"Jen! Wake up honey! We're going to be late! Grandmum and Grandad are expecting us to visit for a few hours this morning! I hope you're at least dressed!" her mother called from downstairs. The house was silent except for the sound of Mrs. Peyton busily preparing breakfast so that she and her daughter could eat and leave as quickly as possible.
"Jenny?" she said as she ascended the stairs to find her daughters room empty. She briefly panicked than immediately ran over to the nearest phone and just before she dialed Jen's cell number, heard the doorbell ring. She walked downstairs and opened the from door to find Jen standing in nothing but shorts and a tank top next to a blonde haired boy who seemed vaguely familiar.
"Um…what's this?" her mother stammered, feeling completely perplexed by the current situation.
"Hey Mom…uh have you met Jesse he's our new neighbor…by the way and we um…met at school yesterday and decided to go…" Jesse intervened.
"Jogging!…I-I'm quite the health fanatic and I just thought that I'd ask Jen to come along with me this morning because…she…told me how she wants to be in shape for the upcoming…" Jen interrupted him.
"Soccer season…yea mom I'm playing soccer this year by the way and I…he volunteered to help me with...c-conditioning before try outs…isn't that great?" she lied. The couple nervously looked back and forth at one other. Jen's mother was at a loss for words, she knew that preseason training was uncharacteristic of her daughter entirely but decided to disregard her personal convictions and accept their story.
"I…don't know what to say…thank you…Jesse? For volunteering but I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal Jen from you we have very important plans to visit my parents today and if Jen isn't showered and dressed in the next 20 minutes…we're not going to be on time and that's one thing neither myself or my mother can stand…so if you don't mind…" she opened the door and nodded Jen inside. Jesse watched her as she ascended the stairs and disappeared into the house. Jen's mother stared at Jesse suspiciously.
"Is there something else I can help you with…?" she asked while scanning every detail of his fear stricken expression. "Ah no…not at all I-I just wanted to know when she'll be back…" he stuttered. Jen's mother raised her eyebrows.
"About 4:00 this afternoon…why? Are you planning another work out session?" she said with just enough bite in her voice that Jesse was quick to end the conversation.
"…Oh no reason at all but she should CALL ME…if she wants to WORK OUT again TOMMOROW or later TODAY…" he said loudly enough for Jen to hear at the top of the stairs.
"Is there a reason you're yelling?" her mother said irritably. "…uh…I have…a condition…well anyways it's nice to meet you got to go bye!" Jesse said as he turned and ran back towards his house.
The tension between Jen and her mother was unwavering throughout the entire car ride to her grandparent's house. Jen knew full well that her mom was more than skeptical about her and Jesse's earlier explanation as to why she wasn't sleeping in her own bed this morning. She knew her mother would eventually find out what exactly they had been doing and the truth about her and Jesse's relationship but she decided to abstain from having that conversation for the time being. Jen looked down at her video ipod and reassured herself that as long as the battery ran and her headphones stayed connected that she was safe from the awkward silence that filled every inch of her mother's Mercedes. Mrs. Peyton kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her. She gripped the wheel tightly as though she was using every ounce of her concentration to decipher what she knew was a lie. She recalled meeting Jesse when his parents first moved in but something about him troubled her and the more she thought about the strange events of the morning the less she wanted Jen to be even remotely involved with this uncomfortably familiar boy who had darkened her doorstep under the guise of an athletic trainer. Almost as if on cue, Jen's mother began the dreaded discussion nearly in unison with the death of Jen's ipod battery.
"Jennifer…" Jen stopped her before she could start.
"Look mom…I know you and Dad heard about the guy I was dating back in California and how he was a total jerk and trouble maker and the worst thing you both could have hoped for…so when the summer ended we…broke up…but now he's moved here and we decided that we're just going to be friends….I'm actually thinking about getting back together with Rory…Dad was so happy with us I think that might be what's best…just know that Jesse and I are just friends now…so don't worry about me I'll be fine..." she lied. Her mother looked over at her in surprise and then awe of the fact that her daughter was doing exactly what she and her husband had wanted all along.
"Oh honey…I was so worried about you this summer…When Jesse's parents moved in across the way your father and I were hesitant to meet them but they turned out to be lovely people. After we all sat down for dinner we decided that it would be best if you and Jesse didn't continue to see each other but I'm glad that you've realized that too. None of us wanted to play the bad guy and break you two up or tell the both of you that we didn't want you to see each other, but now that you've made the decision on your own things will be so much easier. Rory is perfect for you he's going places, we get along with his family, he looks up to your father, you two are the perfect match. Congratulations." The combination of her mother speech and car sickness was enough to make her want to regurgitate. She couldn't believe much less stand the words that were coming out of her parent's mouths. How dare they decide in advance that the two of them couldn't be together. What right did they have to tell them who they could or couldn't date? As her mother continued to speak she found it increasingly difficult not to tell her the truth, not to tell her that she was in love with Jesse and had no intention of leaving him for Rory who had almost caused her injury the day before. She wanted so badly to fight back or to oppose the expectations set upon her by her parents and her school but couldn't. For now she was to remain silent and continue to play the part of the perfect little private school girl with the skill and precision of a street mime.
"We're here…" her mother said as she pulled into the long paved driveway of her grandparent's estate. Jen hated this place, the stench of old money and diehard family tradition poisoned the air. In her eyes, her grandmother and grandfather were equally tyrannical when it came to Jen's boyfriends i.e. future husbands. When they visited last Jen's father had forced her to bring Rory along to meet the family. Her grandmother and grandfather both had fallen in love with Rory and his grade A private school bullshitting he would recite to them when asked about his views on politics and the world. Yet, maybe she was being hypocritical, at a certain point she too must have been entranced by Rory's wall street swagger and conservative way with words considering she dated him for nearly 3 months. But ever since she'd found Jesse her whole outlook on life had changed for the better. She had been so caught up in this fake illusive Rockwell Academy mentality that she forgot how to love which made her question if she really had ever loved Rory at all or if it was his title that made him appealing. Jesse had taught her so many things and put her through so much that she couldn't help but want to learn more from him and about him. She fell in love and endured all the cuts and bruises that came along the way, and after having survived the fall wanted nothing more than to stay with the one man who had seen her through it. As she walked through the heavy doors of her grandparent's house her cell phone buzzed. She flipped open the screen just before she would knew she would be asked to put it away for the next 3 hours. She glanced down at her new message from Jesse "I miss u call me when you get home" and knew he was all she needed to make it through this rocky start of the day.