The summer season had begun to increase its effect. Emma, who regularly commuted to the restaurant every day, had long since gotten over the effects of that strange incident she experienced with Mr. Johnson. Yes, she no longer looked at him as if he were a strange creature, but the old feelings of admiration were gone too. Every day was now the same for her (except for the constantly rising temperatures). She and her friend Joe ran the restaurant until the evening, and in the evenings they spent time together. Of course, there was also Max, Joe's boyfriend, one of the coolest guys in town. He had once adorned Emma's dreams as well, but those fleeting feelings were left behind; Max was now just a brother to her, nothing more.
On a July evening that wasn't very cool even from the morning, Emma and Joe closed the restaurant together again and set off, this time toward Emma's house. Normally, hanging out at Joe's was more advantageous for both of them because fierce arguments didn't disturb the peace of these two girls. But tonight Emma's house was empty, and a change might be good.
From the very first moment she left the restaurant, Emma had been thinking about the possibility of seeing Mr. Johnson. After their last interaction, she had seen very little of him, and her crush on him had long since vanished, but it still felt weird to use the graveyard road. Joe, either because she understood what Emma was feeling or just to tease her, joked, "Hey, are you excited to see your guy? I can't wait to watch the romance blossom with Mr. Graveyard Worker." Although Emma was annoyed by this, she probably wouldn't let Joe know she was annoyed.
-Emma: Look at you. How the thought of seeing Mr. Johnson excites you despite Max. Hide your feelings, ma'am.
-Joe: I'm the one having romantic moments with him anyway (laughing). Anyway, would it be okay with you if Max came over tonight?
-Emma: Sure, no problem. But please, don't make out in the open. I also can't explain it to my family.
Joe laughed and said, "You never know," and they continued walking down the road, keeping up their conversation. While Joe was complaining about the road, Emma's heart was beating at a higher speed, probably because she was going to see Mr. Johnson again. After the last few meters, there he was. Mr. Johnson stood like a giant statue in front of the setting sun behind him. His eyes were locked directly on Emma. That creepy old self was there as usual.
Until Joe whispered to Emma, Emma continued to feel Mr. Johnson's pull. Joe asked Emma, "He won't attack us, will he?" with the lowest audible sound frequency. Emma immediately broke free from Mr. Johnson's pull at that moment and said, "The guy is a good person, Joe. Keep walking." After a few seconds of viewing the graveyard, the sound frequencies used by the duo also increased significantly.
-Joe: And you did this walk every day? -
-Emma: For God's sake Joe, do you get scared when you see any person in town? Mr. Johnson is just a normal guy. Except for his extraordinary body, of course.
-Joe: What are you talking about? Do you seriously like this guy now?
-Emma: Oh, don't twist my words, I'm just saying why should we be afraid of him just because he has a burly body. Joe: Anyway, we are not walking through here again. We might be able to walk if Max or someone is with us, but maybe.
Emma said to herself, "Sure, whatever you say," and ended the conversation with her silence. Joe wouldn't be able to understand her anyway. After the Mr. Johnson incident, Emma had learned that a person's inside could change their outside. But sharing this information with people who had no depth felt like torture. That's why Emma didn't even try anymore.
After walking a while longer, they arrived home. While Emma was going upstairs to take a shower, Joe was letting her mom know she would be staying at Emma's tonight. When Emma arrived at her room, she experienced the happiness of returning to this little paradise of her own after a few days. Okay, maybe her mom and dad fought a lot and ignored Emma, but at least Emma was the sole ruler in this corner of the house, and that was a great source of happiness for her. Taking off her clothes for a shower after turning on the air conditioner in her room, Emma briefly experienced how the freezing air coming from the AC cut through her body that had been roasted outside, and then she got into the shower.
While listening to her favorite song in the shower, she suddenly heard a voice in her room. It was as if someone was calling out to her. She turned down the volume of the loud music and started listening to Joe.
-Joe: She finally turned down the music. Hey Emma, Max is here. We're going to order food, we're asking what you would eat. Max: Hey Emma, what's up?
