Crayons

Emily loved Fridays. Fridays always held the promise of a weekend without worrying about school and the people there.

But this time, it was more exciting. Adam promised Emily that their first Friday would be a fun day. They would make their ice cream, watch a movie, have extra long recreation…it was almost too good to be true.

And Adam knew that he couldn’t always have special fun days and nap times, (even though he probably needed them more than Emily did.) Eventually, they were going to have to seriously get down to business. But for now, Adam decided, they would have fun. They had all year to learn.

-

Emily woke before her alarm clock beeped, and she turned it off before she climbed out of bed. It could be loud; she didn’t want to wake her mother.

It was only five in the morning and Lindsey wouldn’t be up for another hour. Emily was only awake because she was so excited for the day. Nothing was going to make it bad. She would remember to brush her hair, she would be careful in gym, and she wouldn’t cry over anything. It was going to be perfect.

Emily squealed with glee as she ran to the bathroom, stripping of her black tank top and boxer shorts and turned on the shower. She had an extra long one, and she used her new Garnier Fructis shampoo, which smelled like peaches, and the matching body washed that also smelled of the fruit. She put lots of conditioner in her hair to make it nice and soft, and washed it out thoroughly.

Emily got out of the shower forty-five minutes later, marveling at how long she took. She brushed her hair repeatedly, getting out all the knots from her restless, excited sleep. She scowled at the mirror as her auburn hair curled and waved as it dried. She tried to straighten it a little with her brush, but eventually gave up when it only made the waving worse. She shrugged it off, parting her hair where her hairdresser had showed her to make her slight bangs go across her forehead. She also brushed her teeth.

Emily then dried her body off with her towel, and rewrapped it around herself, walking into her bedroom. She looked out the window and the sky. It was a dark September day, and she could see how the trees swayed in the wind. It looked cold. She decided to wear layers.

Emily picked out her clothes; a black camisole, purple, pink, and black, plaid babydoll shirt that buttoned in the front, and a black pair of skinny leg jeans. She laid them on her bed, reaching into her dresser for a pair of socks and underwear. She remembered her mom telling her that when she wore a cami, she didn’t really need to wear a bra. She put the black tank on, but felt naked. Her face turned hot, her cheeks red when she thought about not wearing a bra around Adam…

She quickly took off her camisole and put a bra on.

When Emily was good and dressed, she opened her jewelry box, taking out a purple bracelet, heart necklace, and a pair of clip-on heart earrings. She smiled at her image in the full length mirror on the door, and walked down stairs to her little kitchen.

Lindsey had just woken up. Her hair, still disarray from sleep, was piled on her head in a loose bun. She wore a pink robe, sipping her coffee out of a mug with her name written across it. She was shocked when Emily skipped down the stairs, ready to go. It was unusual that she wake from her alarm clock alone.

“Good morning, Em. Honey. What would you like for breakfast?” Lindsey put down her coffee and turned the stove on, still a little bit baffled.

“Morning.” Emily murmured happily, and replied to her mother’s question with, “Waffles.”

Lindsey turned the stove back off, nodding. She, too, was in the mood for waffles. She grabbed the waffle maker from the cabinet beside the dishwasher and plugged it in.

Emily didn’t sit. She wanted her mom to looked at her outfit, to make sure it matched.

“Mom,” she grumbled, “Look.”

Her mother did, smiling. “You look very cute today, Em.” Emily frowned at her, not liking her adjective and she rephrased herself. “I mean pretty, very, very, pretty. What has you wanting to get all dressed up? Are you wearing the earrings I gave you?”

Emily’s face flushed for the second time that morning. She shrugged to her mother, even though she knew why she was dressed up so much, or more accurately, for whom.

Lindsey smiled understandingly. “You should wear your purple boots today, Em. They would look good with that, and besides; it’s so cold outside.”

Emily nodded. The boots would look good.

-

Adam was irritated. He was so ready for his and Emily’s Fun Friday, as he called it. He had been almost as excited as Emily was, but for a different reason. He was happy to be able to spend time with Emily when it wasn’t as a teacher/student situation, though he didn’t want to admit it.

He was irritated, because the night before he had gotten a phone call from his most recent ex- girlfriend. Apparently, her and her boyfriend had broken up, and she was now available. Adam scoffed again as he thought about it. She had cheated on him. Why the hell would he ever want her back?

He was glad that he was done with high school. He could stay away from her.

He counted down the hours until noon when Emily would arrive at his classroom.

-

Emily’s school day went by very well. Most of the morning was taken up by an assembly titled “Just Say No”. Emily didn’t pay attention to it. She knew what drugs and alcohol were and she knew that she wouldn’t like them, so it didn’t matter.

Afterwards, most teachers didn’t really teach anything. That was one less thing to worry about.

And Emily felt good. She felt like she looked good. She was confident in her outfit, and it was heightened when a few of the school’s band members complimented her boots. Emily had never gotten a compliment from someone at school before, and whenever she thought about it, a smile made its way to her face.

At noon, Emily got onto the Votech bus. These kids were never mean to her; they simply ignored her and she was okay with that.

She was dropped off in the parking lot of her new school and she skipped happily to the front door. She opened it, walking swiftly to her classroom. She hung her book bag and sweater on the wall, knowing she wouldn’t need anything. It was Fun Friday!

“Hello, Emily.” Adam smiled, laying a gentle hand on Emily’s shoulder in the same way he did every time he saw her. He wanted to hug her, but this would have to do; he didn’t want to seem like a creeper.

“Hello.” Emily smiled at the gesture, leaning into it. Adam lead her over to the lessons table, explaining to her what would go on for the rest of the day.