Author's Note: Hello, all! I have some bad news. I won't be posting another chapter any time soon if I continue having problems with my computer. I think I might have a virus. Possibly even more. I don't know, but my computer is slow and there are a ton of unwanted web sites that keep appearing in my "Links" folder. Not to mention the fact that I can't check my mail and something keeps popping up, saying something about my files being duplicated! I'm extremely worried and I need to get this thing fixed and quick. So I'm sorry to say that it'll be awhile until I post a new chapter unless I go to my friends house next week and post up another chapter when I'm finished with it :) But if I don't get a chance to do that, I made this chapter a long one. I think it's the longest one so far. Anyway, hope you enjoy and thank you all very much for your reviews!
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"Sarah," Rebecca said. "I like you and all, believe me I do, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
Sarah stared at her as if she couldn't believe the words coming from the small girl's mouth, but it was obvious to Rebecca that her brother did not want her there and Rebecca did not want Sarah there either if Jimmy was going to be acting the way that he was and Sarah was also obviously jealous of Cindy for being so close to Jimmy. Sarah knew that there was something between them even if Jimmy hadn't known it himself and her chances with Jimmy were threatened with Cindy around. But Rebecca would be damned if she allowed Sarah to interfere. She was sure that they would confess to one another soon and she hoped it was very soon, but that would diminish rapidly if Sarah managed to interfered.
"You heard Rebecca," Jimmy said. "Now leave." He extended his arm to his right and pointed his finger down the road.
Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, but I really want you to leave now," Rebecca replied as she walked down the porch toward her. The small girl smiled sweetly at the older girl and took her hand and led her to the side walk. When they were clear from the rest on the porch, Rebecca motioned Sarah to lean down. Slowly she did and Rebecca whispered in her ear, "I don't have anything against you, but Jimmy doesn't want you around and to be honest. . ." Rebecca paused and took a deep breath before continuing, ". . .I don't want you here either." Sarah gasped, staring at Rebecca. She straightened up. "I just can't have you messing things up for Cindy and Jimmy. They are deeply in love with each other, but they haven't confessed and I want things to work for them. You see, I think that Cindy could make a difference in Jimmy's life. A good difference." Sarah stared and Rebecca nodded as if reinforcing her words. "So I'm asking you to leave."
"I. . ." Sarah's voice trailed.
Rebecca smiled at her. "Go on and please, don't bother Cindy or Jimmy." She shrugged. "Neither one would like it and I'd appreciate it." She smiled again and waved Sarah off, but the other girl stood motionless, unable to move. I don't understand why this comes as a shock to her, Rebecca thought. It's really nothing but the truth.
Rebecca turned and walked back to the porch, but Sarah still did not move. It took her only a few more moments, but she soon walked away, a look of confusion and shock still on her face.
"What did you say to her?" her mother asked.
Rebecca looked up at her. She shrugged. "The truth," Becca answered, simply. "No one wanted her here and I told her as nicely as I-"
Jimmy took her into his arms and embraced her. He laughed as he kissed her cheek and then he set her down on her feet. She looked at him questioningly.
"Thank you, " Jimmy said. She smiled as she waved him off.
"It was nothing," she replied suddenly feeling joyous . "I just did what I thought needed to be done." She shrugged and Jimmy hugged her again. She laughed and then an idea struck her. Hm, she thought. "Why not share the love?" Becca asked, motioning toward Cindy.
Rebecca looked over at Cindy and noticed Cindy's ears perk up. She took a step back as Jimmy turned to look at her. A blush spread on his cheeks. It was faint, but it was there and Rebecca had caught it. You don't know how badly you've got it, she said to herself as she shook her head with a knowing smile.
Jimmy set her down again and cleared his throat. He was about to speak, but the sound a car pulling into the driveway interrupted him and fear paralyzed Becca as she inhaled a sharp breath. Her lungs suddenly felt swollen and her breath came out short. She knew right away who had returned. It was her father, the last person she wanted to see. She attempted to reach out for Jimmy's hand, but she could not move. The car door slammed and the the man's foot steps approached.
"Hugh!" her mother exclaimed happily. "You're home! Oh, I've missed you!"
"Give me a break," Jimmy whispered.
"Maybe I should be going," Cindy whispered softly. Becca didn't want her to leave, but she found that she could not even speak.
