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chapter sixteen: the great war

some jesse content because i'm pissed that he wasn't in d3. also connie and julie are SO PRETTY. 

tw(s): fighting/arguing with an uncomfortable amount of emphasis on financial/social status

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

"SO HOW ARE you? How's cake-eater school treatin' you?" Jesse asks, his voice muffled from his cheek against the receiver of his landline phone.

"Oh, you know, it's good, I'm good," Emma says, crossing her legs on her bed. She tugs at the arm of her fun-sized polar bear, Junior Mint.

"How's good ol' loverboy Spazway?" Jesse inquires.

"Oh, um...good. Yeah, he's fine."

"You don't seem too sure. Somethin' happen?"

"It's just...he's acting really weird. We got this new coach, right? Coach Orion. And he's kind of tough on Charlie, but to be fair, Charlie's got some real attitude lately."

"From Spazyway to Sassway, nice!" Jesse exclaims, laughing.

"Oh, trust me. Not nice. At all. He had an incident where he lost our game by trying to prove his point to Orion that he deserved to be captain, since Orion revoked his status. Refusing to pass it, trying to win it on his own, all that."

"The coach revoked his status? That sent him over the edge, didn't it?"

"Oh, boy, yeah. And now he's being a jerk to his mom, to me, and to the team. We had a big group argument in the locker room after that game."

"Damn, and to think I missed that."

"Yeah, you should have accepted the scholarship. We miss you," Emma sighs, leaning back onto her pillow.

"Yeah, well, Terry wasn't in the Goodwill Games, so he didn't get a scholarship. I can't leave my little brother, man. Freshman year is kicking his ass already as it is."

"Yeah, I know. Tell Ter I miss him, too, okay? I gotta go to bed."

"Alright, I will. 'Night, Em."

"'Night, Jesse."

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

"Hey, congrats on the Blake game," Rick says, approaching the table.

The whole Varsity team trails behind Rick, except for Jude, who is still in the lunch line, making conversation with a lunch lady who looks completely done with life.

"Yeah, right. We tied," Charlie says, chewing on his sandwich.

And whose fault is that?

"Hey, a point's a point. You're all Warriors now. You guys proved your guts," Rick says.

Emma narrows her eyes in suspicion. She has to give it to them, they could have fooled most, with their whole You guys proved your guts thing. But she isn't fooled. What are you up to, Richard Riley?

Emma sends a questioning look to Adam, who just shrugs like, Yeah, he's legit.

"You all set for dinner Friday?" Rick asks.

"Dinner?" Russ repeats.

"Well, it's an Eden Hall tradition. Varsity's got to treat J.V. to dinner. So, round up your posse and meet us at...six at the Minnesota Club, downtown. Anybody need a ride, we can take you. I mean, you guys do like steak and seafood, right?"

"Psh, yeah, we do," Charlie says.

"Look, I don't like you pukes, alright? But, this is a tradition. At Eden Hall, I learned to care about tradition."

"Sweet," Julie says.

"Oh, come on, guys. They are so full of shit," Emma says, like it's obvious. "Sure, Cole's whole I don't like you pukes, but tradition, blah, blah, blah, was kind of convincing. But suddenly Rick's offering us food and rides? I don't buy his Good Samaritan act."

"It's cool," Adam confirms.

"Oh, it's cool."

Julie shrugs, like, Okay, as if she didn't try to turn his stuff into icicles earlier. 

Emma has her suspicions. Murder? Poisoning? Stabbing to death with a crab leg? All of the above?

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

"Miss Emma Hart, it is a pleasure to have you again," a man tells her at the door, bowing.

"Thanks, Mike. It's nice to see you again. How are the kids?"

"Oh, they're just fine. The new baby is driving Martha crazy. May I take your coat?"

"Sure, thank you," Emma says, smiling.

"You've been here before?" Julie asks, looking around in awe.

"Yeah, my mom's a regular, so some of the staff, like Mike, recognize me," Emma says, taking a seat.

"Filthy rich," Dean says into his fist, disguising it as a cough.

The table is lined with a cloth and identical bouquets of flowers. Emma is wearing a knee length red silk dress, with her hair done up in a pearl claw clip and some pins that poke into her scalp. She doesn't dare look at Charlie; she'd rather chat with Connie and Guy.

"Connie, you look absolutely beautiful!" Emma squeals, adjusting a loose strand of hair in Connie's bun.

"Aw, Emma, you're too sweet. You look beautiful, too. I love that dress," Connie says.

"And I guess I'm just chopped liver," Guy says, staring at his plate.

"Waiter, I've got too many forks," Dwayne says, holding up a handful. "I only need one. I don't...y'all, I just, what's this little bitty one?"

