Something Unexpected
Written By: Catherine Campbell
It was the beginning of the day and Simon Seville and Jeanette Miller were on their way to Earth Science. They were about to start the unit about Astronomy that day which got Simon and Jeanette particularly eager to get to class because, ironically enough, Astronomy just so happened to be their favorite part about Earth Science. When they entered the classroom they immediately set their books at their assigned seats, which placed them front and center, and made their way to the back of the classroom to socialize with some friends before the bell rang. Although the other students in the class dreaded being placed front and center, Simon and Jeanette preferred that placement to any other in the classroom simply because they could focus better on what the teachers say as opposed to what everybody else in the class says.
"Alright class, take your seats!" their middle-aged, brown-haired, grouchy Earth Science teacher bellowed as the bell signaling the start of second period rang loud and defiantly throughout the school. "Come on guys, it's the start of the second marking period and you all are in high school; I shouldn't even have to think about yelling at you guys for this. It should be an instinct by now!"
At that, everybody in the classroom made a mad dash for their assigned seats, some even groaned because they didn't enjoy the company of the person they had to endure for the next nine weeks.
"Now, as I told you last week, we will begin our unit on Astronomy today. From there, we will study rocks and minerals, then erosion and deposition, and finally finishing out the year with Meteorology which is a fairly simple unit and is a good way to end the year. Are there any question before we begin?"
Mrs. Casanova paused for a brief moment to see if there were any questions or concerns before she proceeded with the lesson.
"Now as I promised, you will have a project due to me at the end of the month."
Again, she paused. But this time it was due to the number of groans and complaints that had exploded out of her pupils.
"That is enough!" she bellowed in a voice that could awaken the dead. "My patience with you lot has grown very limited recently and I don't want to hear another sound emanating from any of you for the rest of the day or there will be consequences! Now as I was saying, you will have a project due to me at the end of the month. I promise that if you just give it a bit of effort you will have no problem completing it on time and getting a decent grade. I will allow you to work with ONE other person on this project; not two, not three, ONE. The only thing is that I will have to approve of the partnership before you start working. You may work by yourself, but I strongly advise you to work with a partner on this."
Jeanette glanced over at Simon hopefully, and he returned her gaze with a friendly smile to ensure they would be working together.
"For this project you will be assigned to observe the different phases of the moon," she said to the class as she passed out two single sheet of paper. "You will record what you observe in a journal; only one journal will be needed for each group. You are to state what phase the moon is currently in, how it's position in the sky changes week after week, and compare how the amount of light visible has changed from the previous night. Extra credit will be awarded for organization, neatness, and if you are able to get pictures of the various phases.
"I just finished passing out the list of requirements for this project as well as a grading sheet which will tell you how you will be graded. I am currently passing out your notes for today. I have organized them for your benefit; they are fill-in-the-blank notes due to our rapid decrease in time before the bell rings. I expect you to listen and follow along with me as we go through the notes; I will let you know when you need to fill in a space, but if I hear so much as one sound coming out of any of you, so help me, I will gather up all of these notes and we will proceed the old fashioned way. Do I make myself clear? Excellent, let's get started."
At the end of the period, Jeanette and Simon made their way to the cafeteria for lunch.
"This project is going to be so easy! I can't wait to get started on it!" Jeanette exclaimed as she and Simon made their way over to their usual table by the window that looked out across the grounds of Thomas Edison High School.
"Me too; I've got this telescope at my house that we can use so we can get a better look at the different phases," Simon said as he set his lunch at the end of the long table and took the seat across from Jeanette.
"That's great, and I've got a special camera for taking pictures at night. I can bring that over when we get together. When should we start?"
"I assume we should start tonight. Because it's a full moon tonight, we will be able to list the phases in order. Plus, the earlier we get started the better. So just come on over at like seven-ish; that gives us time to eat dinner before we get to work. Meet me in the back yard; I'll explain everything to Dave so he'll leave the gate open for you."
