Chapter 12

‘Why is White Boy sitting over at the Hotties table?’ asked Shah, nodding over to Tom on the soccer team’s table. She dumped her food tray next to Emma’s and slid into her seat. Emma tiredly continued to spoon through her sloppy pudding cup.

‘We sort of had a fight,’ she sighed

‘Was he all moody for you getting some booty? ‘Cause dayum you know he had his chance I mean you hit puberty at like what? Thirte-. Uh Eric! Hi. Hello.’

Emma jerked her head up, the impact knocking over her chocolate pudding. If Eric Carter wasn’t standing across her table she would have probably noticed it all over her hands.

‘Hi Shamiqua,’ he said and smiled. He turned his attention to Emma. ‘Emma, do you have the homework Miss Jones set for us?’

‘Um. No, sorry,’ she replied and went back to her pudding…which she just realised was spilled over the table.

Eric stared at her as if he was waiting for her to say something more and when she didn’t, he turned around and went back to his usual table by the window with Tom and the other soccer players.  Shah shook her head in disappointment once he left.

‘Sister, that was cold,’

‘What are you talking about? I said sorry didn’t I?’

 ‘I don’t know how you could brush him over your shoulder like that.’ Shah fanned herself. ‘He’s the only white boy that can make me talk funny like I forget what I’m saying.’

‘What are you talking about? He was just asking me a simple question.’

‘Everyone knows you don’t give a damn about environmental science. He obviously wanted you to make a move. Real talk, what’s wrong with chu girl?’

She’d been avoiding Eric ever since the party incident where she probably drooled onto his car seat. One look at him was a reminder of the humiliation she experienced that night where he must have thought she was the biggest drunken loser in the history of drunken losers. She wiped off the chocolate pudding with a serviette and flicked it onto her tray.

‘Hey Shah I gotta go and er, set up early for class. See you at later in math.’

‘Don’t you go changing the subject. Tell me what happened at the party! Hey no don’t you walk away from me girl!’ She called after Emma.

*

‘Wilkinson, what are you doing here?’ asked Damon, sitting with Tom on the table. Tom whose arm was draped around his new found beau, Lacey, shrugged.

‘Geez Damo can’t a guy hang out with his mates every once in a while with his chick?’ Tom winced at how that sentence had sounded. He wasn't very good at this guy-talk thing. 

Damon turned around to look at Emma spooning her pudding at the other table. ‘What’d you do this time?’

‘Who says it has to be my fault?’

 ‘I never realised until now but Emma ain’t that bad. Did you see her at my party last night? Mmm. I’d do her.’

‘You’d do anything that moves and doesn’t have chest hair,’ joked Russell. 

 ‘Lay off it Damon. Don’t talk about Emma like that,’ the voice behind him snapped. It was Eric, who had just come from Emma’s table where he figured she was still avoiding him for some mysterious reason.

Tom laughed. ‘As if she’d even let you come within 2 feet of her,’ he said. Damon frowned.

Eric looked at his watch ‘Yeah I have a biology experiment to set up. Just came to tell you guys that practice is cancelled tonight. Coach is sick and they just planted some grass seeds on our oval or something. Catch you guys later,’ he said and left.

Lacey yawned and rested her head on Tom’s shoulder. ‘Tom-Tom, can we go? I’m bored.’ She whispered something into his ear, inaudible to everyone else sitting on the table.

Tom’s eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. ‘Alright fellers, see you later,’ he said and left the cafeteria with Lacey.

As soon as he left one of the boys leaned in closer.

‘So, is the bet still on?’ he said discretely

Damon smirked. ‘Please, you guys will be handing over the cash me by the end of the month.’

‘I’m not so sure man, Carter’s a pretty smooth operator,’

‘Write this in ink if you have to: Emma Matthews will be mine before Carter gets his hands on her.’