Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

17. Saved by the Bell

In her eighth-period class, Emma sat at the edge of her seat and stared anxiously at the grey clock on the southern wall, listening to every tick and every tock. The clock drowned out all else, even the sound of Heidi's voice as she talked and talked while the teacher was out of the room.  

Twenty minutes, Emma counted. Nineteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds ... Nineteen minutes and fifty-two seconds ...

"Emma," Heidi said when she realized she was being ignored. "Emma! Emma! Snap out of it, already!" And then she gave the back of her head a hard whack, knocking the girl forward. She might've fallen out of her chair if she hadn't caught herself at the last second. 

"Nineteen minutes and thirty-four seconds!" Emma blurted out, and then she blinked twice and turned toward her friend. "Sorry, were you saying something just now?" 

Heidi's jaw dropped. "Are you seriously counting the minutes now? That's just pathetic." 

"Hey, don't judge me," Emma said as she scooted back in her chair. "I'm just excited is all. This kind of stuff never happens to me, you know?" 

"Yeah, I know," Heidi relented. "And I'm happy for you. Really, I am. I just hope you're not left disappointed. You don't know him, Emma. He might not be the guy you think he is."

"And he might be exactly who I think he is."   

For a moment, Heidi didn't know what to say. Sure, she could have reminded her about all the rumors and warned her to be careful. She could have told her he was going to break her heart in the end. She probably should have. But when she saw that hopeful smile on Emma's face, she realized none of that mattered. All that mattered was that she was happy. 

"I hope so," Heidi said, and then she slumped back in her chair with a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "Remind me again why we decided to take choir?" 

Emma shrugged. "We're not artistic and we didn't want to learn an instrument. Plus, it's an easy A." 

"That's true, ... but I do wish there was at least one guy in here. It would give me something to look forward to." 

"Well, guys don't wanna join choir. They all think it's too girly. At least that's what Michael told me when I tried to get him to join."

Heidi nodded. "And everyone knows Mrs. Grossmaier's a total nutjob. I swear, if she tries to make me meow like a cat again, I'm walking out." 

Just then, the door swung open and Mrs. Grossmaier entered the room. She was an old woman, Mrs. Grossmaier, with curly salt-and-pepper hair and big, round glasses that covered most of her face. Every day, she wore long, floral skirts and walked around the classroom barefoot. It made her feel closer to the earth, she said. Last year, on the way home from a parent-teacher conference, Mr. Walters called her a crazy hippie and insisted that she had probably smoked a lot of pot in her youth. Emma probably wasn't supposed to hear all that, but the volume on her headphones was turned down. 

"Okay, ladies," said the old woman as she sat down at the piano and shuffled through her sheet music. "Sorry for the delay, but Principal Hayes was being especially difficult. I'm sorry to say that our Beatles tribute has been canceled because one of the parents decided to complain. Now, I'm not gonna ask who it was ..." 

The old woman's beady brown eyes pierced through the crowd and focused on Emma, who immediately covered her face with her music folder and sunk into her chair. Her father may or may not have called the school after Emma told him about the old woman's plans for their next concert. 

"I guess we'll just have another Disney tribute," Mrs. Grossmaier decided. "But enough about that. Let's do some scales. On your feet, ladies!" 

 Reluctantly, Emma and Heidi stood up with everyone else, but neither of them had any intention of actually singing. For the entire semester, they merely mouthed the words while the rest of the girls in their section did all the work. It was a brilliant plan, so brilliant that the other girls started to copy them. 

"Altos," said Mrs. Grossmaier after a while, "I can't hear you. Sing out, girls. Sing out!" 

Their mouths continued to move, but not a sound came out. 

"Come on, altos! With some gusto!" 

Heidi and Emma exchanged nervous glances as they watched their plan go up in flames. 

"Okay, that's enough," said Mrs. Grossmaier as she stopped playing and stepped out from behind the piano. "Altos, what's going on? Have you all suddenly lost your voices? You need to sing out, clear and strong. We need you to support our lovely sopranos. Now, let's try this once more. Project, ladies! They need to hear you all the way in the back!" 

Unfortunately, just as the old woman sat back down on the bench, the bell rang and all the girls got up to leave. Emma was the first to reach the door, but then she heard Mrs. Grossmaier's voice in her ears.  

"Emma, can I talk to you for a moment?" the teacher asked. 

"Sorry, I have to catch the bus," Emma said, and then she rushed out of the room before the old woman could stop her. 

Needling her way through the crowd, Emma dumped her music folder in her locker, grabbed her beach tote and backpack, and then hurried into the nearest bathroom to change. In record time, she pulled on her swimsuit and hid it underneath a light blue sweater and jean shorts. 

"Okay, Emma," she said as she stepped out of the stall and confidently approached the mirror. "You've got this." 

. . .

Outside the school, Michael and his friends were waiting to board the school bus when they saw Emma whiz by. In all their lives, they'd never seen her run so fast. 

"Bye, guys!" she yelled over her shoulder. "See ya tomorrow!" 

"Bye, Emma!" Calum yelled back, but then he stopped and said, "Wait, where's she going?" 

Michael shrugged. "Beats me."

Before boarding the bus with their schoolmates, the three boys stopped to watch their friend dash across the road and disappear around the street corner. Where was she off to in such a rush, they wondered. Wherever it was, it must've been very important.  

"Maybe she has a date," Calum joked as they all stepped onto the bus, and boy did he and Michael get a good chuckle out of that one. Luke, on the other hand, didn't find it very amusing. 

Paralyzed by fear, the blond lingered on the bottom step and pondered the horrifying possibility of Emma liking someone else. Sure, he'd considered it before—many times, in fact—but he never thought it would actually happen. Not so soon. Not before he had a chance to make a move himself. Emma wasn't very popular among the boys at school. They thought she was nice and friendly, but she wasn't exactly girlfriend material. Frankly, they thought she was rather plain compared to the other girls. Luke saw this as an advantage. He thought he would be able to take his time and build his confidence, but now he wasn't so sure. 

She can't have a date already, he thought as a heavy frown tugged at his lips. It's not possible. I was just starting to make progress. 

Little did he know, his worst fear was about to become a reality. If Emma managed to catch that bus before its three twenty departure, she would be going on her first date with Harry Styles, and Luke would have a one-way ticket straight to the friendzone. 

And she caught the bus just in time. 

—-

Okay, this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I didn't like the way it was transitioning from one part to the next. That's why I decided to split it into two chapters. Now, I've already started working on the next part, so it should be finished soon. 

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Today's my birthday :)