I was running late to Emerson's class on this bright Monday morning, at this point in the semester I shouldn't be surprised and neither should Emerson. She used to call me out in front of the whole class but apparently, she grew tired of it because she went from calling me out to just giving me a cold stare. The only problem is that we have a quiz during the first ten minutes of the lecture, even though I'm doing pretty good in her class, with all of my tardiness I couldn't afford a zero on a quiz.
At least this time, my attire was pretty decent. No unicorn pajama pants for today. I looked at my phone to check the time, class started in five minutes and I was two minutes away from Fisher Hall. My phone buzzed and I didn't need to guess who was texting me this early in the morning, Stensby Miller. EVEREST GREEN WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? ARE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO FAIL EMERSON'S CLASS?
I instantly replied to my best friend's text. I'M TWO MINUTES AWAY. CALM DOWN.
I picked up my pace and I started walking up the stairs that lead to the auditorium. At the beginning of the semester I couldn't have run up these flights of stairs, I would've probably passed out in the process. Thank God for Coach's mandatory gym training. My athletic form has definitely upgraded.
Once I reached the end of the stairs I walked up to the door of the large auditorium and I peeked through the small glass window on the big red door in the quiet empty hallway. Prof. Emerson was handing out the quizzes on the first row. Perfect. Just in time. Emerson 0. Everest 1.
I slowly opened the door successfully without making a sound. Thankfully everyone was paying attention to Emerson and Emerson was way too concentrated on the pieces of paper that she was handing out to notice that I had just walked in. I speed walked towards Stensby and I's seat. Just like at the beginning of the semester, I spotted my six-foot-six brunette in our designated seats.
"Took you long enough," Stensby whispers to me as I take a seat next to him. I roll my eyes. "What happened this time?"
"My car is still in the shop remember?" I whisper back. "I forgot that I had to walk all the way over here."
"When did you figure that one out? When you were about to brush your hair?" Stensby says pointing towards my messy bun and I glare at him.
"My hair looks perfectly fine and you're one to talk," I reply. "You're not exactly an oil painting yourself."
Before Stensby could reply Emerson had reached our row and she was not happy. "Ms. Green, I'm not quite sure if you have noticed but the quiz has already started. You should be quiet but if whatever you were sharing with your friend was so important, please do share it with the rest of us."
Emerson hands me the piece of paper and I could feel the whole class staring at me. Emerson 1. Everest 0. "I think I'll pass."
Without even glancing at me again Emerson proceeds to hand out the piece of paper to the rest of the class. I started off by writing my name on the piece of paper and then I proceeded to read the five questions that were written down. I didn't prepare for today as much as I should've but there is no way I could fail. I don't enjoy hearing Emerson's voice but I do pay attention to what she says. It usually helps a lot.
First question. Who said the following quote: "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."? Easy. Simone de Beauvoir. Second Question. In the past two decades, what percentage of films pass the Bechdel test? The Bechdel test is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. I had no idea about this one so I went with 50%. Third question. Around x million women alive today were married as children. I remember Emerson mentioned it in class last week. 650 million was the correct answer to this one.
The last two questions were open answer ones so after a good five minutes I was done with the quiz. Stensby on the other hand left the last two questions blank. "How did you find the quiz?" Stensby asks.
"Easy," I replied cheekily. Stensby rolled his eyes.
"I don't know why I even bother asking you." He replies.
"All right students, now that everyone has handed in the quiz. We will proceed with today's lecture and it's one of my favorite topics of the semester." Emerson pauses. "But before we begin, for your benefit, I'm reminding you that there is only about a month and a half left of the semester. Instead of a final exam, you have to hand in your essay on the topic we had previously discussed."
"What does it mean to be a woman? Your essay has to be backed up with evidence. So I suggest you start working on it if you haven't already. Due dates are closer than they appear and since it costs 25% of your final grade, as much as I enjoy giving you class I don't want to see you in my auditorium for a second time." Emerson says as she opens the presentation for today's lecture.
"Now that we got that over with, let's kick off today's lecture." Emerson pauses. "This may be a little triggering since it has a lot to do with what has been happening lately during this past month but it is something that still needs to be discussed."
