- "Everyone has their weak spot. The one thing that, despite your best efforts, will always bring you to your knees, regardless of how strong you are otherwise" –
~ Sarah Dessen, Lock and Key
"Hey you!" screamed a voice.
The person seemed to be near and might have sounded louder if the loud background of students murmuring, playing, and chatting hadn't drowned most of the volume. Liam cracked one eye open. The trunk of the Cherry Blossom was probably not the ideal place to doze off. However, he couldn't resist the warm aura and enchanting charisma it emitted by just resting under its canopy. The hand hammock he made rested on his abdomen, the feel of the wrinkles in his shirt reminding him of the long 2 hours he had spent that very morning steaming that very baby blue shirt. One of his legs were sprawled on the cold tarmac path adorned by Cherry Blossom petals out to its limit whilst his other was bent to support his posture. He closed his eyes again.
"Why do people have to sometimes be unnecessarily loud," he said through a yawn.
He could feel a stray ant tickle the back of his neck as it used him as a human ladder. Imagine staying like that forever, living in peace amongst nature and being worry free, living life to the fullest without a care in the world with people you love and that someone you care so much for. He could only just imagine.
He was closer to boarding Dreamland bus again and he might have been contented if he had but suddenly, he was thrown out of his nap back into reality with an additional weight that was now resting on him.
"You idiot! I was calling you, you know!"
"S***."
It must have been Emma, the girl that was supposed to teach him after school, he wondered. How ever could he forget? She must have thrown something on him- but then, items don't move closer, do they? He cracked an eye open and almost lost it when he was greeted by a bright gleaming face staring into his soul. It was Francesca and she looked like she had let the plumber she phoned to fix her kitchen sink bend her over the pipelines instead.
"Do you know it's rude to have a girl yelling after you like that?" she murmured in a low voice as if she had intentions of seducing him and drew a circle on his cheek with her finger, "Never have a girl yell after you like that, understand?"
Her blonde side swept bangs were caught up in a wind and her fluffy twin buns looked like squishy balls of yellow yarn on her head. Their skins brushed past each other and it was almost as if she was straddling him without touching him at all. It didn't feel right.
"Francesca… this is the public… have you lost your s***?" he whisper-shouted.
"Just when I thought you said you were not a pervert."
Darn, it was Emma.
Francesca looked up from Liam's embarrassed eyes over to Emma's. They were lifeless as always and she frowned.
"You could have him," she sprung to her feet and cupped her hips, "I was the one that hopped on him anyways."
Emma shone a small smile. Liam could tell that she had probably put all her thoughts on mute to manage to force one. Rooney stood at her side and held both his backpack and hers. He then began to wonder if Rooney was her body guard or something else.
"Thank you so much, Francesca! We didn't mean to interrupt but this boy right here is sadly not so good in math and needs a couple lessons. I'm sure both you and I want him to improve, right?" Emma said in a somewhat joyous tone.
As if contagious, Francesca also began to beam and clasped her hands in enthusiasm.
"Oh really? I had no idea, omg! I'm sorry I kept him back!" she sang.
Emma made a small nod and patted Francesca's shoulder.
"It's alright! Just make sure to always gather him up here for me. He can tend to run off!"
"Run off?" Liam's inner voice snarled, "It was literally the second day and they had never had as much as one math lesson together just yet."
"Oh… right, right! I will!" Francesca bundled her hands behind her back.
Emma nodded once more. "Thank you so much for understanding. We must get going now; see you around!"
With that, Francesca waved goodbye and darted off towards her other friends that sat on the stairs about a meter from them, at the front of the school, awaiting her.
It was back to being confined in the space he had just sat approximately in 5 hours ago during the day, again. Rooney stood in the doorway whilst Liam sat in one of the seats, stretching his arms. He then rubbed one of his eyes and read the time on his watch. It was 4:30 p.m.
"So you're Liam, eh?"
Liam looked over at Rooney. He had one of his eyebrows raised.
"Uh yeah."
"Right…"
Awkward silence left the both of them fiddling for words.
