Closest I Get

Chapter Five

Early December

On a casual Wednesday afternoon just before the dinner rush Jade sits silent at one of Joan's tables pouring over her stack of papers, sipping on her fifth refill of coffee.

She hears the screech of the chair on the floor, but pays no mind, just flips between two pages. In the corner of her eye, she notices Joan settle in her seat, hands clasped with an eager smile on her face.

"Whatever it is, no," Jade says, not unkindly, as she turns another page.

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Consider it a sixth sense."

She maintains her eyes on her papers but she can feel her waitress staring at her. She knows that when it comes to ignoring people and things that she's a real winner. But she's read the same sentence ten times and hasn't progressed from her spot. So she relents, decides to humor the woman across from her.

She exaggerates her groans but offers a soft smile for the woman.

"All right, fine, what is it?"

Delighted, Joan's smile widens before she presses herself forward; she excitedly invites Jade to her New Year's party.

"My previous answer stands."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! It'll be your first New Year's in the city, right? Plus, with all the tips you and your friends threw my way all year, I could afford to do something a little extra. It happens once a year."

She stares at her waitress, tries to shake the smile from forming. She doesn't want to go, doesn't think she'll have much fun, but the words spill from her lips before she has a proper chance to reconsider.

"Maybe. I'll get back to you."

Joan squeals before rising from her seat and brushing down her clothes. "Awesome. It's not for a while, so you have plenty of time to ditch your friends and come hang out with your favorite waitress. Okay, I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're doing."

She makes a subtle motion to move her forearm over the stack just as Joan peeks over the table. Joan's curiosity gets the best of her as she lifts herself from her chair.

"What are you working on?"

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing from how intently you've been working on it all afternoon."

"It's just, uh, an old project I'm revisiting."

"Can I even ask or do I need to back away?" she says, chuckling.

Jade sighs. Parts of her brain are quarrelling with each other, to tell or not to tell. Eventually, not having someone to talk to for a while takes a toll. So she pushes the stack on the table.

"It's a play that I'm writing. Or well, re-writing. The project started back in high school."

"Was it for a class?"

"It was one of the ideas I had for my senior project. But I chose a different one in the end."

Joan tilts her head a little and looks at her curiously. "So why are you re-writing it now?"

She shrugs. "It wasn't like any of my other stories where they were darker in nature or anything like that. I think because it was so different from everything else, it was the one that I liked the best. But it just didn't work at the time."

Joan listens to her intently. "So what's it about?"

"What?"

"The play. What's the story?"