PART 7
CALLING FOR YOU
The next day at school proved to be a challenge for Ms. Emma Nelson. No matter how hard she tried to pay attention in class, her thoughts kept dwelling on the strange dream she had the previous night.
It was funny how she called it a strange dream. Strange implied that it was either foreign or weird of her to dream about Sean, as if she wasn't accustomed to it. When she and Sean had been dating, she dreamed about him all the time – whisking her away to a romantic dinner for just the two of them or picking the darkest corner in the movie theater where they could make out.
At the time, the dreams were cute and a constant reminder of her growing feelings for Sean. But that had been months ago, almost a year even since their brutal breakup. She was pass Sean now. She'd even dated Chris for a little while – mostly to prove to herself that she was over Sean – but it still happened and she still dated Chris. Why now, of all times, was she dreaming about Sean? Was it because he was dating Ellie? Emma had to admit to herself that she did catch Sean near tears at the end of last year, but that was something about him moving. At least, that was the gossip that Paige told her.
He never cried over me like that, she found herself thinking at the time as she continued walking down the halls of Degrassi.
"Emma, what in the world are you thinking about?" Manny asked her.
Emma took a double take. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I've been trying to talk to you for five minutes and you haven't said a word," Manny continued, as she took a seat Mrs. Kwan's homeroom. "Were you thinking about . . . . him?"
Emma screwed up her face into a frown. "Who's him?"
"You know. His name begins with an S and ends with a N. Sean."
"Me? Thinking about Sean? Are you crazy?" Emma fumed. "I wasn't thinking about him," she lied. "And why would I be? I have better things to think about then to dwell on some guy that stole my step dad's lap top."
"Umm hmm," Manny muttered, unconvinced.
"What does that supposed to mean?"
"It just means that I don't believe you. You were mumbling his name a few seconds ago here and I just thought . . ." Manny's voice trailed off.
Emma arched her eyebrows. "Just thought what?"
Manny shrugged. "I just thought you two were getting back together or something. I dunno."
Emma bounced to her feet. "Manny, you take that back right now! How could you even suggest something like that!"
"Well, I –"
"And I DID NOT mutter his name! And I WAS NOT thinking about him!" Emma was fuming now. Manny was surprised that she didn't see steam coming out of the girl's ears.
"Emma, look –"
"No, Manny, you look! I do not, repeat DO NOT like Sean! Okay, get it through that thick head of yours! There is no getting back together with him!" Her voice was rising now and people were beginning to look at her strangely.
"C'mon Em, calm down. Just take a deep breath, okay? I-I was wrong. There is nothing between you and Sean," Manny said soothingly, her voice low. "I didn't mean anything by it. Everything between you two were in the past."
"You got that right," Emma said as she sat down. She worriedly put her head in her hands.
"But, um, Emma," Manny said in a hoarse voice. "I just have one question to ask you."
"Oh yeah. What's that?"
"If you're truly over Sean, then why did you just blow up like that? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in denial."
Emma looked from Manny to the floor. She didn't want her friend to look in her eyes and notice the confusion. Emma asked herself the same question, and much like her dream, she couldn't come up with an answer.
"You have something on your face," Emma had told him.
"What?" Sean asked her as he tried to wipe something off of is face, but missed.
"Here, let me," Emma had said and then moved to touch his rosy cheeks. Her soft, delicate hands felt good and it felt good, to have her touch him and even be nice to him for a change. The moment was cute and something Sean had missed about her, more than he had thought . . . . .
"Sean?"
The boy blinked his eyes and stared into the eyes of Ellie and he was momentarily reminded that she was his girlfriend, not Emma.
"Umm, hey," he said uneasily.
"Funny," Ellie said, her voice tight as the two walked the halls. "I've been trying to talk to you, but you seemed lost in your thoughts."
"Me? Lost?" He croaked a smile. "Never. Not with you around."
Ellie simply looked at him strangely. "That's another funny thing because I could have sworn that I heard you say . . . "
"Say what?"
"Emma."
Sean gasped and stared at her. His mind was racing? Had he really said her name aloud in front of his girlfriend?
Now how I am going to smooth things over, he thought.
"Ellie, you must have heard wrong. Why would I be talking about her?"
"I dunno. You tell me. Were you thinking about her?"
"No, of course not," Sean lied quickly to cover his tracks. The last thing he'd ever wanted was for Ellie to know that he was thinking about . . . her. "C'mon. I have you. Why would I be thinking about her?"
Ellie shrugged. "Well, you two have been working on that project together and I saw you –"
"Huh? You saw what?"
But Ellie was reluctant to say.
"C'mon, El. Tell me."
"Ash and I saw you and Emma walking with her baby brother. And you too seemed. . . . Close," Ellie muttered.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean you saw us together? Were you spying on me?"
"Well, no. I mean not really. I mean –"
"Not really? What does that mean?"
"Well, I wanted to know . . . so I sorta, you know."
"Ellie, you're not making any sense. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then why were you spying on me?"
"Look, let's just forget about this, okay?" Ellie said. "I never said anything and you never thought anything? Okay?"
"Fine. You're the one that said something," Sean replied. "Look, I gotta do something with this project. I'll talk to ya later."
Ellie waited for Sean to kiss her like he usually did when they parted ways, but Sean simply walked in the opposite direction, leaving Ellie more unnerved now than ever before.
Emma ceased all ties with Sean and the project for the rest of the week and it was unfortunate. Their due date was fast approaching and they had barely done anything worthwhile for their project for Mrs. Kwan's English class.
Sean really didn't want to communicate with Emma either, but his grade was on the line. And he needed good grades to continue getting student welfare. Unlike Emma, he couldn't afford failing another project. He was barely passing Kwan's class as it was.
So one day after school, he worked up enough nerve to talk to the girl at her locker.
He decided to take a nicer approach with her. "Umm, hi, how are you?"
"Why do you care?" Emma said harshly, not even turning to look at him.
"Um. . . because, I do. I was just greeting you."
"Fine. Whatever."
Sean shuffled his feet around uncomfortably. "You know, the project is due in a couple of days. We don't have much time to work on it."
Again, Emma didn't look at him. "Look, Sean. If you're trying to convince that you care one way or the other about this project, forget it. I'm not buying it."
"Well, I'm not telling you this for you to buy it, Emma," Sean said, trying to keep his voice even.
"Aw, little Seanny is raising his voice?" Emma teased. "That's strange. That didn't stop you when I was a babysitter, or a nurse or a –"
"Why do you keep bringing that up? I thought we were talking about the project."
Emma looked at him for the first time as she closed her locker. "Well, I don't know what we are doing but me is going to the mall with Liberty and Manny. So sorry, maybe some other time."
Sean pursed his lips together in an even line. "See, this is just like last time. You're always too busy for me."
Emma raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, for the project."
Emma started walking away with Sean at her heel. "Well, just in case you haven't notice, my life doesn't revolve around you anymore."
"Anymore? When did it ever –"
She spun around and was dangerously close to his face. "Forget it. Besides, aren't you going to run to your little girl toy Ellie?"
"Ellie? What does she –"
"Nothing," Emma said bluntly before he could get the words out. She looked at him for a moment and he stared back at her and just for that brief moment, nothing else mattered. All of the pain that Emma felt for months didn't seem to matter anymore. Likewise, all of the anger that Sean had bottled up towards her didn't seem that important anymore.
But Emma broke the moment by walking away.
"You can run all you want to, Emma," Sean said as she continued walking. "But you're going to have to face me one of these days."
And she knew that he was right.
