Red is Red
"We are not friends" Jane says as she slides into a booth opposite Frost. It's Saturday evening, one day after leaving Maura's house, her shoulders heavy and brain confused. She reaches across the table and pours sugar into her Café Latte. "Red and I are not friends" she says again and when she looks up Frost is smirking behind his coffee cup.
"What are you then?" he asks leaning back into the cushioned seat.
"I" Jane starts and stops abruptly. She doesn't know what the rest of that sentence is, she just knows what they are not and now she is regretting bringing the topic up "If I let her hang out with me she will help me with my science work" She answers after a moment. It's sort of the truth.
Frost nods in understanding, except he adds "Sounds like a friendly thing to do"
Frost grins triumphantly and it makes her skin crawl with irritation "We are not friends" she states again with a growl that falls off her face when the door opens and a burst of wind blows through the room. Maura enters the Café wearing a white top with a black skirt, a red jacket accompanying her look. It's nothing short of Perfect.
Frost follows Jane's line of vision and waves before turning back to her "Well, can I be friends with Maura" he chuckles.
Jane is too busy swallowing the lump that's caught in her throat to reply.
Frost asks the questions, Jane listens taking it all in.
She learns that Maura's mum is an artist but isn't around very often, her dad isn't worth mentioning and Jane reads between the lines figuring he isn't around at all. She doesn't have any siblings and she doesn't have any pets and when Frost asks if she has any friends Maura just shrugs explaining that they moved around a lot.
She has been home schooled most of her life but then went to two schools in as many years after winning an argument with her parents but found out the hard way that school wasn't like she thought it would be. She didn't fit in.
"Jane got home schooled once" Frost shared.
Jane kicks him under the table. She doesn't like to bring that time up. She finds it easier to just pretend that it never happened, that those years were just a bad dream, nothing more, nothing less.
"Why?" Maura asks far too quickly. Her eyes bore into Jane's and when Jane looks back she see's concern, care and confusion but nothing at all that should make her uncomfortable.
She doesn't like talking about it though so she shifts her gaze back to Frost trying to think of some way to explain it without actually having to explain. Frosts shifts uncomfortably in his seat and Maura looks between them both.
"You don't have to tell me, I just, I've never known anyone else who has been home schooled"
Jane rubs her hand across her temple and presses hard. She sips her coffee to bide time and when she finally pulls her gaze back to Maura she smiles "Maybe some other time?"
Maura nods, acceptance, trust, honesty.
Everything Jane doesn't have but has always wanted.
They meet Frankie and Tommy at the park where Jane runs and rugby tackles Tommy to the ground before he notices she has arrived. He laughs hard and pulls her down with him before they roll around getting muddy competing to try and be the first to get back up. Jane gets up first jumping up and down in triumph and Tommy nudges his shoulder with hers once his back at her level. "Cheater" He grins and Jane just smiles back.
"Are they always like this" Maura asks and even though Jane knows the question isn't for her she answers anyway
"Sure it is" she rolls her shoulder and pushes one arm above her head to stretch, when she drops it she steps closer to Maura, the evil glint in her eye already giving her intentions away "I always win"
She lunges forward but Maura has already stepped back and in screaming loud and it's so unexpected – having someone scream – that she actually stops her advances to check that everything is alright.
"My clothes, you can't ruin my clothes" Maura is protesting and Jane stops still inches away.
She reminds herself Maura isn't like them once again. Maura is Red, Maura is dangerous and Maura's jacket probably costs more than all of their clothes put together. They are not friends.
"Sorry" she mumbles biting her lip. She turns around quickly trying to push her disdain aside but before she makes it two steps back towards Frankie and Tommy she finds herself falling quickly chest first to the ground.
She was not prepared and she actually lets out a grunt and then she feels Maura fall down next to her from the force of her own push. She is laughing hard and rolling over and it would have been like music to Jane's ears if she wasn't so detracted by the hand on her back.
It's over quickly. It probably only lasted a few seconds but Jane will be able to remember it frame by frame later that night as Maura stands triumphantly straight, her hair tangled, her face red, her chest heaving and with mud splattered on her jacket. She grinned "Guess you have met your match now then?" and it's just so smug and damn cute that Jane can't find any words to reply.
Right before Maura's car comes to take her home, she thanks everyone by buying them all ice cream. They lounge around on the grass letting the sun kiss their skin and it actually feels so nice to just sit around and do nothing for once that Jane forgets that Maura has to go until she stands up and points across the field "Well that's my ride"
Tommy whistles and Jane smacks him across the back of his head to keep him quiet before she stands herself. She brushes off her trousers and pretends she can't feel the multiple pairs of eyes that bore into her back "I'll walk you" she says and starts to head in the direction of the limo before anyone can say anything.
