Emmalee (5 page)

           
The next day at school, I was happy to see Hannah waiting for me
outside our history class. 

           
“Hey, did you get my text last hour?” she asked as I
approached.

           
“Oh, no.  Hang on.”  I pulled my phone out of
my bag and glanced down.  Three messages waited for me. 
“Sorry, I’ve learned not to check at all in Health. 
Talk about being anti-cell, Ms. Stuart is the worst.”  I
quickly flipped through the other two and opened Hannah’s.

           
Want 2 study 

           
history 2nite?

           
Mom’s gone says

           
I can hang w/u

           
I looked up and smiled.  “I thought you’d never
ask!”

           
“Fab!  Hey, I can bring my British boy band collection? 
If you love Take That, wait till you hear BoyZone and Snow Patrol. 
Both are so awesome,” she exclaimed as we walked in.

           
“I think I’ve heard of Snow Patrol, but who in the world
is BoyZone?”  I dropped my bag on my desk and we scooted
to let a couple other students past.

           
“They’re totally vintage--like back in the nineties--but
you will so love them!”

“Cool—”

           
“Hey, Emma.”  Elton plopped his backpack on his desk

           
“Hi,” I answered as the bell rang.

           
Hannah hitched her bag up on her shoulder.  “I’m
gonna get to my seat, see ya for lunch.” 

           
“Perfect.”

           
“So uh, you and Hannah hit it off, huh?”

           
I looked back at Elton as I sat down.  “Yeah, thanks. 
She’s really cool.”

           
“Really?  I never thought you’d actually like her.” 
Stunned, Elton glanced up at Hannah’s seat.  He stared at
her back totally confused until Ms. Ingle announced,

           
“Welcome fourth period History.  Please open your books to
chapter five. Remember there will be a test on chapters one through
five tomorrow.  After we finish this chapter, we will spend the
rest of the hour in review.  Let’s begin.”

           
There was so much to absorb it took all of my concentration to stay
with the class.  Even then, there were a couple of times I had
to call on Elton’s superior intellect to help me follow along. 
Thank goodness he is next me.  Who knew World History would
be so much harder than last year’s American History?

           
By the end of class my brain was fuzzy.  I was relieved to see
Hannah looked the same. 
It’s nice to know I’m
not the only one who looks like they needed a stiff lemonade.

           
“Let’s go to Sonic for lunch, okay?” asked Hannah
as she approached.  “I could really use a fresh
lemon-berry slush right now.  You know something cold and sharp
to freeze my brain good and snap it out of this zone.”

           
“Man, how do you do that?” I gasped as I placed my book
in my bag.

           
“What?”  She grinned.

           
“Read my mind!  Seriously, how was it we didn’t get
to know each other sooner?”

           
Hannah laughed.  “I don’t know.  Give me a few
more days and I’m sure I’ll start wondering how I ever
could’ve lived without “Emma the Great” before
now.  But let’s let the oddness of our friendship wear off
first.  I’m still freaking out we’re even getting
along.”

           
I blinked. 
Okay, she’s smiling.  I’m gonna
take it as a compliment.
  “Meet you at the car?”

           
“Sure, give me five again.”

           
I tried not to let it bother me as I slowly walked toward the parking
lot, but between Hannah, Chase, and Elton’s stunned look, it
was becoming fast apparent that I was acting beyond what people
thought I should act like.  And it hit home once again, that
maybe people really did think I was a snob. 
But I wasn’t. 
Was I?

Chapter Five

“Can I call 911?  Cuz
you’re scorchin!”

           
“Emma!  You really don’t have to buy me clothes. 
Seriously, I have my own money, remember?”

           
“Will you stop?  Besides what girl doesn’t love new
clothes?”

           
“Um…?”  Hannah paused and thought a moment. 
“All right, I give, no one that I can think of.  All girls
love new clothes.”

           
“Exactly.”  I snickered as I climbed out of my red
Mini Cooper, fully decked out with a large British Flag decal on the
roof and two miniature flags on the side mirrors.  It was Friday
afternoon—just after school--the perfect time of day to go
shopping.  “Anyway, think of it as doing me a favor,
really.”

