chapter nine /

Emilia

On today's episode of yours truly's life, there's undeniable tension between the teens studying in Emilia Shapiro's kitchen!

I'll just cut to the chase. A certain someone spent his weekend hyping up my posts. Exhibit A:

jude.merry commented: you look amazing in that dress emilia

jude.merry commented: hi emi

jude.merry commented: damn

That's not even the flirtiest message my tutor sent me. The good morning, princess text followed by a string of emojis I woke up to was the acme of my last Monday as a sophomore. In math, I caught him staring at me at least twice.

If I ever question anything Tori says, I'll never forget today.

I remain in an oversized Florida State hoodie and ripped jeans from school. Underneath my sweatshirt is a sleeveless purple blouse for when the house gets too hot. A claw clip rests on my dresser and it gets used for a quick half up half down hairstyle.

I head downstairs and plop down on a stool. My backpack is on the tile and I take out my phone to peek at the flattering things Jude sent me throughout the day.

Doing that seems to summon him as he stands on my porch. He's wearing the grey sweatshirt and sweatpants, just like when he was staring me down earlier.

"Hey." He smiles, running a hand through his wet hair.

"Come in, Jude. You know the drill."

He obeys. "You look nice."

"Oh...thanks." I don't know why I'm so weirded out. This is nothing compared to the thousands of notifications he was responsible for. Plus, I had no intention of looking "nice" tonight.

Tell Victoria Butler that I love her.

~

Jude already determined that I don't really need help with any of my classmates, but we spend twenty or so minutes talking about Fahrenheit 451 because Silver Palms hires the least communicative teachers. No wonder a lot of my peers have to teach themselves shit.

"Miss House Burner definitely stood out among the others. It doesn't look like anyone liked her since she's so different." I say, referring to the old woman who set her house full of banned books on fire to prove a point.

Jude lets out a giggle. "A lot happened in that book and I don't feel like ripping my hair out over it again." His gaze travels to the mini fridge that's stocked with our favorite drink.

"You know you're welcome to it." I say with a grin. We saunter over and each get a cold, red can. I slam the door before taking a sip.

Jude pulls the tab from his own. "Where are your parents?"

"My dad's still at work, but my mom's in her office upstairs." His question makes me realize she hasn't made a sound, other than typing furiously, since Jude arrived.

Speak of the devil. Mom joins the two of us downstairs. I see where this is going as she ignores me and makes a beeline for Jude, wrapping him up in a hug. "Hi, handsome! I haven't seen you in forever!" Jude's taller than me, but he towers over my 5'3 mom.

"Good evening, Mrs. Shapiro." Jude mumbles, his thick eyebrows knitting together in discomfort.

Mom squeezes the life out of him for another ten seconds. "Alicia will do." She finally turns to me. "Hey, EJ. Want one?" I wrap my arms around her quickly, worried the whole time after witnessing the aftermath of the hug Jude received.

"Your dad will be home in an hour or so." Mom pats my shoulder and pours herself some champagne.

"That buyer still pissing him off?"

"You know it, baby." She looks at the drink in Jude's hand. "I'm glad my daughter has a Dr. Pepper drinking buddy."

He chuckles softly. "My family likes to make fun of me for it, specifically my British parents."

"Us Shapiros love this shit." Mom gives his shoulder a squeeze. "I'm so happy you two are bonding!"

"Your daughter is quite delightful." Jude replies with a little discomfort in his voice.

Mom puts her free arm around me. "I know! I lucked out with her." She looks up at me, her head reaching my shoulder. We look the exact same even though she's a few inches shorter than me.

I smile with pride knowing that the woman who is stern with me every now and then loves me. The yelling I endure is worth it because I couldn't ask for a more patient and reliable mother.

"Well, I need to finish my work." She heads for Jude's direction. "Give me a holler if you need anything, big guy."

My mom's comments made both of us feel weirded out, but the awkwardness doesn't leave with her. We sit back down and a mix of silence and tension fills the air. The only thing making this at least a bit tolerable are the red cans in our hands. 

"It's getting warm in here." Jude wipes his forehead with his palm and leans back in his chair.

I chuckle. "Is it because both of your parents are British snow birds and it runs in the family?"

"FYI, I'm very American." He shoots back, making me cringe slightly. "Seriously, Emilia." The dimples on his cheeks make an appearance. "How are you not burning up?"

I shrug. "I guess I'm just weird."

"Your beauty causes global warming."

"Jude! Save the flirting for after Wednesday night." I'll be honest, he has rizz for an awkward tutor with no friends. "By the way, your hair looks kinda cute when it's wet."

