A New Favorite (Alternate Branch)

Note:

Hi, I have been a big fan of Vox121's writing for a long while and I am so engrossed in this story that I thought I would attempt to add my own twist on events, so hopefully they approve this. I really enjoyed the different challenges given to Isaac by Emma so I figured I would try to write a few more before the relationship becomes more solidified. This branch might explore some more taboo aspects of the story with a few different characters and will feature a lot of stories rotating around Dungeons and Dragons. I am open to any and all criticisms pertaining to how I write so that I can improve.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next Monday, Isaac woke feeling like he had been ran over by a train, and then kicked in the stomach for good measure. He had just asked a girl who seemingly got off on his angst to be his girlfriend, to have even greater control of his already fraught emotions. His stomach was a tight knot that shifted with every thought as he got ready for school.

School consisted of Isaac drifting from class to class, absent-mindedly pretending to do work and absorbing nothing of what was happening around him. Emma ignored his text messages, no doubt mulling over what he had said to her. On one hand, he knew that he might've just lost her forever, but on the other. he knew that things could not have continued as they were, he cared for her too deeply for that, despite the disturbing nature of their relationship. It was these dark thoughts that flowed through his mind like leaves in a drain, clogging his brain with uncertainty. The day passed slowly, and in his final period, one teacher decided that he'd had enough of Isaac staring into space.

"Isaac!", Mr Poole roared, "I did not realise that I stapled today's problems to the ceiling, perhaps you could fetch me a ladder and I'll take them down, so that you do not have to strain your neck so much!"

Isaac snapped out of his contemplative state, of all his teachers, Poole was the one who Isaac would hate the most to displease.

Poole was an unusual figure to see in the role of a math teacher. He stood at six feet and eight inches, making him able to tower over even the tallest of Isaac's fellow students. What's more, despite him being fifty-four years of age, Poole had maintained a physique from his college football days; his muscles were accented by absurdly tight shirts that threatened to rip with every movement of his massive shoulders. Poole had been one of the most promising college quarterbacks of his era prior to a freak injury to his left knee, leaving a slight limp in his walk even more than thirty years later.

The muscular math teacher had developed a reputation for being one of the strictest teachers in the school, however his discipling was not without results - no student had ever failed while in Mr. Poole's math class. Poole had something of a soft spot for Isaac since he was the most gifted student in his class and never caused problems. However, he knew very well how easy it was for the most talented of teenagers to find themselves derailed and was determined not to allow such a fate to befall any of his students.

The teacher's outburst earnt Isaac a few glances but those quickly fell away, there wasn't a single student in the class who hadn't been caught day dreaming by Poole at least once, and his sarcastic outbursts were not a rare occurrence.

"My apologies sir, it won't happen again", Isaac quickly stated before diving into the worksheet's questions under the watchful stare of Poole.

Time passed quickly, and just as he was beginning to pull things out of his locker, his phone vibrated in his pocket with a message from Emma.

I am waiting for you in your room. I need to test how serious you really are.

Burdened by his thoughts in the morning, Isaac had opted to walk to school; a decision he now regretted immensely. He had never ran so fast in his entire life, even weighed down with his bags he still figured he had set a fast enough time to qualify for the Olympics.

When he finally reached his front door, his hair dripped with sweat like a marble water feature in a hotel and each time he breathed his lungs rattled like maraccas. Stumbling upstairs to his room, he found a post-it note on his door.

You were too late for all the fun, but don't worry I had my new favorite record everything so you wouldn't miss out. Check the google doc.

His breathing was still shaky, but now it was for an entirely different reason. His heart was a motor in his chest, going quicker and quicker and skipping beats as his vision blurred and changed color. His tired legs stumbled towards the computer and his fingers trembled as he logged in to see how Emma would change his life this time.