Emma hurried to the cafeteria, not bothering to stop at her locker and drop off books like she normally did. She joined a long line of students attempting to crowd into the cafeteria from the only inside entrance. Everyone else who had their last class in other buildings poured into the room from the three outside entrances. In just a few minutes there would be no seats left in the room and those unlucky enough not to have one would have to go outside or find someplace else to eat their lunch.
Emma pushed through the crowd and waved to Amy when Emma saw her sitting at their usual table.
“Nice bow.” Emma said as she walked up.
Amy’s blonde hair was tied back in a high ponytail with a bright red polka dot bow that was perfectly coordinated with her red outfit for the day.
“Thanks!” Amy said, smiling brightly. She scooted over on the bench to make room for Emma.
“Okay spill!” Her best friend Amy said, leaning across the table. Amy was a little girl with more energy and spunk than anyone of her small size should have. With her long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes she was the quintessential cheerleader. Why she was friends with Emma was anyone’s guess.
Emma blinked, totally clueless as to what Amy was talking about.
“Spill what?” She asked.
Emma opened her backpack and pulled out the brown paper bag which held her lunch. She couldn’t stand the cafeteria food, the cheese they used tasted too much like rubber for her comfort and the amount of grease on the rest of it made her sick just to think about it. She had been packing her own lunch for school since second grade and nothing she ever saw in the cafeteria made her want to change her mind.
“The hottie I saw you talking to! Who is he? How did you meet him? Do you like him? Was he flirting with you? Is he nice? I want all the details!” Amy whispered excitedly. Her bright green eyes practically glowed with her excitement to hear some juicy gossip. Amy was the eyes and ears of the school, she knew everything about everyone and there was nothing she loved more than to be the first person to hear new gossip.
“His name is Jason, and yes, he’s nice.” Emma whispered, trying not to blush.
Emma glanced around, hoping no one was listening to their conversation.
“Come on Emma,” Amy cajoled, “You’re the only one who’s talked to him so far, what’s he like? Tell me everything, starting with how you met him.”
“Alright, fine.” Emma said with a laugh. “But it’s kind of embarrassing so please don’t tell anyone.”
“With you every story is embarrassing.” Amy pointed out, taking a bite of her sandwich. “But I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Not everything is embarrassing!” Emma protested, rummaging through her lunch bag for her sandwich.
“Really?” Amy asked between bites. “What about the story of you at the water park? Or the one about the dance recital?”
“Those are two very bad examples.” Emma defended herself. “And the choreographer really should have been a bit clearer about where the edge of the stage was.”
“He probably figured it was one of those obvious things that didn’t need to be explained, he didn’t realize what it meant to have you as a student.” Amy replied drily. “Now tell me your new embarrassing story!”
As Emma and Amy ate their lunches Emma recounted her mad dash to get to class on time and how she had ran into Jason at full speed only to get knocked off her feet and have him catch her before she hit the floor. When she told Amy of how he had asked her to walk him to his class Amy squealed in delight and when Emma told her that he wanted to meet for lunch Amy bounced up and down excitedly.
“He likes you! This is so great!” Amy exclaimed.
“No, he doesn’t like me. He’s just new here and I’m the only person he knows. Of course he would want to sit with me, he doesn’t have anyone else to sit with.” Emma shrugged. She wasn’t going to let herself get excited over something that was really nothing.
“Oh, he’s definitely interested.” Amy said confidently, “I know these things.”
“Just don’t embarrass me if we do see him, okay?” Emma said.
“I don’t think I could do a better job of embarrassing you than you have already done yourself.” Amy replied with a smirk.
Emma scowled at Amy but her friend had already been distracted by something that was going on a few tables away from them.
“Oh look! Jessie and Chris got back together!” Amy exclaimed. “You know this is the third time they’ve broken up and gotten back together in the last three months? So much drama between the two of them, it’s no wonder they keep breaking up.”
Emma barely glanced at the girl sitting on her boyfriend’s lap that Amy nodded towards. They looked like one of those annoyingly sappy couples whose relationships never lasted long enough to bother remembering. As Amy continued her stream of rumor mill gossip Emma scanned the room looking for Jason.
