I don't know about you guys, but Thanksgiving should seriously be National Get Fat Day, and Black Friday, National Rob a Bank Day because you're gonna need that cash to actually buy all the things you want...(I died at the Nike outlet last night!)... ;D
Anyway, sorry, I'm dumb I know ignore my comment from before - here it is! :) This is Simon & Jeanette! I'm not sure how much I really like my work on this - I wrote it I think in July - so, I don't know how much I've changed from then, but I feel like I've grown a little...so, this may seem a little weird or awkward from what I now write... But I don't know, you tell me.
Letting out a sigh, Jeanette mindlessly turned the page to the book she was reading, too caught up in the story it displayed in her eyes. Every day, after school, she would always head to the library. The library was always quiet and peaceful—that was the only place she could actually escape the real world outside, and it was also the only place she could truly concentrate on her homework and do something she actually wanted to do without any screaming and shouting going on in the background, or uninvited interruptions could catch her. This was her home base to read at.
Each book she read always intrigued her and got her imagination going. All the fantasies with brave knights in shining armor fighting against fire-breathing dragons just to save his true love all seemed so…wonderful… All the dream worlds the books would take her to, they always took her on amazing adventures too! True, she'd been on plenty of adventures with her two sisters, which they always seemed to get in some sort of mess—but reading was different.
By reading, she could go anywhere in the world—go on all sorts of adventures, and still be safe and sound. By reading, she would always have that phenomenal sensation of excitement spark in her, and shoot her up in the sky letting her roam free. It was bliss for her. If only her oldest sister, Brittany, could understand… She did try once…but in the end, she only ended up losing a fight that was already lost in the first place. With Brittany, there was no chance of winning a fight unless your name was Alvin…but was she anything like Alvin? No, definitely no. And it's not like she disliked Alvin or anything, she just didn't agree with the way he handled things...
Letting out a sigh, Jeanette turned the last page to the book and read the last two words written nice and small on the page.
The End.
Shutting the book, she adjusted her glasses on her nose, and dazed off for a bit. Her eyes stared off in a world that didn't exist to the natural eye. Exhaling out a deep breath, letting her trance blow out of her, she then glanced around the quiet room viewing while some parents helped their kids to read a short children's book, and other people on their laptops with a stack of large textbooks at their side. It must have been the end of the term exams for all of the college students or something, Jeanette could only guess, for she's seen numerous of boys and girls doing the same exact thing, lazily staring at a computer screen, with a stack of textbooks by their side, all week long whenever she was at the library.
To be honest, all of the people studying almost seemed like zombies to her, for most of the people she's seen looked like they stayed up all night, and some, she's pretty sure, have sat frozen in place like a statue, not even once blinking or taking a break. Everyone there with laptops seemed to have deep, heavy bags weighing under their eyes. Seeing that that month was the very last month of her junior year in high school, this was the best assumption she could muster and come up with. She was already halfway through the month, and school was coming to an end.
Shrugging, she was about to grab the last book filled with pages of words that told an old folklore, but she was stopped by the sudden toll of the great clock that was merely a few feet away. Jumping from the sudden toll, Jeanette pushed the frames of her glasses up her nose and glanced up at the old-fashioned grandfather clock that tolled only seconds ago.
Seeing that it read six o'clock, Jeanette let out a relaxed sigh, before quickly fixing her gaze back up at the great clock once again, this time in an urgent manner.
Letting a small gasp escape her lips, Jeanette frantically looked down at her watch hugging her thin wrist, and her eyes widened, almost allowing her eyeballs to pop out of its sockets.
"Oh shoot!" She cried, immediately working her arms and hands.
Fumbling around to get her books, and her folded up umbrella, for it was raining earlier in the day, she frantically stood up off of the crimson red couch and fast-walked to the book shelves nearby. Finding the right section to put her two books back in, she quickly sorted them in the alphabetized order, and grabbed another book to read at home. Studying the summary written on the back of the book, deciding whether or not she should read it, she shrugged and rushed to the checkout desk.
On the way to the checkout desk, Jeanette took a blind turn and accidently bumped into some boy, causing him to drop all of his books.
Gasping at what her action just caused, she looked at the boy, and then down at all the fallen books. "Oh my gosh—I-I'm so sorry," she apologized, truly sorry.
The boy only bent down, and muttered lowly, "It's fine...don't worry about it."
Quickly bending down along with the boy, realizing she should probably help too, she swiftly helped him gather all of his books. When she finally grabbed the last book, she set it atop the stack in his arms, and stood up. Staring cautiously at the boy, watching while he balanced all nine textbooks in his arms while gradually standing like he was an elevator being lifted to the top floor in a sky-high building, Jeanette soon came into realization, recognizing the boy from her same school. It was Timothy Redwood. She knew him only as a quiet, extremely smart kid from a fairly wealthy family—and for these few reasons were why people picked on him. Adjusting her glasses on her nose, she quickly examined all the books in his arms.
Raising her eyebrows at the towering books, seeing that they were mainly science, technology, math, and other school related categories, she stood there dumbstruck.
No wonder he's so smart, she thought thoughtfully in awe. Suddenly the great grandfather clock from earlier tolled, once again, reminding her that she was late for something. Shaking her head, she glanced down at her watch, mouth slightly gaping open, seeing that it was almost ten minutes after six. Why did she always mess up? Was there something she needed to change about herself? She shook her head trying to break the thoughts loose from her captivating mind.
Looking back up at the brown-haired boy known as Timothy, she then said trying to gather a smile on her face, "A-again, I'm so very sorry for bumping into you—I'm in a hurry right now—umm, I, u-uh," she stuttered walking past him, thinking as fast as she possibly could, not sure of what to say next. "I, uh—I hope you have a great summer!" She then called before fast-walking as fast as she possibly could. Seeing that she was in the local public library, she felt it would be disrespectful and disturbing to bolt off into a run… She couldn't help but wonder whether she should've said something different to him…maybe her words weren't the right choice…
Finally making it to her destination with a long crumb trail of thoughts following her in a chain, Jeanette set her chosen book on top of the counter, and waited while the old, short, gray-haired lady checked out her book. Pursing her lips, staring at the lady watching intently; everything almost seemed as if it slowed down, and the time sped up. Blinking mindlessly, and tapping her foot in anticipation, Jeanette opened her mouth only to clamp it shut. She needed to keep her patience. Asking the old lady to speed up was probably rude or offensive anyway…
"Alright, do you have your library card sweetie?" the old lady politely asked.
