Rachel

1

January 19, 2017

I hate school.

I'm not smart at all. My entire life I've been behind in school, performing at C and D levels. The highest grade I've ever gotten was a B-, and that was in PE. Sure, there are other people who are worse than me and some that are about the same, but the rest of the school is really smart.

That includes all my friends. I'm the dumb one in the group and it sucks. My best friend Rachel is a little less math-crazy than the rest of them, but she still gets better grades than me.

By now, after 11 years of getting test grades back and seeing a grade always less than 70%, I'm used to it. My newest fail is our latest science test. A tiny 49% written in bright red ink stares at me, scolding me. It's telling me I should have tried harder. I put it face down and twirl my pencil.

Rachel approaches me after class. "What did you get?" I ask her.

"78%. That test was hard."

I smile. I wasn't the only one that thought it was hard, but she still managed to pass. I, on the other hand, am going to get another lecture from my parents about trying harder when I get home.

"Did you pass?" Rachel never asks me my exact grade, which I'm thankful for. I give a tiny shake of my head, and Rachel squeezes my shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'd ask if you wanted to come to my place, but..."

Rachel has a pretty sucky life too. Her mom never remarried after Rachel's biological father abandoned them, and anyone could tell she was too lonely. She takes out her sadness in the form of anger at Rachel. Rachel avoids her house as much as possible and goes her friends' places when she doesn't want to spend the night.

"Hey, I have a confession to make."

That surprises me. She has always told me everything, and she knows I never judge her, but something in her tone makes me think that this time is different.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I kinda maybe sorta have a boyfriend."

I raise my eyebrows. This wasn't what I was expecting, but in a good way. "Rachel, that's great! Why were you so nervous? Tell me everything. Name, hair color, hotness level, personality, does he go to his school?"

Rachel laughs. "Um, his name is Edward, but everyone calls him Eddy, he has brown hair, he's hot in the 'tall, dark and handsome' way, and he's really romantic and outgoing. He doesn't go here, I don't actually know where he goes, but I'll have to ask him that."

I give her a hug. This Eddy guy sounds great, and this is exactly what she needs: a distraction.

"But Emily..."

"Yeah?"

"I haven't been telling you the whole truth... we've been dating for five months now."

Now I know why she was nervous. "Rachel... why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

She fidgets with her hair. "Well, I didn't want you to be angry, I guess... he's older than me."

"By how much?"

She bites her lip. "Um, well, he's 20."

I sigh. This could be disastrous. "Look, I'll support you, but you have to end things if anything happens. Promise?"

Rachel smiles and takes my hand. "Promise."