"I'm doing fine, how are you?" I asked into the phone. "That's good... I'm finishing dinner... Casey only brings me to lunch, and occasionally breakfast. He eats dinner with his folks." I took another bite of my quinoa, listening to the person on the other end. "No, Grandma, we're just friends."
That struck me in the heart once again.
"Yes, Grandma, I'm fine. Heartbreak doesn't get me that easily. Plus, we both agreed to try something new. It was just to much a strain on our lives..." I said, seeming more to convince myself rather than the woman on the other end of the line. "Now, you have to eat dinner, because it's already eight o'clock. And I have to go to bed in a bit for work. I get early shift tomor- I love you too. Good night, Grandma," I set down my phone to have one last gulp of dinner, then went out to the apartment balcony to look at the stars. I took out the telescope. I immediately turned it to the moon.
Dad was up there. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was. I smiled to myself at the thought. As I looked up at the sky, I tried to find Jupiter in the entire mess of stars. I finally spotted the giant planet. It looked small and grey from my distance, but it was still my favorite to find. When I was younger, Dad had promised to reach Jupiter for me. I had been so excited, imagining my father on Jupiter was amazing. As I aged, though, I learned he wouldn't be able to in a short enough time. And he promised he wouldn't leave us for more than four years. To reach Jupiter, for me, would be a dream come true.
My phone buzzed like mad as the alarm went off. I uncovered myself from the sheets and blankets, exposing myself to the cold air. I froze in my tracks, praying that I could just go back to bed, but my alarm told me otherwise. I walked out of the small bedroom and into the kitchen, to find Casey attempting to flip a pancake. He then made his way to another pan and flipped the egg. I gaped, not knowing what to say. He looked up from the eggs and smiled wide at me.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty."
I groaned in return, staring at the oven clock. 4 AM. I groggily walked over to him, wrapping the robe I had put on even tighter around myself. "What are you doing up so early?" I asked, making syllables longer than needed.
He smiled. "Making breakfast."
"But you don't live here," I deadpanned, him smiling from ear to ear.
"But does that mean I can't make my best friend breakfast?" He inquired slyly, eyeing me from the side.
I sighed. "How did you break in anyway?"
Casey laughed. "I didn't break in! Your grandma gave me the code. And she told me that you would wake up this early."
I groaned, slamming my head on the table.
"She also told me something else," He prodded, getting a plate out of the cupboard.
"Haha- like what?" I scoffed, trying to pick myself up.
"That we should get back together."
I bolted upright and gawked at him, but he looked serious. "But.. what... I thought... what do you..." I stammered, not knowing what to think. In return, I got howls of laughter from Casey as I paced back an forth. I looked up at his expression, which said he was entirely lying. I licked my teeth. "I'm going to kill you, Casey Banks."
He chuckled and brought a filled plate over to me. "Try your hardest," He teased, so I jumped on his back and punched him in the shoulders. He laughed at my pitiful attempts, then rolled his shoulder back, causing me to slip off like soap.
"Cheater!" I shouted, punching him in the back.
He spun around, gasping as if I just said the worst. "Cheater? Me?" He smiled, going back into the kitchen. "Noo..."
"Yesh," I replied, mouth full of syrupy pancakes. "You are a sheeter like no osher."
Casey laughed even louder. "Don't shew with your moush full."
I laughed in a more quiet manner, trying not to wake the neighbors or spit out my food. I quickly stuffed the rest down, then looked at the clock on the oven. I had to leave soon or I'd be late. I got up from my seat and put the dishes in the washer, then put away my robe and got dressed at break-neck speed. I got my purse and ran to the door, forgetting Casey was still there. "I have to go..." I said slowly, then turned the knob. "Don't forget to lock the door on your way out."
"I won't, Jan. Good luck."
I smiled, then quickly ran back to him, squeezing him tightly. He had gotten much taller, so now he loomed over me like a great oak. "Thank you," I said, then ran out the door.
"Ma'am, I'll get you a new plate, but I can't give you a refund. You payed for the meal, so we'll give you a good one," I assured the lady, who smelled of cigarettes and alcohol. She glared at me through her tiny black eyes, jutting out her bottom jaw. I pushed a white strand of hair out of my face and smiled. "I'll go get you that plate right now, ma'am. I'll be right back. Can I get you anything else on the way?"
"My refund," The heavy-set woman grumbled, slumping down in her seat.
I ignored her comment and ran behind the cashier desk to get another salad. I re-prepared the lunch and brought it back out to the lady, bringing a bag of croutons on the way. I set the salad dish in front of her and smiled as bright as I could, denying the fact I wanted to punch her rotted teeth right from her mouth to the back of her head. "Tell me if you need anything more, okay?" Then I scurried away to the front desk once more to get another order. I had got a job at a Culver's right out of town, because if I was to be excepted into a college, I needed money to pay for all of it.
So that meant I had to work my butt off.
The next customer was staring down at her screen, mumbling something as she did. I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention, but failed, and tried again. I tried a cough, but her eyes seemed to be glued to her phone, causing a small ruckus in the crowd. I stood there for another minute, but she was still oblivious to me. "Ma'am? Do you know what you want to order?"
The woman finally looked up from her phone. "What are you talking about? I already did. I was waiting for you, ****."
I cringed at the name, but tried to look as calm as possible. "Sorry, ma'am, but I didn't hear your order. Would you please repeat it?"