"Huh—oh, yes! Here it is," Jeanette said, handing the lady a white worn out card.
Taking the card, the lady scanned the card, and then smiled while handing it back, along with the now checked out book. "There you go—this is my favorite book by the way, hope you like it as much as I do," she grinned with a wink.
Returning the smile, Jeanette grabbed her items. "Yeah, I hope it's good…well, bye—oh and thank you!" she grinned.
Frantically making her way to the thick double-glassed doors, she then froze in her spot, mouth gaping at the scene displayed in front of her. "You're kidding me," she groaned, looking down at her violet umbrella. The weather outside was pouring rain, unlike how it was earlier, barely drizzling. It wasn't like she had anything against the rain, it was just the fact that it could easily get worse, and possibly become more severe.
Biting her bottom lip, she got her umbrella ready to open while pushing open the doors, grateful she even bothered to bring an umbrella with her that day. Plus, it never hurt to come over prepared, now did it?
Getting her violet umbrella open, the fresh smell of rain filled Jeanette's nose, and the big drops of salt water immediately began pounding on the top of her umbrella like a strumming drum. Shivering at the cold, chilled air that wrapped around her, she tugged at the bottom of her navy blue jacket, and tucked the book safely away from the rain in her coat.
Exhaling out, she began pacing, gradually quickening her speed needing to get home, for she had promised to be home by six o'clock—she and her sisters had planned to spend time with each other at an event going on…
Suddenly, a low thunder, grumbled deeply in the sky. Tilting the umbrella, Jeanette peered up, only for a quick flash of light to light up the sky. Pursing her lips, she then walked even faster if possible, for she was already going at a fairly fast pace. Pulling tightly to her coat, a small gust of wind blew, pulling at the loose strands of her messy bun. While the wind continued to play and dance with her loose chocolate brown hair, a hard gust thrust itself into her small frame, hitting her like she was the lucky shot for a homerun, but then stopped dead in its tracks. Guessing that that was the last of the wind, Jeanette relaxed her grip a little on the umbrella, but right after, a strong force of air pushed, taking her umbrella with it. As soon as her violet shield slipped out of her hands, the rain dropped in enormous droplets, pounding hard and heavy on all that got in its way to meeting the earth's ground.
Gasping at what just happened, Jeanette immediately ran after her umbrella, desperately reaching for it. "No, please come back!" Jeanette called out to it, in hope by some miraculous miracle the umbrella would grant her wish. The wind forced a blow, carrying the umbrella up into the sky. "No, no, no, no! Don't go!" She cried, tripping over her own two feet.
Colliding with the ground, Jeanette's glasses took flight, only to land a few feet away, while her library book also came flying out with its many flapping wings escaping the dry protection that her coat provided.
Biting her bottom lip, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to fall from her emerald green eyes, the pain from the fall immediately seared throughout her entire body, causing her to ache in an echoing agony. Slowly stretching out her arm, she then clutched onto her glasses, and slowly brought herself up so she was in a sitting position. Holding her breath, trying to ease the pain, she squeezed her eyes shut, while a warm streak rolled down her cheek. Letting out her breath, she made an attempt at drying the lenses to her glasses and put them on when she realized that the swirled smudge of fogged rain water was the driest she'd get them.
Gazing through clouded lenses, she then spotted her library book, drowning in the rain.
"Oh my gosh! My library book!"
Quickly grabbing the book, Jeanette lifted it up while a non-stop waterfall poured from the cover and pages. Letting a small whine escape her lips, a loud clap of thunder roared throughout the sky, ringing repeatedly in Jeanette's ears, causing her to jump to her feet. Stumbling from the pain of the fall, Jeanette staggered her way trying to find the closest shelter. Tucking her library book away in her coat, trying her best to prevent any more rain to reaching it, a small smile graced her lips when an old pavilion came in sight.
Feeling the pain wear away, Jeanette soon broke off into a jog, feeling the heavy rain weigh down on her like it was going to crush her. Breathing heavily, Jeanette soon stumbled under the protection of the roof to the pavilion. Pulling her now drenched library book out into view, a frown curved on her lips while she turned and looked up at the sky. Setting the book down on the ice cold table, Jeanette then shivered violently, now just realizing how cold it was. To make it worse, she had to be drenched from head to toe. It looked almost as if she just took a shower, or got dumped into the ocean.
Folding her arms, she shook nearly frozen. This by far, had to be one of her worst days…of course it would rain this day, at that moment. Shivering all throughout her lean body, she examined the empty roads, with no cars whirring by. A small delicate frown curved her lips once again, while she looked up at the dark gray sky. Sniffling, she sneezed and hesitated to take a seat on the dead, glimmering pavilion bench.
Cringing at the sudden harsh chill it sent throughout her body, she relaxed a bit, and let out a sigh. "Why me…why does it always have to be me?" she questioned out loud, gazing out at the ghostly road.
She knew she only had at least one more mile to walk, but she couldn't go out in the weather, especially not after it ruined her library book—how would she ever explain or pay for that? Plus it would be dangerous to walk out in such weather while it thundered and flashed electric shocks…she couldn't risk it…even if it meant being late. Everyone would just have to wait…
Sitting and shivering, she sat aimlessly staring, lost in thought and worries. If only she had a car with her…that definitely would've been faster, and not to mention, dryer…none of this would've happened if she only had a car. Of course it's the one and only thing she actually doesn't have with her…and then her umbrella…
Letting out a deep sigh, Jeanette closed her eyes, rubbing the sides of her arms, trying her best to bring life back into her arms. It was absolutely freezing… She knew she should've called…if only the thought came to her sooner, maybe she would've… The library would've let her use the phone, and if they didn't, then she could always ask some random stranger, after all, almost everyone who walks this planet has a cell phone in their back pocket, and if not there, then in some pocket of some sort.