She had a few false alarms when she saw other tall dark haired boys but none of them were him. She was just about to give up hope that she would find him when she finally noticed him across the cafeteria sitting at a table by himself, looking around like he was expecting someone.
“Hey Amy, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Will you watch my stuff?” Emma asked.
Amy followed the direction of Emma’s gaze, her smile turning mischievous when she saw Jason. “Of course, go get Mr. Hottie and bring him back here so I can meet him!” She commanded.
Emma nodded absently as she stood up, barely hearing what Amy had said. Weaving and dodging her way through the shifting crowd of rambunctious teenagers Emma made her way as quickly as possible across the cafeteria. Jason still hadn’t noticed her, he was looking off in the other direction.
Emma was just ten feet away from him when suddenly Morgan stepped in front of her, blocking Emma’s way. Morgan’s two best friends, or lackeys would be a better description, Chelsea and Kaylee, stepped up on either side of her forming a living wall between Emma and Jason. Sometimes Emma referred to them as the Barbie’s in her head because all three of them were tall leggy blondes with million dollar smiles and great bodies. They also all had the emotional and mental depth of a Petri dish.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Morgan asked nastily. “Your table is on the other side of the room, this is my side.”
“Okay, first off, there are no sides.” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “You and I just happen to sit on opposite sides of the cafeteria because that’s as far away from each other as we can get. And secondly, I just came over to say hi to a friend so you don’t need to get all territorial.” Emma looked over Morgan’s shoulder at Jason. Morgan looked over her shoulder just in time to see Jason waving Emma over.
“Don’t even think about it.” Morgan snapped.
“Excuse me?” Emma crossed her arms over her chest.
“The new guy is mine.” Morgan announced. “Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.” Morgan looked Emma up and down, clearly not impressed by what she saw. “He is way out of your league.”
“We’re just friends.” Emma mumbled, hating herself for blushing.
“Well don’t try to be friends with him, you’re just going to humiliate yourself and make him uncomfortable. The last thing I need is my chances with him ruined because my freak show adopted sister did something stupid.” Morgan said nastily.
Emma glanced over Morgan’s shoulder at Jason again, who had half risen from his seat as if he was going to come over. The expression on her face must have given something away because his welcoming smile faded away into a confused expression. He looked between her and Morgan, clearly sensing something was going on between them. Morgan shifted to block Emma’s view.
“Go back to your table.” She said, clearly enunciating every word like she thought Emma was stupid. “Now!”
Emma glared at Morgan. For a moment she considered pushing past her to go to Jason but Morgan crossed her arms over her chest as Chelsea and Kaylee both stepped up
next to her, forming a human wall. Morgan raised an eyebrow, staring down her nose at Emma. Emma expelled a frustrated breath and reluctantly turned around to walk back to her table. She glanced back after she had walked a few feet away and saw Morgan and her friends descend on Jason, all fake smiles and tossing hair. They may be shallow and vicious but the three of them were all gorgeous and Emma wouldn’t blame any guy for preferring to eat lunch with them over her.
When Emma dejectedly slumped onto the bench at the table Amy didn’t even wait to give her a chance to speak.
“What the heck happened?” She demanded, one small hand slapping the table hard enough to make Emma jump.
“Morgan happened.” Emma replied, tiredly rubbing her forehead. She always got headaches after these sorts of encounters with Morgan.
“What do you mean ‘Morgan happened’.” Amy snapped. Amy was so incensed her pointy little nose was twitching.
“I mean Morgan told me to back off, that she had claimed him and she was doing me a favor because there is no way a girl like me would ever have a chance with a guy like him.” Emma repeated Morgan’s words in a monotone voice. She stared at the brown bag that held the remains of her lunch but she had no interest in eating anymore.
“And you didn’t slap her across her skinny little face and tell her off?” Amy asked, her expression outraged.
“Amy you know Morgan, if I cross her she makes my life a living hell. It’s just easier to stay out of her way.” Emma sighed, dropping her head onto her folded arms on the table.
Emma looked across the cafeteria at the table where Jason sat surrounded by Morgan and her friends. He was looking at Emma, despite Morgan’s best attempts to distract him. His stare didn’t waver, finally it was Emma who looked away.
“Morgan is probably right.” Emma said with a shrug. “It never would have worked out with us anyways.”
CHAPTER THREE
The Forgeron Legacy Page 4