Two and a Half Months Later:
It's okay Grace. It will all be okay. Grace sighs as she looks up into the bathroom mirror. Just get a grip. She sighs again as she grabs her backpack and opens the door to go down stairs.
"Hey Grace. Are you looking forward to the first day of school?" Lily grins. "I bet you're really excited," she speculates enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's not like I'm a senior or anything," Grace shrugs. "At least I'm a sophomore now," she says, a look of disappointment briefly flashing over her face.
"Do you have any classes with Jessie?" Zoe asks with an elated expression.
"No. Why would I have classes with some freshman?" Grace retorts with a brief look of disappointment flashing across her face.
"Jessie is taking some advanced courses this year, she might very well be," Lily counters.
"Yeah, well, it's not like we talk all the time. I don't know what classes she's taking and I don't know her schedule," Grace retorts as she goes to leave.
"Okay. Have nice day at least," Lily says after her.
Grace paces around a moment before finally sitting on the Soliloquy Stool. She's looking down at her feet and takes a deep breath before looking up.
"The last two and a half months have been a living hell," Grace blurts out, barely above a whisper. "I admit, most of it is my fault. I mean, I've been avoiding poor Jessie like the plague. Whenever we do talk, I totally bitch-out on her," she pauses and looks off at a distance.
"She thinks I hate her. She hasn't said it, but I can tell that that's what she feels. I know she doesn't hate me. Jessie couldn't hate anyone," Grace looks forward again, this time with tears in her eyes. She looks up slightly and shakes her head.
"Grace, are you alright?" A girl asks and Grace turns to look at her with a confused expression on her face. "You didn't answer my question," the girl points out.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What was it?" She asks sheepishly.
"This blonde girl walked by and you looked at her kind of funny. I asked if you knew her," the other girl says while cocking her head.
"Oh, her. Yeah, I know her," Grace replies in a low voice. The girl looks at her with an expression urging her to continue. "It was Jessie, my mother's boyfriend's daughter," she continues slowly.
"Oh yeah. You told me about her. She's pretty," the girl adds the last part quietly as somewhat of an afterthought. "So anyways, were you planning on going to Homecoming or," she looks at her wistful friend staring off into space, "or were you planning on ignoring me?"
"Huh? What?" Grace asks, realizing her friend is staring at her. "What did you ask?"
"You've been flaking out all morning. I asked if you were going to Homecoming," she repeats.
"I am really sorry. I was just thinking about Jessie," she says simply, then catches the strange look on her friend's face. "I mean, Jessie thinks I hate her," she covers.
Her friend catches the softened look in Grace's face at the mention of Jessie. "Hmm. Well, if you don't hate her, then how do you feel about her?" She asks.
"I, um, well," at that moment, the bell rings and Grace's face brightens. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later. I have got to get to geometry. I've got Mr. Ellison. You know how anal that guy is," she says as she takes off down the hall like a bat out of hell. Saved by the bell. She smirks at her own pun.
Grace comes into the classroom with a huge grin on her face at being able to evade her friend's question. Upon entering the classroom, she notices that there are assigned seats and their are tags on the desks. She easily maneuvers herself into the desk with her name on it. She looks over at who is sitting around her, looking for any of her friends. The smile on her face couldn't have fallen off faster if she had been bitch-slapped, but she might as well have. She did a double take at the name next to her: Jessica Sammler.
Visibly sinking in her seat, Grace looks up with a miserable look. As if on cue, Jessie steps into the classroom, an already glum expression turning downright depressed. "Hi," Jessie says softly, offering a halfhearted smile as she sits in the desk next to Grace.
Grace sinks down further into her seat and smiles back. "Hi.," she returns. After a moment, she turns back to Jessie. "Good day so far?" She asks, sounding genuinely interested.
Jessie turns to her and stops to think a moment. Mostly gauging whether or not Grace really cares. "I've had better. You?" She asks.
"Same here," Grace says with a smile. Happy with actually being able to talk to her without unintentionally sneering. Grace goes to say something else to an attentive Jessie, but the bell rings and a short, stocky man enters the room. They fall silent as Mr. Ellison begins class.
