Valentines


Emma's head split the surface of the water, and Cleo pushed down the button on the timer.

She helped her friend out of the pool, squeezing her eyes shut against the glare of the water and ignoring her somersaulting stomach. "Em, that was great!"

Emma pulled off her cap, revealing dry blonde locks. "I could have done better," she said as she reached for a bottle of water.

Cleo frowned, crossing her arms. "You have to stop doing that, alright? Putting yourself down. You were amazing."

Emma waved her fingers in the air, pulling a face. "Fine. Let's go back to my house and get something to eat, okay?"

She smiled. "Good!"

They met up with Lewis on their way to Emma's place, who had been on the beach collecting sand samples or something else incredibly boring.

"Emma, Cleo, what have you been doing today?" he asked, peering at some bits of paper he held in his hands.

"I've been helping Em with her training," she looked at Emma, who shrugged. "She was really good. Not that she believes a word I say."

He laughed. "Of course she doesn't. Emma, listen to me when I say you are, like, the prodigy of athletics. And I'm pretty brainy, so I do not use the word prodigy lightly."

Emma laughed, running a hand through her loose hair. "Well, thanks. That means a lot, coming from Mr. Voted-Most-Likely-To-Be-A-Ciborg."

"Hey!" he ducked behind Cleo and gave Emma a soft whack with his textbook. "That isn't funny."

"I think it is. Cleo?"

Cleo raised her hands, shrugging. "I'm not taking sides."

Suddenly Emma twirled—and that may have been to avoid another assault from Lewis, or it may have been because her eyes had achieved an abrupt twinkle. "Oh! Cleo, its Valentines tomorrow! Lewis, did you know that? Aren't you guys excited?"

Cleo glanced at Lewis, whose nose had crinkled as if Valentines was something foul and to be avoided. "I'm not that excited," she said with a shrug. Emma skidded to a stop and stared at her, slack-jawed.

"Why not? I swear, you guys are so weird."

"Because last year I didn't get any cards—except that mean one from Miriam Kent. And that joke one from Zane..." she paused, frowning. "Why do people like playing tricks on me?"

"It's not that, Cleo," Emma went over and wrapped an arm around her. "It's just that Zane and Miriam are absolute dunderheads and they deserve each other."

She shook her head. "But I still don't think I'll get any this year."

"Come on," she said. "Don't worry about it. For anyone who doesn't send you a card—well, then it's their fault because they're missing something amazing. Now hurry up! I'm starving!"

She raced forward, hopping over all the cracks in the pavement and twirling around every street light.

Lewis stood at her side, watching Emma shriek and teeter on her feet but then yell in the face of the vanquished crack.

"She's a weird one," he said, shaking his head.

"But we love her anyway, right?"

"Yes," he said, laughing. "Right."

XXX

Cleo opened her locker, ignoring the red tinted paper pinned to it.

"Why don't you open them?" Emma was at her side, nudging her. "If Miriam and Zane have the guts to send you phony letters again, I'll go over there and personally punch their lights out."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Alright, fine. But no punching. No putting out of lights."

She sagged for a split second before bouncing back up again. "Come on then! Open them!"

There were three. She tugged the first one off and opened it.

Zane

Kissy kiss—

She screwed it up and threw it across the hall.

Emma lightly pressed her elbow into Cleo's stomach. "It's alright. The next one."

Miriam

Next year? Don't get your hopes up.

She trod on it, a sense of satisfaction welling as she felt the paper shred beneath her sneakers.

"There's one more."

With a sigh, she pulled the last one off her locker. She unfolded it, ready to scrunch it up in a second.

I didn't want them to ruin your Valentine's Day. You are phenomenal, and no amount of stupid comments can change that.

There wasn't a name, but she didn't need to know who it was from. She turned around, and across the hall, she saw Lewis shoving textbooks into his locker.

He waved.