Goin' to Jackson { Jackson Wang Series }

Chapter 6

Jen stepped out of her small apartment into the colorful street outside. Guanajuato was truly a wonder to behold. The grand cathedrals, built of pink and green sandstone, towered over the tiny winding streets. The cobblestone streets and alleys were made for walking since many were too narrow for cars. Jen wore her "sensible" shoes these days because she had learned that high heels and cobblestones don't mix well.

She carried a large bag filled with her teaching materials. She had found the students to be well-behaved compared to the students in public high schools in the States. She had expected a bit more pushback but was pleasantly surprised to find that most students were either excited about learning or had been scared into submission by several layers of authority that started in the home and spread to the church, school, and community around them.

Two little girls in plaid skirts and starched white shirts passed by her giggling and sucking on sour tamarind candies. They didn't look twice at Jen. She fit right in. She found it refreshing to have that built-in anonymity of looking like everyone else. She loved Asia, but she found that her tan skin and coiled hair did make her the subject of long stares and hushed whispers.

It was not yet time for the Festival Cervantino, the yearly festival that had begun as a time to put on short plays by Miguel de Cervantes but had turned into an international art festival drawing people from all over the world to the colonial-era city. Jen was looking forward to seeing the festival up close.

She took in a deep breath as she passed a fruit vendor. He had carved mangoes into beautiful flowers and dusted them with chili lime powder. She could smell the guayabas and the tiny Dominico bananas. She had to admit that she was totally in her element here. Everything about Guanajuato was different enough to be exciting, but familiar enough to be comforting.

"Yennifer!" called the stocky man from the magazine stand. Jen turned to see him flash her a large, gummy smile.

"Señor García, ¿qué hay de nuevo?"

"Pues, ay Ud. verá," he replied, knowing that she could never miss an opportunity to stop at his stand and check out the new releases. She stood in the center of the large display of newspapers and magazines and scanned the colorful assortment for something that she might be able to use in her classroom. She enjoyed bringing current events into her English instruction because it always caught the interest of the students more than the standard textbook did. As she looked over the magazine section, her eyes caught the headline, "¡Jackson Wang, el Papi Chulo de Asia!" Below the headline was a full-body picture of Jackson wearing jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt that showed glimpses of his tight six-pack abs.

Jen's heart turned over in her chest as she felt a nervous twinge in her stomach. Seeing his face never ceased to cause a visceral reaction in her body. When she had left, on that rainy morning two months ago, he had dropped her off at the airport. He gave her a quick hug, but no kiss before she walked solemnly to the security line. They never really said the words, "Let's stop here," but Jen was concerned that the hurt that she saw on his face might never be erased and that it might be the end of the road for them. She knew that he didn't understand her need to work at something she was trained to do. And more importantly, he didn't understand why she would leave when things had been going so well. She had found that no words really seemed to reach that wound. Nothing she said could stop the bleeding for him. So, they had parted, not in anger, but in some type of shadow world that was undefined. She had texted him to let him know she arrived safely. He texted back a thumbs up emoji. Over the course of these couple of months, she had texted him on several occasions just to keep the lines of communication open. He always responded, but the clipped tone of his responses was clear, even over text. She was glad, at least, that he wasn't ghosting her completely. She truly did feel sorry that she had hurt him, but she also knew that she would have regretted not taking this position when it was offered.

Jen left the magazine in its spot and slipped away from the stand. Mr. García took no notice of her departure as he had become engrossed in a YouTube video of Messi scoring a goal for Barcelona.

"¡Goooool, goooool, goooool! ¡Golazo de Messi!" screamed the announcer.

Jen continued on her way until she arrived at the high school's iron gate. A security officer nodded as she flashed him her ID card. Most of the students were still milling around the campus, but several had begun to form straight lines for the daily playing of the national anthem. Despite the high school being public, the students still wore uniforms. Many of the struggling students only had two uniforms. One to wear and one to be washed each day. She noted that some of the boys' pants were what her mom would call "high-water" pants. Their families simply didn't have the means to buy new ones, so the pants became shorter as the year went on, showing more and more of their skinny ankles.

She walked into her classroom and laid out her materials for the day as she heard the national anthem blaring through the aging loudspeaker. After the students were released from their formation, she heard the familiar clacking of leather shoes on the concrete floors of the school. Several girls walked into her room, moving as one entity as they kept their eyes glued to the cell phone held by the girl in the middle. They intermittently let out shrieks of delight as they watched the video.

Jen approached them with a stern look. "Hay que guardar los celulares antes de la clase," she warned.

"Pero, Profesora," lamented a girl with tight braids. "¡Es Jackson Wang! Mire nada más. Está bien bueno," concluded the girl emphatically.

Jen didn't need any reminders of how hot Jackson was. If these girls only knew how well she knew him, they would be stunned. Why the sudden Jackson assault today? Jen wondered. First the magazine cover and now this. Was it a sign from God that she should call him, or should she just keep going with that dull ache in her chest?

"Whatever," Jen pivoted to English. "It's time to put the phone away," she directed as she shook her head several times in the hopes of shaking out Jackson's memory for long enough to finish the day's lessons.

She went to the chalkboard as she said, "Today, we are talking about pronouns. A pronoun takes the place of a noun in a sentence," she said as the students finally put away their phones and took out their notebooks and pencils.

"Let me give you an example," she said, taking a piece of crumbly chalk in her hand. She wrote in neat script, "Jackson is beautiful." Underneath that sentence, she wrote, "He is beautiful." She underlined the words "Jackson" and "He" in the sentences. "As you can see here, I replaced the word 'Jackson' with 'he' in the second sentence."

Oh well, she thought ruefully. I might as well use my pain for some greater good. Several boys rolled their eyes as the girls in the class erupted in uproarious giggles.

"I told you Jackson was the best," said the girl with the braided hair.

"I can't argue with that," said Jen as she attempted to smile.