Why Do You Even Care?

"Powdered Sugar"

The meeting was the usual "Welcome to our school! We are so glad you're here!! You're just gonna love this school, there's so much here for you.." It was an exhausting 20 minutes, but Jarrett kept smelling the smoke from the other room, a smuggish smile on his face.

Principal O'Brien finally stopped reciting his welcome speech and smiled, "I saw your videos on YouTube kid, they took my breath away. It's not everyday you see talent like that. You met our best student, yeah? Kelsey Parker. Real bad seed, but man does that girl kick butt at everything she does. She's been offered so many roles for movies and TV shows, but she's turned most to all of them down. She prefers being on stage. I found her singing outside a theatre she's in love with for money to save it. And after that I saw her act in a few plays over there. I fell completely in love with her talent, and she hasn't paid a dime for anything since. You just might beat her with singing kid, but I don't know about acting. She can become a totally different person in seconds... If you work hard enough... God I'm going to regret this but, If you work hard enough with her you just might be pretty damn close to her talents."

Jarrett nodded, agreeing with the balding heavyset man. "I did meet her a few moments before I was escorted here, she was having a sort of fit because she couldn't talk to you, sir?" James nodded "She has those a lot. She was a little upset that I paired you two together. She prefers being alone for some reason. M'kay well..." He started standing up and outstretched his arm, "It was lovely to finally meet you Mr.Burton-Page, I look forward to having you in my school. You have your schedule, I'm sure you'll manage with Kelsey by your side." He smiled, Jarrett stood and shook the man's hand and nodded.

As they walked out of his office he knocked on Corporal's office door, "Kelse time to take him around school." James said while opening the door, "I'm really not surprised you're smoking. No, I won't tell your mother Angie, just as long as you keep your mouth shut and take him around the school to your shared classes." Kelsey put out her cigarette and smiled at Jarrett eyes lightening up, "Yeah, sure boss." "Whoa, what? Really? No argument?" he inhaled sharply.

"Nope, I don't need to argue. It's a fair bargain. New, tall, gorgeous student babysitting for your big mouth shut. I'm good. Come Jarrett, we have a class to sk- I mean catch." She said while grabbing his arm and pulling him out to the frozen tundra that was Brooklyn during fall. Jarrett shivered his nose turning red from the chill, Kelsey laughed "Doesn't it snow in Ireland?" He shook his head, " Nooo. That's very rare. The wind is deadly, but it doesn't really snow much to at all."

Kelsey shrugged, "Okay, you have a choice. Wanna skip all this bullshit and go to my place and drink some whiskey to warm up? OR do ya wanna freeze and go from boring class to boring class?" Jarrett didn't really have to think about his choice, "Whiskey. Definitely whiskey. I'm freezing my bum off." Kelsey causally looked down and around at his bum in his brown velvet trousers. "Awe poor thing, we can't have that. Your ass is wayy too foine sir. "

And they were off, running to some old, beat up, black Saturn. Jarrett huffed his knees piratically hitting his chin in the passenger's seat. "Okay, I know your American cars are supposed to be bigger than ours. Explain this Kelsey." She laughed for a good few minutes, " There's a thing you can move the chair back if ya like. I'm sorry you're tall." She started the car and raced out of the school's parking lot.

As soon as they got to a crappy apartment complex she sighed and put the car in park, "Now, my mom is probably gonna be home at around twoish. Wait a minute it's Monday! Ahhh! Sweet! Monday's my mom works hella fucking late. Yee! Alright, how bout that whiskey?" She asked opening the driver's door and walked to the building.

First drink in and Kelsey felt her lightweightness take over. "Do you normally drink?" She asked as she downed the rest of her glass. Jarrett nodded, "Yeah, my parents let me drink at home since I turned 13. Legal age in Ireland is 18, and I'm 17 soo unless I move back I'mma have to wait till 21 to buy and legally consume yeah?" Kelse nodded, "Mhm. You a lightweight like me?" he shook his head, "Nahh, it'll take a lot to get me drunk."  "You're makin' it hard for me to make a nickname for ya. Ugh. Then again I've maybe known you for an hour or two. But I'll figure something out." Her face was a bit flushed because of the cheap whiskey.

She got a little too warm sliding off her jacket and putting it in her lap, "You're also so fucking quiet. If I had a sexy accent like that I'd never shut up. I hate quiet. Let's go into my garbage pail shall we? I has records in there. " She stood, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and her glass and motioned to her room as she started walking. "I know it's bad, shut up. I don't like clean." She threw her jacket on a chair, and placed the glass items on her side table. "You may sit on my bed by the way." she found what looked to be a Beatles record and turned it up all the way before placing the needle down.

When Jarrett sat down, the ice in his glass swishing with the cheap alcohol his eyes drifted to things around the room. Her pillows is what he found to be the most intriguing. A small plastic bag with the glare of her lights that were hung up above her bed was hidden in between two of the fluffiest pillows. Without thinking his hand was slowly pulling the small bag out a gasp escaped his lips causing Kelsey to turn around from her record player.

Her eyes widened, "That's a little powdered sugar I borrowed from the neighbors..." She said as she leaped to her bed and stuffed it back between the pillows, "At least that's what we're going with okay?" Jarrett unintentionally nodded eyes still wide, he downed the rest of his drink and placed his glass next to hers. "I didn't think you'd be a Beatles fan..." He said attempting to not sound worried, she nodded "Ohhh yeah, I have a thousand records. I'm kinda odd I guess..."

They sat there in silence, listening to the Let It Be record for at least three songs until she finally spoke up. "You're the only one who knows honestly. Mother stopped searching my room when she thought I was just a pothead. One day my dealer gave me some for free with some pot, and it took away the pain faster and longer than anything else. I needed something to..." Tears started to swell up in her eyes, "I tried pretty much everything a 'normal' person would. Therapy did nothing, Hell my mom sorta cut me off from my therapist thinking I was okay. I tried diet and exercising, took up smoking both pot and cigarettes. Drinking was just making the hole worse within every damn drop. I attempted to down so many pills countless times, cutting did nothing but send me to some place for a few days doped up on happy pills. The coke, it takes me somewhere... It drains me from all the pain I've been through..."

She wiped the tears from off her face and sat there staring blankly at some poster that was out of focus, "I've been through hell, and she never believed me. No matter what I said, no matter how much proof I had... She never fucked believed me, and she wonders why I'm a suicidal freak.." Jarrett was put almost to tears, and he shifted his body to face her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Kelsey started sobbing, her arms finally wrapping around him "I thought I could forget everything if I did all this shit... But I always remember what's happened to me. I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. We just met and I'm dumping my bullshit onto you. I'm sorry.."

Jarrett shook his head, "Don't be sorry, God don't be sorry okay? You have no reason to be. You're not dumping all of this onto me, I'm listening. I'm here Kelsey. It doesn't matter if we just met, you need someone and so do I. I'm willing to be that someone who will listen to you, and will be there okay? That's just the kind of person that I am... I know what it's like to feel alone, and you don't have to feel that anymore M'kay?" he whispered in a rush. She looked up, her bright blue bloodshot eyes looking into his green ones, a sad smile on her pierced face, and she nodded "Thank you.."