Hearing the soft engine of a car, Jeanette immediately opened her eyes in anticipation, hoping. Hoping that it would be someone she knew, or her sisters—or at least anyone who would have the heart to pull over and lend a ride to her. But what were the possibilities that someone would bother to stop and waste their car's gas on her? Not very much, that's for sure…
Pursing her lips hopefully, a silver small van drove on by, the driver not even taking a glance at Jeanette.
Slouching her shoulders, Jeanette mindlessly crossed her legs, resting both elbows on top, setting her chin in the palm of her hands. Lazily glancing side to side, all hope lost, another car whizzed on by, once again passing her. Trailing the car with her eyes, watching while it disappeared from sight, she spotted another car from that direction heading her way. Watching while the car got closer, she continued to watch while the driver in the car glanced at her, and if she was seeing correctly, she could've sworn the driver looked at her like she was crazy. It wasn't her idea to "hang out" at the pavilion on a rainy day, plus it's not like she was having a picnic or anything… Why couldn't the driver—or any driver—just understand all she needed was a ride? Couldn't anyone these days tell when someone needed some help anymore? Another car then drove on by, glancing at Jeanette like the one before, and too, passing on by. Apparently not…
A small frown soon began to slowly edge its way across Jeanette's lips, stretching down as each second ticked on by. Furrowing her eyebrows longingly, Jeanette leaned forward, trying to see any sign of a familiar face, or car passing on by. This day had to have been National Frown Day or something…all she's been doing was pout…
Once again, hearing the smooth engine of another car heading its way, Jeanette looked in the direction, green emerald eyes glistening with a small hope. Sitting up straight, staring at the driver, she slouched once again already seeing the driver not even glancing and passing her by…once again, like all the other cars. The toxic gas that puffed out of the engine, leaving behind a long trail of fog, caused the brunette to scrunch her face in disgust at the smell. Waving her hand back and forth in front of her face, trying to shoo away the gas, she released all the muscles in her arm letting it drop hopelessly.
Soon she heard the light sound of tires turning on the hard asphalt ground, except it wasn't exactly the sound of a cars tire…
Leaning forward, looking to the right, where she was hearing the noise, get louder and louder—clearly getting nearer and neared to her, she leaned back once she saw the source of the noise. It was exactly what she'd guessed: a random person riding their bike.
Waiting patiently for the rider to pass her, hoping he might help her in some way, but doubting the person would even give her the time of day, she uncrossed her legs, and relaxed her back more, letting it press into the long, metal table, nailed to the cement.
After some time, what she had been expecting rode on by. The biker was peddling as fast as he could—trying to get out of the weather and safely home, Jeanette presumed. The biker seemed to be holding onto a black coat, draped over his head, as to keep his head safely shielded away from the pounding rain. Pursing her lips, Jeanette straightened her back, staring at the biker. Catching the biker glancing over at her, a small seed of hope began to sprout. But as soon as the guy never slowed down, or came to a rescuing halt, that seed of hope withered and died inside of Jeanette, while once again, she slumped her back. Maybe today was Friday the thirteenth, Jeanette considered in misery. She always got bad luck the worst out of her sisters…even if bad luck was some superstition and she knew better to not believe in that kind of captivity…
Realizing that she'd put much too much of hope in the biker, Jeanette threw her hands up in despair, and also, in disbelief.
"I'm going to be stuck here forever!" She whined helplessly, obviously knowing it wouldn't be "forever" but still a long time to wait. A long time to wait in reality may not necessarily be equivalent to forever, but at the moment, it did. She was doing the math, and double-checking it too!
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she slumped in her spot, sulking, and folded her arms while another frown tugged at the corners of her lips. She's never glowered this much in her life—with all of this grimacing, her lips might as well stay permanently this way! Lovely…now she was being a pessimist; she was breaking at the seams. Holding the attitude she normally had together was getting complicated. Closing her eyes, she then slowly began to rub her temples, trying to revise of a way to get back home. This was such a ruff day…such a cruel day…such a horrible day…
"Jeanette?" A voice suddenly called, causing Jeanette to snap her head up in response.
Glancing around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice, she then spotted out of the corner of her eye, the same navy blue bike that passed by earlier, backing up. When the boy on the bike finally got directly in front of Jeanette's view, he gave her a confused look, but gave her a small wave.
Waving back, dumbfounded, Jeanette's eyes went big when she finally recognized the figure on the bike. "Simon!" she half gasped, half cheered while jumping out of her spot, and running over to him.
"What are you doing here? It's pouring rain—aren't you cold?" Simon asked, not totally filled in on what was going on.
"Well I—"
"Here," Simon said, handing Jeanette his jacket. "You're probably freezing," he said noticing how wet she was.
"Oh," Jeanette said, taking the jacket, her face flushing a bright pink. "Thanks." Looking over at him, she then handed it back, "But you should take it, you need it more than I do, and you could catch a cold, and—"
"No, I'm fine—you're soaking wet—you need it more than I do." Simon insisted, pushing the jacket back towards her.
"But—" Jeanette tried to reject, only to be silenced.
"Jeanette, really, it's fine." Simon persisted. Watching while Jeanette draped his jacket over her shoulders, he then began checking Jeanette's condition up and down. Seeing how wet she was, and considering the chilly air, along with the condition of the weather, he then said, "Here, hop on."
Dumbfounded, staring at the bespectacled boy clueless, Jeanette gripped onto the collar of the navy blue jacket, and questioned, "What?"
"Hop on my bike," Simon said, glancing behind him at the extra, slim seat at the end of his bike. "I'll bike you home."
Going wide-eyed, Jeanette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, while she peered over at the end seat, then back at Simon, then back at the seat. "W-w-what?"
He chuckled and smiled slightly. "I said, 'I'll bike you home.'" He repeated wording each word slowly.
"Oh, um, o-okay—one second," she said, running back under the pavilion. Grimacing while she stared shortly at her now sopping library book, she quickly grabbed the book and ran back over to Simon. Slowing down when she was only a few steps away, she eyed the end seat. Hesitating, she took one more step, and touched the seat. Looking at Simon, she quavered, "On t-t-this?" Seeing him nod his head, she looked back at the seat. Shaking her head, Jeanette stepped back. "A-a-actually, m-maybe I won't—it doesn't look too safe."
