The Difference a Year Makes
"You know that just a year ago if anyone had told me that I'd be where I am right now, I'd have just looked at them funny before walking away without saying a word."
"Why?"
"Because," Jane replied to her boyfriend as he stretched out on her bed, "I'd have thought they were insane."
Tom Sloane chuckled, "Well welcome to Crazyland Ms. Lane. You can leave but never check out."
"That's an Eagles song young Thomas."
They both shared a laugh just as the last of the commercials ended, bringing back on the local news.
Normally neither one of them would have bothered having the television set on, since Sick Sad World wouldn't be on for another hour, but apparently today was the day that they were going to air a piece on the Lawndale track team.
"...And turning to local sports. The Lawndale High Track team continues it's winning streak with star runner, Jane Lane beating her own speed record by 8 seconds."
"Wow!" Tom exclaimed, "8 seconds?!"
"Yup." Jane answered with some modesty.
Tom grinned before kissing her cheek and saying, "And just think, if you hadn't taken my joke about 'proving your crappy gym coach' wrong about being lazy, you wouldn't be on TV."
"And facing a lot more ass-kissing at school tomorrow." Jane reminded him.
"Well there's always a dark lining to every silver cloud."
Then the reporter showed a short interview they had conducted with Jane, it was just a few seconds of nothing, but Jane couldn't help but admit (if only to herself) that it was kind of cool to be seeing herself on the tube.
She found herself thinking about how much everything had changed in her life. She wasn't sure if meeting Tom had been the thing to set it all in motion or not, or if it would have all just happened on it's own anyway.
"Well," Jane contemplated, "If you had actually bailed on helping Monique as a roadie at that club in Oakwood, you'd have never met Tom and that would have sucked."
It wasn't everyday that you meet someone with a similar, caustic, outlook on life. In fact Mr. Sloane had been the very first person she had ever encountered that was really on the same wavelength as herself.
"And after that your Freshman year at Lawndale just went by in a flash." Jane reminded herself, since that year had been them bonding first as friends and then as something more.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"It's open!" Jane called out.
Her door opened and Amanda Lane's head popped into view.
"Hello Janie," the Matriarch of the Lane clan said in her whispery voice, "I'm going out for some groceries, I'll be back in an hour, kay?"
"Ok Mom, see ya later."
Amanda just smiled before darting back and shutting the door behind her.
"What a difference a year makes." Jane pondered with wonder. Since up until recently her parents followed 'the butterfly' philosophy of parenting. Which translated into letting her and Trent raise each other amidst dwindling resources and cash.
However when Tom's parents had gotten wind of her situation, they had proved surprisingly helpful in tracking down her wayward parents and forcing them to take a good, hard look at what their kids were enduring due to their globetrotting ways.
Granted her father was still a globetrotter, but that was due to his job as a photographer and he did make it a point to come home whenever her could.
Amanda on the other hand made enough contact with reality long enough to decide to settle her roots in Lawndale, at least until Jane was old enough to depart.
Their finances were much more stable now, especially since her parents weren't sending their older brood anymore cash to piss away. The strings were cut and they had to make it completely on their own now.
"Well Trent's still here," Jane mouthed to herself, "But he at least isn't a selfish prick like the others."
She did wish that he'd get his act together, but there weren't any flying pigs outside so Jane didn't bother holding her breath.
She briefly wondered why she was thinking about the past but then dismissed it, after all everything did have a surreal edge to it and some part of her was still expecting the other shoe to drop.
"Relax Jane," she told herself, "You don't know what the future has in store, just go with the flow and see where it leads."
So with that affirmation Jane leaned on Tom and endured the news, waiting for Sick, Sad World to air.