Three

Meeting Emma.

It took me a while to find my last class. When I finally found the room, I walked in, and everyone looked up at me. Class had started a few minutes ago. I noticed a black chalkboard at the back of the room that read, ‘Poetry Analysis’. Three bookshelves which seemed to be stocked with thick novels, lined the right wall.  

 

The teacher standing at the front of the room, who had dark skin and dreads cleared her throat. I could tell she was going to be a good teacher. Her brows were furrowed, but not angrily. She looked powerful, like she was ready for anything. Her hair was mainly brown except for the blonde highlights and her curly, gray roots.  

“You must be Riley,” the teacher said, raising her eyebrows.  

I nodded. “Yea.” 

“I’m Mrs. Williams. I understand that this is your first day, but from now on, I expect you to arrive on time. Okay?” 

I nodded as I made my way to the back of the room. As I passed the desks, I noticed Gideon sitting in an aisle seat. Of course, he was in this class. 

 

That night, my family sat around the table silently. Finally, my mom spoke up. She cleared her throat and questioned, “How was everyone’s first day?” 

With his mouth full of food, Nick said in a muffled voice, “Mine was alright. Coach asked if I wanted to join the football team.”  

My dad lightly nudged him. “Hey, way to go kid! How about girls? Is there anyone who catches your eye?” 

“There might be a few...” he said, and my dad and him exchanged smiles. 

“Alright, so tell me about them. What are they-” 

“Whoa, hang on now boys,” my mom interrupted. “School isn’t just about girls, you know.” 

“Well, if that were true, I wouldn’t have met you!” my dad replied. He and Nick exchanged teasing grins, and my mom rolled her eyes. 

“What about you Riley? How was your day?” my mom asked. 

I shrugged. “It was okay.” I stabbed some green beans with my fork. 

 “That’s nice to hear honey.” 

 

We spent the rest of dinner discussing my dad’s new job; the reason we moved to Arlington Heights in the first place. There were no dishes to clean when we had all finished eating. We were using paper plates because all our kitchenware was still in the boxes. I walked upstairs to my new room. It was empty besides a small blow-up mattress on the floor and boxes piled up against the walls, which were an odd pastel yellow color. They would need to be repainted. 

 

 

~ 

 

 

The next day at lunch, Val said she got a new job at Revive, which is the name of the coffee shop we drove by on our way into town. 

“Hey, I work today. You guys should come by!” 

“But do you really think Revive is Riley’s scene?” asked Gideon. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but he sounded like he was.  

Val rolled her eyes. “He’ll come. Right?” 

I shrugged. “Sure.”  

I wasn’t a huge fan of coffee, although it’d felt nice eating lunch with teenagers yesterday instead of the librarian, like I did at my old school. Maybe I should give them a chance.  

So, after school, Adrian and I piled into Gideon’s old, silver Acura. It’s funny. Even though Gideon was tall, I kind of forgot he was older than me, because he looked so young. I sat in the back seat, as he and Adrian talked amongst themselves. Finally, we arrived at the coffee shop. Gideon pulled into the parking lot, and we all got out. 

We walked around the corner and filed inside the door. Thankfully, it wasn’t as busy as it was the day we drove by it. There were three long tables and small stools along the unpainted brick wall on the left side of the room. Plants and candles were scattered along them acting as centerpieces. Behind the tables was a spiral staircase leading up to a second floor.  

On the right of the shop was a long table. Stools were placed along it and a floating shelf was hanging on the wall above it. On the shelf were several globes. Various spices sat on the table and the typical coffee-making equipment was almost hidden behind it. Val stood behind the table waving at us, her red hair tied back into a messy bun. 

 

We started making our way towards her. “You guys came!” She had a big grin on her face. “What do you guys want?” 

“I’ll take a coffee. Black,” Adrian replied. “Oh, and grab me one of those egg sandwiches,” he said pointing at a sandwich in the food display window. 

Gideon cleared his throat and said, “I’ll get the Iced Caramel Macchiato.”  

I didn’t want anything. Val began making the drinks and we sat down at a table. 

“So. Rileyyy,” Gideon started. He looked at Adrian and then back at me. “What’s your story?” 

I looked up at him. “What?” 

“Yea,” he said and shrugged. “You know, your family, where you came from. Stuff like that.”  

Hm. What about my family? “I don’t know,” I said. “I have a brother. Nick. He’s a senior.” 

“Oh, he’s in our grade?” asked Adrian. “What’s he look like?” 

I shrugged. “Tall, tan, dark hair,” I hesitated. “He just joined the football team.” 

Adrian’s face scrunched up like he was trying to remember if he’d seen him, but then shrugged. “You’re a junior right?”  

I nodded. “What about your guys’ families?” 

Adrian laughed and replied, “My fam’s pretty typical. My dad got me into basketball at an early age, I continued throughout high school, football season is a huge deal for my family. You know. Sports family. Let’s not talk about me. Wha-” 

“What about you then?” I asked Gideon, cutting Adrian off. 

Gideon looked at me and smiled. He held my gaze for a few seconds, and then said, “I appreciate your interest in my life, but I pass. My family’s not important enough to be part of my story.” 

I shrugged “Suit yourself.” Then I cleared my throat and announced, “I’ll... be back.” Adrian nodded as I made my way towards the bathroom in the back of the café. 

I pulled on the handle to the bathroom door, but it seemed to be locked, so I waited. Soon, a short girl who looked to be around my age walked up next to me. She wore a brown apron overtop her gray sweater, proving she worked at Revive.  

Suddenly, she spoke. 

“Hey, you’re new right? Val’s friend?” 

I nodded. “Yea. Just moved into town.” 

“Oh, okay! I’m Emma.” She pushed strands of her wavy, brown hair behind her ear. 

“Riley.”  

“I’m a junior. How about you?” 

I smiled. Finally. Another junior. “Me too,” I replied. 

“Oh, cool!” Suddenly, her face lit up, like an idea had popped into her mind. “I can show you around town if you want.”  

“Sure.” I hesitated. “But... it seems like a pretty small town.” 

“It seems that way,” she replied. “But it’s not that small. There’s a lot to do here. I can take you to all the cool hangout spots if you want.” 

“Alright.” I nodded. “Thanks.” 

She smiled and replied, “Let me get your number.” 

She handed me her phone, where I created a contact. Soon after, I heard Adrian calling my name and motioning towards the door. 

 
“I’ll catch ya later,” I said. She smiled and waved as I walked away. 

We waved to Val before exiting the café. Gideon dropped Adrian off first, and then started heading to my house. Gideon and I were both quiet. He suddenly reached over and turned the radio on, in an attempt to fix the awkward silence. Finally, he arrived at my house.  

I thanked him for the ride and turned to walk away when he called after me. “See ya tomorrow, Shakespeare.”  

“Who was that?” my mom asked as I walked into the kitchen.  

“Gideon,” I replied, and started walking up to my empty room.