9 Chapter 9 (2/2)

”To win” Jessica says, ”you must sink all of the balls that belong to your team. Only after that, can you sink the 8 ball in. The first team to do that wins”.

”Oh, okay” Emma says, barely understanding.

”I'll help you out” Wyatt says. ”I haven't played much pool, but I can show you the basics”.

”So the teams are as follows” Aeris says, ”Wyatt and Emma are Team 1. Jackson and Jessica are Team 2”.

”Are you gonna be a ref or something?” Jessica asks.

”You don't need a ref for billiards” Aeris says as she sits down and pulls out a small book from her back pocket. ”I'm going to read”. She opens up her book, pushes her glasses up on her face, and begins reading.

As the game of billiards progress, Emma and Wyatt were winning. ”How'd Emma hit in two balls at once!?” Jessica asks in a panic. ”She sunk two stripes at once, and she's so new to the game!”.

”I actually... thought I was solids for a minute” Emma says, embarrassed. ”I forgot... this game is hard”.

”But you're doing so good” Wyatt says with a laugh. ”Trust me, you're good at this”.

”How are you getting beat by a newbie?” Jackson asks.

”You're on my team!” Jessica yells. ”And I can't line up my shot, because Emma is making me nervous. When she inspects my shots like that, it makes me nervous”.

”I'm just curious on how to play” Emma says.

Emma misses the next shot, and now it's Jackson's turn. ”I've got this” Jackson assured. ”I'll secure our victory!”. Jackson sinks in one solid ball, but also the cue ball and loses his next turn.

”Way to turn the tides, soldier” Jessica says sarcastically.

”Hey!” Jackson says, ”at least I did something”.

”Well, now they're gonna win” Jessica says. ”They only have one stripe ball and the 8 ball left to sink...”.

”Oh please, it's Wyatt's turn” Jackson says. ”I'm sure he's too clueless to know how to put balls in holes”. Without looking up, and while holding her book and continuing to read, Aeris took out her notebook and marked down yet another tally. ”Are you kidding me!?” Jackson asks. ”I don't ever get a break, do I!?”. Aeris shakes her head in disappointment as she continues to read. Suddenly, the sounds of a billiards ball sinking into a hole was heard. When Jackson looks back up, the striped ball was gone and Wyatt was aiming at the 8 ball. ”... Shit” Jackson says.

Jackson and Jessica lost that game and demanded a rematch, only to lose again. After their next game, they leave. Emma and Wyatt felt triumphant, but Jackson and Jessica felt depressed over their loss. They move onto things like an arcade and stuff together, while discussing things about school. ”So you guys have dorms, right?” Aeris asks.

”Yeah” Jackson says. ”There was apparently more women than men that attended school this year, and a shortage of people occupying the boy's dorms”.

”Oh yeah” Wyatt adds, ”my dorm is empty too because of that. I'm the only one in that room”.

”... Lucky” Jackson says.

”There wasn't enough space for me to get a dorm this year” Aeris says.

”Me either” Emma says.

”The girl's dorms was filled or reserved already” Aeris says. Aeris then thinks to herself ”They gave all the humans the dorms first, and prioritized them over the laibah students. At least, I know that much, but I can't tell them that. Then Wyatt would probably know...”.

”A-ah, but it's fine” Emma says.

”Oh... yeah” Aeris says, ”I do live outside of the city, but it's not a big hassle to get here, so... I'm not worried about it”.

”Count yourselves lucky” Jackson says, ”my roommate is loud and obnoxious”.

”Same here” Jessica replies. ”I'd rather be alone”.

Eventually, night draws over the day and the group of friends decide to call it a day. As everyone begins to go their separate ways, Aeris pulls Emma to the side to speak privately. ”So... have you decided?” Aeris asks quietly.

”N-no, I haven't” Emma says.

”Ah, well” Aeris says, ”there's no need to rush things. I'm sure you'll have your answer in due time, so don't worry so much”.

