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19- Smells Like Teen Spirit

Emma

The last thing I wanted was to hitch a ride from Hector. I don't know why I ended up riding with him. If it weren't for Hailey suggesting that she could take Emily and I home, I probably wouldn't have ended up in Hector's car. At least we had Emily in the back of the car with us even though she was drunk and out of it. The ride was a quiet one.

There was a lot on my mind. The thing that captivated it was the thought that Jeremy's technical device was somehow from the future. How could it not be? The picture of Jeremy and Hailey getting married looked all too real. How could something like that be faked? Crap, they were getting married. Somehow, Jeremy moves on in life and somehow ends up with this girl. If only this device could be from the past.

I would have never expected to see so many sixth-graders gathering up in one room on the first day of school during the first period. Why on Earth did we all have to meet in the gym and not in our homeroom class? Who were these people? My stomach began to feel nauseous with so many strangers surrounding me. The muscles in my throat began to tighten up.

Where was Jeremy? He promised to watch over me today. Seconds later, he was spotted from across the room walking across the bleachers. Was he looking for a seat like every other student was? My stomach soon felt better for a little bit until Ted was spotted. It was clear that Jeremy was aware of how close he was and tried to hide.

"Hey there Emma," greeted Hector from behind me. "Looking for a seat? Sit here with me."

No, I wanted to sit with Jeremy, but at this point, that wasn't going to happen. Hector it was. It would be fine as long as he didn't smile. Those braces on his teeth were hard to look at.

"You're friends with Jeremy, right?" He asked scratching his nose.

"Yup." My eyes were focused on the ground and nothing else.  

"What do you think the principal is going to talk about?" The dude didn't give me a chance to respond. "Hopefully, he talks about how to get hot babes. It would be so cool to have a girlfriend." He took a moment for pausing. "What about you? Any hot hunks so far?"

Hot hunks? What was this guy talking about? Without a verbal response, my lips were pressed together and a deep breath was taken with the rolling of my eyes. This would only last about forty minutes. I could do this.

"No, no hot hunks."

"You like music, right?" Clearly, Hector loved to talk. "Jeremy said you liked music."

For a brief moment, my talkbox opened up, and couldn't shut up. "Yes, I love music. Do you like Selena? You probably haven't heard of her. She's not that famous. But she's this Mexican-American Artist who mostly sings in Spanish. She is literally the best."

"Hmm, never heard of her. But I bet she's not as good as Nirvana. Nirvana is da bomb."

All my excitement immediately died. Where was the principal? When was he going to speak? I didn't have all day. This needed to happen now.

"Man, I love that teen spirit song by them. Do you know the song?" Never heard of that song in my life. "Here we are now, entertain us," Hector began to lightly sing while tapping his fingers against the bleachers. "Here we are now, entertain us!" His whole body was now standing up and he began shouting the exact same line at the top of his lungs. "Come on everyone, sing it with me. Here we are now, entertain us!"

About ten other students started singing with him as they clapped and stomped their feet. All I could do was cover my face and pretend like I didn't know this person."

"Young man! Cut that out right now or you will have detention on your first day," commanded an angry old teacher.

The singing immediately died down and the principal walked into the room and talked to a couple of teachers before speaking to us. Hector continued to tap his fingers against the bleachers until he spoke again.

"Hey Emma, what are you doing on Friday Night?"

"Uh, nothing. Don't have any plans, I guess. Why?"

"Do you want to go to the movies with me on Friday? You're neighbors with Jeremy, right? My brother can take us. Jeremy might be there, but he could be busy that night."

No, I didn't want to go to the movies with him, but if I said no, I could end up hurting his feelings. Heck, he could end up singing again. This time it could be a love song and I would be a laughing stock. I would never hear the end of it.

"Sure, I'll go with you." Wait, what did I just say? Did I agree to a date? Why?

"Nice! My brother will pick us up at seven."

And not a moment too soon, the principal tapped on the microphone and got everyone's attention as he was ready to begin speaking.

"You alright?" asked Hector who broke the silence as we got closer to my house.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Completely fine."

"You sure. That game wasn't too much for you, was it? It seems like there's something going on between you and Jeremy."

The urge to scream in my lungs appeared out of nowhere. For some reason, my fists wanted to smash the window next to me. Of course, I couldn't let that happen.

"No, the game was fine. Jeremy is just a stupid idiot. There's nothing going on between us."

About a minute later, we had arrived at my house. Hector announced that he would take Emily home. Yes, I felt like it was a bad idea, but I didn't want to deal with a drunk person. I didn't want to deal with anything. I just needed to be alone and think. Emily would be fine and I would see her tomorrow.

And just as I was about to shut the car door and watch Hector drive off, he had a few more words to say.

"Hey Emma, are you going to prom?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to prom with you. Sorry, buddy." With that, I slammed the door and walked away. I'm sure I caught Hector off guard, but I didn't care. Just like that, the car took off and I was able to be alone with my thoughts.

Hello! Glad you're here. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to comment and vote!

Have you ever been disinterested in someone who was crushing on you?

Is Hector too weird to be dating?

Should Emma go to prom with Hector?