"I uh… I'm Emma's best friend- if you were wondering. She can tend to be a little feisty, can't she?"
"You could say that again," Liam rolled his eyes, resting his elbow on the back of the chair.
"Indeed but-" he paused, "Never mind. Just promise me this, since you're going to be around her a lot anyways."
His words grabbed Liam's attention. What was he going to say?
"If within a month, Emma is not able to make a joke with you and keeps dialogue professional, never speak to her again. It'd probably be for her own good if you ever wish to see her be happy."
"Eh?"
"However, if she is able to crack a joke with you and loosen up a bit, then that means she accepts you and- that would be a nice thing."
"Oh…" this was new to Liam.
What a picky girl she was.
"I see."
"Yeah… also- there's one more thing."
________________
Emma pulled a chair opposite to Liam so that the desk became the only object separating them. She placed a briefcase besides her feet and rummaged through it, fetching a couple cards. By then, it was 4:45p.m. and Rooney was awaiting them outside the school. Emma massaged between her eyebrows, laid the cards on the desk and crossed her legs, before planting her woven fingers in her lap. Her uniform was neat as it had been when she came to school in the morning and her pleated grey skirt laid elegantly over her thighs, midway.
"Alright. Let's start with the basics. Mathematical Notation: operation symbols. I'll go easy on the you first."
Liam sighed. So it was really happening, being taught math by a girl in this class, a girl who he promised not to speak to ever again once he sensed that she didn't trust him.
"What is this?" she questioned, with a card positioned with her palms, completely hiding her face.
The symbol looked like an x, written in some kind of font, with the first part looped.
"Uh… an x like you write in algebra, just written a little fancy… OWW!"
Emma sent the laminated card flying into his forehead like a paper plane and folded her arms.
"For the last time… IT MEANS IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO! HAVE I GOT TO SAY IT A SIXTH TIME FOR YOU TO GET IT??"
It was already nearing 8p.m. Liam massaged his forehead and narrowed his eyes.
"Why'd you have to be so loud and mean? I mean, we've been going for over almost four hours," Liam complained.
"And you call that a lot?" she scoffed, "You have the balls to have a girl hover you like she'd be ready for you to be all over her but no balls to hold out in a math class. SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT-"
At that point, Emma was raging with anger as she shot out of her seat and pounded the table with her tightly clenched fist, a burst of veins at both her temples. Her face was now a light shade of pink and her knuckles turned white. Liam thought she had turned into a beast in the short space of time of her reminding him of what the symbol was over and over… and over.
"You could never get it right… all this was a waste…" she found herself growing sensitive and quickly calmed down, taking her seat and burying her head in her arms on the table.
She was quite eccentric. The void of awkward silence between them was filled with her faint staggered breathing. With each passing breath, Liam felt the rise and fall of his chest gradually increase.
"Liam Sanchez…" she drawled, her voice sounding slightly muffled as if she had just cried a river and was feeling relieved of stress, "tell me, what do you think of me?"
Liam was taken aback. He wasn't sure how to reply to such a question.
"Am I a monster? Incapable of transcending to you what I know? A… a… a disappointment… right?"
"I-"
"I don't expect you to respond to me but… please do look over your symbols, Sanchez. They are very important. Before one learns a language, they should familiarize themselves with the alphabet. Math is like a language. You have to learn the characters that comprise it. Do you understand?"
Liam stared dumbfoundedly and made a small nod, lowering his gaze. She sniffled slightly under his gaze. Was she crying?
"Mr. Sanchez… I'm sorry I yelled at you and kept you back waiting so long. Your parents must be worried sick. Forgive me."
"Oh… but then aren't your parents also worried about you?"
Emma shot up from the table at his statement and darkened her gaze before looking out at the picture of shimmering lights against the black night thought the window pane.
"Never ask about my personal life, understand? Let's keep this professional," she smiled lightly.
It was another fake smile. She surely did not trust him.
"Also Liam…"
"Hm."
"Please forget about my soft side. I think I have already shown too much to you."