"Eradicating violence against women has been a global priority since 1992. Our discussion questions are the following. How does this violence manifest in practice? What are the causes?" Emerson stays silent for a second while she looks at us. "Before we answer these questions with the presentation, I want you to tell me. Why do you think education on violence against women is so important?"
I wanted to raise my hand. I had a few things I wanted to share. Connery was sitting in the second row with the boys. I took a glance at him and I thought if my answer would make things worse. But if we were being honest, they couldn't get much more worst than what they already were. So I raised my hand.
"Yes, Ms. Green. I had a feeling you might've wanted to share your thoughts with the class and me. Go ahead." Emerson says and all eyes were once again on me. Even Connery's. It has been quite some time since the last time he actually looked at me.
"I believe that violence stems from dishonor, not fear of education," I answer. "Education on the topic is so important because it's the way that we let others know what's not okay. No means no despite the language it is spoken in. We are the ones who have a say in what we do with our bodies not them. It is crucial because we as women have rights."
"We have the right to walk alone through campus at night without having to look over our shoulders. We have the right to wear a short skirt just because without having to worry if a boy at the party is going to take advantage of us. We have the right to say no if we don't want to. And our no, has to be accepted not taken as a green light that gives them permission to rape us."
I was looking at everyone dead in the eyes at this point. "I as a woman shouldn't have to walk around with a pepper spray or a taser attached to my keys or text my location to my best friend when I drive over to the grocery store. Because if you ask me that's not the land of the free we're supposed to be living in. A woman shouldn't have to know the weight she has been carrying once she feels freedom."
That was the first time I had ever seen something as much as a small grin on Emerson's face. For the remaining part of the lecture we discussed a few key terms for the lesson and we worked on a few case examples in pairs.
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Stensby asks as we walk out of Emerson's class.
I nod. "Kind of, why?"
"Peyton, Kelsea, and I were thinking of going out tonight. We don't have an exact idea of what it is, but you should come either way." Stensby replies. "And kind of? What could you possibly be doing on a Monday night besides drowning in your textbooks?"
"Sébastien and I were going to go out for coffee," I reply. "It's kind of a study thing." Everest, you sure do have a way with words. I think to myself.
"A study date you mean," Stensby says and I shake my head.
"It's anything but a date," I tell Stensby. "We're just friends."
"Your Instagram feed would say otherwise," Stensby says giving me a look. "You can't possibly tell me that nothing happened during the weekend in Arizona."
"Pictures are nothing but a highlight reel," I say as we walk past the Science building. "And nothing happened because we're both not interested."
"You're not interested you mean," Stensby says and I give him a confusing look. "Despite what has been happening lately you can't deny that you're still clinging onto a little bit of hope that things might turn around with Connery."
"You're right, I'm not interested," I admit. Sèbastien is the perfect guy, he has everything a girl could want but there's just one thing. He's not Connery. "And maybe I am, but we both know things aren't ever going to be the same."
"He understands you know," Stensby says. "He's just stubborn and a little too proud to admit it. He still cares, but he won't allow himself to show it. Give it time."
"I can understand," I tell Stensby. "But I'm not willing to sit around and wait for him to let go of his pride. I sat for two years, waiting for Kingston to come around. I won't put myself through that again, especially when I did nothing wrong. I'm not going to let my feelings cloud what I know I deserve."
Stensby took me out for lunch today and that gave us the chance to catch up on everything that has been going with Kelsea and him. I never thought I would see the day come when a girl would finally make my best friend give up his bachelor lifestyle, but I guess I was proved wrong.
After a whole day of classes and a little downtime in the library going over my notes for the Economics exam I had later this week, it was time to head to practice. The regular season is nearing its end, which meant that Coach Jennings was going to be crankier than usual. We have redeemed ourselves for the most part, but without that gold, nothing that we had achieved until that point mattered.
I walked into the pavilion, straight to the locker rooms to change into my swimsuit. Grandpa Willy gave me a little present this weekend, an ombré blue ultra back one piece. I had been eyeing it for a while, but food takes priority over a swimsuit any day. Aunt Claire must've mentioned it to him, he never misses any of my meets. Even though Grandpa Willy isn't very good with technology he bought himself a smartphone just so he could text me after every one.
