Only a little bragging

“I just got to spend some time with my girlfriend, why wouldn’t I be smiling?” you asked, not doing a good job of hiding the smile still on your face.

“Sure. And I wasn’t born yesterday you know. Come on, spill it” she urged, making your excitement seem dumb now that you had to reveal the reason.

“Well… we just got to have a kiss after class finished, we don’t usually get to do that at school…” you admitted, Sarah clicking her tongue at you when she knew you were telling her the true reason.

“Jealous?” you continued, seeing the opportunity to hide your own embarrassment at the expense of hers.

“Well yeah, it’s not like I can do that” Sarah grumbled, being more honest with you than you expected.

“You can kiss Emma whenever you want, you just might get a few more stares than me” you continued teasing.

“You knew I meant you not her” she shot back, rolling her eyes at you.

Sarah not being able to openly show some affection with you seemed to be a sticking point for her but it was something you didn’t want to risk even attempting knowing that the consequences were a lot heavier if you did anything openly with her.

“Trust me, as soon as we go to college and aren’t surrounded by people who know us or in a suburban town, we can act however we want. That might just sound like me taking a coward's way out for now but I genuinely mean it. The principal has some vendetta against me that…” you started to explain.

“You are trying to get with her daughter…” Sarah interrupted.

“Well she doesn’t know that and she’s already got a stick up her ass. How do you think she would react if she knew the truth. I’m just saying we only have less than 2 weeks left at school so as long as we can last until then…”

“And over summer break…” Sarah interrupted again.

“And summer, but then we’re home free. That does mean though that all three of us need to get good enough grades to actually make it to the same college” you finished rambling, getting to enough of a conclusion that got your point across.

You pulled out your own notes and then Emma’s much more detailed and readable ones, Sarah taking an interest in Emma’s a lot more than your own.

“Emma was kind enough to let us borrow these so we can get a head start on the study session in case we don’t get much done later” you explained, Sarah catching your meaning and not saying anything further.

Your focus with Sarah was better than it was when you had been with Emma, not having the Tuesday dinner on your mind and you also had to behave yourself without being able to stick close to your sister. You did focus on the subjects that Sarah thought she was doing the worst with and while it was only an hour, she seemed to grasp some of the concepts she had been struggling with and looked happier as a result.

The bell rang when you least expected it and you would have been happy to stay there with her for another hour if the both of you didn’t already have plans.

“We’re meeting at the school gate right?” Sarah asked, her bag on her shoulder as she got ready to leave.

“Yep. Just text or call me and we will come down to meet you as soon as we can” you replied, confirming what you had planned earlier in the day.

You had considered having Sarah come up to meet you in Rebecca’s office after she was done but you had no idea how long Rebecca was planning on staying before she wanted to leave, deciding it best to just all meet outside.

You finished packing up and watched Sarah leave as you waited at the bottom of the stairs for Emma, the crowds of people already thinning out as everyone rushed to leave the school. You couldn’t blame them given that it was a Friday and with everyone hoping to start the weekend as soon as possible, the school was gonna empty of both students and teachers quicker than usual.

Emma didn’t take long to appear along with another stream of classmates and they too left the building without even taking the time to look back at either of you.

“You ready?” You asked Emma, putting your foot on the first step while you waited for her to answer.

“Weirdly nervous again but nothing that waiting around will solve” she replied, joining you on the stairs.

She followed behind as you started to climb and after checking to make sure Emma wouldn’t have to deal with the principal coming or going from her office, you both arrived in front of Rebecca’s door.

“Give me a minute” Emma said just before you were about to knock, putting your arm back down while she did whatever she needed.

“Are you okay? We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to?” you asked, still unsure why she was having trouble.

“No it’s just… I haven’t felt any different since I took the level up this morning and I guess I’m just nervous to see what happens when we’re in the room with someone else” Emma explained, her hesitation starting to make sense.

“None of your passives so far have changed how interact with people and I don’t think that's going to start now. In the worst case though and I spot that you aren’t… let’s say being yourself, we can always take you back down to level 3 with the options I got from one of my perks. Nothing seems to be set in stone with that but I’m still staying cautious” you reassured, putting your hand on her shoulder before you pulled her in for a hug.

“Thanks” she replied, taking another deep breath while in your embrace before you let her go.

She still took a few extra seconds, but Emma reached out and went to open the door herself, pushing down on the handle and finding out the door was still locked.

You couldn’t help but giggle when her hesitation had all been wasted on the fact that Rebecca wasn’t even here yet, earning you an immediate shove that you very much deserved.

Once you calmed down though, you realised it had been a while since the bell had rang and with you and Emma talking at the door to the office for a minute or two, you would have expected Rebecca to have arrived by now if she hadn’t been caught up with something.

“Maybe she’s helping someone in class?” Emma suggested after you told her your thoughts, making you a bit anxious about where she could be.

You didn’t want to risk standing around in the corridor and have the principal show up but you also had the chance of running into her if you went to search for Rebecca, the choice making you pause for a second before you made your decision.