I also had to go by Wal-Mart and pick up some items for our project. Once we did the worksheets, we had to make a poster to present to the class. I was already praying that Jake would do all the talking. I could hold the poster… and hold it high enough to hide my face. Then I wouldn’t have to look at anyone and no one could see me. It sounded like the perfect plan to me.
The bell rang and I made my quick getaway. After stopping by my locker, I headed for my car, a Ford Focus.
“Hey, Emily,” someone called out behind me as I threw my bag into the car. I turned to see Jake whose car was parked three spots down.
“If you have a car, then why do you walk?”
“I like walking,” I said, shrugging. Without a second thought, I got in my car and drove off.
I hated going to the store. More often than not, the cashiers were friendly and smiling. They would try to make conversation. I couldn’t do that. I kept thinking that someone would lash out at me and start fussing because I was holding up the line
with friendly conversation.
Therefore, I kept quiet and looked down, watching the items as they were scanned. I handed over the money and mumbled thanks as I took off. Happy that I had everything I needed, I headed home.
4
Jake
I parked on the curb at Emily’s house. “Drake,” I began.
“I know. I know! Behave,” he interrupted.
I smiled. We got out of the car and made our way to the front door. Drake had been as excited as ever about today. I had to admit, I was a little excited too. I had never seen Emily as relaxed as she seemed last night talking to Drake, well, up until she almost choked. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to seeing her relaxed again. I wanted to see her smile again too. She had a beautiful smile. Drake knocked on the door, anxious to see Emily.
She opened the door, quickly glanced at me, and then down to Drake. She smiled and said, “Hey, Drake! How are you today?” Her voice was clear and not at all quiet. She was completely different around Drake.
Drake bubbled over at the attention. “I’m great!”
“Well, come on in.”
We walked into the house and Emily led us into the kitchen. Their house definitely felt homey. Pictures of Emily were everywhere. Sometimes she was by herself, cracking up over something funny. Sometimes, she was with her dad, grinning or laughing. There were a few of her with friends.
She looked nothing like the reserved girl she was now. In the pictures, she looked loud and outgoing. What happened to make her like she was now?
“Jake,” I heard, ever so softly.
I turned to look at Emily, realizing I had stopped walking and was looking at the pictures. “I was just looking,” I said like an idiot. Of course, I was looking. She walked over to where I was and looked at the picture that currently was holding my attention. It looked as if it was taken maybe two years ago.
She and three other girls were jumping off a walkway into a lake. They were all smiling and doing a pose in the air for the camera. Emily looked like she was trying not to laugh.
“That’s one of my favorites,” she whispered.
“You look so happy and carefree,” I said just as quietly.
“I was.” With that, she walked away into the kitchen.