[COMPLETE]
Emerson Castell loves facts.
Enjoying the how and why of everything, she never fails to let her obsession seep into every aspect of her life, including her relationships - or lack thereof.
Leo Caruso is no stranger to a busy social life...
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The next few weeks seemed to flash before my eyes.
Between school, spring break, and a surprise family vacation to Florida, I'd had enough going on to get my mind off the big day that was looming, but it still nagged at the back of my mind any time I'd tried to relax. I thought back to last night as Kalani, Flynn, Leo, and I ate lunch outside on a large circular table near a pink cherry blossom tree. I felt the tremble of my hands against my keyboard all over again, the feeling of nearly throwing up my dinner from nerves, the rush of excitement as I opened the website and the decision popped before my eyes, the culmination of years of hard work and wishful dreaming.
"I still can't believe Emerson got into Brown and Dartmouth," Kalani announced, placing a hand over her heart. "I feel honored to be friends with such a smart human."
"Oh stop, you're going to make me blush," I replied, glancing down at the peanut butter jelly sandwich in my hands. The reality hadn't sunk in for me that I had gotten accepted until my family had showered me with congratulations. Then it'd really sunk in when Max was the first one to do so.
"Same," Flynn chimed, setting his bottle of coke down onto the table. "I mean on one hand we have someone going to an Ivy League, and I'll probably be struggling through community college."
"Oh shut up, Flynn," I replied, glaring at him. "You're a lot smarter than you make yourself out to be."
"But if it's any consolation," Kalani said, "my dad actually went to community college first, and now he works for the government. Granted, I'm not even allowed to know what he does, but it's gotta be something cool, right?"
"Definitely could imagine you as a CIA operative," Leo joked at Flynn, lips spreading into a smirk. Flynn threw a pretzel at his head, but Leo's reflexes let his hand reach out and pop it into his mouth in milliseconds. Flynn looked like he officially gave up at that point.
"Well, anyway, you deserve it," Kalani remarked to me, placing a hand on my arm. Turning to Leo, she asked, "Hey, did you know that in our sophomore year Emerson actually started a petition against one of the educational laws passed here, and it actually caught the governor's attention?" As Kalani began to brag about me to Leo, I placed my face in my hands, feeling my cheeks turn a fiery red. I didn't ever like talking about my accomplishments, which was why Leo knew almost none of them.
"How come you've never told me about any of these?" Leo asked, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. I glanced up at his brown eyes, glinting in the clear April sunlight.
"I don't really like being a walking resume, Leo," I replied. "Plus, I like to think there's more to me than what I do after school."
"Oh there definitely is," he said, giving me a quick kiss on the lips that had Kalani and Flynn cringing.
"Don't act like we didn't catch you two kissing after Kalani drilled her first into Franco's face," Leo snapped at them playfully. "Which, by the way, was my highlight of this entire semester. The dude had so much karma coming for him."