"It's fine Jeanette, you'll be fine. If you stay out here in the cold, you're going to catch your death—so please, just get on—plus the weather's lightened up a bit, and I'm not sure how long this rain will last."
"B-b-but—" Jeanette stuttered.
"You'll be fine," he promised. "Besides, the chances of you falling off aren't likely just as long as you hold on tight." He sighed clearly seeing her hesitancy, then said, "Theodore's done this with me before…" He waited for any comments. "Look, uh—" he cleared his throat modestly "—we both know how Theodore can be…so, if he can do it, I am certain you can. Trust me. You'll be fine."
"Well, I-I-I guess if you say so," she relaxed a little, hearing him say she'd be fine with such sincerity. Getting up on the seat, sitting on side-ways, she then quickly added, "But I still don't think this is the best way." Hoping he might come up with some better option she could trust with more confidence.
Watching Jeanette, making sure she got on securely, Simon then caught her damaged library book out of the corner of his eye. Observing the drenched book, he watched while she tucked it safely away in the protection of his borrowed jacket. "What happened to the book?" He questioned, staring while Jeanette struggled to get comfortable on the end seat.
"O-oh, yeah, the book, r-r-right, um, well, I, uh, tripped, and you see, the book, it flew out of my…hands…" She trailed off, not bothering to finish for she was beginning to feel ashamed and embarrassed.
Slowly nodding his head understandingly, he then stopped. "Wait, you tripped? A-a-are you alright? How did you fall?"
"I-I'm fine, as I can't say too much the same for this…book…I wish I could…" She frowned, then quickly added, "And I tripped because I was running." She bit her lip, remembering the incident.
"Oh, well," Simon began, taking his black framed glasses off and drying the rain splatters on the lenses with the tip his blue V-necked shirt. "Ready?" He asked, placing his glasses back on.
Nodding her head and clutching onto her seat, Jeanette then said insecurely, "Ready as I'll ever be."
Turning towards the front, Simon then turned back around. "Uh, I think it might be best if you held onto me, instead of the seat—if you want to that is, I-I mean, it might be easier and safer—I-I-if you know what I mean."
Feeling that it would be just that much weird, she kindly turned him down. "Oh, I, uh, I think I can hold on." Jeanette said, uncertainty edging in her voice. Just watch…she probably "jinxed" herself, and now she'll fall off… She couldn't help a small regretful groan pass through her vocal cords.
"Alright," he slowly said, facing towards the handle bars and gripping on to them. "I guess if you say so... Hold on tight," Simon warned, pushing his feet off the ground.
Swaying at the sudden movement, losing balance on the seat, Jeanette immediately wrapped her arms around the only thing she trusted the most: Simon. Realizing what she just did, she then smiled shyly, cheeks heating up, and laughed nervously, "Um, maybe I can make exceptions…"
Chuckling, Simon rolled his eyes, and said, "This time heed my words when I say hold on tight, okay?"
Feeling her cheeks heat up even more, Jeanette silently nodded her head, keeping her grip securely around Simon.
Peddling, Simon then accelerated his speed, feeling the rain get heavier, and heavier. As the time had passed on by, the sky faded darker, and darker, filling in for the place of the evening pink sky. Gazing through rain splattered lenses, Jeanette finally found herself rushing through a familiar street. The night street lamps were glowing brightly, illuminating the way. While riding on by the houses, Simon finally caught sight of his destination up ahead, at the corner of the street.
As soon as Jeanette felt the bike come to a halt, she immediately looked around and finally realized where she was. While getting off the bike, she set the tip of her foot down cautiously, as if the ground would break at her weight, before fully getting off and letting the ground collide with the flat of her shoes. Letting out a relieved sigh, Jeanette turned to Simon, who had been watching. "Thank you so much, Simon. I mean, I know it's a lot for you to take me back home…"
"Oh, you are very welcome Jeanette, I really don't mind—anything for a friend, right?" Simon grinned.
Nodding her head, she too smiled, "Right."
Glancing down at her watch, Jeanette then gasped. "Oh no," she panicked heading down the path to the front door of her home, "I've got to hurry!" Turning to Simon, she gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, but Britt—"
"Say no more," Simon chuckled, "I get it, trust me."
"Thanks Simon, and sorry, and thank you again for taking me home!" she called, skipping up the front porch steps, and colliding with the door. Fumbling around to get the doorknob to turn, she finally pushed the door open. Bolting through, Jeanette turned around and waved goodbye one last time to Simon.
Waving back, Simon then headed on his way back to his own home.
Watching while he left, Jeanette then shut the door and ran into the living room, but then came to a halt. Looking down at her attire, seeing Simon's jacket, she let a gasp escape her lips, and slid the jacket off, letting her library book fall down to the ground, and rushed to the front door. Struggling to get it open like she did when trying to get in, she finally managed and ran out onto the front porch. Frantically glancing around, Jeanette let her shoulders slump, seeing that Simon was long gone out of sight already.
"Oh no," she groaned.
Slumping back inside the house, Jeanette shut the door behind her and walked into the living room, setting the jacket down on a couch next door, and picked up off the ground her damaged library book, setting it down on a nearby table. Feeling the need to return the jacket weighing down on her shoulders, she walked back to the front door only to be stopped by someone clearing their throat. Freezing in place, Jeanette slowly turned around only to see exactly the one person she wanted to see last perched at the top of the stairs: Brittany.
Getting intimidated by Brittany's harsh glare, fold of arms, and tapping of foot, Jeanette took her eyes and fixed them down at her sneakers, pursing her lips. True, Jeanette probably should've been used to this by now, and not fear it, but some things just never change. This was Brittany, and this was her. End of story.
Shyly peering up at Brittany, she smiled, and gave a small wave. "Hey, Brittany," she nervously greeted. Preparing herself for the worst, she closed her eyes, and waited for the storm to pass on by.
Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Brittany looked at the time, and then glared back at Jeanette. "Do you know what timeit is?" She asked sweetly, forcing a smile.
"The time?" Jeanette asked, clueless to what Brittany meant. Looking down at her watch, she began, "Why, it's six—"
"NO, Jeanette!" Brittany cut in furiously, causing Jeanette to flinch back. "That's not what I meant!"
"O-o-oh, r-right," Jeanette stuttered, fumbling with her glasses on her nose. "That's not what you…meant...silly me to think that…" She sighed, slouching against the door. Here it comes…
"Well, duh—Jeanette, I asked you to be home by six! Is that just too much to ask for? NO! Definitely not," Brittany scoffed. "I mean, it's not like I'm asking you to go run on foot, all the way down to Paris, just to fetch me some million dollar dress! Jeanette, you said you'd come with me to this party along with Eleanor! Look at the time!" Brittany whined, pointing over at the clock hanging on the wall. "See that, we were supposed to leave twenty minutes earlier! But where were you?! Definitely not in this house, or of that matter, anywhere around it! Do you know what this could do to my reputation? Being late to this party?!"
"W-w-well, Brittany, I-I-I can explain, you see I—" Jeanette tried to reason, only to be cut off, once again.
"How, huh?" Brittany snapped angrily. "How can you possibly make up for this? This party—I-it's my reputation! It's my life! Now I'm ruined! Tammy Sorenson will never let me down for this now! I can't—I wasn't supposed to miss this party! Or at least be late! How do you expect me to face Tammy, huh?" Brittany spazzed, pulling at her hair, for Tammy Sorenson, or in other words, Brittany's worst nightmare and rival, would be there. And the history between the two beauty queens went way back since middle school. It's not that the two started off with a bad start, it was really at first sight, like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, except it wasn't love—it was pure, wretched hate.
"Brittany," Jeanette began, "I can explain for my delay—a-a-and I'm sure there are plenty of other parties out there—I-I mean, what makes this one any different than the other parties?"
Gasping, Brittany stared at her younger sister in disbelief. "What," she began, taking a step down the stairs. "Do," she took another step. "You," once again, she took another step. "Mean?" She growled, taking the last step on the staircase. "Jeanette!" She barked, stomping towards her little sister. "Do you know what party this is? What it means? Didn't I just explain to you?"
"Well, because of Tammy Sorenson?" Jeanette said, her statement coming out in timidity.
"It shouldn't be a question, Jeanette," Brittany growled, stomping off into the living room. "You know how Tammy gets! She's not gonna keep her stupid little mouth shut until I end up crying all the way home!"
"I-I-I'm so sorry, Brittany," Jeanette apologized, feeling utterly terrible. "I honestly didn't know how much this meant to you—I'm sorry—I really tried to get home on time, but it's just, it began to rain, and I tripped, and the weather got worse, and—I really am sorry." Jeanette apologized once again, following her sister. "Can't we just take the car and drive there now?"
Perking up at that, Brittany then slumped on the couch in remembrance. "No, we can't," she said sadly, cooling her steam off a bit. "Ms. Miller is out tonight, remember? She was our ride, Jeanette. Since the party was just on the way to her destination, she said she'd be 'happy to give us a lift,' but since you didn't show up, well I'm sure you can get the story." Brittany hastily said, folding her arms. "And why are you soaking wet? Don't you have an umbrella?" Brittany shot, just realizing how wet her bespectacled sister was.
"It—" Jeanette began. "It blew away…" She mumbled.
"Typical." Brittany snorted.
Letting out a sigh, Jeanette then questioned, "Why didn't you leave without me? You know you could've if you wanted too…"
Snapping her head up, Brittany then simply said, "I couldn't." Looking at her nails, examining each painted nail carefully, she then said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You're my sister, Jeanette. Do you really think I'd leave without you? Plus, Eleanor, ugh," Brittany scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You know she wouldn't even let me anyway—or at least she'd deny me going—"
"Jeanette!" A voice suddenly exclaimed at the top of the stairs.
Both older sisters glanced up at the top of the stairs, and there, the youngest of the three sisters stood, grinning widely.
"And speaking of—there she is." Brittany rolled her eyes, once again. "Perfect timing Eleanor," she complemented, now filing her nails. "Timed it just like the movies."
Dashing down the stairs, Eleanor gleamed brightly, while giving Jeanette a big tight hug. "You're alright, thank goodness!" she exclaimed happily.
"Well, uh, yeah—" Jeanette began.
"We were beginning to worry about you! Where have you been this whole time? What kept ya?" Eleanor immediately asked, getting comfy on the ground, as if she were a child sitting in a circle while the teacher read a story book.
"Oh, well," Jeanette began, too getting comfy on the couch beside Brittany who pretended to show no interest in what she had to say. "I was where I'm usually at—you know, the library—and well, I lost track of time, so I rushed out." She said, replaying the past in her mind. "Oh, and you know that super smart kid, Timothy Redwood? I found out why he's so smart!"
"Lemme guess, he had twenty billion math books, and thirteen hundred science books, right?" Brittany guessed, rolling her eyes at the thought of the nerdy boy.
"Well, actually he did have textbooks—seven of them to be precise." Jeanette concluded. "Anyway, when I came outside from the library, the weather was worse from earlier. So I tried to rush home, but, I, uh, tripped, and well, yeah," Jeanette rambled on, fumbling around with the right choices of words. "I then found shelter under a pavilion, and waited."
"Oh, so how'd you get back here?" Eleanor questioned, big brown eyes blinking in curiosity and sympathy.
"Well, Simon came riding on by on his bike—"
"He what?!" Brittany exclaimed, dropping her nail filer. "What was he doing riding his bike out in the rain? Isn't that dangerous or something?"
"Well, he, uh, he was…" Jeanette paused. "I have no clue to what he was doing…" She finally realized.
"He was stalking you!" Brittany shouted out. "That's what! It's in those Seville's blood to do strange, creepy things!"
Giving Brittany a look, Eleanor exchanged looks with Jeanette, and rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Oh, Brittany," she shook her head, "you know that's probably not even close to what Simon was actually doing. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Brittany waved it off. "He's related to Alvin, I think it sounds reasonable if you caught Simon, or even Theodore for goodness sakes, spying, or doing something troublesome."