           
“A favor?  Yeah, right!”  Hannah smirked as she
shut her door.  “How is buying me new clothes doing you a
favor?”

           
“Well, ever since my stepdad stayed home sick from work like
six months ago he’s been on a do-gooder kick.”  I
clicked the lock and switched my purse to my other shoulder while I
waited for her to come around the car. 

           
“How sick was he?”

           
“No, it wasn’t that.  It was just during his
randomly boring afternoon he managed to thumb through the TV channels
and caught this old rerun of Oprah.  It was an episode all about
giving to people.  I walked in on him crying like a baby. 
I’ve never seen my stepdad so emotional before.  Anyway,
later that night he sat me down and told me he’d come up with a
plan for our family to give back.”

           
“A plan?  You’re kidding, right?” 

           
“No, sometimes I wish I was.  So here’s the deal. 
I get $350 a month put in my bank account that I can’t touch
unless I’m giving something to someone else.  Then I have
to report and tell about my experience to my parents.  Well,
tada!  That’s where you come in.  I heard on the
radio last week how Animas Animal Rescue Shelter had already met
their quota for this month, so I’ve been trying to figure what
to do with it.  Now, you’ve just saved me like a massive
headache trying to find a different charitable cause.  So please
say you’ll do it.  Please?”

           
“Okay, wait.”  Hannah stopped just outside the mall
entrance.  “I mean, yeah, my parents aren’t like
rich or anything, but we have money enough to live on.  I’m
not sure I want to be thought of as charitable cause.”

           
Ugh.  She’s so stubborn.
  “Look, it’s
not
charity, I promise.  I have to spend this money
somehow.  I mean I
have
to.  And I would much
rather share it with someone I know, rather than a perfect stranger.”

           
“I don’t know, it seems weird.”

           
“Only because you’ve never heard of something like this
before.  Okay, how about we make a deal.  You let me do
this thing for you—which would make me super happy—and
then I’ll let you choose who we help next month!”

           
  “You think your stepdad’s gonna buy you using me
as a charitable cause?”  She had begun to cave. 

           
 “It’s not charity and of course he will!  He
doesn’t care how I spend the money, seriously—just as
long as it’s not on me.  It’ll be perfect; you’ll
see!”  I opened the door and followed Hannah as she walked
in.  “I’ll just tell him I brightened a friend’s
day by giving her a makeover.” 

“You totally mean it, don’t
you?  You really plan on giving me a whole $350 makeover?”

           
“Um, yeah, that’s why I brought it up.”  I
shook my head and smiled at Hannah’s shocked expression. 
“What?  What’s the big deal?  Isn’t a
makeover cool?”

           
“You know, you seriously have the craziest parents ever,
right?” she asked cautiously.  “I mean, literally,
they are so rockstar, you have no idea.”

           
“Yeah, they’re pretty cool.”  I shrugged
before looking up at the array of cheerfully lit stores all around
us. 
I so heart mall shopping!
  “Well, come
on.  Let’s get going.”

           
She dug her heels in as I pulled on her arm.  “Do I have a
choice?”

           
“No!  Now, come on.”

           
Hannah and I spent a good three hours devouring our favorite stores. 
Once she got into it, she was a really good shopper.  I couldn’t
believe how much she was able to—under my fashion guidance—get
for that much money.  I had never looked at the sales racks
before; there was really some uber cute stuff for like a fraction of
the price.  Where I would’ve walked out of the mall with
like a pair of shoes, a pair of jeans, a light jacket and a couple of
tops; Hannah came out loaded.  She had like four pairs of jeans,
seven or eight tops, a couple of way pretty skirts, a pair of new
flats and new stiletto heels.  And if that wasn’t all, she
even had enough left over to get her hair done at a discount beauty
parlor.

           
At the salon, she had gone to the bathroom and changed into a pair of
dark skinny jeans with her new sparkly black flats and a black top
with glittery pink lips across the front that read:

WANNA KISS?

What’s it like to want?

