THEN CAME YOU
Chapter Four: She's Trouble.
Jesse
I've found out the biggest most well kept secret of Susannah Simon: She's sweet.
Before I had thought her hot – but I'm a guy, okay, finding a girl hot is merely the natural bodily response – then I thought she was amusing, certainly different from the rest of the preppy girls at the Mission Academy… specially that Debbie girl who kept bugging me at US History to tell her if the Valley was really full of drug dealers and gangbangsters as her boyfriend Brad had told her.
Anyway… Susannah had anger management problems to be sure, I had seen her kneel half of the wrestling team just during the first week back at school, and she had also punched Slater –which made her cool in my book – and each time I corrected her in Spanish – being a little smug, I'll admit – she would look at me furiously and her fingers would twitch around her pencil surely picturing it was my neck and not the pencil what she was snapping.
But I had also seen Susannah laugh with her friend CeeCee and I had seen her patiently hearing when her stepbrother – the youngest one – gave her complete recaps form the latest Discovery Channel documentary he had seen. And there were more little things like that.
She had given me a ride and stayed the whole afternoon with me and my troupe of sisters even when she didn't have to. And the next day when at saw her in the Study Hall she was clutching a little plastic pony. Minty. That's what that blasted pony was called, how do I know you ask? Well, it was only my sister Mapi's favorite topic of conversation: How she needed Minty to finish her 'My Little Pony' collection.
"Here," she said dumping all her stuff in the table and hading me the pony. "Mapi mentioned she needed it for her collection. And, well… my aunt gave it to me AGES ago and I was never into the pony-stuff, I was more of a Care Bears-panties girl."
I was speechless for a whole minute, I think. Not only had she admitted what kind of underwear she wears but she was also doing this one thing that would make my sister really, really happy and she didn't have to do it.
"Uh, thank you Susannah." I said… who would have thought, Susannah Simon, champion of all lost pets and small children.
She shrugged and did something I had never seen her do: she blushed. "It's nothing." She said shyly but then recovered herself and went "So, listen I have this big test coming up and I still don't get how to conjugate in the past thingy that I told you the other day…"
I told her how the "past thingy" was called and helped her to go over the principal verbs. She got about half of them right by the time the hour was up and we were free to go to lunch. We wandered out of the Study hall and into the courtyard together. I was about to split up, you know, go to my own table and eat alone as was my custom when Susannah asked if I wanted to join her and her friend CeeCee.
"Why not?" I answered as I waited for Susannah to sit down next to CeeCee.
As in on cue the three of us pulled brown paper bags out of our backpacks.
"Oh, no! Andy gave me Brad's sandwich again…" Susannah moaned as if in pain. "Wanna switch?" she asked to CeeCee
"Nah, I can't stand mayo and the whole three slices of ham one atop of the other thing."
"I know," Susannah said miserably, "Stupid Dopey needs to gain more weight for the wresting team."
"Um," I said. "I got turkey if you want it." I offered because it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, I'm not a person that goes wild over turkey, actually the only reason why I had turkey was because Marta had been in charge of preparing the bags this morning and she believes that ham has too much salt and saturated fat.
"Really?" Susannah asked all hopeful and I had to bit the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing, I just nodded. Susannah made a swift exchange and said "thanks."
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Later that day I got confronted by two sophomores… one I recognized as David – or Doc as Susannah called him – and the other I had seen a couple of times before, hanging around that girl Slater was dating, Susannah's sister.
"Um…" the boy whose name I didn't know said shyly.
"Go on, tell him." David encouraged.
"What is it?" I demanded, perhaps a little roughly.
"Well, I was wondering," the boy said, trying to make his voice as un-squeaky as possible for a 15 year old. He dug into his pocket and handled me something, two tickets to the carnival. "Here, take them."
"Why would I want these?" I'm not fan of the carnival…I only go when I have to because it's the only way to get Tess and Josie to stop whining about it.
"Because if Alan wants to go out with Hailey, he has to get a date for Suze's too and Suze loves the carnival. And well, we want you to take Suze out."
"Yeah, please!" Alan said.
"I understand, I think, but why would I take Susannah out? Besides, she wouldn't go out with me."
"She would go out with you! I heard her talking to CeeCee on the phone the other day, Suze thinks you're hot." I wanted to smile so bad at that but I kept my expression cool. "And she would never go out with anyone else! Believe me, some have tried… and it's very, very important that Suze goes out with you so Alan can go out with Hailey…"
"I still don't see…."
"Look," Alan said, "do me a favor! Is very, very important!"
"But…" I tried to argue but both kids were looking at me so expectantly I couldn't do it. "I'll ask her," I said with a resigned air. "But I will not beg, she say no and that's it! And I get to keep the tickets if she doesn't go."
"SURE!" Both boys yelled excitedly. "We owe you one!"
I waved them off and went my way, tucking the carnival tickets into my back pocket and put the thing off my mind until school let out for the day. I was making my way out of school when I saw Susannah. I fell into step next to her.
"Hey." I said casually as we strolled out.
"Hi! Need a ride?" she said teasing.
"Not today, I got my car back from mom; she's picking up her own car today."
"That's good."
"Hey, listen I got tickets for the carnival…"
"I LOVE THE CARNIVAL!" she said excitedly before I could finish my sentence.
"Do you want to go?" I asked, "You know, in thanks for Minty and all."
"You know the little ponies by name?" she asked amused.
"That's what five sisters will do to you." I shrugged. "So, shall I pick you up at one this Saturday?"
"Sure." She said good-naturally, I could so tell she didn't think this as a date and that was good.
She's was about to give me her address when I heard a rather familiar, irritating little voice.
"Jesse! Darling!"
"Nombre de Dios, not her." I muttered and was barely able to refrain myself from cursing.
"Jesse!" she repeated, having spotted me and beginning to make his way towards me.
"Maria, hi." I s aid without enthusiasm "May I introduce you to Miss Simon? Susannah, this is my cousin Maria de Silva."
Maria fixed Susannah with a cold glare which Susannah returned unfazed. "Nice to meet you." Maria said coolly.
"Likewise." Susannah said politely. "I have to go now, if you two excuse me."
"Oh, please allow me to escort you to your car."
"But Jesse, I cam all the way here to talk to you."
"It will only take a moment, Maria, I'll be right back." I said, making no effort to hide my annoyance with her.
I walked with Susannah to her car. "It wasn't necessary."
"You have no idea how necessary it was." I said, holding her door open as she got in. "Maria isn't exactly my cup of tea… but anyway," I wasn't going to discuss her with Susannah, it wasn't gentlemanly to speak foully of someone, even if that someone deserved it. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at one."
"Okay, I'll see you there." Susannah answered me and awarded me with a smile that – for some unknown reason – made my heart start to be at faster. "The address is 99 Pine Crest, okay?"
"99 Pine Crest. Got it." I smiled and closed the door.
I saw her drive away and then steeled myself to go deal with Maria… for someone so pretty she could be very, very foul.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
End of Chapter Four
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Notes:
More on Maria and Jesse and all of them soon!
And the big date is on the next chapter.
Luv
Crazy, lovely me.