Chapter Twenty-Five
Brooke
The last class of the day was actually chemistry lab—the time I'd usually spend with Emerson. While I'd been doing my best all day to avoid thinking about him, seeing as I'd had absolutely no response whatsoever from him, it was impossible to not think about him once the time rolled around that he would have normally been helping me with practicals.
I couldn’t understand why he still had not replied. Couldn't he have, at least, told me how his dad's surgery had gone? Couldn't he have, at least, had the decency to acknowledge receipt of my messages?
I shook my head, staring into the lab as another set of lab partners finished up. It really did seem as if my worst thoughts about him might be right.
I was snapped out of my trance by a familiar voice. “Hey there, Brooke.”
“Oh, hi, Garrett,” I replied, trying to put on a smile.
“How's everything? You doing okay?” He grinned at me, looking chipper.
“Um, yeah, yeah. Everything’s awesome.”
He looked at me, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure about that? You don’t look like everything’s awesome.”
“I've just, uh, I've just had a tough day, that's all.”
“Aww. Well, that’s no good,” he said with genuine sympathy. “What happened.”
For a moment, I considered telling him about the whole situation with Emerson. Part of me really wanted to talk about it with someone. However, I didn't know Garrett nearly well enough to be spilling about such personal things with him. So, in response to his question, I simply told a white lie. “Oh, just a bunch of tests. You know, plenty of work and not enough time to do it. Plus, I don't think I've been getting enough sleep lately. So, I'm just feeling a bit run-down.”
“You’ve gotta take care of yourself, ya know? You're a special person, Brooke. I mean that. I don’t like seeing down in the dumps. How about I take you for a smoothie? I know a great organic joint about a mile from here. They make a killer energy-boost smoothie, packed with all sorts of healthy junk. It'll make you feel like a new person, guaranteed.”
I was tempted to take him up on the offer. A part of me thought it would be out of spite though; a way to get back at Emerson for ignoring me. It was obvious by the tension between the two that Emerson had a subtle dislike for Garrett. Maybe even jealousy.
However, I decided against it for the time being, at least. “Thanks for the offer, Garrett, but I can't. I'm meeting up with some friends in a bit. But maybe another time, though.”
He smiled, showing a mouthful of perfectly white teeth. “No worries! Oh, hey, I saw you handing out flyers for the charity film festival the other day.”
“Yeah. It's a RAG event we're setting up.”
“Cool, cool. Listen, I wanna buy some of those tickets. You have any on you?”
“Yes, I do, actually.”
“Great. I'll take two.”
“Right now?”
“Sure.”
I dug around in my bag and retrieved two tickets. “That'll be twenty bucks.”
He handed me two ten dollar bills.
“Thanks,” I said. “Who are you gonna go with?” I asked out of instinct.
“Oh, I dunno yet,” he replied with a suggestive smile. “Maybe you know a cute brunette who might want to go,” he added with a wink.
Right on time, my phone buzzed. I looked down, hoping it was Emerson. It wasn’t. But it was the cavalry saving me from having to respond to Garrett’s question.