The Surprise

After avoiding an awkward conversation that was brewing, Emma had shocked Lily with a small surprise.

"What? Really? I can return back to school and finally be free from this bed?" She asked in shock.

Emma nodded happily. She had successfully changed the topic without Lily noticing.

"Yeah. I've talked to the nurse, and she said that you've recovered enough to be discharged, though you still have to be careful and not engage in any too exerting activities," Emma said.

Lily grinned before her expression turned sour.

"Wait. What about Courtney and her lady-in-waiting Winnie?" She asked.

Emma sighed.

"Courtney's as annoying as ever. But you get used to her being a spoiled brat after quite a while," Emma said as she shrugged, trying to act as calm as possible.

Too bad for her, it didn't work, as Lily already had a feeling something was up.

Taking in how Emma seemed tense and fidgety, she asked curiously.

"Em. Something you want to tell me? It seems like you're hiding something from me," Lily said as she looked at her best friend for answers.

Even with the words stuck in her throat, Emma forced herself to speak and share her worries.

"Lily. As much as I tell myself not to worry, we can't simply place this aside that you were poisoned," Emma said nervously.

"You're going to have to be more careful. Lil, if I was the main target, and you took the hit for me this time, who knows what this perpetrator might do next. I can't let you get hurt because of me, or on my behalf. If you had never gone here, you wouldn't have had to be stuck in a bed, or require a ventilator to breathe either," Emma reasoned.

Lily sighed. So that was what Emma was thinking about. She was guilty.

"Emma. You know I don't blame you for ending up here. And if I could choose, I'd take the hit for you anytime. We're best friends, and that's what we best friends do. Point is, I'm fine now. I'm alive and kicking. So you don't have to be worried," she said as she tried to comfort her best friend. Emma pouted, but she read the room and gave in. Any more deprecation, and it'd be a weep fest.

Emma sighed but understood that she would get nowhere if she had argued with Lily, thanks to Lily's stubbornness.

"Fine. But remember to be careful and more cautious, okay?" Emma reminded her.

Lily rolled her eyes and laughed softly.

"Okay, mom."

Classes had ended that day, and since Lily was excused from school till she was fully recovered, and Emma had already finished her only task that was the assignment she had done with James, they decided to head back to their dorm.

"Why does it smell heavily like..."

Lily sniffed the air around her.

"Wine?" Lily asked as she and Emma walked through the frame of their dorm's door.

"Courtney," Emma responded, the one word she said answering all of Lily's questions.

Lily nodded.

"Ah."

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Lily asked curiously.

"Want to head to the swimming pool?" She continued to ask.

Emma looked at her disapprovingly.

"Lily. You can't exert yourself too much. And anyway, you've missed out on much during your stay at the clinic, so you're going to have to catch up," Emma announced, as Lily let out a small groan.

"Do we really have to do that now?" She whined, even though she knew Emma was right.

Emma pursed her lips.

"Lil, I'll help you. It won't be for too long," Emma coaxed.

Lily sighed.

"Okay. Fine," she said as she took the untouched books from the nearby table it was originally placed on. She had a lot of the subjects she had to catch up on.

She walked to the study room, books in hand as she pouted in defeat.

Emma followed, helping carry some of Lily's books as she took a seat beside Lily.

That was when Lily's impromptu tutoring session began.

Even if Emma hadn't grown up with proper education, she knew what most educated students didn't. All her hard work that had gone to her studies during her free time had led her to be an adversary to the smartest of the smart. It also helped that James was an esteemed student too.

It was a given that she was an amazing teacher, and her best friend, who, like Emma, had mainly been taught by her parents on what they knew, wasn't too surprised at her best friend's knack for teaching.

Hours later, after Lily's tutoring session which seemed to have lasted for forever, the two girls were freshened up, and laying on their bedroom's humongous king-sized bed, exhausted from their previous activities.

"Emma, for what reason are you still attending ZALE if you already have enough knowledge to outsmart each teacher that works here? It seems like you've learnt more in a few days than most have in decades," Lily asked.

Emma turned to face her best friend with the last remaining energy she had.

"Lil, there's still so much I have to learn. About etiquette, about the views of the world, there's so much to learn, and I barely scratched the surface of it all," Emma said as she slowly and slowly fell victim to the soft cloud-like pillows luring her to sleep.

She tucked herself under the white comforter on one side of the bed before she exchanged good nights with Lily, who decided to stay awake and do some late-night show binging. While Emma loved studying and making up for all the lost time she could've used to gain more knowledge, Lily was quite the opposite. She was the type of girl who did rebellious things, be it staying up late to watch shows, or hanging out with friends, which she hadn't been able to do her whole life.

"Well, sweet dreams, Em. I'll be outside, binging shows to my heart's content," Lily greeted as she quietly made her way out of the bedroom and into the living room in her fluffy slippers.

"Night, Lil," Emma muttered in response as her eyes drooped to a close. And with that, she drifted off to sleep.