One Week Later:
The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Students came pouring out of the building, flooding into the schoolyard, creating a sea of people. Grace steps out of the building, scouring the crowds for a certain someone, instead, she nearly plows into her. As Jessie nearly topples over, Grace instinctually sends her hand out to grab Jessie by the arm to prevent that.
"I'm sorry," Grace offers lamely. "I didn't see you," she says, sounding more like a question than an explanation.
"It's okay," Jessie smiles weakly, wanting to just get away. She stands there a moment, looking awkwardly at Grace and feeling odd with her hand still wrapped around her arm.
"Oh," Grace says, following Jessie's eyes down to Jessie's arm. She lets out a nervous laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," she says as she spots her mom.
"Jessie!" Lily yells and Jessie's head turns toward the owner of the voice. "Your father called and asked me to pick you up," she explains as she walks up to the two girls.
"Oh," Jessie says simply. "Okay," he manages tensely as she pulls a death grip on the strap of her backpack.
"Great! Let's go," Lily beams as she looks obliviously between the two girls.
Grace is walking away from the Soliloquy Stool, running her hands nervously through her hair. "This truly bites," she grimaces. "Why couldn't Rick pick her up? This day just keeps getting better and better." She walks off.
Lily is sitting on the Stool with a huge grin on her face. "I am so glad Jessie and Grace are getting along better now," she sighs dreamily.
"Do you guys want something to eat or drink or something?" Lily asks the girls with a smile.
She should've been an airline hostess. Jessie thinks with an imperceptible smirk. "No thank you. I'm fine," she answers softly, looking over at the computer.
"Can I have some Skittles?" Zoe chirps.
"Me too," Grace says distractedly as she notes the despondent and thoughtful expression on Jessie's face. "Are you all right?" She asks as soon as Lily has left.
Jessie looks up from her preoccupied state with a smile. "Yeah. I'm fine," she answers with a smile.
"Okay," Grace replies, not entirely convinced. She shrugs it off, thinking that Jessie is probably uncomfortable. She decides to try and lighten the mood. "I think the internet is evil," she states out of nowhere. This gets both girl's undivided attention. "I mean, think about it. It's like taking away out privacy and identity. I don't like it," she states, leaning back in her chair, folding her arms and thinking that neither of them could come up with a justifiable argument.
Jessie looks at Grace with a confused expression, trying to find any sense at all in the other girl's reasoning. Then, noting the smug look, she decides to challenge that. "I don't know. I kind of like e-mail," she shrugs.
Grace is taken aback and stares at Jessie a moment, weighting her words. Her position falls and she slumps in her chair. "Yeah. I guess e-mail's okay," she concedes, begrudgingly admitting defeat. Jessie tries to hide a victorious smirk. "Go ahead, rub it in," Grace consents, twirling her hand in the air dramatically.
"I'm not going to rub it in. As long as you're willing to admit you're a loser, there's no need for me drive the fact in," Jessie responds, patting Grace on the shoulder, her smirk fading into a soft smile.
Grace prays that Jessie can't hear her heart beat because she's positive that it would be deafening at this point. "I appreciate that," she says in as steady a voice as she can muster. Jessie smiles softly at her before turning back to the screen.
Grace is sitting on her Stool with her head in her hands. "Why can't I be relocated to Siberia or Egypt or somewhere far away from Jessie?" She sighs heavily.
"But no. I have to suffer everyday. Looking in those eyes and hearing that sweet voice. Damn her. This is all her fault," she states. "If it's all her fault, then how come I can't hate her?" She groans.
"I really wish that I could retain the resentment I had toward her that I did before we met," she grunts.
"And did she have to look at me and smile at me with that smile and touch me the way she did? Why me?" She whimpers.
"I hope our parents break up soon so that I'll be able to see less of her everyday. That way, it'll be easier to get over feeling like this toward her." She shakes her head slowly. "This is stupid. The only thing I feel for her is respect or jealousy or something."
"Bye Jess. See you tomorrow," Grace says as Jessie steps out of the car.
"Bye," Jessie says with a smile as she waves goodbye. Grace pretends that that wave was meant just for her and she lets a broad grin take over her face.