"Sounds good," Jeanette said as she and Simon dumped their trash in the trashcan. "So, I'll see you at seven then?"
"Yeah, and don't forget your camera!" Simon called after Jeanette when they went their separate ways to class.
That night found Jeanette up in her room fussing about her hair and if she looked alright for studying with Simon. Brittany and Eleanor, who were watching Jeanette with intent curiosity, wondered to themselves about what Jeanette would be doing on a school night to get her all worked up like this.
"Uh, Jeanette, are you alright? You don't really seem like yourself. You're only going over to Simon's to work on a project; I don't see what the big deal is?" Eleanor said, looking at her older sister with concern.
"Don't you get it Eleanor?" Brittany said suddenly as she put down her cell phone to answer Eleanor's confused expression. "Jeanette's getting all worked up about going over to Simon's because she likes him. You'll understand in a year or two."
Eleanor giggled while Brittany went back to texting. Jeanette, on the other hand, found absolutely no humor in Brittany's statement at all.
"Brittany, I though you've gotten over teasing me about Simon. We're really good friends; why is that so hard for you to understand? I mean, I don't tease you about Alvin."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up here. What was that last statement?"
"I said I don't tease you about Alvin so you shouldn't tease me about Simon."
"Oh no, no, no! Let's get something very clear here," Brittany said; she was now nose to nose with her younger sister. "I do NOT like that shallow, egotistical maniac, got it?"
Jeanette shrugged.
"Whatever," she said, grabbing her bag and coat off of her bed and headed out of the room, closing the door behind her with a gentle click.
"Can you believe her, Eleanor? How can she even consider me liking a creature as self-centered as Alvin?"
"Well, you do spend a lot of time with him," Eleanor admitted quietly.
"You're both crazy! I do NOT like Alvin! End of conversation!"
"Whatever," Eleanor said, getting back to finishing her math homework.
Meanwhile, Jeanette explained to Miss Miller where she was going and about what time she expected to be back before picking up her camera and a flashlight on her way out the door. Even though the Chipmunks lived at the end of the block, Jeanette felt much safer walking with a flashlight, especially because it was pitch-black out.
As she continued walking, she couldn't help but feel like someone was following her. She simply shrugged as she wrapped her jacket a little closer to her chest; her pace quickened a bit. And when she reached the Chipmunk house, she let out a sigh of relief before pushing the gate open and walking into the Seville's back yard.
"Oh good Jeanette, you're here just in time," Simon greeted her, wrapping his arms around her in a warm hug before taking her bag and placing it on a chair next to a table that had a bowl of chips, a bottle of Coke, and a few paper cups. "I just finished setting everything up; I programmed the telescope to rotate in coordination with where the moon is placed in the sky. That way we won't have to constantly search for it every night. And Dave came out a few minutes ago and put out some snacks for us while we work. Did you bring the camera?"
"Yeah, it's in my bag."
Jeanette went over to the chair her bag was on and fiddled around in her bag until she found her camera.
"Here it is," she said, holding it out as she made her way back over to where Simon was. She then tripped on the cord to Simon's laptop and fell face-first into the damp grass of Simon's back yard. This action sent the camera unwillingly flying through the air. Simon, thankfully possessing cat-like reflexes, caught it with no trouble.
"Jeanette, are you okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet and handing her the glasses that had fallen off her face when she fell.
"Yeah," she said as she brushed the grass stains off of her front and taking her glasses from Simon. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"Alright, well let's get to work while we still have time. I can observe and report tonight while you take pictures, and then we can trade off jobs every night. That way we both get time to do the easy job and the not-as-easy job."
"Sounds good. I'll try not to trip over anything while I'm taking pictures," Jeanette said with a slight giggle.
"That would be very helpful," he said, returning a smile.
