Chapter 8 Panic Button

• EMMA’s POV :
• The next few days went by so fast. I spent my days listening to sad songs and ignoring all calls and texts from Zach. I was in my room most days and cried a lot, because he did hurt me. What he did to me that night was beyond repair. And what I did next closed the chapter on us entirely.
• Sometimes I caught myself wondering about what I did with that stranger in the bar. I wondered if I’d ever see him again. I wondered if he’d thought of me the same.
• Meanwhile, Tiff and Carrie would try to get me out of the house from time to time. Some days they succeeded, mostly they failed. But it was okay because they understood that I just needed time.
• Unfortunately, time was of the essence. School was starting again tomorrow, and sooner or later, I’d have to leave my room.
• “At least now I have the car, I don’t have to take the bus anymore,” I said to myself, trying to motivate myself for tomorrow.
• Normally, I wouldn’t mind going to school. I actually enjoyed some of the classes, like English, Art, Spanish… even P.E. I was pretty social and I was active. I was part of the swim team and I just found that I made the cheerleading squad this year. I also had two amazing best friends, so the list was endless.
• But with everything that happened with Zach, I lost my fighting spirit. Some days I wondered if it was my fault. Maybe I didn’t treat him well enough. Maybe I should have had sex with him early on. But, the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense.
• I had loved him with all my heart, but he chose to betray me. That was not my fault.
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• “You’re right. It wasn’t your fault,” Carrie stated.
• Tiff, Carrie, and I were making our way to homeroom. I was just telling them about what I was feeling last night, and I was glad they confirmed my thoughts.
• “He was an asshole. You deserve so much better,” Tiff added.
• We made it to homeroom and grabbed our usual seats. I said hi to some people and when they asked how was my summer, I’d just smile and say it was great.
• Carrie’s boyfriend, Mark walked in moments later, and he immediately took the seat next to Carrie. They looked at each other with big googly eyes and I couldn’t help but be a little jealous.
• “Hey, you,” Mark said to Carrie.
• “Hello yourself, Mr. Student Body President,” Carried said to him.
• They leaned closer to each other and then they just started making out. Tiff and I waited for a while and finally we shared a look.
• “Ehem,” Tiff coughed and the two broke it off, looking slightly embarrassed.
• “So, what electives are you guys taking this year?” Mark said to us.
• “I’m taking drama class. You know how much I love drama,” Tiff replied.
• “Emma and I are both taking AP Studio Art,” Carrie told Mark as I nodded.
• “Oh, did you know there’s a new art teacher?” Mark replied.
• “What happened to Mr. Dawson?” I asked him.
• “Retired. Finally,” he answered.
• “Who’s the new teacher?” Carrie asked.
• “His name is Mr. Hayes. I saw him earlier in the principal’s office. He looked all right. But he’s also kinda… young,”
• “Compared to Mr. Dawson? I sure hope so,” Carrie said as they laughed.
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• I wasn’t paying much attention to homeroom or my next few classes, or even lunch. I barely touched my sandwich. I just didn’t feel like doing anything. By the time Art Class came around, I was relieved.
• It was my last class of the day. I couldn’t wait to get this day over with, so I could go home and listen to some more Cigarettes After Sex.
• “So, you got cheer practice today?” Carrie asked as we walked inside the art room and took the middle seats.
• “I think I’m just gonna bail. I’m not feeling very… cheerful,” I sighed.
• The bell rang as more students piled up into the room. Our new teacher wasn’t in yet, so Carrie and I decided to talk some more.
• “Em, I know this is tough, but I’m your friend so I’m gonna have to say this. Please don’t throw your life away because of some jerkhead. Isolating yourself in your room all day’s only gonna make you feel worse in the long run. Just talk to me or Tiff. We’re here for you. And don’t let whatever happened cloud the bright future you got ahead of you. You deserve to go out into the world and get happy,”
• All that Carrie said was true. It was just harder said than done. So, I just gave her a smile and I hugged her.
• “Thanks, I don’t know what I’ll do without you guys,” I said.
• “Anytime,” Carrie smiled back as we pulled away.
• “Good afternoon everyone,”
• Carrie and I turned our heads to the front of the room to find our new art teacher standing there. He had his back to us as he was facing the board. From his back figure, I noted that he was tall and muscular, but lean. He wore a long-sleeved slim-fit shirt that outlined his figure, and some black slacks.
• He took a marker and started writing his name on the broad.
• MR. IAN HAYES
• His right hand was stretched out as he wrote, and I could make out some sort of tattoos hidden behind the shirt’s cuff.
• That looked familiar…
• “Welcome to AP Studio Art,” he said in a low voice.
• I feel like I’ve heard that voice before…
• Mr. Hayes turned around to face the class. I gasped instantly as soon as I saw his face. It was the face that haunted me at night. The face that kept popping into my head every time I try to forget about that night. My heart was racing so fast, I was getting hot flashes.
• “Damn, he’s hot,” Carrie whispered to me under her breath.
• I couldn’t respond. I just kept staring up at him. His eyes glanced around the room until it met mine. It widened instantly as the thought registered to him.
• He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Confusion? Happiness? Intrigue?
• Whatever it was, he quickly shook his head and pulled his composure. He reached for a piece of paper on his desk and began reading it out loud.
• “I will start with the roll call,” he said again.
• He began calling out people’s names and they’d answer to him. He looked so calm and nonchalant; it made me wonder if I was imagining things.
• “Emma Sinclair,” his voice cut through my thoughts like a knife.
• “…Here,” I croaked and lifted my hand just a little bit.
• He looked at me and smiled. Actually, he smirked. We stared at each other for a few more seconds before he went back to his list and continued calling other names.
• Holy… shit. Times a million.
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• - - - - To be continued. - - - -