Emmie was nibbling on her lower lip, hands fisted while attempting not to sink her nails into her palms once again. Her breathing was accelerating with every second as she stared at the floor under her feet, trying to ignore the blue plastic chair she was sitting on that definitely didn’t compliment her ass, the material too stiff for her liking.
“Miss Davis?” a voice suddenly said, and the girl took a deep breath, standing up. “Follow me. Mayor McQueen is ready for you now.”
The young male assistant walked her up the stairs to the right door and opened it, nodding to the girl. “Thank you,” Emmie silently said, raising her chin up for a boost of confidence. Her mother always claimed it helped you look stronger, and she definitely didn’t want to look weak at that moment.
When the door behind her closed, she was faced with Mayor McQueen, the mother of one of her classmates. “Hello, Emmie. Take a seat.”
She did as told and sat herself down on the armchai
The news hit them the moment they drove back into New Field. Camping had been fun, and Emmie had had the chance to lounge around in shorts and a bikini bra every day, occasionally going for a swim in the small lake near their usual camping spot. But, throughout all that, she had still already wished to go home. Christopher didn’t make those days easy for her. His eyes were on her all the time, and once in a while, he would mention something about the way she looked. ‘Hot’, ‘beautiful’, and ‘pretty’ had been the adjectives she had heard multiple times in a row that made her sick to her stomach. Her best friend was crushing on her. The best friend who had turned her down a few years ago. The best friend who was currently dating her other best friend. And nothing about the situation left Emmie unbothered. She didn’t like Christopher anymore. As a friend, sure; they had grown up together. But not as a boyfriend—never as a boyfrie
With the summer ending, the new seniors received text messages from Olivia Cooper about her annual end-of-summer pool party. The kids buzzed in anticipation, coming up with different lies to their parents as every year, mostly about spending the night at their friend’s place while the friend used the same argument, simply vice versa. This time, though, the usual classmates weren’t the only ones getting the invitations. This time, the Southsiders were invited, too. Olivia had sent the message to Ani, without adding the inviter’s name, and the pink-haired girl had shared the invitation with every senior Southsider that was going to be attending New Field high this year. Most of them were Vipers, but the group also included a few Demons and a couple of non-gang members who just happened to live in the same area. (Many kids from Southside High would attend Seaside High, or Baxter High in Greendale, depending on their location.) Ramsay was sitting on his c
When Ramsay arrived at the party an hour later than indicated, he did so with all the other Vipers that were seniors. He was in the front of the group when all of them got off their bikes, Ani on one side of him, Peaton on the other. They scowled at everyone who such as much as dared to whisper something about them to their friends. Ramsay, though, managed a small smile when he stopped in front of smirking Olivia who was strictly focused on her girlfriend (or sex buddy, he wasn’t sure), eating her with her eyes. The boy cleared his throat, earning her attention, and a small scowl. “Thanks for inviting us,” he said. The redhead nodded. “Of course! We need to get to know each other to work together all year, don’t you think?” “Sure,” Ramsay muttered, turning slightly around to see Peaton spiking a drink (which no one minded), Ani talking with him while smirking. “Stop eye-fucking her,” he sighed at Olivia and made his way by the pool, to the area with t
Emmie lay on the bed for a few moments, brain going over the basic facts of whatever had just happened. She didn’t know what had happened and why her boyfriend had suddenly run out on her while they were ready to finally have sex. But she was insecure—and once the pain reached her heart, hurt—which made her take a bit more time before slowly sitting up, realizing what had happened. She knew a panic attack when she saw one, and because the triggers were nowhere to be found, she just knew it had something to do with her. Either way, her feet quickly planted on the ground and carried her downstairs. She pushed past the seniors that had now moved inside, frantically looking around to check if Ramsay was still there when she noticed two girls in the kitchen, kissing, out of the sight of anyone else. Frowning and quickly debating in her head whether or not it was safe for Olivia to know, she ran up to them, patting Ani’s shoulder. The girls jumped apart wi
On Monday, Emmie woke up way earlier than her parents. She threw her hair up in a ponytail and took a long run by the river before turning back home. Even by then, nobody in their right mind was awake in the neighborhood. She showered, picked out her first day of school clothes, and while only wearing her underwear, took a seat by her vanity. She rubbed cream all over her body, leaving her skin smooth and adding a nice scent to it, after which she applied moisturizer to her face. Emmie had never liked thick makeup or understood the need to apply a generous amount of concealer and foundation. She liked her skin fresh and natural, and since she had never struggled with many zits or any type of acne, she didn’t want to ruin it. Simply applying some eyeliner to make her eyes look bigger, and the natural-looking mascara, she moved on to her lips. Another thing she hated on herself was dark lipstick, which mostly only made her use nude lip gloss. It made her feel p
The first week of school went smoothly, except for the few fights between people from different sides of the town. Everyone was starting to live into the experience of New Field High, the Southsiders troubling a bit with their schedules and homework.The classes were already in full study mode, the clubs had met their new members… Ramsay had been accepted to the newspaper staff by a happy Emmie, and a reluctant-looking girl named Ethel.“Are you sure this guy is good for our team?” she had asked Emmie on Wednesday after reading his sample article.“Yes,” Emmie insisted, “he has an amazing way with words.”“What will your parents say when they find out a Jones is working with you?”The blonde had simply rolled her eyes and ignored her friend.Now, on Friday, Emmie was in cheer practice. It took a serious toll on her since Olivia had made their choreography harder than ever, and t
It was already pitch-dark outside when Ramsay knocked on Emmie’s door.He waited for a few minutes until the girl swung it open with an apologetic face. “Sorry, I was…”“…late, a meeting…”“…couldn’t find the towel…”“…go to the trailer…”“…clothes…”“Sorry,” they both finished together, and after a second of silence chuckled together.“Hi,” Emmie started over, waving awkwardly.“Hi,” Ramsay grinned and stepped inside, arm wrapping around her waist as he closed the door behind himself. Without further ado, he pressed his lips against hers, both of them melting into the kiss.After a few moments of standing there, lips moving in unison, they pulled away, eyes closed and foreheads rested together. With a smile lingering on Emmie’s lips, she whispere
Emmie and Ramsay spent the next few weeks sneaking into his projection booth at the Drive-In during every free moment, she lying to her parents about studying with Samuel while she actually spent time with Ramsay as much as possible.Not that they got lots of studying done.The sleepless nights of doing her homework on her bed, writing articles for the Newspaper, and practicing cheerleading moves in front of the mirror left the girl exhausted for most days, though. Ramsay had tried convincing her that they’d be fine for a few separate days so that she could catch up with her sleep, but Emmie refused to hear anything about it, and usually succeeded in leaving the conversation there by distracting him.A week later, Ramsay found that if he promised her more quality time with him during the weekend, she would agree to go home after school, a few times even falling asleep on his lap in the Newspaper when the classes were over.Then, after a few days, he