As they kept up their continuous moonlight get-togethers, Jeanette began to grow really impatient with Simon. They had seen each other every single evening for the past two weeks and Jeanette was beginning to think that what Brittany said was turning out to be true! She had known Simon Seville for nine years now and he had always been the one she'd turn to if she needed any kind of help, or even something as simple as having an innocent chat amongst friends. And seeing him working so diligently with the light from the moon bouncing playfully off of his nicely kept hair and sliding gracefully across the rims of his glasses every single night did nothing to help her state of being; she just grew more and more impatient and slightly unstable. She couldn't take it anymore; she wanted him so badly! She eventually grew so impatient that her heart was forcing her to do something she'd never dream of doing as long as she lived, something so risky she was sure that the Devil himself wouldn't do it, but she had no choice.
"Brittany," she said one evening after getting back from Simon's. "Um, if I tell you something, can I trust you not to freak out?"
"Depends on what it is that you want to tell me," Brittany said as she began painting her toes a bright pink color to match her finger nails.
Jeanette took a deep breath and moved over to sit on her bed, which was conveniently positioned next to Brittany's.
"Brittany, you're right; I think I like Simon Seville."
Instead of loud and excited boasts coming from Brittany as Jeanette expected, Brittany carried on as though it were no big deal. Jeanette was forever thankful right now considering Eleanor was fast asleep.
"Of course I was right, Jeanette. If you hadn't figured it out for yourself I think I would have exploded!"
"Right . . . and . . . well . . . um . . . you know."
"You need me to tell you how to win his heart." Brittany said, finishing her sister's sentence for her.
"Well, yeah."
"Alright, there are a few things you need to know about your man. As smart as he is, out of all of the chipmunks Simon is the hardest to get through when it comes to things like this. That is because he's completely oblivious to girls because he's used to having them fall all over Alvin for his charm and Theodore for his teddy bear-like quality. You are going to have to be very upfront and assertive with him; tell him exactly what you want and let him know that you won't stop at anything until you achieve your prize. It's going to be a challenging job for you, but do you think you can handle it? He definitely likes you, so this all wouldn't be for nothing."
Jeanette had to ponder Brittany's words a little while longer. She had to admit that she was freaking out right now. She was starting to have doubts about this; she didn't know if she wanted him to know how she felt just yet. But then again, she wanted him so badly; she would kill for him.
"Yes," she said, a bit more confidently than she actually felt.
"Good. That makes this easy, then. Give me a minute while I think of how you should go about this."
They sat in silence for a while. In the end, in the end it was Jeanette who broke the silence.
"So, Simon really does like me?" Jeanette asked, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses.
"Jean, do you see how he acts when he's around you?"
Jeanette thought hard. The first thing she thought of was the time they were racing each other around the world in hot air balloons. She remembered how he acted when they ran into each other in Athens, when he asked her if they had any trouble along the way. And then she recalled how he would always help her up when she would trip. But she never thought of that as him secretly telling her how he feels; she just thought it was simply brotherly concern.
"Alright, I think I've got it," Brittany said excitedly. "When do you see him again?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Okay, here's what you do. You walk up behind him and while stroking his arms affectionately, whisper a compliment in his ear softly and slowly."
"Like what?"
"I don't know! Say you like his glasses or something; come on Jeanette, work with me here," she pleaded.
"But why can't I just wait for him to tell me how he feels? I mean, if he legitimately likes me, he shouldn't –"
"There are two reasons why that won't work. Reason number one, waiting on the boy is a sign of vulnerability, and that's a big turn off for men. Reason number two, we both know that Simon wouldn't have enough guts to let you know how he really feels. Like I said, when it comes to the opposite sex, Simon needs to have things spelled for him."
"How do you know all this?" Jeanette asked.
"Because I've seen him at school; girls hit on him all the time and he doesn't even acknowledge them. It's quite sad to look at actually. If I didn't know any better I would have assumed he was gay."
"But are you sure this is how I should go about telling him how I feel?" Jeanette asked, sounding very wary.
"Positive; guys love it when a woman takes control. Now turn off the lamp; I'm going to bed."