"Jimmy, your father's home! Becca come greet your father!" Mrs. Neutron called.
Jimmy stepped back, protectively in front of Becca. He took her hand in his and she slowly turned as her legs willed her to move. Her father looked over at her with a sheepish smile, but she could not bring herself to smile.
Even after living with the man for a month he was still a complete stranger and most of that month had been spent away from him. She had stayed with Jimmy in his lab, playing around with Goddard or watching Jimmy work on his heart. And besides, she had heard all she needed from Jimmy. He had a good idea on who the man was and she trusted him. Her mother, on the other hand had spoken highly of this man on many occasions, but Becca never listened.
You only hear what you want to hear, a voice in her mind said. She couldn't pin point the voice right away, but after some thinking she realized it had been her mother who had spoken the words. She had been arguing with Jimmy about something. She couldn't remember what they were arguing about, but she remembered her mother saying something about only hearing what was wanted to be heard.
"I'm not in the mood for this," Jimmy said, leading his sister into the house.
"You're never in the mood for anything," their mother argued. "I don't understand why you just don't forgive him!"
How could she not understand? Rebecca thought, staring at her mother.
"Judy," Hugh pleaded, taking her hand in his. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does," Mrs. Neutron protested. She turned to Jimmy again. "You pretend as if he's still not here. As if he never returned home to us! Why?! It's all in the past, Jimmy!"
Becca looked up at her brother. He lowered his head. The loose strands of hair fell into his eyes, shielding his pain and anguish, but Becca could feel it in him. She knew it was there even if she couldn't see in his eyes. A tear suddenly fell from her eye. She hated to see Jimmy in such pain every time he was reminded of their father. He'd become angry and it scared her to be perfectly honest. She always felt as if she was losing him little by little. It was almost as if the angrier he became the more his sweet, sensitive side subsided and that was just one more reason to hate this man who Jimmy once knew as "dad."
She herself could not understand how her mother had forgiven this strange man so quickly and how she expected her to except him as her father. Becca was not ready to add this new man in her life. He was still a stranger in her eyes and she didn't like him. She hated him for leaving Jimmy the way he had. Sometimes she hated him for leaving her, because she had never gotten the chance to grow up with him around and she always missed out on the father/daughter days at school and even on Father's Day Week at school where a new father came in everyday so their son or daughter could introduce him to the class. Everyday of that week was like hell for her, because it had been a constant reminder that she did not have a father to lean on or to play with and it depressed her to know that she was never going to get the chance to say that she was the one with the best dad in the world not the other students. And where had she been on Father's Day Week? Sitting in the back of the classroom, wishing that she had a father of her own to show off. But she didn't have one and she didn't want to bother Jimmy at all. He had even offered, but she didn't want him to miss school, so she acted as if it had meant nothing to her. But it had. It meant a lot.
"That may be true," Jimmy began, "But by acting as if it's never happened will not make this go away." He turned to his mother. He scoffed as he shook his head. "You have the nerve to tell me that I'm the one who pretends when you're the one who prances around the house all of a sudden happy-go-lucky, pretending that this family is still whole, pretending that everything is just fine-and-dandy when it's not! You're the one who pretends not me!" His hands slipped from Becca's as he took a step back and that's when Cindy put an arm around her. Becca hadn't realized that there were more tears escaping her eyes. Her breath became labored again. "So don't you dare tell me that I pretend like nothing happened!"
Jimmy then stormed into the house and things fell silent.
Suddenly, Becca tore away from Cindy. "I hate you!" she shouted at her father and mother both before Dashing inside after Jimmy.
"Rebecca!" her mother pleaded.
Why can't he just leave us alone?! Becca thought. She ignored the throbbing pain she felt in her chest. She had often gotten pains in her chest with short, labored breaths, but she did not mention a word of it to anyone. She knew they would take her to the hospital and she did not want to go there. Jimmy needed her here and she would not leave him alone with her parents. He'd do something he'd regret and Rebecca knew it.
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The bell suddenly rang and Jimmy gathered his things. Three periods down and. . .six more to go, he groaned.
"Jimmy," a voice called. He looked up. "May I have a word with you, please?"
