Crazier ➳ Emison (COMPLETED)

55 - Turnout

"I hate tests. So, so much," Emily muttered miserably as she and Hanna walked in through the front doors of their school on a particularly gloomy Monday morning.

"I'm right there with you, Em. I don't even take French, and I'm nervous about the test you and Ali have," Hanna answered sympathetically, patting Emily's forearm in an attempt at comfort.

Emily smiled slightly despite herself, "Ali could get an A+ in French in her sleep, Han. She's the top of our class and our teacher adores her. Even if she didn't study ahead, which she did, she could still ace it. Is it possible to get an A++ in this school?"

"You're asking the wrong girl, Em," Hanna laughed in amusement.

Emily gave in and chuckled at her friend's comment. She silently disagreed with her, though. Hanna was secretly a genius, and who quite knew it as well as she did.

They walked together to their lockers and then each to her own first class of the day, the nerve-racking French test being held in the second period. Emily entered the chemistry lab with her spirit lifted slightly, but still looking beat down, at least enough for Toby to notice.

As soon as she set down next to him, he pulled out his phone to shoot a quick text, then turned to her. "Big French test today, huh?"

Emily sighed sadly, "Yeah. I've studied myself to a level that would put Spencer to shame."

The boy laughed a little, giving her a one-armed hug. "Well, then, what's the problem?"

The gears in Emily's head began to turn. She knew what the major problem was. She realized it late last night, and had obsessed herself with trying to sleep it off, but then at 2 AM, she realized her body wasn't cooperating with her, so she stayed up until 3:50 studying for this test. The problem was, that she did most of the studying with Alison, and as helpful as it was to have her girlfriend as her unofficial tutor, she would agree with the belief that when you study with your significant other, you're having a lot more trouble focusing on the studies when your whole attention is on them. That was exactly how she felt. Not at the time, of course, because back then it had seemed like a good idea to study with the blonde, but now, she could agree that she would've maybe understood the material a lot better if she wasn't busy staring dumbly at Alison the entire time.

She was so screwed.

"I'm just... really nervous. It's a big test, you know. Lots of material," she lied not-so-easily, then guiltily bit her lip at being untruthful to her best friend. Some kind of friend was she.

Toby eyed her suspiciously, and while his heart told him there was more to the story than what Emily was letting on, his brain told him he shouldn't be trying to dig the truth, he should be encouraging Emily and keeping her motivated. In the end, his brain won.

Their teacher started talking, so Toby turned to his notebook and scribbled down a note. He cleared his throat quietly, but loud enough for Emily to hear and have her attention drawn to him, then slid the notebook on the surface of their shared table. She looked down at his note.

You got this, Em. I know it's a big test, but I bet you know all of the material. You're gonna do great.

Emily was too ashamed to tell him that she, in fact, didn't know all of the material. She had been too invested in the way-too-short shorts that Alison had innocently decided to wear for their studying session and those sun-kissed legs underneath them. She gave him a tight-lipped smile that she hoped would look normal, and even though Toby thought it didn't, he didn't comment further, only gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned back to the front of the classroom.

XXXXX

The first time Alison saw Emily that morning was right before the second period.

She'd looked for the swimmer everywhere - the parking lot, the cafeteria, her locker, even the chemistry lab. She had left her messages but they were left unanswered. The text message she had received from Toby at the very beginning of the day didn't explain much, only mentioned that Emily had looked sad and nervous. Alison was panicking silently, agreeing that if she wouldn't see Emily in the French classroom, she would ditch the test and go looking for her. The brunette wouldn't approve of it, but Alison didn't care. Whether her girlfriend liked it or not, she was way more important to Alison than some stupid test. It wasn't even their biggest test of the year, the most influential one wasn't until the end of the second semester. Finally, after searching for most of the recess, she admitted defeat. She spotted a nearby girls' bathroom and decided she could at least freshen up.