The next day went by very fast for Jeanette and for once she was actually dreading going over to Simon's. It wasn't because she didn't want to see him, she loved spending time with him, it was more of the fact that she was so nervous about telling Simon how she really felt. What if he didn't like her back, despite what Brittany had said? Would it ruin their friendship? She didn't want to lose the only real friend she's ever had. He was her best friend, her brother, her go-to person whenever she needed him. She didn't want to lose him over something as stupid as this.
The time finally came for her to start heading over to Simon's. Brittany gave her an encouraging thumbs up while Eleanor gave her a hug and wished her good luck. The walk down to Simon's house took longer than usual, but that was mostly due to the fact that Jeanette was trying to buy herself as much time as possible. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it would bound right out of her chest any minute now. Her legs felt like jell-o, and she was sure if anyone saw her walking right now they would probably laugh because her legs kept wobbling.
By the time she had reached the gate leading into Simon's back yard, she took a moment to calm down and take a deep breath before pushing the gate door open and walking along the stone path into the Seville back yard. She was sweating bullets; she could feel the warm beads of perspiration run down the back of her neck and she would bet money that she had huge sweat stains on the back of her sweater.
There he was, standing just a few yards away, hung down so he could look through the telescope properly. Gosh, he was gorgeous. Just seeing him there put everything else out of her mind for a split second. When she came back to reality, she realized that she had to do this. If she didn't do it tonight she would probably regret it for the rest of her life.
"Hey Simon, sorry I'm a little late tonight," she said walking over to him and giving him a hug from behind. She then set her bag on the chair by the snack table, pulled out her camera, and immediately began snapping photos.
"That's fine, is everything okay?" he asked as he began recording things in the journal, not taking his eyes off of what he was doing.
"Yeah, I just had to help Brittany with her math homework," she lied quickly, but Simon saw right through it.
"What?" he asked, turning to face her Jeanette. "Since when does Brittany care about finishing her math homework? She's like Alvin that way."
"I know, it's weird, but apparently her teacher called Miss Miller and informed her of all the homework assignments she's missed this year."
"Since when does Mrs. Flauve care about students turning in homework? I know because I had her last year and she didn't do anything to half the class who thought they were all high and mighty and decided not turning in homework assignments was cool."
They were silent for a few seconds after that.
"Right, when you decide you want to tell me the truth, I'll be waiting right over here," he said walking over to the snack table and pouring himself some lemonade.
She had to do it, now. She couldn't put this off any longer!
"I'm waiting," Simon said impatiently as he took a sip from his cup.
Jeanette took a deep breath.
"Simon, would you like to go out with me some time?"
This caught Simon completely off guard and caused him to send his entire mouthful off lemonade soaring out of his mouth and across the back yard. Of all the things he'd expected Jeanette would possibly tell him, he had to admit, he did not see that one coming in a million years.
"W-what?" he stammered, leaning on the snack table for support.
"I believe you heard me just fine, Simon; you're standing about seven feet away from me. Would you like to go out with me some time?"
"As in . . . a date?" he asked nervously.
"Yes."
"Uh, Jeanette, as much as I like you, I don't exactly . . . date," he said, making sure he didn't make eye contact with her.
"Oh, well that's cool . . . I suppose," Jeanette said faintly. "You want to focus on school work and studying, I get it."
"Well we should probably get back to work now," Simon said, making his way back over to the telescope and going about his business as though nothing had just happened.
"Oh, um, I just remembered something," Jeanette said suddenly.
"What?"
"Uh, it's Miss Miller. She . . . uh . . . wanted me back early tonight. Yeah. I gotta go now."
And at that, Jeanette stuffed her camera back in her bag and sprinted out of the back yard before Simon could stop her.
"Jeanette!" he called after her.
Simon stood there in silence for a few more minutes, letting the events of the night seep into his brain. Jeanette had asked him if he wanted to go out with her . . . on a date . . . and he turned her down . . . because . . . he said he doesn't date. What the hell was I thinking? He thought to himself.
"God, if you can hear me, what is the matter with me?" he shouted up to the heavens.
