Why did she sound so pathetic… ‘I… Sorry…’ She sounded like she meant it. But what was she even apologizing for? Does she know who I used to be? Or was she apologizing for bothering me? That’s not like her. The Alice I know wouldn’t apologize for that. Either way, she knows who I am now.

  “Alright everyone,” Mr. Grant says, snapping me out of my rumination. “Remember, your biweekly projects must be turned in every friday. Because of the short deadline, I will only be grading this first one on effort, not anything else. Have a good rest of your day.”

  The bell rings, and I stand up and quickly walk out the door. I don’t even make it three steps before I feel someone beside me.

  “Emmy, right?” Alice asks softly.

  “Yup.” I reply evenly.

  “Do you have a brother or a cousin or something who went to Coniferous Junior?” She asks.

  Of course. “Nope.” I reply.

  “I um,” She says softly. “I get if you don’t want to, because of Paige, but would you maybe want to be friends?” I stop and turn to her. “Why?” I ask sternly.

  “You seem nice.” She says softly. “A lot of my friends have stopped talking to me recently… and I’m kinda lonely.”

  “Huh…” I say, more than a little stumped. “I think that’s the most honest you’ve ever been.”

  “What do you mean?” She asks, clearly more than a little worried. “Have we met before…?”

  I don’t get to respond as I feel arms wrap around me. “Hey, Baby.” Paige murmurs into my ear. “Leave her alone, Alice.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?!” Alice sobs. “It’s like you’ve made it your mission to turn everyone against me.”

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” Paige spits. “Doesn’t feel so good when it’s happening to you.”

  “Paige…” Alice whimpers. “You…”

  “I know you’re a liar, Alice.” Paige snarls. “It’s what you do. You deserve this.”

  I put my hand on Paige’s arm and pull it off of me. “Can I talk to her alone for a moment, babe?”

  Paige and Alice both look at me shocked. “Uh, sure…” Paige says softly. “I’ll just be down the hall. Yell if you need me.”

  “I will.” I say, and then turn back to Alice. “When you asked if I had someone who went to Coniferous. It’s because you thought I was reted to Daniel Valera, right?”

  “Y-yeah…” She stammers.

  “Because you wanted to know if I knew the lies you spun about him?” I continue.

  “I…” She stops and just nods.

  “He’s not my brother, or my cousin, or anything like that,” I say softly. “But I know him.”

  She looks up at me pitifully. “Oh…”

  “Why did you do it?” I ask, while trying to keep my voice steady. “Why did you lie about him?”

  She wipes away her tears and mumbles. “I… I d-”

  “Don’t lie to me.” I say quickly. “That’s why you’re losing everyone. Because you’re a liar.”

  “I…” She says sadly. “He and I were dating… and then he dumped me, because he was in love with my best friend.”

  “So you told everyone he raped you?” I ask icily.

  “I didn’t mean to…” She says softly. “My mom asked why I was crying that night… and it just slipped out.”

  “How does something like that just slip out?” I ask venomously.

  “I…” She starts. “I d-don’t…”

  “Why did you lie about Holly?” I ask breathlessly.

  She blinks. “How do you…?”

  “I dated Holly for a bit too.” I say. “We started going out the day after you tried to force yourself on her.”

  Her mouth falls open. “D-Danny…?” How did she even figure that out?!

  “Emmy.” I shot back darkly. “My name. Is. Emmy.”

  “I…” She says softly. “Oh my… I’m so sorry…”

  “For what?” I ask. “I want to hear you say it.”

  “I’m so s-sorry for…” She stammers. “For falsely ac-c-cusing you of rape.”

  “Great.” I say with a joyless smile. “Now tell everyone else that, and maybe you can start to rebuild your friendships.”

  I turn to walk to Paige, but Alice calls out to me. “What about you?”

  “What about me?” I ask over my shoulder.

  “What about rebuilding our friendship?” She asks pathetically.

  “I’m not ready for that.” I say with a shake of my head. “I may never be. You may never deserve my forgiveness.”

  “I’m sorry…” She says again, but I don’t respond.

  Paige pulls me into her arms, and I give her a kiss on the lips. “You okay, Love?”

  “Yeah…” I say softly. “Yeah, I’m fine… That was just a lot.”

  “What happened?” Paige asks, as she pulls me along.