Emma was very angry. She knew Joe was stupid, of course, but bringing a stranger into the room where her private belongings were was a whole other level of stupidity. The kind of stupidity that required a warning...
-Emma: Is this the time for this? Get out of my room! And I'll eat pizza, thanks.
After Max and Joe giggled and left the room, Emma continued to listen to her loud music, but the pleasure she got from it had long since faded. Joe's behavior after meeting Max was annoying Emma more and more now. It was as if she was acting like she had received an invitation from the royal family after she started hanging out with Max. I wish there was someone, Emma said at that moment, I wish there was someone special...
When Emma went to her room after getting out of the shower, she realized that the air conditioner, which had refreshed her just a moment ago, was now chilling her to the bone. Quickly slipping into her clothes, Emma started to go downstairs with a feeling of hope that had formed inside her without knowing why. She needed to be a little more angry with Joe and Max. The scene she saw when she went downstairs was not unexpected. Joe and Max were lying on the couch, licking each other. Max running his hands around Joe's body had given Emma new ideas regarding her understanding of their relationship.
Emma made her presence felt by coughing loudly, and the loving couple immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to Emma. Emma angrily began to give a lecture.
-Emma: Are you two stupid? I was taking a shower in there. Have some privacy. And you two, don't make a mess around here.
A mischievous expression had formed on Max's face; he didn't say anything, but his looks had reached a disturbing level. Joe, again, had started talking without weighing the meaning of what she was going to say in her head. "Someone has already started to get jealous. Okay dear Emma, we won't disturb you anymore." Emma only laughed at this. Any answer she could give might reveal her growing loneliness and desire for contact day by day. And just at that moment, the ringing doorbell had somewhat saved Emma.
Emma immediately headed for the door. When she opened the door, the sight she saw wasn't a courier bringing her delicious pizzas, but Max's best friend, Dean. As Emma tried to get over her shock, Dean, without giving her a chance to speak, said, "Hey Emma. You've gotten pretty beautiful. Anyway, Max called, and from what I heard, there's a party," and tried to get inside. But of course, Emma wouldn't allow this.
-Emma: There is no party or anything. Bye bye.
Just as Emma was about to close the door, Joe came and said, "Hey, hello Dean. Come on in. Emma didn't know you were coming." Emma watched helplessly as a punk like Dean entered her house. Her eyes were filled with ferocity. She immediately called out to Joe, "What are you doing? Who told you to invite Dean? You know I hate that idiot," she said, not trying to hide the anger inside her. Joe, however, was quite calm after this outburst, which angered Emma even more.
-Joe: Oh come on, Emma. We're just going to hang out together. Besides, you can't find the connection you're looking for by approaching people so closed off. Now I'm going inside, and you're welcome for this favor.
Emma had become unable to hold in her anger. It was as if Joe had the connection she was looking for and was doing her a favor on top of it. These words could have caused Emma to cry if she hadn't held herself back with all her might. While saying she would forget her loneliness with Joe, every event that happened to her reminded her of her loneliness even more, and Emma was bored of this now. She immediately went upstairs, washed her face, and joined the people in the house in a state closer to normal.
As soon as Emma entered the room, Max turned off his loud, ear-piercing music and called out to Emma in a soft tone: "Emma, I'm really sorry you didn't know. I thought Joe told you. And I swear to you, this blockhead and yours truly won't do anything to ruin the mood of you ladies." Emma felt a bit better after Max's words. She told Max, "Don't make a mess, it's fine," and sat next to Joe. With a stupid smile on her face, Joe seemed to be trying to say 'look, I told you so'. Emma ignored this and attempted to enjoy the night she was in.
After a long chat between friends, Dean and Max got into a competition in a console soccer game. While Emma and Joe were setting the ambiance, Dean and Max were challenging each other as if they were trash-talking before a boxing match. This situation pleased Emma. Dean and Max might be two idiots, but at least they knew how to act. After the ambiance was set, Joe immediately went and sat next to Max. In the competition between the two men, Joe was going to motivate her partner. Even though Max also signaled for Emma to sit next to him, Emma didn't give him the time of day and sat in her own armchair, starting to watch the match that had begun with slight excitement.