At the sound of Simon's name, Jeanette glanced over at Brittany. "Brittany, we're serious. You know Simon wouldn't do something that rash, and definitely not Theodore. Please be reasonable."
"I was," Brittany simply said, getting up off the couch and heading towards the stairs.
"Where're you going?" Eleanor asked, jumping to her feet.
Freezing in place, Brittany turned and said, "I'm going upstairs to change clothes since a certain someone," she glared over at Jeanette for a spit second, "Has ruined my plans, and not to mention my life."
Smiling uneasily, Jeanette cowered into the seat of the couch. "Brittany, I meant it when I said I was sorry."
Rolling her eyes, Brittany marched up the stairs waving it off.
"It's okay, Jeanette," Eleanor calmly said. "You know how Brittany is."
Nodding her head, Jeanette commented, "Yeah, I know, Brittany really can get a little, er—let's say, unreasonable, but she's our sister."
"Jeanette, a 'little' isn't even close, I mean c'mon, really? I think you mean a lot." Eleanor corrected, grinning widely and giving her a wink, while heading towards the kitchen. "I think I'm going to cook us all some lasagna or something—pizza, maybe even, since our dinner was supposed to be at the, uh, you know, party."
"Oh, yeah, right…I'm really sorry about that…" Jeanette apologized, once again.
"Jeanette, I already told you, it's really okay. You didn't mean for this to happen." Eleanor stated, now in the kitchen grabbing some ingredients out of the cupboards. "Plus, it's not like I really wanted to go that badly…"
Letting out a sigh, Jeanette glanced around the living room and grabbed her ruined book. Opening the hard covered book, she attempted to flip through the pages, but shut the still sopping book in failure. Setting the book down, she let out a groan. "Now the library will probably ban me from ever checking a book out!"
Getting up, off the couch, she paused, still holding Simon's jacket. Glancing at the door, and back down at the jacket, and back at the door, she pursed her lips and called out, "Hey, do you girls think the Sevilles would be at the party?"
"Well," Eleanor began, peering out of the kitchen entrance, whisk and mixing bowl in hand. "Maybe, I mean, they probably would, but then again, I have no clue. I didn't get the chance to talk to Theodore today," she ended, mumbling the last part.
"I wouldn't waste my time going over there, Jeanette," Brittany said, appearing at the top of the stairs. "That jacket you've got there, it's Simon's, right?" she asked, pointing directly at the said item.
"Well, yeah," Jeanette confirmed, "He lent me the jacket because of my, uh, condition."
"Chances are Mr. Simon and sweet, sweet, little Theodore went along with their twerp of a brother to the party—they probably left as soon as Simon got home. Unlike me," Brittany emphasized, pointing at herself, "they don't have a beastly, evil, prissy, primp to show down with. I don't know why Alvin needed to go…"
"Oh," was all Jeanette could respond with. Looking over at Eleanor for confirmation, Eleanor nodded her head.
"She's probably right, Jeanette. Like Brittany, Alvin wouldn't miss this party either—the only difference is their motives of why they want to go."
Nodding her head understandingly, Jeanette stared down at the jacket in her hands.
"My case is closed," Brittany curtsied, before leaving the scene. "Just go tomorrow," Brittany called, heading into the bathroom. "I'm sure Simon will be home—after all, it's only a Saturday, and I doubt he has anything planned for the day."
Taking in what her older sister stated, she decided to take her word. "I guess I can go tomorrow—besides you're probably right." She stated, heading upstairs to change, for she was still a bit wet from earlier. Hanging the borrowed jacket on the railing of the stairs, she went up the stairs and into her room. Letting a smile grace her lips, she lightened up, for even though the day had been a disaster, she still got to at least see a friendly face, for that matter.
For the rest of the night, the three sisters spent it alone together. The weather didn't change, and the rain kept pounding down on the ground, as if there was no tomorrow. The night felt as if it was going to last forever to them, but it soon ended.
Daylight broke through the night sky, while the sun rose, and hid behind shadowed clouds. The morning air had a salt-water hint to it, but the air was fresh. The darkened paved sidewalks and roads still were damp from the pouring rain, but they were beginning to lighten and dry up.
Down in the kitchen of the Miller home, Eleanor softly hummed a tune while mixing a batch of her own pancake mix. "Let's see," she began, dipping her finger in the bowl. Frowning disapprovingly at the mix, her face brightened with an idea. Rushing over to the cupboards, she dragged a stool along with her, got up on it, and rummaged through the high cupboards.
At the same time while this event was happening, Jeanette had just woken up. Rubbing her eyes, she grabbed her glasses that were set on her nightstand, and set her glasses on top her nose. Getting up and stretching, she then headed towards the exit of her room, and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Covering her mouth while a small yawn escaped her lips, she sat down at the dinner table. "Good morning, Eleanor," she greeted lazily, adjusting her glasses.
"Morning, Jeanette," she chirped back. "Have you seen the cinnamon?" She asked, moving on to a different cupboard. "I can't find it anywhere—oh, found it!" she chimed, getting down, off the stool.
Letting out a sigh, Jeanette smiled lightly and grabbed the newspaper. Finding the crossword puzzle on the entertainment page, she grabbed a pencil and immediately began filling in the answers. Biting her lip getting stuck on a problem, she ran through her mind of what the answers could possibly be.
Ding-dong.
"I'll get it," Jeanette exclaimed at the sound. Dropping the pencil and newspaper on the table, she headed to the front door, and while walking to the door, she straightened her pajamas at the same time. The least she could do was look a little nice… Maybe she should go change quickly before answering the door…?
Ding-dong.
"Coming," she yelled. Nope, there wasn't time to change. Whoever it was at the door would just have to absorb and accept her appearance—even if it wasn't the most pleasant to look at…
Ding-dong.
She reached her hand out in distress as soon as she got in distance of the doorknob. "I'm so sorr—" She began, but stopped as soon as she saw who was at the door. "Simon!" she chimed.
