May Blossom High

Emma's Pov (12)

My mind is in overdrive as I try to manoeuvre the queue and get my apparatus ready for the practical.

I'm relieved that I'm doing it alone, though I haven't seen the jerk anywhere near school since he stormed off at his brother.

I button up my lab coat as part of the laboratory requirements. I honestly don't see reasons why they gotta be so strict about a cloth, it doesn't even protect us from the bad chemicals. We just have to look like scientists, duh.

I grab my manual and rush to my table happy that I'm gonna do this alone without distractions from a partner. As a straight A student, simple titration and correct readings didn't scare me, it's what I do for a living.
Moreover I see some students trying to switch partners cause they are scared to be with someone like them, I laugh in my head.

Cheryl was paired with Créme Delarius, our class queen bee who's besties with Shania. Gawd I despise those girls, I mean who comes to school with a bag of makeup?

Every time I'm in the bathroom they're there caking up their faces and gossiping about some rivalry thing they have or making mockery of any girl with an opposite sense of fashion.

I swear if they were in my previous alma mater they be the kind of girls I'd hang out with but I'm not repeating those mistakes again. My relationship with Gina and Sierra back then became too competitive and toxic. We'd go miles to prove shit to ourselves and still pretend we were friends, until the night we fought at our school's graduation party over a lie I told about Gina just to get her crush Elliott to like me instead.

I did bad for sure but I also discovered that Gina and Sierra were the ones behind my poor grades at that point. I was always a step higher than them in our performances so they took matters into their hands to bribe some course teachers that were friends with them and got higher scores than mine.

I felt devastated then and promised myself never to be in a girls gang so I'm currently riding solo in friendships and lab partners.

I'm writing down something in my book when I hear an uproar. I look up and see Einstein at the entrance buttoning up his lab coat like he doesn't know he's the cause of the uproar.

I watch as Shania rushes to his side like a lap dog, she's engaging him and he's ignoring her, his eyes is searching for something, something I'm not sure of until they land on me. Shoot!!

I duck beneath the table breathlessly, I'm jittery all over and I don't know why. I've never been as scared of someone in my life as I am of him. I mean I shouldn't be hiding, it's not like I did something bad, damn it Emma!

Why is he here of all places, everyone knows he doesn't attend practicals at all so why now? My mind is running down all possibilities.
Maybe he wants to get back at me after all. I facepalm myself in shame.

"You're usually smart mouthed and bold, huh? Has the floor become so interesting now?" he drops with sarcasm and his face is so scary that I wanna piss my pants but I gather confidence and stand tall even though I'm barely reaching his shoulders.

"Oh no, I dropped something. Now what are you doing here? I gathered that such intellectual activities aren't for your type?" I challenge myself with a lopsided grin.

"Who says?" He grits his teeth.

"Everyone does" I interject quickly.

"I never tagged you a gossip as well, cool then" he says moving from his current position. He's walking down to the long queue and everyone moves aside for him to get through. I watch in wow and resentment at the same time.

He just called me a gossip. Gawd he makes me so mad. I mean I've broken more pencils than I can recall since I met Einstein Hat.

I take a breather and try to focus on the work before me while he hustles for our reagents.