4: Going Home

A few hours later, Jack noticed that Lisa was yawning. Concerned, he put down his drink and went over to talk to her.

"You okay, Lise? You look tired," said Jack.

"Oh, I'm not tired," Lisa insisted. "I'm absolutely - "

She yawned again.

"Tired out," Jack finished.

"I guess I am a little bit tired," admitted Lisa, yawning a third time.

"I think maybe it be time for you to go," said Jack. "C'mon, I walk you home."

"Okay," said Lisa sleepily, and Jack took her by the arm.

"Antonio, I gonna take Lisa home, right? Catch you roun'," called Jack.

"Sure thing, Jack. Nice to meet you, Lisa," said Antonio.

"You too, Antonio," said Lisa. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," said Antonio, waving goodbye.

Lisa and Jack returned the gesture, and went out into the night. It was colder now, and the sudden chill of the night air startled Lisa back into complete wakefulness.

They walked in silence for a while, their breath hanging like smoke in the freezing air as they left the downtown area.

Lisa glanced at Jack. He caught her eye, and smiled.

"You have a good time?" he asked. "I know it ain't what you be used to, but - "

"Oh, no, I had a great time," said Lisa quickly. "It was fun, and your friends are really nice. I wish I had friends like that."

"But you got plenty of friends, Lise," said Jack, amazed. "What 'bout all the uptown kids we go to school with? They you friends, ain't they?"

"They're not my friends, Jack. Not really. I just hang out with them because my parents won't let me hang out with anyone else. Like you. You're much nicer than all of them put together. I wish they'd all stop being so mean to you," said Lisa.

"I dunt mind," lied Jack.

"I do," said Lisa. "Just because you're not like them, it doesn't mean you're bad. You don't sneer at people because they're different, or assume that you're always right, or push people around all the time. You don't look down on people if they live downtown or if they can't afford the latest clothes. And you don't talk about people behind their backs like those stupid two-faced Calvin Klone uptown girls. That's why I like you."

A moment later, Lisa realised that she was walking on her own, and she turned around. Jack was standing, open-mouthed, in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Really?" he said at last.

"Uh-huh," said Lisa, idly glancing at her watch. "Well, let's -"

She froze, and looked at her watch again.

"Oh, no," she groaned. "It's nearly one o'clock! I promised my mom I'd be home by twelve! Oh, she is going to kill me!"

Lisa started to run, but Jack caught her up easily and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to stop.

"Wait a minute, Lise," he said. "Even if you run the whole way, you still gonna be late gettin' home. Dunt bother. Save you breath an' walk, yeah?"

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"You're right. There's no point. I'm going to be in big trouble anyway, so I might as well use the extra time walking to think of a decent excuse," she said.

So Jack and Lisa walked back to Lisa's house, concocting various explanations as to why Lisa was so late coming home. The way back seemed much shorter, and soon they were just a few blocks away from where Lisa lived.

Before either of them knew it, they were standing outside Lisa's house. Jack sighed deeply as he saw where they were.

"What is it?" said Lisa.

"I really like talkin' to you," Jack confessed. "I wish it take much longer to walk you home, 'cause then I can talk to you for longer. But you be home now, an' I gotta say goodbye."

"Yes."

"But I dunt wanna say goodbye to you, Lise," said Jack suddenly, desperately. "I dunt ever wanna say goodbye."

"Oh, Jack," said Lisa, smiling and touching him on the cheek. "It's okay. I'll see you in school tomorrow, won't I?"

"It feel like a real long time, though," said Jack, smiling sheepishly and raising his hand to touch the one she'd pressed against his face.

"It's only a few hours," said Lisa, half-laughing.

"It feel like forever," murmured Jack in all seriousness.

But before Lisa could think of a response, a hand gripped her by the shoulder. Startled, she turned and saw her mother standing by them, her eyes blazing with fury.

When he saw who was behind him, Jack gave a yelp of terror and bolted away into the night. Lisa watched him helplessly as he turned the corner and disappeared from view, and suddenly hated him for running away.

"So," said her mother dangerously. "This is where you've been all night, is it? In downtown with the street trash. I should have known better than to let you go out."

Lisa said nothing. She stared sullenly down at her feet and waited for her mother to start yelling, as she undoubtedly would. She was proved right.

"How dare you lie to me, Lisa Hartley? How dare you? As if that wasn't bad enough, you're over an hour late home! Do you have any idea how worried I've been? I was about to call the cops!" shrieked her mother.

"Sorry, Mom," said Lisa quietly.

"Sorry is not good enough, young lady! You lied to me, you promised me you'd come home when I told you to and you didn't, and you weren't even where you said you'd be! What if there'd been an emergency at home, huh? What if I'd called your friend and she'd told me you weren't there? What would I have done then?"

"Sorry, Mom."

"And how many times have I told you that I don't want you hanging around with those downtown kids? About a hundred times! I do not want my daughter hanging around with people like that! Especially that Jack kid! He's a bad influence!"

"He is not," said Lisa indignantly.

"Don't you argue with me, young lady! He's nothing but trouble, and I will not have you spending any more time around him! I don't ever want to see him round here again – if I do, I'm calling the cops, and that's that. No, don't argue with me! If I see him with you once more, you're in big trouble."

"But he's my friend!" protested Lisa.

"Not any more he isn't," said her mother firmly.

"Why do you hate him so much, Mom?" said Lisa, scowling.

"Why? Because he's a rotten little punk, that's why! He's just like all the other downtown kids, fighting and vandalising and stealing cars and mugging old ladies! It's people like him who're ruining our town for everybody!"

