Jess had been staying with Jimmy for over three months now. Three months
and he barely ever saw the man who called himself his father. If he hadn't
vowed to change, he would have run at that very second, but he had changed,
and that was how he found himself at Venice Beach High at eight o'clock in
the morning on a Monday morning.
All he experienced the entire time was déjà vu. It wasn't the same people, but they were the same kind of people. They were those annoying kind. The kind with the high-pitched giggles and nothing upstairs but designer names and sports teams' averages.
He found a seat in his first class. His first instinct was to go to the back of the classroom, but then he remembered his vow to himself, and instead chose a seat in the middle. The rest of the class trickled in, followed, finally, by an aging hippie of a teacher.
"All right class, I hope your summers were good. . . welcome to Senior Honors English!"
The class began to clap and cheer when the teacher said, "senior", but Jess just kind of sank into his chair. He had already been a senior. He just needed to graduate now.
"My name is Paul, and I will be your English teacher this year."
Jess had an extreme urge to reach for the copy of "The Jesus Factor" he was carrying in his backpack, but he kept reminding himself that he was going to be good this year. He was going to pay attention. He was going to graduate.
"I'm passing a syllabus around now. It has a list of books we'll be reading this year. You should pick them up today or tomorrow and start reading the first: Great Expectations.
Great Expectations? Great Expectations in senior English? He'd read that in middle school. Whatever. He had no problem with reading Dickens as many times as they wanted him to. At least it wasn't a bad book. His teacher began telling the class his life story. Oh brother. Jess had to sustain the reflex to grab for his book again. He pretended to pay attention, while really he was playing a story in his head. Another of Dickens' books: Oliver Twist.
Sometimes, on the rare occasion when he didn't have a book, Jess picked a book he almost knew by heart and read it in his head. He interrupted the story for a few seconds to listen to what the format for the life story he was going to have to tell would be when it got to his turn, and then he returned to Twist. When the girl sitting next to him spoke, he stopped and listened, waiting for his turn.
"My name is Jenna Greenberg. I've been going here all my life pretty much. . . uh, I live with my parents and my little sister, Ruth. . . Oh, and my favorite book is 'Gossip Girls.'"
Jess had to refrain from physically shuddering. With all the fabulous literature out there, she had to pick the quintessential girl book. He observed her for a moment: she was wearing jeans and a pink tank top. She had her hair in a side ponytail: the kind where you try to make it look like you just got out of bed, but manage to use up thirty minutes making it like that. Hmm. . . they had something in common.
"My name is Jess Mariano. I'm from. . ." he paused for a moment before saying "New York City. I'm living with my dad. And as for a favorite book. . . it's a tie between Oliver Twist and The Sun Also Rises." He caught blank stares from everyone except the teacher. "Hemingway," he added, sitting down.
He restrained himself for the third time from not grabbing that book. This was going to be a long year.
At the end of the class, he strolled out and over to his locker. When he got there, he realized that Jenna from his English class was right next to him. She kind of reminded him of Shane, from Stars Hollow.
He forced the name of the small town out of his head almost immediately. He wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to allow himself to.
"Hi," she said, "I'm-"
"Jenna." He cut her off. "From English."
"Yeah," she said. "And you're Jess. From New York."
"The one and only."
"That's cool. I've always wanted to go to New York. . . So. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out. After school."
"Uh. . ." he paused for a moment. He felt as if he was betraying Rory. Then he realized that he wasn't, and he never would again, because Rory wasn't his anymore. He had no affect on her anymore. "Sure. Why not?"
He wasn't particularly drawn to Jenna, except for the fact that she was, for some reason, drawn to him. That created a spark of interest. Why did she care? She undoubtedly had her own friends. Why would she bother with the new kid?
"Cool," Jenna said. "Let's meet in front of school, on the front steps after seventh. OK?"