”All I ever do is worry” Emma says as she laughs. Aeris and Emma laugh together for a short second, then Emma says ”Thanks, Aeris”.

”It's no problem” Aeris says. ”Take care of yourself” and then Aeris walks away.

Wyatt and Emma go back to the dorms together, after waiting for Jackson to get far enough ahead of them. Wyatt didn't want Jackson figuring out that he was keeping Emma in his dorm. When the two of them arrive in the dorm, Emma asks ”Are you sure it's fair for me to stay here in your dorm?”.

”No one else is using this space” Wyatt says, ”and I won't let you just be homeless again. What really isn't fair is being homeless, and I'm not letting you go through that again”.

”B-but” Emma begins to say, ”what about the others?”.

”I don't know” Wyatt says. ”I'd like to find some way to help them, but right now, you need that help more”. Emma looks down at her feet in silence. ”Look, Emma” Wyatt says, ”I'm sorry if it sounds selfish, but... I don't want to see you go through that again”.

Emma nods her head and says ”I know... I just can't help feeling bad about it”. Wyatt was silent, and Emma continued saying ”You're always helping... and I don't feel like I've done enough to help anyone else. I don't feel like I deserve all of this”.

Wyatt sighs and then says ”When I first left my home town, I was excited to leave... soon after, however, I realized how hard it'll be without having someone I can call a friend. But then you came, and suddenly, life got easier... yet, it also got harder”. Emma thinks to herself as Wyatt spoke. What he said usually wouldn't make much sense, but she could at least somewhat understand what he meant. ”I want to help you, because it's something I wanted to do” Wyatt says, ”not because I have to. No matter what kind of person you are, you're still very close to me, and I always appreciate that. Trust me, you've done more for me than you realize”.

Emma nods her head and begins to say ”I-I feel-” but then she pauses. ”I understand, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was unappreciative... but you mean... I-I mean... you're like...” Emma sighs and says ”what I mean is, I can't thank you enough. I'll make sure to find someway to let you know how much it means to me, but in the meantime, please don't think I don't appreciate you... I'm just having... troubles trying to find a way to show it”.

Wyatt laughs and says ”Don't worry, I know that feeling all too well”.

Wyatt and Emma go to sleep and the next day soon arrives. It was now Sunday, September 1st, 2019. That day, Emma and Wyatt went to the fabric store together. Emma picks out some cloth and thread, and Wyatt helps pay for it. Emma used up all the money Matilda gave her, even though Wyatt insisted he could cover the cost by himself. Emma refused to leave the entire cost to Wyatt, as she wanted to help at least a little bit. After that, they grab more food from a general store nearby and head back. They spent the rest of the day at the dorm. Emma immediately went back to working on stitching, and Wyatt either relaxed or watched Emma work in amazement. Emma's speed and precision was beyond human, disregarding the fact that she herself isn't human. They traded stories of their high school days as Emma worked. They came to realize that both of them had similar experiences in high school. Both always kept up with their grades and had very few friends. Friends, that left them behind without hesitation. However, Emma left out the part about being laibah, including what happened to her parents and being left at a dump site. By the end of the night, they felt a little bit closer and more comfortable with each other. As the night grew late, they prepared for sleep, as the next day was a school day.

As Emma slept, she began to remember more words her mother told her, before she passed. ”Emma” Jasmine tells her, ”the most in life is created, not necessarily earned”.

”How, mom?” Emma asks.

”Opportunity seldom shows itself” Jasmine says. ”Most of the time, opportunity needs to be created, not found. However, you don't have to work hard to be the type of person everyone wishes to see. Strife comes often in life, usually to motivate people to work hard on improving themselves. You don't have to create strife to keep improving though, you only need to be the person that you're comfortable with being. If people don't want to accept you after your long journey in life, then that's their loss”.

”I don't... get it, mama” Emma says.

”You'll get it when the time is right” Jasmine says. ”Until then, just be patient. Don't drive yourself to be everyone else's role model, if you can't first lead yourself”.