Not A Pretty Girl:Alchemy Dream
Summary: After Emma's lonely first day at school, she wants nothing more than to get home and sleep until tomorrow, which she has a good feeling will be Hell, Pt. 2. However, a certain best friend will not rest until she knows why Emma was not at school on the first day. Can Manny actually give Emma just the boost she needs to get through this social shift?
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"Emma, this is the 5th time I've called you, and hon, if I have to make it 6, I won't be happy. Call me back!"
As she trudged up the hill to her house, Emma noted how similar to Paige Manny was beginning to sound on her phone. She carried in her hand her flip flops, which had flipped out during the course of her first day at Volta Redonda Girl's Academy.
The sun was bright and warm on her shoulders and face, there was a slight breeze sweeping her new skirt around, and she could feel the hot rocky pavement under her feet as she walked. Emma passed a car parked by the curb, and caught her reflection. She stopped and looked at herself in the truck's window. She felt trapped inside a body she didn't belong in, with her odd uniform, long stringy blond hair, completely lacking body and shine. Her eyes looked saggy in the sockets, from sleeplessness and a general distraughtness that had taken her over. Only a soft sigh emerged, and she continued up the street to the third house down. Her house. Where...Manny sat in her porch swing.
"Emma Christine Nelson, where have you been?" Manny stood up. Emma smiled at her, noticing her prediction had come true. Manny looked hot. She wore a denim minidress, an oversized belt and a black blazer with a pageboy cap.
"Wow, Manny...you look..."
"Emma! Hello! Why didn't you tell anyone you weren't going to be at Degrassi this year?
Emma stood there for a moment, and then sat on the swing, rubbing her sore feet.
"I didn't know. Not until last night."
"But WHY! Why aren't you here? I mean, Mr. Simpson told us you weren't going to be back when we asked, but he didn't tell us why!"
"They think..." sigh. "They think it will help me heal from Rick and..."
"And Jay." Manny finished.
"Yeah."
"Can't you just listen to some angsty music and move on? Like we all do?"
"Hey, Manny, it isn't like I want it!"
"Well...just so you know, J.T. and Toby almost had a heart attack. J.T. wouldn't stop asking me. Oh, and he said he wants his water bottle back."
"I'll get it to him. I was gonna wash it."
"How...nice of you. So, since I can't bug you every day at school, I gotta bug you here. What are we doing tonight?"
"Uh, a lot of nothing, Manny. I have to do approximately eight billion Algebra exercises, and find some loafers."
"Loafers? Ew. Why?"
"For school...it's uh, an All Girl's School. We have to wear a uniform."
"Wait, you mean VR Academy? Ew. No boys. Poor Em. Look, I think I have some loafers from like, year 8. What size do you wear?"
"An 8."
"Well, they're a 7 ½."
"That's good enough." They both sighed. Boredom crept into Manny's expression.
"So, want a pedicure, anyways? You do your math thing, I'll buff and polish." Smiling broadly, Emma nodded.
"That might be just what I need, Manny."
"Okay, I know you like this, Emma, but you need a new colour. You pick it every time."
"But I like blue."
"Tonight...I think your colour is going to be pink. It'll go better with your sexy new uniform."
"Ugh. I don't want to look at it."
"Well...we could alter it, make the skirt shorter! Make you a bad-ass private school babe! Just like in a..."
"..porno? No thanks, Manny. Just...paint."
"But this is so exciting, Emma! Come on! It'll only take like 10 minutes to take it up a little. Oh! I know!" Manny picked her cell out of her bag. Emma took her attention away from the 700 pg. book.
"Who are you calling?" Manny smiled and put her finger to her mouth.
"Hey, I'm at Emma's. Yeah! I know! We need a tailor for a minute. Can you come over? Sweet." Manny smiled broadly and tossed it to the floor.
"The best seamstress at Degrassi is on his way.", she laughed.
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"Em, you gotta stop moving while I measure!" J.T. had Emma standing on a chair in her basement bedroom in her skirt. J.T. held the measuring tape to her hip lengthwise, and stuck a pin in. He repeated at the other side.
"Oh my GOD I love this song." The unnerving beat of Ciara played on Emma's radio.
"Manny, my mom hates rap."
"It isn't rap, it's hip hop."
"Same thing." J.T. said, equally annoyed.
"You better not be looking up my..."
"Don't flatter yourself, Emma. I gotta take it up another inch. Don't move."
And something crazy happened.
J.T.'s hand brushed her slightly unshaven thigh as he folded and pinned the hem of the skirt. His hand felt...very strong. His grasp was firm, and his skin felt cool. All she could hear was her ceiling fan and Manny singing out of tune. J.T. hadn't said a thing about her not being at school today. He had been all business. Nothing about the water bottle, either. (Thank God.) She felt his sleeve against her shin, and she shivered. Blushed.
"Sorry."
"D..Don't make it too short, J.T."
"I won't. Don't worry. It's done!"
Emma looked at herself on the chair in the mirror. The once knee length skirt now rode up to 3 inches above the knee. She felt her knees brush together.
"Oh my GOD, Emma! What's your porn name going to be! How about...Skyye Nelson or something like that?" Manny took a break from gyrating to admire Emma's new look.
"The pleats look funny."
"Oh, I want one too, J.T." Manny said, pulling at the hem. They both ignored her.
