Far From Perfect
Summary: Everyone is telling Janie that she's perfect, especially her little sister Lizzy. As accounted through her diary, she tries to do everything in her power to show the world that she is, in fact, far from perfect. This includes taking a dare from Lizzy to go out with the rich Charles Bingley, even though Janie already has a boyfriend.
Disclaimer: This story is simply for my amusement and for others. I do not own the characters.
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February, 7, this afternoon, my bedroom
List of things to do:
1. Feed Gaius and Lucius.
2. Call Sam to make sure Friday's date is still on.
3. Try and get Lizzy to rent an apartment so that she doesn't keep trashing mine.
4. Finish paper on Livia Drusilla's influence on Augustus.
5. Call Sam and make sure I didn't leave my binder at his place.
6. Buy cereal!!
7. Get a new sewing machine.
8. Never let Lizzy use my sewing machine. She'll just break it again.
9. Get the courage to tell my boss, Kate Reilly, to stuff it.
10. Pray that everyone stops telling me I'm so perfect.
Lizzy is always asking me why I'm writing in my journal. She calls in a diary, but that's not true. Diaries are where you write your personal feelings down. Journals are where you chronicle your days. Although, looking back on my previous journals, I'd have to say that just writing what I did each day seems kind of meticulous.
I'd just like to point out that I've been writing these journals since I was thirteen. That was a while back. Like…eight years back. Lizzy and Lydia like to call them the "Janie Diaries."
I just tell them that they aren't diaries.
Anyway, the only reason that Lizzy cares is that she hasn't ever been able to keep a journal. She says that only perfect people are self centered enough to care about writing every day down. She says that she prefers reading.
I then tell her that I'm not self-centered. She says that I'm the exception, but that I am perfect.
Which is just wrong. I'm not perfect. I'm far from perfect. Why else would Kate Reilly keep telling me I'm folding all the clothes wrong at work?
I just asked Lizzy this and she tells me that Kate Reilly must have a protective barrier against my perfectness. So much for Lizzy.
I guess I could take her suggestion and start writing down stuff I think. Like about the fact that I think Professor Price is always undressing me with his eyes. That was what he was doing today in class. He was lecturing us about Hannibal (no, not the cannibal) and his triumph at the Battle of Cannae. I already knew everything he was talking about, but I still took notes. He kept calling on me, and when I'd answer, he would stare at me in this peculiar way…I can't seem to describe it, other than he's checking me out. Which is just way too creepy to think about. I mean, I guess he's about thirty which isn't too old…but I could have sworn he was married and everything.
Or maybe I could start with Lizzy. Ah, Lizzy. My baby sister. Well, not as little as my three other little sisters, but still. Lizzy is quite a story in herself. Should I start with the fact that she lives at my place for no other reason than that she's too lazy to go get her own? Yeah, I should probably start there.
She had just gotten out of high school, and I was already in my sophomore year of college. My parents had three other kids to handle, so when Lizzy told them that she was going to the same college I was, they were overjoyed. I would be looking out for her, and since I'm so "perfect," they wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. So they paid for her tuition and sent her off.
I opened the door that day having a slight idea of what was happening. She told me that she'd go searching for an apartment the next day. I asked her why she didn't just get a dorm room at the college campus.
She just asked me why I didn't have a room at the college campus. I told her that I did have a room during my freshman year, but then I decided to get an apartment.
"You're just too perfect, Janie," she told me. I asked her what that had to do with anything. Surprise, surprise, she didn't answer.
So here we are. One year later. And she still hasn't gotten her own place. I guess it isn't that bad, since we do have movie marathons on Friday nights, and on Saturdays she drags me out to go to parties. But that stuff always distracts me from my papers and studying, which I really have to do because I always feel as if I were just going to fail my classes. Lizzy tells me I could never fail at anything.
Lizzy is always telling me that I'm perfect, but I guess that people have just liked her more. She's spunky and carefree, and I wish I were more like her. Not that I would ever tell her that. I bet she would hold it over my head for weeks. Or tell me that I'm perfect and that no one would ever want to be her. She's smart, but not completely obsessed with schoolwork (as I admit to be…it's my life, sadly), and helped me get my second boyfriend in my whole life this year. That's right. I had a boyfriend in eighth grade, and he wasn't even my boyfriend. He was just my friend. But then he dumped me when he became popular. Eighth grade sucked.
But Lizzy helped me get my boyfriend. His name is Sam West. Sam West…I just love the way it sounds. I love his jet black hair and his blue eyes and his arms…
He was Lizzy's friend at work. They both work at some diner a ways down the street from our school and she introduced me to him. Actually, he turned out to be in my "Famous Women of the Ancient Mediterranean World" class and he introduced himself to me, saying that my sister (He called her Beth, which is weird…no one ever calls her Beth…it must be a work thing) had told about me. He then asked if I wanted coffee.
I almost told him that I had another class in an hour that I had to get to, and I'm glad I didn't. I would have had to shoot myself. Sam is the sweetest guy I've ever met. After we got coffee and he asked me out after that. He said that he had liked me for a while but had never talked to me. Isn't that so cute? It reminds me of all those Molly Ringwald movies.
So, it was official. Janie Bennet had a boyfriend. I had a boyfriend. We kissed on the second date (wow, I'm blushing just writing this down…I'm such a dork). Lizzy keeps teasing me about him, but I never listen. It's surprising that Lizzy hasn't had that many boyfriends either, seeing as a lot of the guys like her. She tells me that isn't true and that all the guys like me, but that I just can't notice. That would probably explain why that group of guys was whistling at me. No, I'm not naïve. I'm just oblivious. It's different.
So…that's Lizzy. I don't want to pick favorites out of my sisters, but even though Lizzy's been mooching off of me for a year, I still love her the best. We're best friends, practically.
Speaking of best friends, I actually do have a life and other friends. I can imagine that anyone who was to read this (which they WILL NOT. That means YOU, Lizzy!) would be thinking "…This girl is such a dork." And I'm not. I have friends.
There's Cordelia, and Addy, and Joaquin (I know, there are actually people who are named Joaquin…who aren't actors…). It took me a few weeks to actually pronounced Joaquin's name right. He was Joe-aw-kwin for a while, and then Yo-a-kin, and then I finally got it right.
Cordelia is what Lizzy likes to call my "gal pal," which I guess means that she's the kind of person who likes to do my hair and nails. Cordelia is always saying she wished she had naturally blond hair like mine and blue eyes like mine. She says I always look perfect that I barely give her anything to improve on.
Addy is the kind of person who was known at school as the "person who hung out a lot in the corner of the parking lot smoking pot." She's just that kind of person. The kind of person who goes to see their therapist twice a week and really likes My Chemical Romance. But I love her anyway.
Joaquin is my best guy friend (that sounds so hokey) and he is my study buddy. He loves learning about Rome like I do, so we go over class notes together. He's just a great guy all around to hand out with. That's probably why half the female population of my junior class, let alone the school, hates me. Joaquin is kind of hot. But I would never tell anyone that…
I guess that's enough of my inner thoughts for this afternoon. Lizzy and Cordelia decided that they will drag me to a party tonight. I guess there are going to be hot guys and stuff there (not that I need anyone other than Sam!).