"He's never done any of that stuff!" Lisa shouted. "Jack may not be perfect, but he'd never hurt anyone! You know what, Mom? I think you just hate him because he's from downtown and you and Dad are just total snobs!"

"Right! I have had it up to here with you, Lisa!" yelled her mother. "You're grounded for the rest of this week! Now get inside before I make it the rest of this month! And go to bed. You've got school tomorrow!"

Lisa glared at her mother, and stormed inside the house, slamming the front door so hard that it rattled on its hinges.

"Don't slam the door!" shouted her mother as she went inside, but Lisa ignored her, and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Just for form's sake, she slammed her bedroom door as hard as she could, and went to bed.

----------

Jack rounded the corner, and leaned against a wall to catch his breath. His guilt suddenly caught up with him, and he groaned as he realised what he'd done. He'd left Lisa to face her mother on her own, and it was all his fault that she was late home. If he hadn't invited her to the party in the first place…

The thought was still preying on his mind ten minutes later, when he was on his way home. He looked up at Antonio's second-floor apartment as he walked up Hinterland Avenue – the party was still going, he noticed – and his guilt increased still further.

"Jack, you so stupid," he told himself. "Why dint you watch the clock so Lise no be late home? Now she be in big trouble with her mama, an' it be all you fault."

He turned left into a narrow, dimly lit alley and crossed through it into the next street, which was even darker. The bulbs in the streetlights had blown out during a power cut several days ago, and the electric company hadn't got round to replacing them yet, so the street was illuminated solely by the neon signs in the shops. He gave them a glance: Wurlitzer's Quality Books; a Budweiser sign in a café; the "Open Nine Till Five" sign flashing on and off just above the door of Killdeer's Hunting Supplies; the "Rated XXX" sign glowing pinkly in the window of the adult video store. And, finally, he saw the green sign of Raccoon Records, the record store owned by his aunt's landlord.

The shop door was locked, as he'd expected it to be; Mr Ziegler didn't often work late, except when he was doing the accounts. Jack tried the other door, which led straight upstairs to his aunt's apartment, and it too was locked.

Jack swore under his breath. His aunt had locked the door, probably because she was with a client upstairs, and Mr Ziegler wasn't there to let him in until his aunt had finished doing business. All he could do was wait outside in the cold.

Eventually, the door was opened and a furtive-looking man hurried out into the street. Jack rushed inside, and collided with his aunt, who was swathed in a fluffy pink bathrobe.

"Jack Carpenter, where you go all night? It late, you got school Monday!" she scolded him.

"Sorry, Aunt Rosa. I know I be real late. I be at Antonio's party, an' I only just get back," Jack said meekly.

"Antonio, he good boy," said Aunt Rosa firmly. "But you, you no good boy, Jack! You come back late! You bring shame on me! You bring disgrace in my home! You go bed right now, comprendez?"

"Si, comprendez," sighed Jack, and he followed her upstairs.

----------

Monday 7th September 1998

Lisa sat down on the steps of Raccoon City High School and fumed. The instructions her mother had given her at breakfast were still fresh in her mind – "You're to come straight home after school, right? I want you back in this house by three forty-five. No visitors, no going out. Nothing. You stay in the house. Your father and I will be at work as usual – I would have left you alone, but since you've already proven that you can't be trusted, I've asked Beatrice Wrigley from next door to come in and keep an eye on you until we get back."

Damn it, thought Lisa angrily. I'm stuck with Beatrice Wrigley, the most annoying woman in the world, until – when? Ten o'clock at night? Eleven o'clock? Eleven-thirty, maybe even midnight? God, I can't bear this …

Her expression darkened as she saw Jack approaching her.

"Lise?" said Jack hesitantly. "Lise, I - "

"You what?" Lisa snapped.

Jack looked startled; he'd never seen her angry before, and it wasn't a pleasant sight. It reminded him of Lisa's mother, who always seemed to be angry with him no matter what he did.

"Well, I – uh – I just wanna say sorry. 'Bout last night. I didn't mean to get you in trouble with you mama. She real mad with you?" he asked.

"Mad? Mad? She's furious!" shouted Lisa, causing several people to look at her in surprise and bewilderment. "I've been grounded for the rest of this week, and if that wasn't bad enough, I've got to spend my time indoors with my neighbour, the most irritating person ever to be issued with a birth certificate!"

"Oh jeez, Lise, I be real sorry," said Jack, his face falling.

"I can't go out, I can't have visitors, my mom and dad will never trust me again, ever, and it's all your fault!" yelled Lisa. "And you didn't even stay to back me up! You just took one look at my mom and ran off scared, you coward!"

Jack flinched at this, like a dog expecting to be kicked.

"Lise, I be so sorry," he said in a near-whisper.

"Why did you run away, huh?" she demanded to know. "Why?"

"'Cause Aunt Rosa say if los verdes bring me home one more time, then she gonna send me to military school far from Raccoon City, an' I no gonna come back. That be why," said Jack wretchedly.

Lisa's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"I know it be real bad of me to run away," continued Jack, "An' I be, like, the sorriest guy on the planet. I just get scared. Please dunt hate me, Lise. Please. You be my best friend an' I never mean to hurt you. Please forgive me."

"Oh, Jack, I don't hate you," said Lisa, her anger melting away. "Listen, if anyone should be sorry, it's me. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. It wasn't even your fault; I should have kept an eye on the time. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Hey, forget it," said Jack, smiling weakly. "I will."

"Okay," said Lisa. "So, are we still friends, or what?"

"Sure we be friends," said Jack. "We always gonna be friends, Lise. No matter what."