           
So needless to say, I walked into the mall with an average girl next
to me and left with a major hottie.  –Which would probably
explain why Elton almost passed us by as he was walking into the mall
and we were walking out into the bright sunshine. 

           
“Elton?” 

           
“Oh!  Hey, Emmalee!  What are you doing here?”

           
“Hannah and I were just shopping.  You know girl stuff.”

           
“Hannah?”  Elton turned toward her and his eyes
nearly bugged out.  “Uh-wow!  Um, you-you look
different.”

           
I grinned slyly over at her.  “Do you think so?”

           
“Hey, would um, you two like to go get some Coldstone ice
cream, or something?” he asked.

           
What do you think, I’m crazy?  Like I would pass up
Coldstone. 
“Um, yeah!”

           
Hannah looked like she was about to faint.  “Really? 
You want to treat me and Emma to Coldstone?  You?”

           
“Sure.  Why not?”  Elton laughed and shrugged
his shoulders.  “I like hanging out with pretty girls just
as much as the next guy.”

Hannah blushed and I was surprised
to see her giggle when Elton stared right at her.

           
Oh my gosh.  Why didn’t I think of it before? 
It’s perfect.  Elton and Hannah.  Hannah and Elton. 
Yes!  They are sooo perfect for each other.

           
Later that night Hannah and I were in my bedroom hashing out the
crazy day.

           
“Can you believe how sweet he is?”  Hannah sounded
shocked.

           
“Well, yeah.  He’s Elton.  Everybody loves
Elton.  He’s totally nice.”

           
“Okay, but I mean to me.  I can’t even get over the
fact that the guy even spoke to me, let alone wanted to be seen with
me.  I mean, the only guy who ever really notices me, is Martin
Roberts.”

           
Who?
  “Come on.  You’re so gorgeous. 
Seriously.  Elton’s a guy, he saw that—why wouldn’t
he want to hang out with you?”

           
“Why?  Um, because I’m not his normal type of person
to hang with, that’s why.”

           
I rolled my eyes.  “P-lease!  Elton is so above
that.  He’s senior class president for Pete’s sake. 
He represents all seniors, whether they’re cool, normal, or
not.  He would never look down his nose at someone. 
Really, he is the nicest guy, ask anyone.”

           
“Well, I’m starting to believe it.  He seemed really
normal today.”

           
I leaned over and grabbed my silver nail polish off the dresser and
started to shake it.  Silently, I watched Hannah brush her hair
and pull it up out of her face with an elastic band.  I decided
it was now or never to begin my campaign.  “So, did you
see the way he was looking at you?” Nonchalantly I unscrewed
the lid and began to apply the first coat of polish to my toes.

           
“Who?” 

           
“Elton, silly.”

           
“Oh, yeah?  What of it?”

           
I looked up and raised my eyebrows at her before bringing my other
foot forward.  “He—uh, was definitely giving you the
look
.”

           
She laughed.  “Oh, whatever.  He was not.” 

           
Want to make a bet?
  “Would you like to do your
nails too?  I’ve got some more colors in that drawer to
choose from.”  I pointed to the narrow drawer on my white
vanity table.

           
“Sure.  Thanks.” 

           
“You know, I’ve seen Elton look at a whole lot of girls
and I’ve never seen him look at any of them like he did you
today,” I replied as I polished my big toe.

           
“No way.  Are you serious?”

           
I glanced up.  Hannah held two nail polishes in her hand and was
staring right at me.

           
“Perfectly.”  I shrugged casually and then went back
to work on my other toes.  Hannah took the bait.

           
“What do you mean?  How do you know?  I mean, what’s
different as about it?  Didn’t he look the same at you as
he did to me?”

I finished my toes in agonizing
silence before I looked up at Hannah—eyebrow raised—while
I sealed the nail polish.  “No.  I would know if
Elton was looking at me the same way he was looking at you.” 
I leaned over and set the polish on my dresser again and wiggled my
toes.  “I’m sort of an expert when it comes to
relationships and guys liking girls.  Trust me.  Elton is
totally crushing on you.”

           
“Are you serious?”  Hannah looked like I’d
slapped her.