*JENNA*
Tuesday November 6, 2012
Annabelle and I headed inside the school. James found her quickly, pulling her into a hug in front of everyone. I stood back and glanced at them in a new light. It didn’t seem so disgusting and ostentatious anymore. As he whispered to her, she laughed quietly in his embrace. My heart ached at how— Whoa. What was happening to me?
Tom happened.
A fool’s grin found its way to my face as he surfaced from behind James, sporting a similar grin. “Hey there, silly.” He chuckled.
I gave him a mock scowl. “What did I tell you about calling me that?”
He stopped in front of me and leaned his tall frame over me. He held his arm out, offering it to me. “My lady, it would be an honor to walk you to your locker.”
“That’s more like it.” I looped my arm through his.
Later that evening, my parents were out with my uncle and I was at home by myself. Small pebbles attacked my window. While my heart raced, I checked out the window and found Tom standing on my front lawn, looking freshly showered with his hair slicked back.
“Big Tom, what are you doing?” I hissed, after opening the window. “You could have just called me, you know?”
“But it’s so much more….” he whispered back. He grinned wide and I swore there was a sparkle.
“So much more what?” I whispered back, leaning out the window.
“Beautiful,” he whispered after a few seconds.
I gulped my surprise, but the air I suppressed tickled my throat and resulted in me choking on it instead. I ducked back inside my room and coughed. I took a few seconds to calm my breathing down. Breathing in check, I peered back out the window and he was still there.
Was he turning me into one of those breathless types, you know, the kind that swooned at the sight of something even remotely romantic? That scene, right then, it was really romantic. I feared in the future I may pass out if it became too much…. Oh, my God, was that puke-worthy or what!
“Come out with me, silly,” he said, loud enough that I could hear.
“Okay,” I said back, and shut my window. I closed my curtains and fell on my bed with my hand to my chest. What was happening to me? I caught a glimpse of my swim bag, ready for practice after school tomorrow, and thought for a second that maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea to go out and that I should make it an early night tonight. But then I thought about him, outside, ready to take me out and just be with me, and I was out the door without another thought about swimming. I wore a pair of jeans and a white tank top with my black sandals. I locked the front door and made my way slowly down the porch, eyeing him leaning against his car, waiting for me.
“Hey,” I said, coming to a stop in front of him.
He smiled at me. “Hey.”
We stood in silence for a few seconds before I broke it. “What do we do now?”
He straightened and gazed down at me. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to hug you.”
I gulped. “Okay.” His big arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his warm embrace. I squeezed his waist, inhaling his scent.
“You smell good,” I said into his shirt, and pulled back. “So, where do you want to go?”
He stepped out of the way and opened the passenger-side door. “It’s a surprise.”
He drove us to Thompsons Park and laid a blanket on the grass. There were a few other people there, sitting on the bench, walking around, and also lying on blankets. We stared up at the sky in silence for a while. I took a deep breath and faced him, turning on my side. “Tell me something about yourself? Something nobody knows.”
He didn’t turn away from the sky when he answered. “My dad walked out on my mom and me when I was eleven. We woke up one day and he wasn’t there. The next week we moved from Toronto to Orlando. My mom couldn’t take it, so she left me with my uncle, her brother. I’ve lived with him and his family ever since.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He reached out and grasped my hand, pulling it to his chest. “I’ve never told anyone about him, or the situation with my mom.”
I cuddled into him more. “Why me?” I whispered, right next to his ear. He turned his head and his lips were a few inches away from mine.
“Because you’re you,” he murmured, sweetly. “You have no idea, silly. No idea how much I like you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I asked, my arm draping over his waist and his hand massaging my elbow now.
“Because I have an ego too, you know.” He grinned, giving me a little of his cocky persona. “Big Tom would have been crushed if you’d turned him down.”
“How’d you know I wouldn’t have turned you down this time?” I asked him, shaking my head.
“I didn’t,” he said. “I just took a chance.”
I leaned in and kissed his lips. I pulled away and waited for his eyes to open. “We both did.”
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Wednesday November 7, 2012
I woke up early and the need to write down my thoughts took over. I pulled out the trusty journal and wrote furiously.
The World According to Jenna
My life has changed these last couple of days. Before meeting Tom, I thought all high school relationships were stupid and superficial. But being in a relationship, for the first time in my life, everything I thought before seemed wrong now. He’s special and as each day passes, I find myself wanting to scream….
I wrote what I needed to and waited to see if I felt better, or at least not as strange. After five minutes, I felt okay. Hopefully this mood would disappear by the time school started. I eyed my phone and there was a text from Tom. He’d sent it after dropping me off at home. I didn’t see it until now because my phone had run out of battery.
Tom: Can’t wait to see you tomorrow… silly.
And the warm and fuzzy feelings were back again. I left for school feeling good and felt even better when Tom greeted me in the hallway and looped my arm through his, and then walked me to my locker.
I felt good for the rest of the morning, but then lunch happened and my mind went through a wave of different thoughts.
Lunch used to be normal and predictable. I ate with the swim team, always. But for the last three days, it’s been with the baseball team and Annabelle, Becky, and Dana. I checked behind me at the swim team’s table and there were only a few still sitting there. A table away, Gabe was sitting with Tina, alone, like they were on their own private island.
I felt a squeeze on my shoulder and glanced up to Tom. “You okay?” he asked.
Was I?
Thinking about it again, deep down in my heart, I wasn’t. My team was no longer a team. The brotherhood we once were was no more. But whose fault was it? Was it mine? How long have we all been sitting apart like this?
Was it… that I was the cause of the swim team’s dissension? I wasn’t the team’s captain—Coach decided to not have a captain this year to keep things fair and even—but I’ve always felt like I was supposed to lead our team and be the glue that kept us together. I wasn’t doing that anymore.
“I’m okay,” I said, and ate my sandwich. I lied. I wasn’t okay.
The afternoon rolled by and the mood I was in hadn’t disappeared.
“Jenna?” Coach Donaldson called after me, right after practice finished. I wrapped my towel around my waist—go Piranhas—and waited for her while the rest of the team entered the change rooms. Tina and Dana were the last to go, each giving me a questioning look, and I shrugged. I didn’t know why Coach wanted to speak with me.
“Yeah Coach, everything okay?” My heart was beating like crazy as she scribbled on her clipboard.
She dropped her arm with the clipboard down to her hip. “No, everything is not okay.” Coach pointed to the bench. “Let’s sit down and I’ll explain everything.”
I nodded and followed her to the bench. Whatever conversation we were about to have, I had a horrible feeling that my scholarship was on a ship and it was about to sink to a place beyond rescuing.