"Just iron it, they'll look natural again." J.T. smiled a toothy grin, and threw his measuring tape around his neck like a scarf. "I'm glad you like it."
"I didn't say I did." Emma took his hand to step off the chair and pose in the mirror.
"You didn't have to." He picked up his canvas sewing kit and packed it in his messenger bag, safe from prying eyes.
Yeah, it was still a sore spot.
He slung the bag over his shoulder, and walked to the window hatch.
"It looks good on you, Em." And with that, he was gone, expertly swinging his body through the opening, and down the street.
"Well, that was pretty...anti-climactic, don't you think Em? I mean he didn't even say bye." Emma continued to watch the window, finally breaking her trance to look at herself in the mirror. She could still feel the warmth, the presence of J.T. in the fabric, on her thigh, in the air. And as a first, it wasn't because he farted. She examined the way the skirt grazed her hips, smoothed her hands down the front, feeling the wool on her palms, and the satin lining against her thighs.
"He made it too short.", Emma said absent-absentmindedly.
"No! It's perfect."
"It feels like there's a constant breeze between my legs."
Manny didn't know exactly how to reassure her best friend about this without sounding pervy, so she just sat on the bed. Her eyes looked around the familiar room, remembered sleepovers, late-night bawlfests over Craig, the night that they made out on Emma's bed...she was overcome with a feeling of strength. She had been through so much over the last 2 years. Pulling her long black hair back into a clip, she leaned back into the plushness of the pillow. And the hardness of a little cardstock box. Reaching behind her head, she thought to herself, This is the year that I and Emma can get what we had back. She looked at her across the room, turning in the mirror, observing the dress. She smiled, as she pulled the offending box into view.
And then every thought and expression left her.
"Uh, Emma?"
"Yeah?"
"Is there something you need to tell me?"
"What are you..." Emma flipped her hair behind her shoulder, and her eyes grew wide.
"Manny! Oh my God. I..I"
"First Response, huh? What WAS your
first response, Emma?"
"Manny, please don't..."
"Not having real SEX, were you, Emma?"
"Just stop! I don't want to..."
"It was Jay, wasn't it, Emma? How COULD you!"
Manny threw the box onto the floor and rose off the bed. She stepped up to Emma, falling about 4 inches subordinate to Emma, but they both knew she was the stronger of the two.
"Manny, listen."
"I'm listening."
"First of all..." Emma paced her floor. "First of all, don't tell ANYONE. Not Darcy, not Chante, not Toby, not...especially not J.T."
Manny stared at her.
"Promise!"
"I Promise! ARE you?"
Emma walked to the window, her eyes at sidewalk height. She felt small.
"I...I am."
"Oh, Emma! Oh my G..." Manny knew now to cut the shit and come to Emma's side. She strode up to her and put her arms around her. She was surprised that Emma did not cry.
"Emma...are you going to..."
"I don't know." She laughed. "Guess I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't."
"Emma, you're...you're different now."
"I still don't think it's right, Manny. But..."
"But it's different now that it's YOU."
Manny backed off. She didn't mean to sound so hateful. Emma smiled, hurt.
"I've got to finish this work. It's like 9 anyways."
"I can stay, Em."
"Don't."
Manny pursed her lips and grabbed her bag, putting her nail polish in the pocket. Her heels clicked as she walked to her bedroom door. Manny had the privilege of using the Nelson's door, rather than the window. Emma pushed a tear back. Just before Manny shut the door, Emma yelled at her. Her heart was racing and she was afraid everyone, Manny and J.T. were capable of leaving her behind.
"Manny, thank you!" Manny stopped, turned, and sorta smiled. "We can't keep doing this, Manny."
"Yeah." Manny wanted to friendship to work as well. So she left. Emma sighed and fell back on her bed, taking a sip from J.T.'s water on her nightstand.
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A faint jangling noise brought her into consciousness around 2:30 a.m. She looked around her room as her eyes fluttered open, seeking the source. She stumbled across her room and picked up her phone, looking at the caller I.D., but her vision too fuzzy to read it, she answered.
"...lo?"
"Em. I'm sorry, I know it's late." Emma smiled a secret smile.
"It's fine J.T." She reached over lazily to turn on her lamp. "What time is it?"
"Uhh...2:35." he coughed a deep cough. "Emma, uh, I wanted to tell you. Simpson told us you weren't returning this term. Why...why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know, J.T. I really didn't." She was kind of relieved to hear him ask.
"Well, why did you have to leave Degrassi?"
"Because of Jay." She heard him shuffling around, presumably under his blankets. The image filled her head, him laying in the dark under his orange comforter, his body warm, alive and breathing, his mouth close, talking quietly. A yawn was stifled, but audible.
"Hey, Emma...listen. You can talk to me. I try to avoid getting myself into hokey situations like this...but Toby's taught me a lot about what it means to be a friend...and...just promise. Promise you'll come to me." Emma's face felt warm, and she snuggled into her blankets, feeling the itchy scratch of the wool skirt she'd fallen asleep in.
"Okay. And J.T.?"
"Mmm?"
"The skirt's just right." She heard him breath a laugh and then hang up. She closed her phone, and shimmied the skirt off.
It doesn't make good jammies, though, she thought. She clicked the light off, and fell asleep, a little faster, a little easier than usual, and she didn't know or care why.
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Thanks for reading! As always, let me know whatcha think! I'm totally getting pumped for some tension between Jay and J.T.. XOXO