Joy

Part 16

Joyce's P.O.V.

The days are passing by. Thursday. I'm alone at home when Martha calls me,

Joyce: Hello?
Martha: Hi. Wanna go with me? Justin's throwing a party and...
Joyce: No, thanks. I'll pass.
Martha: Joyce, stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Joyce: I'm not. I just don't wanna go.
Martha: Are you sure? Being so much at home isn't healthy.
Joyce: I'll survive.
Martha: Okay, but next week you're going everywhere I go.
Joyce: Sure...
Martha: Bye.

She hangs up. I know she means well, but I'm really tired of everything. I just want to... disappear. It's 3 a.m. and I'm sleeping when I hear knocking on my doors- Martha's probably drunk as hell if she came here.

I go downstairs,

Joyce: I'm coming! I'm coming!

The knocking stops. Without a doubt, I open the doors. The only thing I see is someone's black silhouette. My eyes are still half-closed.

Joyce: It's 3 a.m. why aren't you with Austin or...

Then I open my eyes and see Dylan. I try to close the doors, but he puts his hand on the doors and stops me.

Joyce: Oh my God... What are you doing here?
Dylan: We need to talk.
Joyce: Please, go away!
Dylan: Not this time.

Then he grabs my neck and starts kissing me. I'm not even trying to get free cause I know he's stronger than me. I taste Scotch from his lips- did he drink?
The next thing I know, my phone is ringing and I wake up in my bed. Just a dream...

Joyce: Hello?
Martha: Where are you!? The class is about to start!
Joyce: What!?
Martha: Come here before second class!

I hang up and put on some clothes. I'm in the car for 5 minutes straight. When I enter the class, only Mister Regan is there.

Joyce: I'm so sorry, I fell asleep...
"Today, after classes, detention."
Joyce: What? I fell asleep...
"And I said detention."

I walk out of the classroom.

Martha: Detention?
Joyce: Yeah...
Martha: I can't believe it...

I'm walking downstairs- detention. I remember the way from last time. I enter the room and everyone is silent. Theresa and Jensen are sitting on my right. A few more students are here along with Sandrine. I'm kinda disappointed to see Dylan's not here. Maybe it's better if he's not. I start thinking about the dream. This is all my fault- I shouldn't go out with him and I should have told him when I found out about the bet... Where was my thinking? While thinking, Theresa turns over to me,

Theresa: What have you done this time?
Joyce: Why do you care?
Theresa: Curiosity.

I'm silent.

Theresa: Joy...
Joyce: Don't call me that. Don't talk at all, whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it.
Theresa: But...

I turn over to her, looking at her creepy snake by her lips.

Joyce: I said stop talking.

She turns toward Jensen. Looks like I was convincing enough- she stops talking to me.

After detention, I go to the library.

Martha: How was it?
Joyce: Theresa finally fucked off.
Martha: Wow, what was that?
Joyce: Sorry... I don't know what's happening to me.
Martha: I'm so sorry for what happened, but it's over. You need to move on.
Joyce: It's so easy to say.
Martha: And do. Just start going out again.
Joyce: I can't. I don't want to.
Martha: You'll have to one day.
Joyce: Well, that's not today- thank God.

Martha: And what happened today?
Joyce: Em- nothing... W, what do you mean?
Martha: You know what am I thinking. You're never late for school.
Joyce: I just slept over.
Martha: You're hiding something.
Joyce: I'm not! I really overslept.
Martha: If you say so...

She went back to reading her book. I'm looking at pages and words, but nothing's making sense. I scroll through half of the book without knowing what have I read. It's so hard to stop thinking about the dream and everything that happened.

Joyce: Can we go to the coffee shop? I'm bored here.
Martha: You- bored in the library?
Joyce: Can we just go out?
Martha: Sure.

I'm sure she knows something's wrong, but I don't wanna talk about it. As we're going out, we walk past Dylan walking into the school. It's so strange to think that someone who's looking at me so coldly now, used to eat ice cream with me just two weeks ago.

Martha: You okay?
Joyce: Yeah, I'm great. Let's go to buy some coffee.

Martha smiles at me- probably happy cause I'm trying to forget everything.

Martha: I can see you're feeling better today.
Joyce: Yeah.
Martha: That's great cause this weekend...
Joyce: No.

This situation puts me back when I didn't meet Theresa or Dylan. Martha would ask about the party and I would just say no. It became much more complicated when I started saying yes.

Martha: Theresa won't be there.
Joyce: It's not because of Theresa. I'm just not in a mood.
Martha: Common! You can't spend another weekend alone in that house.

I take a sip of coffee.

Joyce: Watch me.
Martha: Joyce...
Joyce: Please don't make me do that. You already forgot what happened when I said yes last time?
Martha: Of course not, but it's a part of life. You go out, you hook up, maybe date for a while and then you can get hurt, which happened to you. But that's not the reason to stop living.
Joyce: When did you become such an expert in relationships?

Martha: Since I'm in one.
Joyce: Wow. And officially, when that happened?
Martha: While you were at the hotel.
Joyce: And why am I finding out about it only now?
Martha: Cause you didn't ask about it earlier.
Joyce: Talk.
Martha: There's nothing to talk about. We were at the movies and that was our first official date.
Joyce: That's so sweet.
Martha: I know.
Joyce: You never talked about Austin.
Martha: There's nothing to talk about. Perfect in every way possible.

Joyce: Cheesy, but okay... Now for real.
Martha: He grew up here and he, Zach, and Dylan are friends since they were kids. After his dad found a new job, they moved a little bit closer to the center of San Francisco.
Joyce: So, they know each other for so long?
Martha: Yeah.
Joyce: And did he say anything interesting?
Martha: Not really. Zach's the oldest, he's planning to ask his girlfriend Maria to marry her.
Joyce: You know I'm not interested in Zach.

She rolls her eyes.

Martha: Why are you doing this to yourself?
Joyce: I'm not doing anything... Continue.
Martha: I'm sure it's nothing you and Dylan didn't talk about.
Joyce: You'd be surprised how little we talk.

She grins.

Martha: Interesting...
Joyce: Martha! Common.
Martha: Nothing interesting, they were pretty much seeing each other every day. Then Dylan stopped showing up and they later found about his family problems.
Joyce: Family problems?
Martha: Yeah... You know...

I'm just looking at her.

Joyce: What should I know?
Martha: Wow. You really didn't talk much.
Joyce: Just tell me already.
Martha: Apparently, his dad was beating his mom, so she reported him to the police. And that was the last day Dylan saw his dad.

I have no clue what to say on something like that...

Martha: He probably didn't want to talk about it...
Joyce: Wow. That must have been rough for him to deal with.
Martha: Probably. I'm surprised you didn't talk about it. I thought you know him.

"I thought so too," I whisper to myself.