12

Tom has already started doing some problems he found on the Internet. I smile, but he doesn't see. Only when I clear my throat does he turn to look at me. "Oh, I hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not," I say. "Go on."

After a few minutes of intense calculations, he finally announces the result. "Thirteen point twenty-four Newton."

I check the result on my computer and smile. Without saying anything, I raise my hand, hoping he'll understand. His expression is confused at first, but only for a microsecond. He gives me a high-five.

"Great," I say. "You want to do one more?"

He shakes his head. "Nah, I think I'm ready." He leans back in the chair and places both his hands behind his head. He turns to me.

"I would like to get to know you better, Emma. You're like a mystery box trapped in a bag of wonder," he comments, and it takes me by surprise. I look at him curiously, but he keeps talking. "What's your favorite color?"

I honestly don't really want to answer, but I know that Tom will just insist more. It's just not worth it, so I answer. "Sea-green."

"Favorite animal?"

"Horse, obviously," I answer and then add on. "I've actually been horse-back riding since I was eight years old."

"Cool. Favorite hobbies?"

"Um… I love reading and writing. I also like watching TV, if you call that a hobby."

"Oh, yeah. I do call that a hobby. I actually do that hobby all day long." he jokes.

I chuckle as he asks me another question. "Any pets?"

"No, but I would like a dog. Or a snake." I tell him.

He jumps up. "Excuse me? Did you say snake?"

I laugh. "Yes! I did! I think snakes are adorable. Plus, they're the perfect pets. They don't make noise, they don't have fur, you don't have to take them for walks… The only thing you have to do is feed them and change their water."

"Oh. But, still. Snakes are freaky." he notes. "What about boyfriends?"

My eyes widen as he asks me that. It's a little personal for my taste, so I try to ignore it. "That's none of your business."

"Please? I swear I won't judge," he says.

I sigh as a small smile appears on my face. "No."

"C'mon! Tell me." he insists.

"I did," I say. "I have no boyfriends and never had."

This time it's his turn to look shocked. His eyes dilate a little, but I don't know why. Looking at me in the mirror, it looks obvious I never had a boyfriend, right?

"Really? Never?" he asks.

"Why would I lie about that?" I answer. "Yes, it's true."

"Oh," he says. He doesn't add anything else, so we stay there, in silence, waiting for something to happen.

The next few days of school are pretty standard. I have the same teachers, the same periods and the same lessons. My friends are crazy as usual, and my parents are… well, my parents.

The only different thing is my relationship with Tom. It's really weird. He acts nicely when he stays with me, mostly during class, but he starts acting like a dick when we're in public. Monday afternoon after Physics, we were talking normally.

"I can't believe it." he said. "I can't believe he would add more stuff to the test. God, what an ass."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know."

"Can we meet up tomorrow?" he asked me, and I have to admit my heart started beating a tiny bit faster. "I have to work on this new stuff, and I know I can't do it alone."

"Yes, of course." I answer without hesitating. "Where?"

"Your place? At four?" he proposes.

"Awesome. Do you want to - ?"

He was about to finish when a group of guys popped up behind a corner. Tom saw them and a wave of panic crossed his eyes, but it lasted barely a millisecond, so I thought I'd been imagining it. He looked at me again and answered.

"Whatever, nerd." he said rudely.

The group of guys started snickering. Then one of them nodded towards Tom. "Hey, dude. Are you coming?"

Tom answered quickly, "Yeah, man." he turned to me. "Bye, nerd."

I stood there, a little stunned, until the little group disappeared. I was honestly a little mad, but I knew I wouldn't do anything about it. I'm really shy, and confrontation really isn't my strong suit. Most of the time I just hope that the other person will come forward and explain him or herself.

Fortunately, this is exactly what happened with Tom. Just a few minutes after that little episode, he texted me.

Emma, I'm so sorry.

I can't talk now, but text me later OK?

He was being nice, so I smiled and texted back, Sure thing.

It's now Tuesday afternoon, and Tom still hasn't arrived. I glance at my watch. Tom is already eight minutes late. I sit at my table and start reading my book, which was on the kitchen counter. After every chapter I finish, I look at my watch. Tom still doesn't appear.

After half an hour, I text him.

Hey, Tom

Where are U?

I want to ask him if there's something wrong, but I don't want to bombard him with questions. If something happened, he's the one to decide whether to tell me or not. By seeing the little check of my message, I understand that the message is sent, but it hasn't arrived to Tom's phone yet. After a few minutes, the second check still doesn't appear.

Why isn't he answering? Maybe something happened?

It's almost five already, so I pack up my school stuff again and bring them back to my room. I place them neatly in their respective places, then I text Tom again.

Hey, so I guess you're not coming anymore?

It's fine.

'It's fine'. Probably the words I say the most. Even thought I'm dying inside, suffering or deeply in pain, I always say the same thing: "I'm fine."

Tom's action of not showing up doesn't cause me incredible pain, obviously. But he could have at least called, right? I'm a little disappointed, actually. The last time we met up to study, I had had a lot of fun. It made me realize that maybe books aren't better than people. Maybe.

But after waiting for him without his arrival, I was sad. For once, I really wanted to hang out with someone and not just read.

Anyway, I study on my own a little. Well, not really study, but I give the stuff a look. I have a decent memory, so I remember the formulas pretty easily. I do one of the exercises just to be sure, and since the result is correct, I slump on the bed and start reading again in peace.