Abi just kicked her feet in excitement. She envied her little sister’s ignorance. Blowing a raspberry on Abi’s round pink cheek, she turned to see her mom watching them with a glimmer of a smile.
Her blonde hair sat on her shoulders. Emma had inherited her dancer’s body from her mom who had been a cheerleader in high school. “You’ll spoil her dinner if you keep feeding her grapes,” her mom said, folding her arms over her chest.
Little monkey had a sweet tooth and a finicky diet, like Emma. “Is dad going to be here for dinner?” she asked her mom, avoiding the spoiling dinner topic. Her mom wasn’t Paula Dean, that’s for sure; she was more like Chef Boyardee. At least she tried.
Her mom nodded her head. “He should be here any minute.”
Oh goodie gumdrops. A nice family dinner.
Not.
She wondered what her mom would say if she told her she was thinking about asking out a boy. Like she would ever have the nerve, her mom was likely to faint from shock. And her dad? She shuddered to think what her dad would say.
It wasn’t that she didn’t love her parents, ‘cuz they could be really great, but when it came to boys and dating there was a stern policy. No dating until college.
Was that even feasible for a teenager?
Certainly not for Emma. How was she supposed to enjoy high school, go to dances if she couldn’t date?
Sometimes her parents were so unreasonable.
She heard the shuffling at the front followed by the arrival of her dad. He shook white snowflakes from his red hair. Kissing her mom on the cheek and ruffling monkey’s hair, he smiled warmly at Emma. “What’s smells so good?” he asked, winking at her and monkey.
The corners of her mouth upturned and Abi screamed, “Dada,” in delight. An inside joke about her mom’s cooking, which wasn’t wasted on her mom. Eyes twinkling, she brought over a steaming dish. Then set her apron on the counter before joining them at the table.
What her parents had was a calm quiet love. She admired all they had together and the loving family they had built. Her dad always said it was not the house that made a home, but a family that made the house.
Emma wanted more than quiet love, she wanted something explosive.
Chapter 3
The snow had finally stopped in the middle of the night, but the roads were still a little wet this morning on her way into school. Shaking off the cold, she grabbed her books from her locker and walked excitedly to homeroom. Normally on Monday’s she dragged ass, but today was going to be different.
Emma had a plan.
A horrible and ridiculous plan.
She finally made the conscious decision to get Travis to notice her. Now all she had to do was get through the first three periods and implement the plan.
Sliding into her desk butterflies swarmed in her stomach, the good kind.
“Hey girlie.” Kailyn Hanner greeted, slipping into the seat next to her. “When are you going to join the cheerleading squad?” Kailyn asked, her chocolate eyes twinkling on her heart-shaped face.
Emma rolled her eyes. Kailyn was one of the first girls she met at Hall High, and she didn’t take no easily either. Since she found out that Emma could dance, she had been badgering her to join. Unlike her mom, cheerleading just wasn’t her thing.
“Not in this century,” she replied.
Kailyn flipped her dark hair unfazed by her refusal. “You are one stubborn bitch, but I am not giving up.” She tapped her hot pink nail on the desk grinning.
Emma returned her grin.
“God do I need another latte this morning,” Kailyn said, yawning. “Why do you look so bright eyed and bushy tailed? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing,” Emma protested, smirking to herself. That was the lamest attempt at indifference and totally raised Kailyn’s radar.
“No way. Not buying it. Dish.” She scooted up in her seat, leaning over the desk.
Mrs. Rosen walked in hushing the class and looking pointedly at Kailyn. Giving Mrs. Rosen an exasperation expression, she mouth lunch at Emma before shifting toward the blackboard.
Sinking in her seat, Emma felt like she was floating on cloud nine. Maybe by lunch she might actually have something worthy of sharing with the few friends she had made. Not that she was a gossipier, but this might be the single greatest day of her junior year.
Or so she hoped.
The next two periods were like a blur. When fourth period hit, she was a bundle of bouncing nerves and jacked up butterflies. Taking a deep breath, she entered the theatre room that dubbed as their study hall. Most of her peers used this class to sleep, doodle, or pass love notes. She used the class to study Travis and daydream.
Sort of creepy.
Plugging in her earbuds, she turned on some beats and waited. The moment he walked into the class, every nerve ending in her body was like a live wire. Electric. That was how he made her feel. Their eyes collided from across the room. She swore she saw specks of gold in them.
Holy hot prince charming.