"Someone's not practicing what she preaches. No flirting, Emi."

"It was just a compliment." I roll my eyes at him. "Drink your Dr. Pepper."

If I haven't made it known, Tori predicted this all.

~

Tuesday isn't nearly as memorable because we actually did productive shit unlike Monday. Unfortunately, Jude's gigantic brain can't help him with Spanish. Lucky for him, I'm half Cuban and understand it a little more than he does. Being the tutor is the only positive thing that came out of it.

I wake up on Wednesday morning and my first thought is what day it is. The rest of this week, with the exception of Friday morning's exams, gives me the motivation to get out of bed. 

"Good morning, bonita." Dad greets me as I'm eating some yogurt. 

I smile and take the random song from Taylor Swift's Lover out of one of my ears. "Hey, papi."

"Vas a manejarte al escuela?" 

My car keys compete with my dad for attention. "Sure. There's no point in having a license and not using it." 

"Be safe, bonita." He puts his arm around me and I kiss his forehead.

The drive to school is like the other two or three times I've taken myself to school. I pay attention to the ten minute drive while Bad Bunny and/or Taylor Swift is screamed at the top of my lungs. I get there and see my classmates filing into Silver Palms High School.

I step into the scorching and humid May air and can feel my curls start to get frizzy. At least I was smart enough to avoid the temptation of the hoodies in my closet.

My first class is English with my grumpy teacher and a certain boy with abs who broke my heart. I can finally look at Hunter Payne without tearing up, but it was another painful reminder that guys only see me as the fat and ugly girl I was in middle school. Now, I don't let how many guys I get determine my worth, but it still hurts for some reason.

Oh speaking of hunky guys, look who just arrived.

Jude

"Can you please get me Starbucks?" Abbey whines, waiting until I pulled up to my school to annoy me.

"You should've said something before I dropped you off, Abbey." I hang up on my sister and shove my phone in my pocket. How come this brat is the favorite child?  I think to myself.

She doesn't deserve any of the Peterbrooke she got for winning one game.

A silver car pulls up next to mine and Emi steps out. Every time I see her, my heart forgets how to function. The slightly cropped top and sweatpants is a look she always pulls off. Is it just me, or does she fill out her sweatpants beautifully?

Abbey won't know some of her chocolate is gone. Plus, she called Emi pretty and won't mind sharing some with her. I grab the blue bag full of melted sweets and scramble in her direction, but she's joined by Eva Hamilton and her other friend. Having a sister means knowing to never under any circumstances interrupt a group of girls whilst they're giggling and talking.

I shrug and walk away from the girls' direction, but Emi calls me over. "Jude!" She motions for me to be a part of their group.

"The new bae of yours is so fine, EJ! Hunter fucked up real bad." Eva exclaims, putting an arm around Emi. She rolls her eyes and whacks her chubby and annoying platinum blonde friend. 

"Shut the fuck up. Why the hell would I date my tutor?" She turns to me, twirling a curl around her finger. "My fault, big guy. Eva's the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She's not one for first impressions."

"No shit," I mumble under my breath, earning a confused look from Eva. "I...got you something, Emilia."

She smiles and takes the blue bag. "You're so sweet!"

Eva winks at her. "You lucked out, sweet girl."

"My pleasure, beautiful. I need to get to class now." I say, running away from her overly enthusiastic friend. Eva is popular because she's supposedly a sweetheart, but Dollar Tree Miss Piggy seems like a peppy pain in the ass. I don't judge, but some joyful people like Eva, my dad, and my sister freak me out.

I cringe at myself for breaking the "no flirting for the next couple of days" rule, but her smile plays in my mind instead of math formulas.

~

How did this happen?

One minute, The Beatles' vocals fill my ears and I'm knocked out, a pillow supporting my head. Next thing I knew, my pillow is gone and a girl's thick thigh replaces that useless hunk of cotton. 

"Hey, big guy." Emi's voice lost its caring sound, replaced with something raspier that gave me chills. 

"What's going on?" I rub my eyes and sit up to admire the beautiful girl in front of me. She wears a purple swimsuit top and sweatpants that highlight my favorite parts of her.

Emi smirks and grabs my hand. "You're kinda cute without a shirt."

My blood runs cold and I realize the parts of myself I hate are on display for my crush. I fold my arms across my stomach to hide everything. 

I wake up feeling even more vulnerable as Abbey and Mum give me concerned looks. According to them, they heard noises and investigated.

"Are you alright, baby?" Mum says, her eyebrows knitting together with concern. She looks as if she needs to rest, circles underneath her light brown eyes.