  “She knows now.” I say softly. “I didn’t tell her, she figured it out.”

  “Oh…” Paige says softly.

  “She apologized for what she did to me.” I say.

  “Did you forgive her?” Paige asks.

  “No.” I say simply. “No way in hell.”

  “Good.” Paige says, and squeezes my hand. “She doesn’t deserve it.”

  “No she does n-” The bell ringing cuts off my st word. “Crap.”

  “Come on.” Paige says, and walks faster. “What room are you going to?”

  “One fifteen.” I say. “But you need to get to your css too.”

  “I want to walk with you.” Paige says.

  “What room is yours?” I ask.

  “Three oh four.” She replies.

  “Babe!” I shout as we pass by her css. “No. Go to css. I’ll see you after, okay.”

  “Okay.” She says softly, and gives me a kiss. “See you after css.”

  “See you.” I say after we pull apart.

  I dash down to my css, and try to open the door. Crap… I knock gently on the door, and look through the window to see that it is full of people. Someone approaches the door, and I step back so they can open it for me.

  “You’re te.” A gruff voice says through the door. “You’ll have to wait out there until after I’ve done roll call.”

  Great… I slump against the wall, and listen quietly as he calls out names. Damn Alice, making me te. I sigh and shake my head. No, I chose to talk to her. I didn’t have to do that… I hear gentle footsteps, and look up to see a woman wearing athletic clothes approaching me.

  “Late?” She asks, and gives me a sympathetic look.

  “Yeah…” I say softly. “Got held up talking to someone.” I expin.

  “Bad luck that you were te with him then.” She says with a soft smile. “He’s kind of a hardass.” She blushes slightly. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  I let out a soft giggle. “Your secret is safe with me.” I emphasize this by pinching my fingers together, and dragging them across my lips as if closing a zipper.

  She lets out a ringing ugh and grins at me. “You’re cute, in a fun way. What’s your name?” “Emmy.” I say with a soft blush.

  “Well, I should get to css too.” She says with a soft wave. “Another time, Emmy.”

  “Another time…” I say, my voice trailing off as she walks away. Maybe I should have tried to be friends with her, she seems nice.

  The doorknob rattles next to me, causing me to jump slightly. I watch as an overweight older man leans out through the doorway.

  “Name?” He asks.

  “Emmy Valera.” I say with a soft smile. Maybe I can turn this around.

  “Alright,” He says with a sigh. “Come on in.”

  I step inside and look around the cssroom. There is an empty desk by the wall near the back, and I start to walk towards it. Just before I can sit down, the teacher calls out across the room.

  “We have assigned seats here, Ms. Valera.” He says, clearly annoyed. “You would have known that, had you been on time.”

  “Sorry.” I say, not really feeling sorry due to the way he’s acting. “Which seat is mine?”

  “You wouldn’t have to ask, if you were on time.” He gives me a self-satisfied smirk. “Pick a seat, and we’ll find out if you're right.”

  I groan internally. You know what? No. “I’m not pying this game.” I say tiredly. “Please either tell me which seat is mine, or I’m just going to sit down where I choose.”

  He seems to defte slightly, his smug attitude turning into the exact type of annoyance I would expect from a person with self esteem issues. He totally gives off ‘respect me and I’ll respect you’ really means ‘treat me like an authority figure, and I’ll treat you like a person’ vibes.

  “You’re right here.” He says, and gestures to a desk right next to him. “Front and center.”

  Wonderful. I let out a sigh and walk to the seat. He stares the entire time I’m sitting down, and I toss him a gre. Quit looking at me, weirdo. He walks to the front and in big letters writes, ‘AP Biology’.

  “This is going to be one of the most difficult csses you will take at this school.” He says, and I groan internally again. This dude is just a walking red fg. “If anyone manages to get an A in this css, you will have earned my respect. The best of you will end with a B. Most will get C’s or D’s.”

  I close my eyes, and just listen to his speech. This css is going to suck… I sigh. I’m going to get an A. Just to wipe that smug look off his face. I smile as an idea hits me. Paige is a straight A student… Maybe I can get her help tutoring me. Might be fun girlfriend time, assuming we can focus on studying.

  “Ahem!” The teacher clears his throat loudly.

  I jump slightly in my seat. “Yes?”

  “Welcome back, Ms. Valera.” He says sarcastically. “I can see we have our first of the D students picked out.” I grit my teeth but don’t reply. “Care to expin where you went?”