Chuckling nervously, Simon waved. "Good morning, Jeanette—forgive me, for the, uh, unnecessary extra doorbell rings. I'm sorry if they were a disturbance…" He apologized, fixing his black framed glasses. "You see, Alvin here, got a little impatient." He finished, motioning over to the said person.
"Hey, it's not like I had all day to wait for someone to answer the door!" Alvin fired, folding his arms.
"Yeah, but it's not like you had to ring the doorbell more than once just to get someone to answer the door—once should be good enough." Simon shot back. "Anyway," he said, fixing his composure. "I came over to bring this back to you." He said, lifting up an umbrella and handing it to Jeanette.
"O-o-oh, my umbrella!" she exclaimed taking the item. "W-where did you find it?"
"Well, it wasn't actually me who found it—it was Alvin—"
"Yes," Alvin cut in, "It's true. I was on a dangerous journey, when out of the corner of my eye, that," he pointed over at the umbrella, "caught my eye—"
"Alvin," Simon said irked. "Cut it out. What he means is that he found it in our backyard stuck in the tree."
Sighing dramatically, Alvin rolled his eyes. "Wow, Simon, great way to kill the fun; I really was only kidding. I'm sure even Jeanette knew that—"
"Alvin," Simon repeated once again, same annoyed tone.
Cowering back a little, Alvin chuckled. "H-hey, take it easy—my lips are sealed."
Scoffing, Simon rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he continued, "we found your name written on the handle, so, uh, yeah…here we are, giving it back." Simon ended, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh, well thanks." Jeanette said glad to have her umbrella back.
"Awe, isn't this just sweet," Alvin smirked, causing Jeanette to blush a bright pink.
Hearing that, Simon then sent Alvin a meaningful glare, to which he responded as if he had no clue to what it meant. Letting out a sigh, Simon then said, "Please don't mind any attention to him—he only came along to gloat—er, I mean, talk to Brittany." He finished, glancing over at Alvin who had a scowl on his face.
"Oh," Jeanette edged, "right." She looked to the top of the stairs. Was having Alvin talk to Brittany such a good thing? Maybe he should come back tomorrow, when Brittany had more time to cool off from not being able to go to the party…
"Hey, Simon," Eleanor suddenly greeted from the kitchen, "hi, Alvin."
"Good morning, Eleanor," Simon greeted back.
Letting himself in, Alvin too greeted back, "Hey, Eleanor—do you know where Brittany is?" He asked, adjusting his red cap on his head.
"Umm—yeah, I think she's up in her room." Eleanor answered, dusting the flour off of her apron.
"Thanks!" Alvin said, running up the stairs.
Rolling her eyes, Eleanor then asked noticing the absence of a certain someone, "Where's Theodore?" Usually when one brother came to their house, all of the other brother's came along.
"Oh, right, almost forgot to tell you—he's coming over. He said he needed to do something first—but I'm sure he'll be over in no time soon." Simon answered after glancing down at his watch.
"Okay," Eleanor grinned brightly, walking back inside the kitchen.
Pursing her lips, Jeanette stared down at her toes, not sure of what to say. Inhaling a deep breath, she looked up at Simon. "Well—oh!" She gasped, turning around. "Almost forgot," she said, grabbing the hanging navy blue jacket on the stair rail. Turning back around, she handed Simon the jacket. "Sorry, I forgot to give this back to you." She smiled apologetically.
"Oh, it's no problem, really." He said, taking it and draping it over his arm.
Hesitating, unsure whether or not she should ask, Jeanette then said, "Um, Simon, can I ask you a question?"
"Uh, yeah, sure, anything. Ask away," Simon beckoned.
"About yesterday, what exactly were you doing riding your bike in such weather?" She asked, for ever since Brittany brought it up, the question had been eating at her mind. Surely what Brittany said about Simon was incorrect. There had to be a more decent, logical explanation for him riding his bike, other than Brittany's "stalker" logic. She knew Simon knew better than to ride his bike in a thunderstorm. After all, she knew very well that lightning can get attracted to metal, and doesn't Simon's bike have some sort of metal on it? Even if there was a small possibility that he wouldn't get struck, he'd still choose the safest choice, wouldn't he? But then again, if he felt it was absolutely necessary, then he'd do whatever it would take…
"Oh," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I, uh, forgot some of my lab notes in my math class, and I kinda needed the notes to do my experiments back at home…"
Nodding her head understandingly, she then paused. "But how come when you came by me, I didn't see any of your notes? And what were you doing at the school so late? Did it take you that long to get the notes?"
"Well, you see Mr. Kranium, the science teacher, was still there, and I chatted with him for some time, but during that period of time, that one tree that's tilted, and looks about ready to fall over—you know what one I'm talking about?"
Trying to identify the tree he was talking about, Jeanette raised her eyebrows. "You mean that one tree you always said would fall over any day?" Jeanette questioned, remembering that by the school parking lot, there was this one tree half removed from the ground because of someone crashing into it with their car. Simon always predicted it to fall…did it finally give in to his statement?
"Precisely, and it fell on his, Mr. Kranium's, car, so I kind of had to help him out, and yeah, during that period of time, my notes just so happened to get damaged by the rain, and—I think you can get the rest of the story…" Simon trailed off, and then added, "Of course, that is, if you need me to explain the rest of it, then I can…"
"Oh, no—I think I got it…so you had a pretty horrible day too, huh?" Jeanette concluded, linking her hands together behind her back.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Simon began, "but it wasn't that bad actually—I mean, I met you—that's not a bad thing…"
"Oh," Jeanette shyly half smiled, blushing a bit.
Letting out a sigh, dropping his gaze to the ground, Simon then gleamed, "Hey, would you like to come over to my house? I'm trying to create a cure for a disease in Africa, but I'm a little bit stumped so…I just thought, maybe if I could have a different perspective other than mine, I might be able to figure it out…"
Blinking her eyes, Jeanette then asked mindlessly, "Well, where do you plan to find another companion to help you?"
"Well, you Jeanette," Simon exclaimed excitedly. "What friend of mine could possibly have a better opinion than yours?"
"Well—" Jeanette started to object, but stopped.
