Chapter 3 Scard

" What's up, Layla? " Emma said as soon as he stops in front, sitting down.

I tried to smile, the same fake smile I gave him every night and replied " great. Here for a drink? " I asked the same question again. I'm really getting good at this.

" Um. . . . . . No " he replied awkwardly " I actually came to see you "

I breathed sharply.

Emma had been to high school severally. What I meant was that he wasn't the brightest student any school could have and for that reason he was always getting transferred to schools and each time, the school asked him to repeat a class. He looked bigger than a couple of the boys who attended our schools, due to his regular work outs of course and he was also older. Just a little bit. But he always managed to walk his way up to the popular rich kid ladder at every school he went, everytime.

I guess he managed to climb up the ladder to my heart. I heard myself scoff inside. I wished I could tell him to stay out of my life for good sometimes. But I just couldn't. Even though he was with Bridgette now, seeing him everyday, talking with me made me feel better sometimes.

" Hey Maddy " he said to Maddy.

" Hey, Emma! So good to see you! What are you doing here! "

I scoffed. Typical Maddy.

She didn't let him reply before throwing another question " aren't you supposed to be out of town already? "

Emma had told me that after graduation he'd be leaving for Tokyo. He hadn't told me exactly when but I knew that was what came right after graduation. But he did tell me he was going to stay for a while with me before going. I guess there's no reason for him to stay any longer now. He'd told me that while in Tokyo, when he gets accepted into the New York university, he'd call to tell me. And when I get accepted too, we'd meet in New York. Together. Well, shits happened and I wasn't able to write an entrance exam for the university and there were no scholarships available then. I didn't tell him this though. Now I'm glad I never wrote the exam. Asides from not seeing him everyday, my parents couldn't afford it. I'd just wait on a scholarship. Hopefully, one comes my way soon.

" Yeah, I'm planning on. . . . "

I turned my back on them and arranged the glasses on its shelf. I walked through the back door and entered into the bathroom where I fetched my bag and took out my red hoody. I knew it was really cold outside. Walking back out, I came across the manager's office. He saw me through the glass door and I waved him good night. He returns it with an unpleasant groan which didn't really bother me. What bothered me was the fact that I had to wait for another nineteen days before getting my pay check for this month. It was agonizing, really.

I saw Emma and Maddy still talking at the bar table.

" Maddy? Going? " I called, causing them to look at me. Maddy quickly grabs her bag which had been standing by since the last two hours and hurried over to me.

" Hey, " Emma called as I tried to walk out through the door " can I have a minute? "

I wanted to talk to him but I couldn't risk that, so I replied " I'm sorry, it's getting really late "

" I'll see you at home tomorrow then, Maddy told me you're on evening shifts now " he said.

I nodded, before practically running out of the place. Maddy joined me and we walked together till we got to the bus stop. After a while, our bus arrived. Throughout the ride home, I couldn't stop thinking.

" How are you holding up, Layla? " Maddy breaks the silence that had built up since the bus dropped us off and we took the sidewalk that led to my house.

I knew what she was asking. " I'm fine, Maddy. I just need a long rest "

" Maybe we can go eat some place tomorrow? Before my shift " she said, her attempt to cheer me up. Soon I saw my house coming into view.

" Okay. "

Maybe we could finally get some time to talk about normal stuffs. Like how her application to the state's university was going. I knew admissions didn't start until the fall of next year but I wanted to know everything. Would be great to feel the fears they felt now, the agitation of getting picked by your dream school.

Maddy waves me good night as we got to the front of my house before crossing the street, her house a few blocks away. I cornered into our driveway, too distracted by my talk with Maddy earlier to notice the black SUV car parked right in front. I didn't know if we were expecting a visitor that I wasn't told about but I knew it was very unlikely to have such a car parked in front of our house.

I proceeded up the porch, pushed the door open and removing my sneakers like I always did and proceeding further into the living room with my socks on. The first thing I noticed was that my parents were oddly seated on the couch, their faces trained on the wall in front of them, as if they were completely unaware of my presence. I walked to their front to discover the horrified look on their faces, the kind of faces you'd see on someone who had a gun pointed at the back of their heads. The look that told me to run. . . .