The goals kept coming one after another. As time passed, the two competitors began to act harsher toward each other and toward everyone in that room in general. Emma found this love of competition between men ridiculous. Of course, there could be competition among girls too, but this competition arose naturally. Men, on the other hand, seemed to love creating fake competitions. While trying to annoy Max and Dean, Emma might have been the person having the most fun there. When Dean conceded a goal, she would laughingly call out to him, "Dean, did you come here to embarrass yourself?" When Max conceded a goal, she targeted Joe herself, not Max personally. And this was much more enjoyable than annoying Max. Every time Max conceded a goal, Emma said Joe was an inadequate motivator, and Joe dedicated herself to defending with pure attention, detaching from the match.
After a long-lasting competition, arguments, and laughter, the winner was Dean by a hair's breadth. After the match ended, he was over the moon and tried to ask Emma for a dance. Even though Emma didn't want to dance with him, after the "Dance! Dance! Dance!" cheers from Max and Joe, she gave Dean this honor. Even though Emma didn't know how to dance, she could tell that what Dean was doing were meaningless steps. As they danced to the tempo of the victory music playing in the background, Emma felt Dean's hands working a little too much. Dean was caressing Emma's body with his hands. Although Emma liked this situation very much, she was also smart enough not to lead Dean on. So she stopped dancing immediately and sat back in her place without saying a single word. Even though she tried not to show it, Dean's touches had aroused her terribly, and she needed to calm down. Dean, on the other hand, immediately sat on the opposite couch and cast glances at Emma from time to time.
Relationship-obsessed Joe must have noticed this, because she immediately called Emma to the kitchen and said in her low but excited voice, "Emma. The moment you've been waiting for has come. Look at Dean, he can't take his eyes off you. If he wants to stay here, don't you dare turn him down." Even though Emma tried to hide her excitement and said, "What? Absolutely not. I prefer to keep myself to myself; if you're so curious, go sleep with Dean yourself," Joe had already understood Emma's situation anyway.
-Joe: What? You liked him!? His touches on you while dancing affected even me, girl. Anyway, don't be stupid and don't scare the boy.
As Joe went inside, she started questioning whether Joe was right while watching outside from the kitchen. She had wanted to let herself go to Dean for a while, this was true. But this was purely biological, and animals like Dean had no place or value in the modern human world. Therefore, she suppressed the thrill-seeking desire inside her as much as she could and returned inside. As soon as she entered the living room, she found Dean in front of her. He looked excited.
-Dean: Emma, well, it's gotten pretty late. I wonder if I should stay here?
-Emma: No. Is this a charity house? Go stay at your own home.
-Dean: Anyway, I'm a patient man, I'll wait. You felt the attraction between us too. But I'll give you the time you need. Anyway, I'm taking off, good evening folks.
Emma just laughed and watched Dean leave. She liked that Dean was trying to win her over, and now she understood better how Joe felt. Being paid attention to, even by someone she didn't want, still made Emma feel good. After Dean left, the crew continued to chat for a while longer. Emma was tasting that different excitement of feeling the entertainment as a host in her own home. Even though she didn't like Dean, his presence had also added humor to the night. In short, it was generally an evening well above average.
When midnight approached after an hour of chatting, the frequency of yawns from Joe and Max increased, and Emma realized it was time to sleep. After turning to the duo and saying, "I want to find this place the way I left it in the morning," she wished her friends good night and went up to her own room, lying directly under her bedcovers. The air conditioner she had left on made the room feel freezing cold. Even though she immediately got under the covers and tried to warm up with her breath, Emma's attempt to warm up wasn't as fast and effective as she expected. But nevertheless, the cold had the blessing of putting people to sleep quickly.
While slowly warming up as a result of her body's effort, Emma didn't even care about her friends loudly making love downstairs. Max's hums and Joe's real, or realistic, orgasm sounds might have angered Emma normally, but today Emma was already tired, she was already cold. And being able to fall asleep at that moment was equivalent to going to heaven for Emma.
End of Chapter 2.