HEAD OVER HEELS - J. BREWER

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍: 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃

It had been months since the last day I had spent away from Jack, but with the new news from Principal Funderberk, it looked like I was gonna have to go without seeing or talking to him for a few days for a school trip. Kim was furious, and Jerry was mildly jealous, but he hadn't even tried to win the essay contest.

    "You know, I read Jack's essay. It wasn't that bad," I said as we finished training. Kim made a face at me for a few seconds. "It really wasn't!"

"Milton I get, but Jack just made up some dumb paragraph about how Martha Washington entertained the soldiers by burping the alphabet," she said as her face soured again.

    Jerry's jaw dropped as he put a hand over his heart. "Kim, that woman was a war hero!"

    "With Jack's luck, I bet they're meeting the president right now."

    I snorted and flopped down onto one of the extra mats, staring up at the ceiling. "With Jack's luck, I bet he's being elected president right now."

    "Can he do that?" Jerry demanded. Kim and I met each other's gaze and started giggling. We loved Jerry for who he was, and even though it was mean not to answer, we knew he would move on in a few seconds anyway.

    "I thought my essay was pretty solid," I said as I made patterns on the ceiling with my eyes.

    "It was. I thought mine was, too. Didn't you edit Jack's and Milton's?"

    "Yeah, why?"

    "Were they even in the same ballpark?"

    "No, not even slightly." I frowned and sat up on my elbows. "Do you think someone rigged it or something?"

    "Don't some of Julie's friends go to Seaford High? They totally should've won over Jack. No offense."

    I waved her off. "They probably should've, especially if their essays were historically accurate."

    "Jack's was accurate!" Jerry interjected. "I read it...somewhere..."

    "In Jack's essay?" I asked gently. Jerry nodded excitedly and wandered off in the direction of the men's locker room, where he had apparently been storing a mighty feast for dinner purposes. I feared the smell that would follow him out after, but just tried to think about why Jack would've won over a historically accurate essay. True, he had been convincing, and he knew some big words I didn't expect to ever read from him. But it still was wrong. It shouldn't have been in the same league as Milton's.

    "Maybe it was a pity prize?" Kim suggested. I grinned and started laughing again. She laughed along with me, and after a few minutes, we were both crying and slapping the mats.

    I wiped my eyes as I sat back up fully. "Man, I wish he was here to hear that. He would lose his mind on you."

    "Don't tell him, please. I'm not in the mood to be chewed out over the phone."

    My face fell. "He actually can't talk at all on this trip. He wasn't even supposed to bring his phone, but he did just in case one of us had an emergency. He messaged me before he got on the plane and once he landed, but that's it. No more talking for a few days."

    "Aw, Cer, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Kim said, her lower lip jutting out. I nodded and shrugged.

"Guess we'll have to make these next few days extra fun so you don't even have to think about him!"

"Right."

    She stood and held out a hand for me. "Come on. Let's leave before Jerry comes back out with his food and stinks up the whole dojo. I think he mentioned something about seafood..."

    "Oh, god. Get out, get out, get out!"

***

    CERYS
Sleeping over at a friend's tonight
I'll drop by to get a bag and see you tomorrow

DAD
I'm already home, hun.
In my room. Come say hi before you go.

CERYS
Ok

***

    Dad had become so much more attentive to my life since we went to mom's grave together. I hadn't seen this much of him since before I started ballet and karate - both of which he had started to show an interest in. He booked the day of my dance show off and had offered to drive me and come watch karate multiple times. I wasn't quite ready for him to step into that part of my life yet, but I appreciated the effort anyway. He was persistent, too, which showed that he really was interested in making amends with me. It was just too bad that it took such a horrible tragedy for us to become closer again.

    Once I finished packing my bag, I knocked on my parent's bedroom door. I was used to just coming in to check on mom, so knocking felt foreign and wrong. I hadn't been in here since finding her. It brought back a rush of tears and hurt in my chest, and I suddenly longed for Jack's embrace. I would tough this out, though. I was independent and strong, and I could do this by myself.

    My dad looked up from where he knelt on the floor and cracked that almost-smile at me. "Heading out?"

    "Yeah. What're you doing?"

    He moved to the side so I could see mom's clothes that he had taken out of their shared cabinet. "I thought it was time. You have free reign over anything you want, and whatever you don't can get donated. I know she liked charity shops."

"Yeah," I whispered. I cleared my throat, "Yeah, okay. I'll go through everything tomorrow when I'm home. Could you put it all on my bed or something?"

    "Sure. Be safe. I'll be home a little late tomorrow, I have an important meeting with my boss."

Wow, I've never heard that one before. "Okay. I'll save some dinner for you."

    He waved as I backed out of the room, "Have fun."

    I had to stop for a minute at the bottom of my stairs to breathe my way out of crying. I hadn't thought about what to do with all of mom's stuff - it hadn't occurred to me that something really needed to be done with them. He had barely been living in that room for months, and suddenly he could just clear it all out without even talking to me about it first?

    I took another deep breath. He had given me the choice to look through all of it and keep whatever I wanted. He wasn't getting rid of mom, he was just trying to move on with our lives, and that was okay. That was allowed; it was good, even. For now, I just needed to get through my time without Jack and enjoy some one-on-one girl time with my best friend.

    "All good?" Kim asked as I came out the front door. I smiled and nodded as I locked the door and tucked the key back under the mat. "Let's go!"

    I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and walked off, not looking back at my house once. If I had, maybe I would've seen my dad watching me with a smile from the bedroom window mom used to sit in while I played in the yard. Maybe it would've made me cry a little. We'll never know, though, because instead of looking back like I had been for the last few months, I kept my gaze locked on the horizon and my arm around my friend.

***

1239 words.