Before she changes her mind.
Maura catches her up and the short walk is done in silence. When they reach the car Jane kicks a pebble back and forth between her two feet. She doesn't know what to do or say. She has never had a friend that's a girl before and she doesn't feel that Maura would appreciate a high five. She isn't good with goodbyes.
She doesn't have to say anything. Maura hugs her, whispers "Thank you" and slides into the back seat of her car before Jane can even react.
"So you're not friends" Frost questions when she returns back to them. He shares a quick look with Tommy and Frankie that Jane picks up on. "I wish I had some not friends as cool as that"
Mr Parker says there are 206 bones in the human body. Maura tells you that over half of them – 106 to be precised – are in the hands and feet. She explains that the hand has 27 bones each and that the feet have 26. Mr Parker says that the longest bone in a human body is the femur; Maura tells you it is quarter of your height. Mr Parker says the stirrup is the smallest and Maura doesn't say anything but leans over to pull Jane's ear with a smile. Jane instantly realizes that that is where she will find it.
When the lesson is over Maura says that not all humans have 206 bones. Children have up to 270 and babies can have between 300 and 350, she explains that these fuse together as people get older. She explains like she has all the time in the world and Jane listens so intently that she has to remind herself to breathe.
She learns more from 10 minutes with Maura than what she does from a whole week with Mr Parker.
"Your smart" Jane compliments at the end of the class and then she smiles, it's really quite "Incredible" she whispers and then clamps her mouth down shut. She wasn't meant to say that out loud and when green eyes find brown Jane turns and rushes away.
She avoids Maura successfully for two straight days. Or at least she avoids any kind of conversation and confrontation, but Frost ends the spell on the third day.
It's Thursday and they walk into the lunch hall at exactly 13.10pm but instead of going to the first table on the left like they usually do, Frost makes his way to the last table on the right.
Maura is sitting on her own spreading salad around her lunch box with her fork. She has a book open on the table next to her and Frost slides into the seat opposite like this is normal and Jane suddenly feels uncomfortable not knowing where to sit or if she is even welcome. Maura pulls out the chair next to her, an invite that Jane chooses to take.
"You know" Frost pulls a fry from his plate and dips it in ketchup, when he looks up he has both of their attention "I just remembered I have that thing to go to" He says though his already up out of his seat and pushing his bag over one shoulder, then he is gone.
Jane makes a mental note to strangle him later.
"What's going on Jane" Maura closes her book and pulls Frosts tray forward. When she looks Jane's way she makes sure her eyes connect with brown. "Why are you avoiding me?"
Jane doesn't answer. Maura tries again. "OK, why are you scared of me?"
"I'm not" she says far too quickly to sound convincing and then she takes a deep breath, she has never been good with words and she is sure now will be no different. "Does money make you happy?"
Maura pinches another fry and as Jane waits she fears her question wouldn't be answered but then Maura pushes her book closed and rests her elbow on the table "I try to find happiness with it" She answers "I try to find it in my bigger than needed TV, in the car that drives me around whenever I want, in the food that is cooked for me and the house that is always clean. I try to find happiness in the money my family have"
"Try?"
Maura cocks her head to the side and then nods once. "It sounds selfish doesn't it? That I could have, and do have, so many things and yet I'm not happy"
"What would make you happy" Jane doesn't understand.
Maura doesn't need time to think, she answers straight the way, smiling "Love" She nods, sure "Love would make me happy, you have lots of that"
"No" Jane interrupts rolling the words around on her tongue before letting them tumble out "But if we did have more money then I would have more love. If we did have more money I wouldn't owe them everything. I would be free to live my own life."
"Money isn't good Jane" Maura whispers, its shaky and sad and it's the first time Jane has seen her look weak "If we didn't have so much money, then I would have a family. It's the money making that keeps my mother away"
"But you're free?" Jane asks, hopeful.
"Yes" Maura agrees. She puts her book back in her bag and stands up "I'm free Jane, but only because nobody cares" She finishes.
Jane doesn't stop her from walking away but the comment lingers and her chest aches and only after Maura has completely left the room does she relax and wonder, if she was forced to pick between love and money, what would she choose.
Would it really have made a difference anyway.
Thank you all once again for your kind words. You are beautiful people and your words keep inspiring me to type more words that make sentences that create stories.
These are for you.