"Are you deaf or something? I said a cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, and extra onion with a side of fries and a Sprite. Got that, missy?" She stated, putting an extra tone that I hated entirely, but I just smiled and said, "Yes, ma'am. Here's your number. We'll get that to you in a bit."
"Good," she said under her breathe, turning back to her phone.
I sighed in relief as she left to find a table, and started to get the next customer's order, but was soon cut off by a tap on the shoulder. "One minute, sir," I told the man who was handing out his order. I turned around to face Michelle, a co-worker, and smiled. "Hi Michelle, do you need anything?"
Michelle nodded, then pointed to the clock. "It's my turn, Jan. You can go on lunch break now."
I turned to face the clock, then gasped. "Well it is that time, isn't. Time sure does fly by when working with such a job," I spoke, directing it more to myself. "Let me finish up this customer, then it's all yours."
Michelle nodded then went back into the kitchen to wait.
I had two hours for lunch break. Casey texted and said he'd get lunch for me, so I quickly agreed. We were to meet at a small town restaurant near my work so I could get there in time. I burst through the doors and looked around for Casey. He was already sitting at a table and looking at the menu, trying to decide what to get. I immediately rushed over to him and plopped down in the other chair.
Casey looked up from his menu, staring at my hair. "You look like you just ran a marathon."
I quickly flattened down my hair and wiped my face with the napkin. "How about now?"
Casey smiled, then reached his hand across to fix my hair, finally getting it how he liked. Then he looked down at my face, in which he smiled warmly, then sat back down in his seat. "Your hair looks fine now, but your face... you have something all over it."
I bolt out of my chair and raced to the bathroom, hoping it wasn't something horrible, or that he was just exaggerating, so then I didn't look like a maniac when I was running everywhere. When i got to the bathroom, I washed it urgently, then looked at the paper towel, wondering what it was. When I didn't see anything, I deadpanned at Casey's joke, throwing the paper towel away and walking out of the bathroom, expecting to see a howling Casey at our table. He wasn't howling, but he sure was smiling. An evil smile that was shot directly at me.
"Ha, ha. Very funny, Casey Banks," I declared, pulling the chair out. He smiled even wider. "You should be a comedian you're just so darn funny."
"I know, people tell me that all the time."
"Oh goody."
Casey smiled, then went back to picking a meal. "What do you want?"
"I dunno. What sounds good?" I answered, staring at the menu intently.
He hummed, then placed his finger on the plastic. "Chicken sticks."
I raised a brow in question, then looked down at my menu suspiciously. "Fish sticks sound good."
"Oh, so you're against chicken now?" He joked, placing down his menu. "The Chicken Empire will have to destroy your flimsy fish now."
I smiled. "Like your chicken legs can destroy anything. My fish fillet includes salmon. They are the Fish Kingdom knights and will take your chicken down easily."
"Prove it," Casey said, grinning widely, just as the waitress came over to take our orders.
"Hi, what can i get you two today?" She asked, a warm smile plastered on her face. She held out her notepad, the pen pressed firmly against the paper.
"I'll have chicken sticks and a water, while this little bundle of mischief will have a fish fellet... and what do you want to drink with that, my dear lady?" He stated, a charming smile on his face that caused my face to heat up. I heard the waitress fail to stifle her laugh, but I just adjusted in my seat and stared away from Casey- anywhere but Casey, forgetting that I was asked a question.
"Jan? What do you want to drink?" Casey asked, snapping me back to reality. I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head. "I'll just have a lemonade, please."
The waitress nodded, then walked away from our table to place the order.
After work, Casey took me into the woods, running along the trees as I tried to keep up with him. His pace quickened, but he looked over his shoulder to see if I was close behind. He smiled and gestured his hand in a 'come-on' motion.
"We're almost there!"
He had told me he had a special spot he wanted to show me. I had asked for more detail, but he wagged his finger and said, "Nuh uh, it's a surprise."
I scoffed. "I'll pry it out of you, you're horrible at keeping secrets!"
I tried multiple times on the car ride to who-knows-where, but he just smiled and focused on the road.
We finally reached his deemed 'special spot', pausing, taking a deep breathe of fresh air before turning back to me. He waited for me to reach his side, and I was finally able to see it all. It was a small clearing, and in the middle was a hill, just a bit steep, with a flat top perfect for sitting on to look at the sky. I gawked at the cloudless sky, as it lit up with the stars and moon, lighting a path to the hill.
I jumped back in surprise when I felt something grab my wrist, snapping me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a smiling Casey, who motioned to once again follow him. We walked up to the top, giving an even better view of the stars. He sat down, pulling me down with him. I fell down into his lap, and he put his arms around me protectively. I squirmed around in his grasp to face the sky once more, leaning my head back against his shoulder.
"Can you find Jupiter from here, Jan?" Casey asked, a smile hinted in his voice. I giggled, then looked around in the starry night to find the large planet. I finally scouted it out and pointed it up to the sky.
"There it is," I whispered into his ear, still pointing up at the sky.
He nodded, humming a tune as he turned his head slightly to face me. He seemed tense, staring at me with stern eyes. It's regular gentle blue seemed intimidating, yet vulnerable at the same time. I looked at him questionably, not knowing what to do.
"Jan... I... have to ask..." He stammered, still staring straight into my soul. I nodded, persistent for him to go on. "I never understood, why did you take away your powers?"