"Simon, is everything okay? Where's Jeanette?"
"Dave!" Simon exclaimed, rushing towards him and grabbing Dave by the collar desperately. "Please tell me Alvin's still awake?"
"Yeah, he's upstairs watching some wrestling smack-down show."
"Yes! Thank you!"
At that, Simon rushed inside the sliding glass door, sprinted through the kitchen, flew up the stairs, bolted through the door to the room he shared with his two brothers, and came to a skidding halt at the foot of Alvin's bed at the far left side of the room. And sure enough, there was Alvin, flicking through the channels with a bored look on his face.
"Alvin, I need your help, it's important!" Simon exclaimed desperately.
"What's in it for me?" replied Alvin in a bored voice, not bothering to take his eyes off of the TV screen.
"Ten dollars and the pride of helping your best brother?" Simon asked hopefully.
"How about you make it fifteen dollars and we forget about the second part?"
"Fine, done."
"How may I be of service, little bro?"
"Well, I was just in the backyard working with Jeanette on our project when out of nowhere she wants to know if I wanted to go out with her some time!"
At this, Alvin actually dropped the remote to the ground with a loud thud, and sat bolt upright on his bed, looking at his brother with a very surprised expression.
"Whoa. Jeanette? Really? What'd you tell her?" Alvin asked, finally sounding interested in something.
"Well, I told her no because I don't really date and then she –"
"Wait, hold up, you told her no? Why the hell −? No, I don't wanna know. So how'd she react?"
"She said Miss Miller wanted her home early and then ran off."
"Well, can you blame her, Simon?"
"I know. That's why I came to you; I need your help on how to straighten things up with her. You know, make everything right again."
"Fine, I'll help you. Show me the dough first."
Simon reached in his back pocket and pulled out a brown leather wallet. He excavated fifteen dollars and handed it to Alvin grudgingly.
"Alright Simon, here's what you do."
"Brittany, Eleanor, oh my goodness!" Jeanette exclaimed after she opened her bedroom door. She headed straight for her bed and buried her face in her pillows and multiple stuffed animals.
Brittany closed her magazine and Eleanor shoved her books onto the floor and the both of them made their way over to their sister's bed.
"Jeanette, what happened?" Eleanor said, gently placing a reassuring hand on Jeanette's back and proceeded to rub her older sister's back comfortingly.
"He – said – no," was all that Brittany and Eleanor could make out due to Jeanette's very loud tears.
"What?!" they said in unison.
Brittany was completely flabbergasted! She was so sure Simon liked her back; it was so obvious!
"Jeanette, are you absolutely positive he said no?" Brittany persisted.
"Well, gee Brittany, let me think here," Jeanette said sarcastically as she wiped the tears from her eyes before she continued. "I asked him if he wanted to go out with me some time, and he said 'As much as I like you Jeanette, I don't exactly date.' If that doesn't scream 'no' then I don't know what does!"
"There has to be some sort of mistake."
"Brittany, give it a rest. He doesn't like me like that; I get it. I just have to be strong and accept it," Jeanette said before blowing her nose.
"It's okay Jeanette, you're too good for him anyway," Eleanor said affectionately. "You'll find somebody better."
"But I don't want – Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks Ellie," Jeanette said before turning the light out so they could get to sleep.
"No problem," Eleanor said, heading back to her own bed.
The next day at school, Jeanette did everything she could to avoid Simon. She didn't wait for him by her locker so they could walk each other to class, she didn't wait up for him while they ran in gym, and she didn't even sit with him at lunch; instead she sat with some girls who were in her math class. But she knew her avoiding-Simon streak wouldn't last the entire day because they both had eighth period English together. So when she walked in the classroom, she wasn't surprised to see that Simon was the only one in the room so far.
"Jeanette, I need to talk to you," he said, walking over to her.
"About what?" Jeanette asked, avoiding eye contact while she arranged her books on her desk.
"Last night," he whispered so that the teacher, who was looking at the pair suspiciously over the top of his book, wouldn't be able to hear him.
