36

The next day I don't flirt with Tom, but I do talk to him. Like the previous day, I pretend I don't know him, so we still chat about simple stuff. Small talk.

Or so I think.

"It's so hot today," I complain fanning my face with my hands. "And I wore the long-sleeved shirt."

Tom laughs, but only slightly. He's looking at his hands as he fiddles with his pen. "Emma?"

"Yeah?" I say.

"Can we be real for a second? Like, no faking that we don't know each other?" he asks, and my happy mood drops a little. Tom is seriously giving out a bad vibe.

"Yes, of course," I say. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you doing this?" he asks. "I remember telling you that if we were to be together, it should be from the beginning." He pauses. "So does that mean that you want to be with me?"

I look away from him and try to focus. What should I tell him? If I tell him the truth – that I still like him – I'm sure that it'll become really awkward between us. If I don't tell him, then we'll go back to normal, but I would be saying a lie, and that's never the right way.

"Look, what happened between us was in the past," I say. "I loved being in a relationship with you, and I loved being with you."

Tom smiles lightly, but I keep talking. "But for now I'm just focusing on getting my friend back."

Tom takes a deep breath. "Okay. I respect that."

"Good. Now help me analyze this stupid poem," I joke, and we get to work. As we scribble down notes, I ask Tom a question that has been bugging me for a while, "How's it going with Karen?"

I know this is going to be torture for me, and sure enough, "It's going great. We don't have a lot in common, honestly, but we're really happy."

I smile awkwardly. "Aw, that's great. I'm happy for you."

Tom laughs. "No, you aren't."

I don't answer.

I spend the afternoon after school doing my homework and studying. December is getting closer, and that means that we have about three tests a week. Not nice.

In this moment, I'm really concentrated. I can literally feel my brain working, and it's actually kind of cool. I'm solving exercises every second, and I'm actually a little surprised to notice that I actually understand my Social Studies stuff.

I writing down some notes quickly, when I hear a small ding! and my focus is lost. Damn that stupid phone.

I try to ignore it and keep studying, but I know that I lost my concentration. Defeated, I take my phone and look at the notification.

You have one message from Karen

I put in my password and read the message

Emma, I need to talk to you

Of course, what's wrong? I type.

She writes back in a matter of seconds. It's about Tom

I freeze for a second. This could either be really good news, or really bad news. The bad news would be that Karen and Tom hooked up, the good news would be that they broke up (I'm sorry if I hope they'll break up, but you can't really blame me, right?)

Okay, I say simply.

Can I call you? It'll make things easier, she offers.

Yeah, go ahead.

A few seconds later my screen lights up. I answer the call and bring the phone to my ear.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Uh… look, I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but…" Karen says from the other end.

"Karen, what is it?" I insist. I can hear a bit of resistance from her, and I don't want her to hang up before she tells me something about Tom.

"It's not working out," she says, and I can't help but feel a sliver of happiness. "We're just two different people. And he's clearly still stuck on you."

"He is?" I ask, surprised. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy – very happy – about this news, but I just seems a little sudden. And didn't he tell me that things between Karen and him were going great? "But this morning he told me things were awesome."

"They're not," Karen replies. "I think I'm going to break up with him."

"Oh my god, really?" I ask, and I think Karen can hear a little bit of joy in my voice.

"Don't be so happy about it," she complains.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologize. "When?"

"I think tomorrow. I just want to get it over with," she says.

"Sure," I say.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but I just needed to talk to somebody,"

"Of course, don't worry about it," I say. "You can call me whenever you want."

"Thanks, Emma. You're a really good friend. I'm so sorry if I hurt you with dating Tom."

"It's okay," I say. "I'm fine."

"It's not okay. I'm going to find a way to make it up to you."

"Karen, it's okay. I'm okay," I complain.

She hesitates. "Fine," she says. "But can you tell me something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you still like Tom?" she asks, and I instinctively look down at my feet. I don't know if I should tell her. Sure, she's my best friend, but she did kind of lie to me to date my ex-boyfriend. But even though she did that, I would still trust her with my life.

"Yes. Yes, I do," I say, and I think I hear Karen give a small squeal.

"I got to go, but I just want to say again: I'm sorry I hurt you. I know first-hand how it feels when you like someone and he's with somebody else." she says.

"Thanks, Karen." I say. "You're a good friend too."

She doesn't say anything, and I have a feeling she's smiling. "Okay, now I really have to go," she says. "See you tomorrow, Emma."

"Bye," I say before hanging up.