The Red String | ONC 2024

16. All's Well That Ends Well?

Admina watched intently as a slow dance finally started playing in the gym down below. This was it— the moment she'd been waiting weeks for.

She knew they probably wouldn't kiss right away; they'd wait until after the song finished. Then, as the music faded, they'd look into each others' eyes for just a moment before they closed them and their lips finally met. Admina had pictured the scene so many times that she almost didn't recognize it when the moment slipped away. But once she realized what was happening, she found herself staring down in shock.

Emma had led Logan away, and the two had some sort of discussion. Admina had only barely paid attention, so she was more than a little flummoxed when the next thing she knew, Logan was leading that best friend out onto the dance floor instead of Emma.

This was it; she knew what was going to happen now. Emma was going to fly into a rage. Maybe she'd do something violent that she'd regret later, or maybe she'd make some grand, sweeping gesture of love. Then, they'd confess their true feelings for each other, and all would be right in Admina's world again.

But none of that happened.

Actually, Logan and... what was her name? Abby? Yes, Abby, Admina thought to herself. Logan and Abby seemed surprisingly happy. Even Emma, over in the corner, didn't seem nearly as bothered by this whole thing as Admina would have thought. Admina watched as that Jackson kid came up and stood next to Emma.

"So are you dateless too now?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Jackson!" Emma looked almost surprised to see him.

"Did you forget about me?" he gave her a knowing look, lifting his own glass up to his lips.

"Uh, no. Of course not." Emma said. Smooth. Even Admina could tell that she was lying. Then, something seemed to dawn on her. "Abby! I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about..." she said awkwardly.

"Don't be." he told her. "She and I were just going as friends, so it's not like much has changed."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

"So now that you're dateless, what are your plans for the rest of the evening?" he asked.

"Um... well..." Emma gave him a kind of sheepish grin. "To be honest, I hadn't actually gotten that far."

Jackson let out a loud laugh. "So, did you want to dance?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Emma said slowly. "To be honest, my feet are kind of killing me, and after that whole talk with Logan..."

"Bad breakup, huh?" he snickered.

"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes. But she didn't seem to be nearly as annoyed as she was pretending to be.

Now that Emma was wrapped up in a conversation with Jackson, it didn't look like she'd be storming across the room and declaring her undying love for Logan anymore. So, Admina turned her attention to where Logan and Abby were, still dancing happily and looking lost in their own little world.

As the song came to an end, the two pulled apart just slightly. Logan looked down at Abby, a small smile on his lips. Then, he leaned down and kissed her.

"Well, that was... unexpected." someone said from over her shoulder.

Admina nearly screamed. She whipped around and saw Hiari sitting next to her, looking intently through the Viewing Window.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped. He'd nearly given her a heart attack! And didn't he have more important things to do than sneak up and spy on her?

"What? I was interested." he shrugged, turning to face her for the first time. Admina glared at him, not saying anything. But when he didn't continue, she spoke up.

"Well?" she asked. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"Apologize?" he seemed surprised. "Apologize for what?"

"For doubting me." she said haughtily, squaring her shoulders. Did she really have to spell it out for him?

"For... what?" He had the nerve to look confused. Admina scoffed.

"You've been sitting there this whole time, thinking that I'd never succeed. Thinking I was bad at my job."

She sat there, with her chin raised just a bit, so she could properly look down her nose at him as he begged her to forgive his unsufferable arrogance.

"But you are bad at—" Hiari started. Then, he stopped. He cleared his throat, apparently deciding on a different track. "Forgive me, but... do you think you succeeded?"

"Of course."

She couldn't even believe he would ask something so ridiculous. Was he blind? And sure, she knew what he was thinking— Logan wasn't down there kissing Emma. But as far as Admina could tell, that was just a minor detail. Love was the key here. Things might have changed just slightly, but Admina was nothing if not adaptable. She pointed at the Viewing Window and asked incredulously, "Can't you see them down there? Dancing? Kissing?"

Admina leaned over, making a show of watching them herself. She was pleased to see that Logan and Abby were still in the middle of the floor, happily dancing  the night away. If they'd decided to stop, it would have really undercut the point she was trying to make. But there they were. Surely even Hiari wasn't so dense that he'd missed it.

"He's not dancing with the right girl." Hiari pointed out. Admina scoffed. That just proved he didn't understand the first thing about love.

"Oh, what do you know about who the right girl is?" she asked dismissively.

"What do I know?" Hiari asked, eyebrows raised. "I wasn't the one who tried to set that boy up with the debate team girl."

Admina glared at him. He was focusing on the wrong part again. It was like his sole purpose in life was to annoy her.

"I created love out of nothing." she snapped. And besides, those two that Hiari was so sure hated each other didn't seem to have quite the same animosity anymore. But she wasn't about to tell him that; he'd just twist it, pointing out that whatever it was now, it still wasn't love. Admina wasn't sure enough about human emotions to argue the point.

Hiari didn't say anything, and Admina decided to take it as a victory.

"So that's it then?" he asked finally.

"Hmmm..." Admina said noncommittally. She was more than happy with her success with Logan; it only proved that she really did know what she was doing.

Confidence restored, Admina turned her attention back to Emma. The girl still needed a boyfriend, Admina was convinced of that. And she seemed to be getting along so well with Jackson. Admina tapped her finger lightly on her chin, thinking. This time, she was sure she could do it. All they'd need was a little nudge in the right direction.

Word count for round three: 11,721

Total word count to this point: 21,099