The Book of Emma Brown

Chapter 2

The seat in American History was warm on Emma's upper thighs. This grossed her out a bit as she sat down and placed her stuff on the floor. She looked around the classroom. Students slowly filled each desk and she watched intently at the door. Her legs shifted uncomfortably under her. She never liked sitting with her legs on the floor. She preferred to have them criss-cross in her lap or at least on the seat. But, her dress prevented her from doing so. She cursed at being a woman in her mind and then saw David walk through the door.

She noted every facial feature as he walked in the classroom. His hair was like caramel and his eyes shifted from seat to seat and friend to friend. They were like the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, rolling back and forth.

Emma imagined him looking this way. What would she do? Smile? Wave? She realized she wouldn't be able to handle it and so she looked down at her desk instead.

The teacher then began class. "Take out your notebooks please." She said and Emma followed instructions. She pulled out an emerald green notebook covered with doodles and quotes on it. Emma traced the swirls and patterns over with her finger before opening the notebook to a blank page. As she flipped through the pages, she observed the other doodles on the pages.

Emma began taking notes on the teacher's lecture. But it wasn't long before she zoned off again. Her mind wandered to so many places. At first, it stayed on the topic of history and then ventured to other areas like food, music, and poetry. Then even to giraffes, stars, and toasters. It was when she was contemplating the ability of a football being able to work as a parking brake when her teacher shouted her name.

"Emma! Please stay with us, dear. Now, what is the answer to the question."

Crap! Emma hadn't heard the question. Her mind raced to what the teacher said or what they were covering but nothing came up. She knew if she asked to repeat the question, it would confirm she wasn't listening. Then she thought of how stupid she must look and all her classmates judging her. She heard a snicker from the back. She closed her eyes and thought hard, keeping her mind from questioning what David must be thinking right now.

"Ummm." She thought.

"Emma." The teacher said after a while.

"Uh, Abraham Lincoln?" It was the first thing that came to her mind. She knew whatever the question was, she got it wrong.

"Abraham Lincoln," her teacher stared at her sternly, "was president during the Cuban missile crisis?"

Yep. Emma had got it wrong. Very wrong. She confirmed it by the way the rest of the class burst out laughing. Emma's face turned beat red and she looked down at her shoes.

"Please pay attention next time, Emma."

Emma nodded solemnly and managed to get a quick look at David across the room. He was smiling, going along with the laughter. But Emma could see, hidden in his ocean blue eyes, was a hint of sorrow.