He grunted. Mrs. Brooks was the last person in the school that he wanted to talk to. He still had not forgiven her for the last time they talked. He looked down at his knuckles he still wore the same bandages. The memory of the previous day suddenly came flooding back to him.
"I wish to speak with you about your father," she said bluntly. She doesn't waste any time, does she, Jimmy had thought.
She stood in front of the black board, waiting patiently for him to come a few steps closer. "I know he's back home with you." Jimmy stopped as he heard the words. "I can only imagine what you went through during that month and what you're still going through now. Call it a wild guess, but something tells me that it's not over." Concern suddenly surfaced in her eyes and Jimmy found himself even more surprised than he had originally been. He had always thought of her as a grouch, but he had obviously thought wrong. "You can tell me these things, Jimmy. You need to talk about things like thins. Keeping your regret, anger, pain, love-"
"I have no love for that man," he had replied, his anger raging in him and his voice dripping with disdain and venom.
Mrs. Brooks took a step back.
"Well, whatever emotions you're harboring, it's not good." She paused before cautiously proceeding. "Emotions as powerful as the one's you're suppressing can come out in the most dangerous of ways if you keep them hidden inside. You have to talk to someone about your father and your feelings."
Jimmy couldn't hold himself back any longer. All the anger he had kept tucked away for that whole month was surfacing and sadly it was just as Mrs. Brooks had said. Without realizing it he punched the board behind her. She had lucky stepped aside. "I am not going to talk about him."
"But, Jimmy, you have-"
His other fist slammed against the board. "I will not!" He turned away with a low, threatening growl that roared, deep in his throat. With a swift, angry motion of his hand he cleared Mrs. Brooks's desk of her papers and things. They fell to the floor without much noise and Jimmy continued out the door, leaving her to pick up the fallen papers.
He looked up at Mrs. Brooks again as the remaining students left the room.
"Cindy close the door behind you, will you?" Mrs, Brooks asked sweetly with a smile. She looked at Cindy and Cindy nodded with a weak smile. She closed the door behind her and Jimmy stood. He walked to the front of the room. She had cleverly covered up the small portion of the board he had punched with a World War II advertizement poster. Uncle Sam was pointing a finger. "We want you!" was written underneath his picture.
"Nice poster," he commented. She looked at it and turned to him again and smiled.
"Isn't it just?" she replied. Jimmy almost laughed, but suppressed it.
Mrs. Brooks walked over and at first Jimmy thought she was going to try to hug him or something, but she pulled one of the front row seats up and motioned him to sit. For a moment he was surprised, but it quickly passed. He sat down and she sat on her desk and looked at him as she took a deep breath. Something seemed to be bothering her and JImmy sat patiently, waiting for her to speak. "About yesterday-"
"Forget it," Jimmy interrupted.
"But I wanted to-"
"I apologize," Jimmy said, looking down. "I over reacted, I guess."
"I understand that you were angry," she explained, "but it was my own fault and I apologize." Jimmy looked up at her. "I just wanted to help you." She sighed. "I know you kids think that I'm this mean, insensitive witch, but-"
"Actually, witch isn't the word," Jimmy corrected. "We all like to use bi-"
"Okay," Mrs. Brooks interfered. She held her hands up, defeatedly. "My point is that I know you kids don't think of me as a nice person, but I am, I'm just a bit hard on you because I believe if a student is pushed, at least just a little bit, then they'll succeed and I want all of my students to succeed."
"Well, I think that m you should back off and let us take a breather," Jimmy argued.
"Sorry," Mrs. Brooks replied, weakly. "But anyway, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday, but I still want you to talk to someone about it. It's best. I worry about you and if you don't believe me, then that's just fine with me, but I do. I really and truly do."
Jimmy looked at his shoes. There was some silence between them as he thought to himself for a moment. Who would've thought that Mrs. Brooks had a heart? But then. . .She not that bad, came Cindy's voice. I've seen a side of her that no one has. He remembered Cindy defending her after Sheen called her a meany. She's a really sweet woman.
"Jimmy," Mrs. Brooks called. He looked up and she smiled. " You know, you're getting a chance that not many kids get. Having your dad back, I mean." He wondered where she was going with this, but he didn't think he liked this conversation. "It might be a good idea to see what he's got to offer this time around. I know it may seem like a bad thing to have him back, but just remember there are kids out there who wish more than anything in the world to have their fathers back, to complete the family they once had. And here you are, getting their chance. You should honor it and honor them. Take this chance because you don't know just how long it'll last."