Once I had my swimsuit on with my gear in hand I walked over to my lane. If you're wondering, yes, I'm still in the same lane as the boys. It didn't really matter as much as I thought it would. The boys stopped giving me the silent treatment (besides Connery of course) so it isn't as awkward anymore.
Coach walked out of his office and we all got in the water. "Listen up everybody, as you already know, the regular season is ending which means that we are closer than before from reaching our goal."
"That means only one thing, practice will be tougher than before, our goal is not completed until we hold that gold in our hands." Coach pauses as he looks at all of us. "Now, let's kick off practice with a 1,000-meter warm-up. Every 200 meters you change up the stroke."
Coach blows the whistle and Connery goes first. He's the fastest out of all of us so it's a no-brainer. I on the other hand was the last one, I didn't mind it though. Having the pressure of someone being on my toes was both stressful and irritating.
"Green, did you all of a sudden forget how to position your head as you pull your arms over the weekend?" Coach Jennings shouts and I swear that if looks could kill Coach would've been in the water by now.
"Nolan, your elbow is dropping on entry." Coach Jennings shouts once again. "You've been doing this for years now, concentrate on what you're doing. Aim deeper into the water rather than for the surface."
"Dant, you're recovering too early," Dant hates it when Coach shouts at him. He gets in the worst mood, which is kind of funny because O'Connor and Becker get on his nerves. "Flick the water into the air at the end of your stroke by your thigh to remember to finish."
After we were done with the warm-up, Coach came up with the brilliant idea to add pre-set into our practice from now on. For the pre-set we did 4X100 Freestyle at 1:20, 4X100 IM at 1:30, 2X100 Kick at 2:00, 4X50 Freestyle descend slowly to fast at :50, and finally 4X50 stroke of choice 1:30. We were pretty out of breath by the end of that pre-set, but unfortunately for us, that was just the beginning.
Between the pre-set, main set, and cool down we ended up swimming a good 5,300 meters. We were dead by the of it, literally. I picked up my things as quick as I could, just like I did every time and I headed to the locker room. I wrapped myself in a towel and I checked my phone to see if I had any messages from Sèbastien. I'm outside waiting in my car. He had texted a few minutes ago. I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll be out. I replied.
I took a quick shower and since I knew I was going to be going out with Sébastien I had packed an extra change of clothes before I left the apartment this morning. It was just a periwinkle sweater with a pair of jeans but it was better than wearing the same clothes I had on this morning. Once I was dressed, I grabbed my things and I headed out.
Sébastien's lips instantly curved into a smile once he saw me walk out. "Hey," I smile as I get in his car.
"Hey," Sébastien pauses. "How was practice today?"
"It was killer," I reply. "Coach did not come to play today."
"With the regular season-ending, I bet he didn't."
"I don't know how I'll have the energy to do homework after what I had to endure for the past two and a half hours," I tell Sébastien.
"Good thing we're going out for coffee then," Sébastien replies.
Sébastien and I ended up spending over three hours in the coffee shop drinking coffee, attempting to do homework, and having too many conversations. It was around nine when he dropped me off at my apartment, Peyton was spending the night with Dant tonight after going out with Stensby and Kelsea. She left me her car in case I needed to use it, though I'm not sure why. I wasn't planning on going anywhere but my very comfortable bed.
I was dropping down my bags on my bedroom floor when my phone started ringing. Who could possibly be calling me at this hour? O'Connor? That was strange.
"Hello," I answer.
"Everest, where are you?" O'Connor asks and I instantly was worried by the tone of his voice. There was something wrong.
"I'm in my apartment, why? Did something happen?"
"It's Connery, his dad came to see him after practice." Oh no. "He's a wreck Ev, he started to drink and ended up smashing almost everything in his room."
"Is he at the house?" I ask.
"No, he stormed off. I don't know where he is."
"I think I have a pretty good idea of where he might be."
His special place.
A/N
Hi guys! I'm so happy to be back with the regularly scheduled updates. I completed this semester which means Christmas break has started and I can take this time to focus on the book completely. Thank you so much for your support, we reached 8k and it's all because of you guys so thank you ð
I hope you enjoyed reading, I'll see you guys at the next one!