Crossing Jupiter (#Wattys2015)

Chapter Three

"So you did get the job."

Jasper leans on the corner of my desk. We barely talk, but ever since the move, he's more talkative towards me. Probably because he has no friends here, and he had to leave his popularity and girlfriend back in Connecticut.

I pick out a few things from the cardboard boxes. Unpacking is almost done, now I just have to make everything look presentable. "It's not so much as a job, more of like an extra school assignment. It's just the school paper." I murmur.

Jasper picks up a glass ball and begins tossing it in the air. "It sure sounds like a job. Unlike our old school, the paper is dead. All it does is collect dust."

"All I have to do is make it stand out. Write interesting stories. Change the cover, things like that. Anyways, how was your first day? I saw you hanging out with some girls, who by the way, seem very interested in you."

"It was alright. Those girls don't have half a brain, and all the guys are douches. I'm just trying to find where I fit in. Speaking of, I saw you with some guys. How are they?"

"They seem pretty nice. Half the kids ignored me, but the ones I talked to were cool."

He wiggles his eyebrows. "Bay's sure taken a liking to you."

I fold a few shirts and put them in my closet. "He's just being nice."

Jasper grins. "Whatever you say. If it were me, I'd think he's flirting. Since you're new, it's easy to befriend you. And in some cases, become more than friends."

I roll my eyes. "Ha-ha. Bay is just my friend, plus I barely know the guy. If anything, he's more fit for you than me. And; don't you think everyone likes you?"

"But all the girls love me, and you know it. Let's go ask Bay what he really thinks, then we'll know the truth."

Jasper gets up and leaves the room. He's bluffing.

The front door slams, and a small figure is sprinting in the direction of Bay's house. Jasper's dark hair flies in the wind; he really needs a haircut.

Okay, maybe he wasn't bluffing. But it doesn't matter, if he likes me then he likes me. If not, then oh well. Just another excuse to get revenge on him. Sometimes I wish I was an only child. I try to put my mind to a different use and focus on other topics. It works for a few minutes; I actually get some work done. But my eyes advert to the window and stay glued there. Bay's house is still. Nothing.

Should I go over there? No, it's too late now. I swear if Jasper lies about me, I'll kill him. Not literally of course, but pretty close to it. Boys are complicated to like. They can act so stupid and you become blinded.

They're always on your mind, and quite frankly, I don't need that right now. Once I had a crush, and it didn't end pretty.

It was the seventh grade, and the teacher had asked us to pair up with partners that we've never worked with before. Something about building friendships and how it gets you to cooperate better. So, I ended up with him. The quiet, sandy-haired boy in the back of the classroom. I hope I never made it obvious that I liked him, because that would've been a disaster.

In the end, I ended up doing all the work. Presentation and all.

But I didn't care, because I had a thing for him. Everything bad about them disappears, and you get tunnel vision. Maybe if I'd've said something, things would be different now. We could've been friends, or maybe even more than friends. But I'm loud and obnoxious, while he's quiet and secrete.

On the last day of school, I accidentally spilled milk all over his trousers. I swear, I was so terrified, I ran out of the lunchroom. Not even an apology made it out. After that, I got a schedule change and I never saw him again. So, that was an experience.

I hope he doesn't hate me.

-

"He thinks your a cool chick."

"See? I told you; no crush whatsoever. We're just friends, and friends is all I need in this point in time."

"I never said he didn't like you."

"Oh but you did, you see. He said chick, and chick refers more to hot girls or girls you think are chill. Not women who you'd date."

"I call girls I like chick."

I roll my eyes. "Like I've said before, you like every girl you meet. Now let me eat my cereal in peace."

A bowl of Froot Loops stares me in the face. No matter how many times people tell me to 'eat healthier', it'll never work. Not when we have Oreos and potato chips.

Jasper sits across from me, staring.

"What do you want from me? You never give me this much attention."

He folds his arms and smiles. "Just looking out for you, is all."

"I can do that on my own, but thanks. If you wipe that smug off your face, you can stay. That thing is creepy."

He broadens his simper. "It is?"

"Yes. It is."

A few scattered magazines line the kitchen counter. "Hey, can you pass me a few of those?" I say.

Jasper grabs a few and skids them across the glass table. The magazines pop with bright neon colors and insane headlines. This is exactly what the school paper needs. It doesn't have to have crazy and outrageous articles. It just needs something that will catch people's eyes. This is perfect.

The dull newspaper feel doesn't work for this school anymore. "Let's jazz things up a bit, yeah?"

Jasper, for once in his life, looks like he's on board. "Yeah."