Jimmy sat there taking it all in. She did have a good point and he would really take her words to heart, but at the moment he could not bring himself to see this as a good thing. . .not completely anyway. He stood and Mrs. Brooks looked at him. He walked to the door.
"Jimmy," Mrs. Brooks called. He looked at her as he opened the door. "Everyone deserves a second chance." She paused only for a brief second. "Everyone."
He walked out the door without a word.
Everyone, he repeated. He couldn't help but wonder if she was implying someone else because it definitely seemed that way.
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Jimmy sat in Dr. Swanson's office two periods later. He looked around the room, ignoring the woman who sat behind the desk. Her straight hair fell to her shoulders. She sat, waiting for him to confess his hidden secrets.
"Tell me, Jimmy," Dr. Swanson began. He faced her. She propped her elbows on her desk and placed her chin on her knuckles. "How's your second day back? Better than the first? Or the same?"
Jimmy yawned, obviously not interested. "It's better than the first in some ways. But pretty much the same in others."
She nodded and it fell silent again. Jimmy smiled to himself. This was how it had been for the passed thirty minutes. She would ask a question and Jimmy would answer with little or no detail at all. His answers were not specific and at times he'd answer with information he was sure she already knew.
"What about your father? Have you two gotten along?"
Jimmy paused for a bit. His eyes narrowed at the mention of his father. "My 'father' and I have nothing to say to each other, so I see no point in 'getting along' with him."
"Well I'm sure he's got a lot to say to you," she said.
"I'm sure he does," Jimmy replied sarcastically. I shouldn't say anymore, he thought. I've said enough. Just 7 more minutes of this and I'm done for the day's therapy session.
"Okay, well, what about Cindy?" Dr. Swanson asked.
Jimmy stopped and his heart skipped a beat. He slowly lifted his head and stared at her as if she had grown a second head. Why on earth was she bringing up Cindy?
"What about Cindy?"
"I don't know," Dr. Swanson replied with a shrug. "The last I saw her she was talking to a friend of her's about you. She mentioned something about missing you and telling you something very important." Jimmy's heart raced. "And then I remembered that she came to Mr. Howard's office that day you were, uh, suspended. She defended you that day and by the looks of things it seemed to me that you two shared a very special relationship." She shrugged again. " I thought that maybe you two were together."
"Me and Cindy?!" Jimmy exclaimed. He placed his hand on the chair's arms. He pushed himself to the edge of the seat. "No! Never!" He shook his head as he stared at her. She looked genuinely innocent, but there was something in her eyes that glinted, suggesting that she knew more than she was letting on. She was playing games with him, but the panic he felt over took him and he did not play along as he had promised himself he would if such a thing were to happen.
"It was just a thought," Dr. Swanson said innocently. "She is really cute, though. And if you ask me, I think she likes you."
"Well," Jimmy blurted as he threw himself back in hs seat. He crossed his arms over his chest as a faint blush spread on his cheeks. "No one asked you."
"You have feeling for her, though, don't you?"
She smiled a bit as he narrowed his eyes at her. He tried his best to keep the blush on his cheeks from spreading. His heart raced, but he did not show his sudden nervousness.
The bell soon rang and Jimmy dashed for the door. "Jimmy," she called. He sighed as he turned to her. "You know," she began as she stood. She walked to him as she continued to speak. "This may be played out, but I always find this piece of advice to be very useful." She paused. "Follow your heart and you can't go wrong."
Jimmy looked at her. She was the second person today to give him advice he didn't ask for. He opened the door.
"And, Jimmy," she called again. He looked at her. "One last thing. People deserve a second chance."
It was the same thing Mrs. Brooks had said to him earlier. He thought it over for a bit. Just a coincidence, he thought. She was obviously talking about his father, but like Mrs. Brooks he felt that she was implying more than one person. Who else was there to give a second chance?
He turned away and walked out the door.
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Dr. Swanson sighed as she opened the door to the Teacher's Lounge. She plopped herself on a seat as some members of the faculty greeted her. She smiled and greeted them in return. Mr. Howard entered shortly after her. He sat in the seat across from her.