"Why didn't I think of this before? Of course!" he face palmed his forehead, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "So, what do you say? You in?"
Thinking it through, Jeanette nodded her head. "I'm in," she smiled. "But first let me change." Turning, she began heading up the stairs after her bespectacled friend smiled and nodded in response.
Jeanette, not wanting to waste time, rushed up the stairs and burst into her room. Digging through her closet, she grabbed the first thing she saw and quickly undressed herself. Zipping up a plain, violet colored skirt, she quickly pulled a white, loose tank top and slid on a periwinkle blazer. Folding up the sleeves to the blazer, for they were too long, she then grabbed a hair tie and carelessly pulled her brown hair up in a bun. Running out of her room, and into the bathroom to check herself in the mirror, she shrugged her shoulders, and skipped down the stairs, sliding on a pair of black flats next to the door.
Turning towards the door, Simon smiled at her. "Ready?"
Nodding her head, readjusting her glasses, Jeanette began, "Ye—"
"ALVIN—I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" a voice suddenly screamed from upstairs, causing Jeanette to nearly jump out of her shoes, along with making her hand accidently knock her glasses off. Trying to catch her only hope of seeing a clear vision, she stopped when Simon, thankfully, caught her glasses. Checking her glasses to make sure they were in good shape, he handed them back to her, giving her a small grin.
"T-thanks," she said, taking her glasses, immediately fixing them on her nose. "Nice catch…" Returning him the smile, it slowly faded away when muffled voices began speaking up. Tightening her jaw, she slowly followed her gaze to the direction to the source of the noise. Suddenly the noise of a door slamming open from upstairs in the Miller's home echoed throughout the house.
"Hey, Britt, take it easy," a voice chuckled, edging in a joking and uneasy tone, followed right after the echo.
Glancing at each other, both Simon and Jeanette fixed their gazes upstairs.
"Excuse me?" The voice that yelled, evidently belonging to Brittany, sweetly replied. "Take it easy? Of course, Alvin, whatever you say. Oh, and by the way, have I ever told you that today it's opposite day for me?"
Once again, the two bespectacled friends glanced at each other and fixed theirs gazes back upstairs, but this time in an urgent manner.
"Oh dear," Jeanette nearly whispered, biting her bottom lip, waiting for the blow. She knew Alvin coming over wouldn't be a great idea… "I don't think this is going to end very well…"
Suddenly Simon reached out and grabbed Jeanette's hand pulling her with him. "Shut the door," he quickly said. Nodding her head understandingly, Jeanette swiftly caught hold of the doorknob along with her before she stepped out onto the porch. As soon as she got stable, she soon found herself being pulled. "C'mon," Simon exclaimed, beginning to break out into a run, still holding onto her hand tightly.
Without saying a word, Jeanette went along with him, a thousand questions swarming around in her head. Following Simon as best as she could, she glanced behind her while the view began to zoom out and away from her. After coming to a turn, Simon finally slowed down. Letting out a deep breath, he looked at his surroundings and grinned. "Wow, didn't think we'd get that far."
"Uh, Simon," Jeanette asked between breaths. "Why exactly," she huffed, "are we—well, were we r-running?" She finally got out.
Standing up straight, Simon readjusted his glasses on his nose. "Well, I didn't want to exactly be around to get caught up in whatever mess Alvin got himself into with Brittany—plus I don't really want to be there to see Alvin meet his death…," Simon said, taking a deep breath.
"Oh," Jeanette smiled, "right—we all know how Brittany can get…"
"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."
Dropping her gaze down to her shoes, she paused, and slightly looked back up at her hand, seeing that Simon was still holding onto it. Feeling a burning heat warm her cheeks, she bit her lip not sure whether or not she should say something. Opening her mouth, she stopped, for the words were trapped in her throat. Closing her mouth, she tried once more, and all that escaped from her lips was a simple, "Uh."
Hearing something from what he thought was Jeanette, Simon looked over at her, only to see her gaze shifted downward. Following her gaze curiously, he nearly had a heart-attack, but kept his cool. Chuckling nervously, his cheeks heated up, and he let go of her hand and said, "I guess I got a bit, uh, attached there…sorry about that…"
Immediately looking up, she shook her head. "Oh, I-it's fine," she quavered. "You can hold my hand anytime…" She ended, but paused rewinding the words in her head. Replaying the words over and over in her head, after a short second, she immediately went big eyed. "Oh my—I-I-I meant that I-I-it's fine if you hold my hand—wait, no, I mean, it's alright for you to—no, no, I take that back! I mean, it's okay with me that you held my hand, and oh—you get what I mean, right?"
"Uh, yeah, totally—I mean, you meant that it was alright that I held your hand and—uh, why don't we hurry and get to my house?" Simon quickly said, changing the subject, for it was something he never was an expertise in… "I really want to hear your opinion and what you think about, you know, my experiment…" He ended trailing off.
"Uh, y-yeah, let's go." Jeanette said, giving a small grin.
Picking up the pace in their walk, the two walked on, and talked about things such as the new technology that's been coming out and other things similar to the new discoveries and theories that have been proven to be true.
The whole time through though while they were talking, Jeanette had been staring down at her hand thinking through all the events that got her to where she was now.
Maybe losing her umbrella and being stuck in the rain wasn't as horrible as she thought after all…
So there's that and the next one I'm really excited for! For this piece, I tried to over view it and change it so it wasn't too plain, and again, I'm not sure how much I really like my work on this...but I hope you guys liked it! I hope it wasn't too sappy to read... And I apologize if I may have exaggerated the whole "college" part... I'm not in college yet, so, just bare with me on that. ;D
*I noticed that I put/add a bunch of random characters here and there, and they may not really be all that essential, but they do play a roll that I need them to, just to point out something specific about the character I'm trying to display, so...I don't know whether you guys ever wonder about that, or possibly get bothered, but I'm just marking my reason; plus these guys (the Chipmunks and Chipettes) aren't going to be living with the same exact people their whole lives. ;D*
I hope you guys enjoyed this and review and tell me what you think! Again, thanks for reading!
Oh, and special shout out to all those who reviewed/favorited! Thank you!