"You're a weirdo, but we're both really worried about you." Abbey says caustically, earning a glare from Mum.

"Just a weird dream, guys." I mumble, relieved my hoodie is still on. 

Mum nods slowly, squeezing my arm. "Don't you have a neighbor to tutor?"

"You're right." I check my phone, the time 17:21 staring at me. My face is covered in sweat and I probably need a shower, but I've only got nine minutes before I see the girl who friendzoned me and seduced me in my dream. 

Unfortunately, what happens in dreamland stays there. I'm just her tutor and neighbor and she's forced to be nice to me. 

Mum and Abbey leave me to get myself ready. I don't have time to take a shower, but Old Spice and some spicy cologne always does the trick for me. I grab my retainer case and put in the mouthpiece that keeps my teeth straight. After years of braces, getting them off made me like what I see in the mirror a little more. The metal came off months ago, but my insecurities stayed. I shove the black box into my jeans and head to her house.

Until now, I've never seen it up close and personal. Her crib is massive from the outside, with cyan siding and a tall palm tree whose leaves danced.  Knocking on the door and waiting for her is a routine at this point.

"What's up, Jude?" Emi steps out, wearing the same outfit from school. This time around, her curls are in a low ponytail with two framing her gorgeous face. She takes a bite out of a chocolate pretzel stick. "Come in." She ushers me inside with a mouth full of white chocolate.

I walk in. "Glad you like it. Do you need help with history?"

"Mr. Justice was the only decent teacher, and I remember what he taught us in my sleep." She says matter-of-factly. "I can teach everything he said in my sleep."

"Good." I say, getting lost in her stunning chocolate brown irises. "I wish I could say the same about Mrs. Reynaldo."

My history teacher was well liked for allowing her students to do whatever they wanted. Around midterms and finals, her laid back attitude backfired as we were forced to play catch up. 

The prize? Kissing our sanity goodbye.

Emi nods. "She hated Tori so much." 

"That's your best friend, correct?" I inquire, wanting to clarify.

"Since the fifth grade." Nostalgia fills her face. "I have a lot of friends, but I don't know what I would do without her support."

A smile that shouldn't be overtaking my face appears anyway. "I love that for you." 

In reality, I don't remember a time in the last six years I've had a Tori of my own. No one wanted to talk to me in middle school for some reason, so I haven't felt a need to talk to anyone besides my immediate family. 

That's why anything that can earn a red ten out of ten on a quiz fill the hole. Other boys do that using aggressive sports, but they're athletic and I'm the farthest thing from it. When I essentially vanished into thin air in high school and rarely speak, the rumors and "shut up"'s are replaced with my desperate bullies asking for help with every subject. I love how I can do every single problem in my Algebra 2 textbook, but push my feelings away that can't be solved with a good grade.

"Same." She smiles like a kid on Christmas morning and stuffs her face with her gift. "Keep the Peterbrooke coming." Her mouth is full of chocolate and some tan powder that can only be the remnants of the Graham crackers.

"Glad you like it." I respond. It registers suddenly this might be the last time I'll get to see her. Unless- 

"Do you have any plans tomorrow night?"

Intrigued, I ask, "I was going to study, but what do you propose?"

"Well...my team's having this end of the year celebration at Becca Payne's." She says. "No pressure."

Payne. The guy who has the nerve to humiliate a girl like her. I'm flattered, but I also know that I could be how she gets revenge. "Uh..." 

"You can think about it." She reassures me, playing with a curl. "You have until tomorrow morning, though." It didn't come out rudely, but still catches me off guard. 

"Why not?" I accept. "I'll beat Hunter's ass if necessary."

Emi doesn't respond, instead staring at her lap and I swear I saw her eyes fill with water. "Right. He'll be there."

Realizing what I did, my stomach drops. "Oh yeah. I'm so stupid. That wasn't supposed to come out."

She wipes her tears before they have a chance to fall. "It's not your fault." A deep breath escapes her lips. I kick myself for ruining her night. A few minutes ago, she was her usual unbothered self. Now, everything bothers her at once. 

"To be honest, you're amazing and nothing he said was true." I'm not just trying to get her out of her slump, but I mean it. If I don't say it enough, she's beautiful on the inside and out. Her beauty draws me in, but her charismatic and kind nature is enough to drive me crazy.

 Drama isn't my favorite, but I inevitably found out the details of Mrs. Ellis' class that day. The conversation...the insults...the tears...Emi doesn't deserve that. 

~

that was something! sorry for the mini hiatus :)

this chapter feels relatively long idk