"Hello," he greeted.
"How are you?" she replied.
"Eh," he said.
Mr. Hunter, the criminal law teacher stepped in. "Bye, Mr. Hunter," a few girls said flirtatiously as he smiled at them.
"Bye, girls," he replied. "You better have your homework in tomorrow."
They waved as they nodded, fluttering their eye lashes and they giggled as they dashed off.
Dr. Swanson found herself frowning. The man was indeed handsome and he looked fairly young. She knew many girls were fond of him.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. He spotted Dr. Swanson and smiled sweetly at her. She blushed as she waved. She looked down, placing her hand on her glasses, suddenly wishing that she had worn her contacts.
"Hi, Stephanie," he greeted as he sat down beside her. She smiled. "I see your not wearing your contacts." She nodded as she mentally scolded herself for being so damn nervous. She was always nervous when Mr. Hunter was around.
"Greetings, Mr. Hunter," Mr. Howard said.
"Come on, Phil," Mr. Hunter replied. "We're all friends here, right, Steph?" He flashed her a smile, showing off his pearly whites. Dr. Swanson blushed slightly with a smile.
"Yes, Mr.-" She stopped herself. "Anthony." She smiled at him.
"Hm," Mr. Howard said as he lifted an eyebrow, watching the doctor and the criminal law teacher. He smile knowingly.
Dr. Swanson had always felt like a shy (sometimes giddy) school girl with Mr. Anthony Hunter around.
The door opened and George Azzara stumbled into the room. "Those students are vicious," he said.
"Hello, George," Mr. Howard greeted as he walked toward the coffee machine. Dr. Swanson and Mr. Hunter followed close behind, awaiting a taste of the sweet, relaxing liquid.
"I had a run in with Jimmy," Azzara replied.
"Neutron?" Mr. Hunter inquired.
Mr. Azzara nodded. "I asked him about his father and he bit-no, he tore my head off." He pushed up his glasses. Apparently, he still could not find his contacts.
Dr. Swanson shook he head in disapproval. The man was a mess.
"Yes, Jimmy will do that," Mr. Hunter added with a sigh.
Dr. Swanson agreed. Jimmy was not the first patient she had who would not talk about his feelings openly, but some how he was different from all of her patients. Some had similar problems as he did, but they eventually talked and Jimmy seemed too stubborn to actually reveal how he felt and she wasn't sure if he ever would, though it was obvious to her how he felt, but she wanted to know exactly how he felt and that wouldn't happen unless he spoke up. He just didn't let it out and that was a huge problem in itself.
"I can't get him to talk openly about anything," she admitted. She suddenly felt helpless. Saying it out loud made her feel useless. And it confirmed her that uselessness. "The only thing I get is negativity. Not that I was expecting anything else, but I just wish he'd really sit down and talk to me."
"You've got to be patient," Mr. Hunter replied. "In time he'll talk."
"Yes, I know," Dr. Swanson agreed. "But he's smart about it. This therapy thing. He won't give in as easily as I'd like."
"What do you mean?" Mr. Hunter questioned. He looked at her as he took the cup of coffee Mr. Howard was about to drink. The big man looked momentarily surprised, but anger surfaced in his eyes as a low growl formed in his throat. He took another cup and poured himself some more coffee.
"Well," Dr. Swanson began. She took the second cup of coffee from Mr. Howard's hand and took a sip. "Thank you." She paused as Mr. Howard fumed, but she nor Mr. Hunter noticed. Mr. Azzara was the only one who had seen the man's anger and stepped back. With another growl Mr. Howard turned to pour himself yet another cup of coffee, but another teacher had gotten in his way. "You see, I ask a question. . ."
"Mm-hm," Mr. Hunter said as he sat down with Dr. Swanson, really looking interested.
". . .and Jimmy answers with some information that I already know or he won't be specific in his answers and the small-very small-talk comes to a complete halt. He's a very tricky individual."
"And that poor girl," Mr. Howard added as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Who?" Mr. Azzara asked, keeping his distance from the principal.
"Cindy Vortex," he answered. "It's obvious to me that she's got some strong feelings for James."
"It's obvious to everyone," Mr. Hunter and Dr. Swanson both chimed in. They looked at one another in surprise and smiled.
