"What time is it?" Jasmine asked
Celeste put down her serving spoon and looked at Jasmine, "It's not 7 yet. I'll let you know when it's time."
"I know… I know… It's just… I'm afraid I'll be late." Jasmine said
"Really?" Celeste said
She turned to Jasmine, "You're worried that it's not going to go well."
Jasmine gave her an unsure look and Celeste nudged her.
"Relax. It's going to go great. You've been crushing on Colby since forever and you're finally going on a date with him. Nothing bad's gonna happen." Celeste said
"Are you sure?" Jasmine said
"Positive." Celeste said
Jasmine nodded and smiled at her friend as she gave her a quick hug before resuming their duties.
"Where do you want the vegetables at, Big Paul?" Jasmine asked, holding the basket.
Big Paul chuckled before taking the basket from her, "I'll take that."
He put the basket down by the side, "Aren't you supposed to go off for your date? You're off duty already, aren't you?"
"That's okay.. I can still help you with this before I go." Jasmine said
"No way am I letting you be late for your date." Big Paul said
"Celeste warned you, huh?" Jasmine said
Big Paul laughed, "Yeah. She threatened to stop making her delicious stew."
Jasmine chuckled, "That's Celeste alright…"
"Yup. So, please don't let her do that." Big Paul said
"I won't." Jasmine said
She washed her hands before taking off her apron. She kissed Big Paul on the cheek before walking out to the serving area where Celeste was.
"He's a gentleman." Celeste said as she scooped up some vegetables.
"What are you talking about?" Jasmine asked
Just as Jasmine joined her, Celeste put the spoon back into the pot and pointed at Colby who was sitting at one of the empty tables. He looked up at and smiled when he saw Jasmine.
She smiled back before turning to Celeste, "What's he doing here?"
"He's being a total gentleman." Celeste said, "Which is what he should be."
She looked at Jasmine, "What are you still standing here for?"
"I don't know… Maybe this date isn't a good idea…" Jasmine said
"Stop that. You're going on this date and you're going to have a blast." Celeste said
She hooked her arm with Jasmine's and dragged her out to the tables.
"Now, go and have fun and tell me everything tomorrow." Celeste said
Jasmine hesitated a little and only started walking when she felt a slight shove from Celeste. She looked back and got an encouraging smile from her best friend before turning back to walk to Colby.
He stood up as she approached and said, "Hi."
"Hey…" Jasmine said, "I thought we were going to meet at the theatre."
"I let you think that so that I could surprise you." Colby said, "I was worried I couldn't catch you in time."
Jasmine smiled before saying, "You're lucky then."
He smiled and put out his arm for her to hold, "So, shall we go?"
The two of them arrived at the theatre and Jasmine waited at the corner while Colby went to get the tickets. As she waited, she kept shifting her weight from her left foot to her right foot. She wasn't sure why she kept doing it but a part of her knew that it was nervousness mixed with a slight feeling that the date wasn't going to go well.
It wasn't even two minutes when Colby came back to her, with his cellphone in one hand instead of tickets.
"They're sold out?" Jasmine asked
"Uh… No… I just got an emergency text from my mom and I need to go…" Colby replied
Jasmine felt her heart sink with the realisation that she was right but she brushed it aside.
"I'm sorry… I was really looking forward to our date tonight…" Colby said
Jasmine gave him a small smile, "Don't worry… It's no big deal. You should go back."
"I can walk you home first." Colby said
"It's okay… I can head home by myself." Jasmine said, "Besides, I really want to watch the movie."
Colby looked at her worriedly, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Don't worry, Colby. You should go." Jasmine said
Colby looked at her and gave her a small smile, "Alright. I'll come by to see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure." Jasmine said
Colby leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before walking away. As soon as Colby was slightly far off, Jasmine sighed audibly. She knew something like this would happen and she just wished that for once, her gut feeling could fail her but no, they were always right.
She looked at the ticket counter and considered her options. She had seen the movie more than once already and she thought it would have been fun to watch it with someone else other than her brother. Sighing, Jasmine decided to head back home instead.
It was well after 8pm as Jasmine walked the route back home. The streets after 7pm were always pretty empty and it was not strange for it to be so as she walked the pavements alone. It wasn't a rule to stay off the streets but it became a part of life for most people.
Just as she had two more blocks to walk to, she felt a shove as someone pushed her into an alley. The force of the shove was so hard that she hit the brick wall and felt the impact vibrate through her shoulder.
"Well, well, well… Look who we have here walking the streets at night."
Jasmine looked up to see the faces of the towering figures that were standing in front of her.
"You think we'd let you go so easily, huh?"
In a second, she remembered who they were. They were the two creeps that were chasing her after her visit to the supermarket a few days ago.
"What's wrong, huh? Can't remember who we are?" The blond asked
Jasmine stood upright and with all the confidence she could muster, she tried not to sound scared.
"I know who you two creeps are." Jasmine replied
"Oh! Look, Jon. She is gutsy." The Samoan-looking one said, "But it's expected since there's no one around to save you, huh?"
The blond guy, known as Jon, smiled creepily at her.
"This is going to be so much fun. I love teaching lessons to girls like you." Jon said
Jasmine felt her heart stop. She wasn't going to be able to fight her way out of this but she had to try.
"No you're not." Jasmine said
With as much strength she could gather from within her, she gave the two guys a big shove and ran out of the alley; colliding with someone who was at the entrance. She struggled wildly as the guy wrapped his arms around her.
"Stop. I'm not one of them."
Upon hearing the voice, she immediately recognized it and stopped struggling.
Phil wrapped his arms around her and looked up just as the two guys arrived at the entrance.
"Were you two harassing my girlfriend?" Phil said
Jon looked at his partner who said, "Uh… No… We just thought she was a girl who escaped from The Getaway."
"Yeah. We have no problems with her. Sorry, miss." Jon said, looking at Jasmine.
Phil looked at them, "So, what are you waiting for then?"
The two of them didn't need to be told twice. Looking at Jasmine and Phil one more time, they both hurried away towards their car parked not to far. Once they got into the car and drove away, Phil let Jasmine go.
"Are you okay?" Phil asked
"Yeah… Thanks… Again." Jasmine replied
She looked at him, "Do you have a habit of saving people?"
Phil smiled a little and said, "No… It seems like it's only you I have to save."
Jasmine stood up straight, "Well, thank you. Those two guys just seem to keep finding me."
"That's because you're in their element." Phil said, "They hunt night and day for girls who are alone."
"Right." Jasmine said, realizing that she kinda made herself a target.
Just as she tried to move her right hand, the pain that ran through her arm made her drop her hand almost immediately.
"Crap!" Jasmine cussed, feeling the sharp pain.
Phil looked at her, "I think you may have dislocated your arm."
"What?" Jasmine said, looking at him in disbelief.
He lightly touched her arm and slowly brought it up before putting it back down when Jasmine winced.
"Did you hit anything just now?" Phil asked
"I-I don't know… I think so? They shoved me really hard and I hit the wall…" Jasmine replied
"Then you definitely dislocated your arm." Phil said
Jasmine sighed, "Great."
"Come on. I can help you with that." Phil said
"Uh, no… It's okay. It will heal on it's own." Jasmine said
"No, it won't. It will only get worse if left untreated." Phil said
He looked at Jasmine's hesitant expression and said, "This is no strings attached. I can't possibly leave you with a dislocated arm."
Jasmine felt the sincerity of Phil's words and nodded. Phil smiled and escorted her towards the abandoned warehouse building to get her arm fixed.