"Sure thing," he said, forcing a smile. He wondered if everything from now on in his life would feel like this. Now that he didn't have Rory, would his life always feel the same as it did now, as he talked to Jenna? Like a play. Cold. Stone. Fake.
All he experienced the entire time was déjà vu. It wasn't the same people, but they were the same kind of people. They were those annoying kind. The kind with the high-pitched giggles and nothing upstairs but designer names and sports teams' averages.
He found a seat in his first class. His first instinct was to go to the back of the classroom, but then he remembered his vow to himself, and instead chose a seat in the middle. The rest of the class trickled in, followed, finally, by an aging hippie of a teacher.
"All right class, I hope your summers were good. . . welcome to Senior Honors English!"
The class began to clap and cheer when the teacher said, "senior", but Jess just kind of sank into his chair. He had already been a senior. He just needed to graduate now.
"My name is Paul, and I will be your English teacher this year."
Jess had an extreme urge to reach for the copy of "The Jesus Factor" he was carrying in his backpack, but he kept reminding himself that he was going to be good this year. He was going to pay attention. He was going to graduate.
"I'm passing a syllabus around now. It has a list of books we'll be reading this year. You should pick them up today or tomorrow and start reading the first: Great Expectations.
Great Expectations? Great Expectations in senior English? He'd read that in middle school. Whatever. He had no problem with reading Dickens as many times as they wanted him to. At least it wasn't a bad book. His teacher began telling the class his life story. Oh brother. Jess had to sustain the reflex to grab for his book again. He pretended to pay attention, while really he was playing a story in his head. Another of Dickens' books: Oliver Twist.
Sometimes, on the rare occasion when he didn't have a book, Jess picked a book he almost knew by heart and read it in his head. He interrupted the story for a few seconds to listen to what the format for the life story he was going to have to tell would be when it got to his turn, and then he returned to Twist. When the girl sitting next to him spoke, he stopped and listened, waiting for his turn.
"My name is Jenna Greenberg. I've been going here all my life pretty much. . . uh, I live with my parents and my little sister, Ruth. . . Oh, and my favorite book is 'Gossip Girls.'"
Jess had to refrain from physically shuddering. With all the fabulous literature out there, she had to pick the quintessential girl book. He observed her for a moment: she was wearing jeans and a pink tank top. She had her hair in a side ponytail: the kind where you try to make it look like you just got out of bed, but manage to use up thirty minutes making it like that. Hmm. . . they had something in common.
"My name is Jess Mariano. I'm from. . ." he paused for a moment before saying "New York City. I'm living with my dad. And as for a favorite book. . . it's a tie between Oliver Twist and The Sun Also Rises." He caught blank stares from everyone except the teacher. "Hemingway," he added, sitting down.
He restrained himself for the third time from not grabbing that book. This was going to be a long year.
At the end of the class, he strolled out and over to his locker. When he got there, he realized that Jenna from his English class was right next to him. She kind of reminded him of Shane, from Stars Hollow.
He forced the name of the small town out of his head almost immediately. He wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to allow himself to.
"Hi," she said, "I'm-"
"Jenna." He cut her off. "From English."
"Yeah," she said. "And you're Jess. From New York."
"The one and only."
"That's cool. I've always wanted to go to New York. . . So. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out. After school."
"Uh. . ." he paused for a moment. He felt as if he was betraying Rory. Then he realized that he wasn't, and he never would again, because Rory wasn't his anymore. He had no affect on her anymore. "Sure. Why not?"
He wasn't particularly drawn to Jenna, except for the fact that she was, for some reason, drawn to him. That created a spark of interest. Why did she care? She undoubtedly had her own friends. Why would she bother with the new kid?
"Cool," Jenna said. "Let's meet in front of school, on the front steps after seventh. OK?"
"Sure thing," he said, forcing a smile. He wondered if everything from now on in his life would feel like this. Now that he didn't have Rory, would his life always feel the same as it did now, as he talked to Jenna? Like a play. Cold. Stone. Fake.