"Yeah," Mrs. Brooks sighed as the door closed behind her. They looked up at her and greeted her. She smiled with a weak smile. She walked over to the coffee machine. Mr. Howard brought the coffee mug to his lips, but before he could taste the hot liquid inside, Mrs. Brooks snatched it from him. She took a long sip. "Ah." She breathed a satisfied sighed. "I needed that. Thank you, Howie."
A low growl from deep in Mr. Howard's throat threatened to escape, but he managed to suppress it. "No problem, Maggie."
Dr. Swanson almost laughed. She had heard the story of Philip Howard and Maggie Brooks. Mrs. Brooks was Mr. Howard's older sister and it was funny to think that Mrs. Brooks's little brother was now her boss, but than again she never treated him as her boss, just her brother, who she constantly teased.
"You're such a sweet baby brother," she siad, teasingly.
Mr. Howard gave her a fake, unenthusiastic smile.
"You know, Jimmy is very difficult," Mrs. Brook said, suddenly changing the subject and the mood along with it. "But he's a good kid and Cindy spotted it in him. They deserve each other. Jimmy just needs to see that."
They all agreed.
"I hope Jimmy comes to terms with his feelings for her soon," Mr. Hunter replied. He took a sip of his coffee. "It'd be a crying shame if he didn't. There's something really special between them and I'm positive that it could be life changing for him in the best possible way." He looked down. "He'll come to regret it when he's older if he doesn't look in his heart to find the love that he's hiding now."
Dr. Swanson looked at him carefully. There was something in his eyes that told her that he was regretting a fatal mistake which he feared Jimmy would make. He sighed as he turned to look at her. He gave her a sad smile and she smiled back at him. Her heart suddenly fell. She felt for him. She didn't know what it was like to lose out in love, she had never been in love before. And there was something really special between Jimmy and Cindy. They each had enough love for each other to fuel the world with warmth, but Jimmy seemed to be reluctant with it. She wasn't sure if he had actually come to realize his feelings for her, but she hoped that when he did, he'd give Cindy the chance she deserved. The chance he deserved.
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Jimmy had managed to get permission to go to lunch again from the art teacher, Mrs. Owens. But this time she made a deal with him that he could not refuse.
"If you are going to continue to go to lunch during my class than you have to sacrifice two hours after school to make up what you missed in class," she had said as she wrote him a pass.
"What?!" he exclaimed. "This class is only 40 minutes!"
There were few giggles and bursts of laughter here and there. She looked up at him.
"James Neutron, you have been gone for a month-"
"But because of 'special' circumstances!" he argued.
"I understand that, but you will fail this class if you don't make up at least some of the work you missed during your absence." She took a deep breath. "If you don't finish what you missed in the one month period by the end of the week than I won't penalize you for it. Instead, I'll count what you have managed to do for me twice, this way you can consider yourself even with the other students and up to speed. Not to mention you'll have a passing grade. Is it a deal?"
Jimmy sighed. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Mrs. Owens extended her hand. "Shake on it," she said, enthusiastically.
Jimmy eyed her, giving her a funny look. There was a sudden burst of laughter and it roared in the room. "Are you kidding?' Jimmy asked.
"Come one," Mrs. Owens urged. "Shake on it."
Jimmy rolled his eyes once more as he took her hand and shook it.
"And you'll start today and you'll have a tutor," she added quickly as she shoved him out the door with his pass. Before Jimmy could protest she had closed the door.
Thinking about it now, Jimmy wondered who his tutor was going to be. He sat back in his chair and brought the Snapple can to his lips. The juice was nice and cold. He could feel it slid down his throat.
"Hey, Jimmy!" a familiar voice exclaimed. He turned and in realizing who it was he spit the juice in his mouth on the person's face, acting surprised to see her sitting beside him.
He held back a laugh as he looked at her. Sarah sat there wiping the juice away from her eyes. She looked at him with a threatening glare and he smiled devilishly. He looked away suddenly to take another sip of his juice. I wish I had a camera, he thought, the smirk still on his face. Cindy would've liked that one. He hadn't even realized that he had brought up Cindy. It had just felt natural to do so.
"Anyway," Sarah continued, frustration in her voice. "I came to tell you of the great news!"
He looked at her. The smirk widened as he noticed the juice still on her face. She continued to wipe it away. "What news would that be?" He took a sip of his juice again.