  “Non-” I start to refuse, but then a rebellious smug idea pops into my head. “Just thinking about my girlfriend, Teach.” I say with a grin.

  He shifts uncomfortably back and forth on his feet. “Right well,” He grumbles. “The question I was asking you while you were in dreamnd; how would you describe the flow of genetic information within a biological system?”

  “Um…” I hum, trying to rack my brain for an answer.

  “You passed the test to be here, I assume.” He says demeaningly. “You should know this.”

  I vaguely remember something about three states. Right! Central dogma of molecur biology! I studied this!

  “There are three steps to the flow of genetic information.” I say, and take a breath. “Replication, transcription, and transtion.”

  “Describe them,” He says snidely. “If you would.”

  “Replication is when DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division.” I expin. “Transcription is when the information is transcribed onto RNA, and transtion is when the RNA is transted into a specific protein at the ribosome.”

  The teacher tuts for a moment, before clearing his throat. “Partial credit.” He says, and I feel my mouth open in shock. “That was a very good and mostly correct answer.”

  “What did she get wrong?!” A familiar feminine voice shouts from the back of the room.

  “Quiet down, Ms. Sail.” The teacher says. May? Why is she defending me?! “You get partial credit, because you did not accurately name messenger RNA. I would have even accepted mRNA.”

  “That’s bullshit!” May shouts.

  “Language, Ms. Sail.” He says slimily. “One more outburst, and you’ll be speaking with Principal Swan.” He turns to look over at all of us. “Biology is an incredibly precise field of study, and one must be precise in all matters. Partial credit. Take it or leave it.”

  I sigh, and slide down slightly into my chair. This is going to be a long day…

  ?????????????

  “Hey um, can we talk for a moment?” A soft voice says from behind me.

  I turn and see the small brunette from my health css. “Sure.” I say, and cross my arms. “What’s up?”

  “I, um…” She says timidly, and looks up into my eyes. “Will you go on a date with me?”

  My breath catches in my throat as I look at her expressive brown eyes. She looks so much like Emmy… I feel tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Danny… Not Emmy… She stares expectantly at me, and I try to form a response.

  “I…” She could be his sister… “I’m sorry, but no.”

  “Oh…” She says sadly. “Sorry to bother you…”

  “It’s not you.” I blurt out. “I just…”

  “You just what?” She asks, her voice lightening slightly.

  “My heart belongs to someone else…” I say softly. “It wouldn’t be fair of me to go on a date with you, while I’m still hung up on my ex.”

  “That doesn’t bother me.” She insists. “I don’t mind helping you get over her.”

  “I mind.” I say with a shake of my head. “If she asked me out, I’d say yes in a heartbeat, and I’m not going to go out with you, knowing that I would choose someone else if they asked.”

  “I…” She stammers. “I don’t mind… I’m willing to take that risk.”

  “I’m not.” I say firmly. “Sorry. Please just stop trying.”

  Her shoulders heave, and I turn to walk away. She doesn’t say anything, so I start on my path home. Was that a mistake? Thoughts sm into my brain. Danny would never take me back… Not after what I did.

  I let my composure break as I cross the street, and don’t bother to wipe away the tears. Should I have just said yes? It wouldn’t have been healthy… but I could have had some sort of happiness. Some sort of break from this unending numbness…

  I instinctively shake my head. No. I couldn’t do that to anyone. If Danny won’t take me back, then I’ll just have to wait until I’m over him to start dating again. I turn onto my street. I won’t hurt anyone the way I hurt him. Never again.

  I open the door, and see May sitting on the couch. “Holly!” She shouts, and stands immediately. “I’m so fucking sorry…”

  “What exactly are you apologizing for?” I say, my voice coming out in the same lifeless monotone as it has since I lost my lover.

  “I was wrong.” She says, her face pale. “I made a mistake, a big one, and you got hurt because of it.”

  “What did you do this time…?” I ask as I walk into my room.

  May follows me inside, and stands in front of me. “I should never have made you break up with Emmy…” She says softly. “I fucked up so badly.”

  “Since when did you go back to calling him ‘Emmy’?” I ask, confused.

  “Since she came out to me as a trans woman.” She says, tears leaking from her eyes. “I’m so fucking sorry, Holly.”