Emma bites back a smile. "That's the cake fork, Dwayne."

"The cake fork? Why would you need a different fork?" Averman pipes up, holding up his own cake fork.

"Don't ask me, Ave. I don't make the rules," Emma says, shrugging.

"Hey, Julie! Want this extra piece of prime rib?" Goldberg offers, spearing it with his fork. He's using the wrong fork, Emma notices.

Julie elbows him in the arm.

"Look, I'm just trying to help you."

"I want it!" Emma says, holding her plate across the table.

Goldberg rolls his eyes and shoves her plate away. "Yeah, right. Get your plate out of my face."

There is a clinking of metal against glass. Rick stands up.

"Oh behalf of the Eden Hall Warrior Varsity State Champion hockey team, I'd like to welcome the future state champs, the Eden Hall J.V. team. Here, here."

"Here, here," Emma repeats. But she's reserved. As she said before, inviting them to dinner for the purpose of keeping tradition is one thing, but Rick is being sickeningly nice all of a sudden.

Emma taps her glass to Connie's and leans in.

"This is kind of weird, right?" Connie whispers, furrowing her brows and glancing across the table.

"Isn't it?" Emma frowns, taking a sip of her apple cider.

"We're just glad you loaned us Banskie so we'd have a chance to beat you guys in the annual J.V.-Varsity showdown. Now, nobody move. We've got one last surprise."

They leave, and Emma's leg bounces up and down. Something isn't right, something isn't right.

"Guys, I don't want to spoil anything, but I heard something in the bathroom. It's a cake," Guy says. "Act surprised, alright?"

"I don't know, Guy, I don't have a good feeling about this," Emma says, putting a hand over her stomach. It's a habit when she feels paranoid.

"Thanks for dinner, losers," Goldberg reads aloud.

Charlie slowly takes the check.

"Eight hundred and fifty seven dollars."

Murmurs go around the table.

"Shoot, I forgot to bring cash," Emma says, feeling the pockets of her dress.

"Oh, well, that's just great," Charlie says, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, and, what the hell's that supposed to mean?" Connie says, standing up.

"It's just, she's got money, and-" Charlie starts.

Emma scoffs in disbelief. She can't believe she's hearing this from him right now. What happened to the Charlie who showed up at her window almost every night with a bucket of popcorn and a movie he rented? What happened to the Charlie who read over her shoulder at the park, pretending he understood the plot of the book?

"Oh, she, she, she. Charlie, I'm right here. Turn around, and say it to my face!" Emma yells, slamming her napkin on the table.

The whole room is silent. Averman shares a look with Goldberg and Guy.

"Well, you've got money, and the one time we need-"

Emma laughs. "No, stop right there! You're saying that if I had money right this instant, you'd be using me as your little ATM dispensary thing? Like it's my purpose in life to serve you. Like, wow, the one time we actually want to use her money, she doesn't have it? Fuck her, then! Well, I'm sorry if I'm not of use to you, Charlie," Emma spits. She turns to a white haired man who is standing behind the cake with wide eyes. She smooths her hair back and attempts to gain control of her emotions. "Um, Frankie, is it okay if you give my mom a call and ask her if she can just put it on her card?"

"Yes, miss. Very well, miss," Frankie says, bowing.

"Thank you, Frankie. I appreciate it. Tell her I said to tip you. I just can't be here anymore," Emma says.

"Uh, thanks," Charlie says, fiddling with his tie.

Emma turns on her heel, poking him in the chest. "You've got some nerve, Charlie Conway," she says through gritted teeth. Tears well up in her eyes and blur her vision. "Thinking I did this for you. I did this because I want to leave."

Julie takes Emma's coat from Mike, who is standing at the foot of the room, and puts it around Emma's shoulders protectively.

"You've been a jerk to me, to our team, just, to everyone. And I can't wait to see it catch up with you," Emma says, buttoning up her coat.

"Wait..are you breaking up with me?"

"Ha! Took you long enough to figure that out. You need to sort yourself out, and I'm sick of being your punching bag while you do it."

Emma walks out of the restaurant, her heels clicking against the hardwood floorboards. Charlie puts his head in his hands.

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

CLARA'S CORNER

i've been saying j.v. instead of freshmen, because i'm thinking that they're fifteen years old in this. like sophomores, maybe.

did you guys catch the tsitp reference?

i usually like it better when the breakup argument is a bit complicated, like the guy wasn't outright mean, because then it makes it easier to want them back together. but i just couldn't help myself. the little jab about her money unfortunately seemed SO MUCH like something charlie would say if he was angry.

hopefully his apology is enough to patch her broken wings. he's only fifteen, he doesn't know anything, except that he's DAMN SON OF A-

byeee.