"I'm your tutor!" she said joyously. He spit his juice again, this time from real surprise. Sarah cringed as she attempted to stand, but the Snapple drenched her shirt. "You've got to stop that!"
She wiped the juice off.
"You're my tutor?" he asked as he stood.
"Great isn't it?" she asked with a sly smile. "Mrs. Owens trusts me enough to leave me alone with you. To 'help' you with you missing work."
Jimmy shook his head. "This is not good," he breathed.
"Remember when I use to 'help' you when we dated. We had so much fun in the janitors closet experimenting and-"
"No!" Jimmy shouted. "I don't want you to be my tutor! I'd much rather die of dehydration!"
"Oh, come on," Sarah encouraged as she stepped closer. "We could still have fun together. This time let's try the principal's office. I hear he likes to stay in the Teacher's Lounge after school with some of the other teachers watching t.v. or playing chess or whatever it is that they do in the Teacher's Lounge."
"No!" Jimmy protested. "I don't want you to be any part of of my life. Meaning: I don't want you to be my tutor. Get it in your head, Sarah! I don't want you in my life anymore! What is it going to take for you to realize that!"
"Well, what the hell is it about Vortex that you like some damn much! She's nothing special!" Sarah argued.
Jimmy shook his head. "First of all," Jimmy began. "I'm not with Cindy-"
"So then what's the hells the problem?!" Sarah questioned.
"Second," Jimmy continued as he narrowed his eyes, leaning in close. "She's more special than you ever could be."
Sarah backed away. Bewilderment on her face. She shook her head. Tears seemed to suddenly brim in her eyes. Jimmy felt guilty for yelling at her, but she had to get it straight. Even if he still had feelings for her, he would not go back with her.
"Why?" Sarah asked.
"Because she's never given up on me," Jimmy said.
Anger filled Sarah's eyes. "Oh, yeah?" she asked. "Well, what about when you hit sixth grade. You guys never talked until now! She gave up on you a long time ago!"
"Okay," Jimmy said. "But now that she's in my life again, she hasn't given up on me as of yet. You on the other hand have. When you broke up with me. You gave up on our relationship. You gave up on me when I needed you most. And Cindy came back into my life and it's almost as if she never left my side. She makes things so much. . ." He shook his head. "She eases things up. She was there when Becca went back to the hospital and she was there when my dad came back and she was even there when I wasn't in school and she's still here with me. Everyday. And you're not."
Tears streamed down Sarah's face as Jimmy took a deep breath. It hurt him to do this to her, but he was only telling her what was needed to be said.
"I don't want to hear this," Sarah said as she turned to walk away.
Jimmy pulled he back. "Well, hear it because you have to!" he shouted. "Cindy is everything that I could ever ask for. She's stayed by my side even when I didn't want her there. She was even by my side when I insulted her and hurt her. She came back to me every time. She didn't give up. Sure, you were with me for a year, but even when we were together it never felt like you were there when it counted most and Cindy is here with me. Always. I don't even know why she hangs around me as much as she does, but she does! And I appreciate that. And by doing just that she's made my life a better one. I can talk to her at any time and I know she'd listen, I just don't give her the time of day because I-" He stopped. He shook his head. "Cindy's different and I can count on her for anything. But I can't count on you, so that is why we can never be together again."
Sarah sobbed as she pulled away from him. She shook her head and Jimmy looked down with a sigh. He walked out of the cafeteria and thought of the words he himself had spoken. He stopped suddenly as realization hit him like a smack in the face. His eyes opened wide and his lips parted slightly.
"I love Cindy," he whispered. His breath caught as his heart hammered against his rib cage. He hadn't been sure before, but now he was more than certain that he was in love with his enemy and it was because of Sarah. Now that he thought about it, everything seemed to fall into place. He had thought about her night and day during that long month and he had honestly missed her. At night he would lay awake in bed thinking of Cindy's beautiful face and soft smile. Sometimes he'd look out his window, hoping to catch just a glimpse of her. He had scolded himself every time and he could not figure out for the life of him why his heart ached so much when he thought of the girl just across the street; Cindy "Beautiful" Vortex. His heart heart suddenly ached for her as it had so many nights in a row. "I love Cindy Vortex."