Jeanette and Simon both curiously glanced over at their English teacher who was still staring at them.
"Oh, don't mind me," he said, turning the page of his book, not taking his eyes off of them. "Please continue."
Simon let out an impatient sigh.
"Here," he said, leading Jeanette into the crowded hallway.
"Oh yeah, this is much better," Jeanette said sarcastically. "Now, what about last night?"
"It's not that I don't want to go out with you, well it is. I just mean that I see you as a really close friend, a sister."
"Simon, it's okay, I get it," Jeanette said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "You're my bro. Why change what we already have?"
"Exactly! You get me," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder and leading her back into the classroom as the rest of the class filed in.
That night, Jeanette went over to Simon's feeling a little better than the night before. At least he still wanted her in his life; at least he still liked her even if it was only as a sister. Jeanette was happy with that. She was just happy that their friendship was back to normal.
As usual, she pushed open the garden gate, set her bag on the chair by the snack table, handed Simon her camera to take pictures, and then made her way over to Simon's telescope; since they switch jobs every night, it was her turn to work the more complex job.
She bent down to look through the telescope properly and she recorded the date and the current phase into the journal, which was the first quarter. She looked back to the previous week to see what Simon had written about the moon's position and proceeded to write her answer. She was almost done writing about how the amount of light had changed from the previous night when Simon said something totally unexpected; even though it was kind of funny, it was still really weird (that was for you Maddie).
"I'm free tomorrow night if you are," Simon said, still focused on taking pictures.
"What was that you said?" she asked, turning her body to face him. "I thought you told me you didn't date?"
"I did, but –"
"You told me you didn't like me like that; you only like me as a sister."
Jeanette was now advancing on him, causing Simon to back up a few paces.
"That is true, but you see, I've been thinking and I've come to conclude that after being friends for this long it's only logical to –"
"Simon, are you saying you like me?" she said. She had now advanced so much that his back was against the garden wall.
"I−I−no I'm not. I merely said that I feel it would be logical if we –"
"Simon, stop denying it and just admit it. You do to like me don't you?" she said, placing her pointer finger on his chest very matter-of-factly and giving her a sly smile that said 'I knew it all along.'
"I−did you not hear me?" Simon asked, nervously. "I said I think it would be very logical if we –"
"Oh just stop talking and kiss me!"
And sure enough, as soon as the words had escaped from Jeanette's lips, Simon placed his hands on the side of her face and pulled it closer to his until their lips met in a strong and powerful kiss.
Jeanette had to admit, she didn't think that would work, but she was so glad that it did. Feeling the warmth of Simon's hands gently clutch her face (lol I suppose I could have worded that a bit differently), being so close to him that she could feel how fast his heart was beating, and knowing that he was just as nerve-wracked as she was about what was happening was almost as satisfying as how she used to read Brittany's diary to her friends before putting on the internet; it was the feeling of guilty pleasure.
"So, is tomorrow a good time for you then?" Simon asked suddenly, breaking apart from Jeanette for a split second.
"Yeah, tomorrow's good," she said, and then went back to kissing him.
"What time?" Simon asked, breaking apart again.
"I don't know. Like five?"
"I can do that."
They went back to kissing for a few more minutes when they were interrupted by the sound of the screen door sliding open.
"Simon, Dave says it's time for you to – oh, hello Jeanette. Fancy running into you here," Alvin said in a tone of mock−satisfaction towards his brother.
"Alvin!" Simon said, removing his hands that had traveled from Jeanette's face down to her hips.
"No, it's okay. I should probably get going anyway," Jeanette said, stuffing her camera in her bag and nervously fixed her hair.
"Bye Simon," she said, flashing him a flirty smile before she left.
"Bye Jeanette," he said, not taking his eyes off of her as she walked out of the gate and back up the hill to her house.
Words could not describe how Jeanette felt right now. She felt like the luckiest girl in the entire world. She would remember this night for the rest of her life; the night she had her first kiss with the guy of her dreams.