Jude groaned a little and rolled off of her stomach. She was in no mood to go back to G Major after what happened the day before. She painfully opened her eyes to see her room full of daylight. She quickly pulled her blanket over her face and mumbled, "I don't want to go."
"Now, Jude, I know things have been rough around here lately," Victoria Harrison took a seat on the bed next to her daughter, "but we still have our responsibilities." Victoria pulled the blanket under Jude's face and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Go to your meeting and then head to school. I wrote you a note incase the meeting runs long."
She gave her mother a look of disgust as Jude whined out "School?"
"Yeah," Victoria nodded her head. "School. You know, the place you've avoided for long enough."
Jude took the not from her mom's hand. It read: "Please excuse Jude Harrison from the periods missed on Tuesday, April 29th. -Victoria Harrison." Jude folded the note and sat up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and groaned, making her way to the bathroom.
Victoria was left alone on Jude's bed. Tears fell silently down her face as Jude disappeared into the hallway. Victoria simply stood with a sigh, neatly made Jude's bed, and went into her own room.
After a quick shower, Jude returned to her room and put on yesterday's faded jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. She matched her shirt with a deep purple eyeshadow, but didn't bother to dry her hair. She finished her outfit off with her black Converse shoes. Before she left, Jude placed her not in her back pocket and grabbed her backpack.
Taking only one stop outside, Jude saw Tommy leaning back against his Viper. Jude paused for a second, a little surprised he was waiting for her. The initial shock quickly passed as she put her hands in her back pockets and walked across her lawn, avoiding him.
"Jude!" Tommy called out. It drove him crazy that Jude was ignoring him, so he jogged to catch up with her. "Jude, will you at least listen to me?"
She stopped walking and turned around. Jude looked everywhere except for Tommy's eyes. Jude shrugged her shoulders slightly and said calmly, "I'm listening."
Tommy inhaled deeply with his eyes fixed on Jude. "We-- We said a lot of things yesterday. And I'm sorry I hurt you."
Jude rolled her eyes at the statement. It didn't make her pain go away. It even made it a little worse. "Thanks a lot, Tommy, but it doesn't make it hurt any less."
Jude swiftly turned back around, but Tommy grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking away. He didn't waste time by turning her around. He whispered directly in the ear from behind, "We need to be professional, Jude. We need to be adults about this."
"I can't," she whispered back. Jude slowly turned to face Tommy with tears down her cheeks. Tommy's grip around her arm slipped down to hold her hand, which he cradled softly. "I'm only sixteen."
She let go of Tommy's hand forcefully, swinging it back towards him. She gave him a cold stare, penetrating his eyes with hatred. It broke Tommy's heart, a few tears escaping to show his pain. Jude bit her bottom lip, regretting her move, but she simply turned to leave.
Once again, Tommy called out, "Jude!"
"You be the adult, Tom!" Jude yelled back without stopping her pace.
She left him watching her stroll off as he sniffled and dried his face. He walked back to his car glumly, thinking about the recent events. He approached his car, nearly in slow motion as he reached his hand out to open the door to his Viper. Tommy would've stayed in his own separate world if he hadn't heard someone shout, "Quincy!"
He felt a rush through his body and a lump in his throat. Tommy turned away from his car and blurted out, "Jude--"