Emily got ready with stealthy anticipation. She was excited as today was the day Mr Rosenberg was going to introduce her to Jesse. Jesse sounded like a nice girl, Mr Rosenberg would rave about her for hours on end. Even showing her photos of her with an older brother. She assumed Jesse would be coming by either bus or driven by her parents as she only looked about fifteen. Mr Rosenberg himself wasn’t a very old man, he would have been born late in the 30s, she never knew his true age. He never talked about himself before he came to Australia. Emily’s grandparents, before they passed away, were good friends of the Rosenberg’s, and after the death of Mrs Rosenberg the family seemed to fall apart. That happened years ago, she was sure she knew Jesse before, but she couldn’t remember her. Mr Rosenberg had asked her to walk Jesse shopping, so she changed into a dress and tights, due to the growing cold days.
It didn’t take her long to get there; she saw a car on the front lawn. She knew she had seen it before, probably remembered it from the last time she met Jesse. But it looked new, very new. She shrugged it off as a coincidence. She entered the house, and it was silent.
“Hello?” she asked. Mr Rosenberg popped out from the living room. He was all smiles.
“Oh, Emily, good you’re here, you haven’t seen Jesse in ages have you?”
“No sir,” was all she could reply, trying not to laugh at him.
“I’ll get Jesse from the kitchen. Jesse!” he called. Emily grew excited again and that was when she saw him. She always thought Jesse was a girl’s name, she should have realised Jesse was a guy, in fact when she knew him; he was smaller than she was, now he had to be almost six foot. But that’s not what shocked her.
“You?” was all he said, anger evident in his face. She shook her head, no noise came out of her mouth.
“You owe me at least five hundred dollars,” he said. Mr Rosenberg looked confused and Emily gapped like a fish. Jesse’s tone was aggressive.
“That’s no way to talk to a young woman, and after all she does for me, no respect young man,” Mr Rosenberg said, it was surprising that he was on her side for once.
“Grandad, she’s the one that dented my car, and didn’t stay,” he replied.
“Is this true Emily?” he asked. Emily nodded in affirmation.
“You’re spoiled you realise that, I’m still fixing my freaking bike and your car looks brand new…I bet you just had to suggest it to your parents and they handed over the money,” she shouted. She was growing angry, angrier than normal.
“Actually, Emily, I paid for the car to be fixed, not his parents,” Mr Rosenberg said, his tone was deathly quiet.
“I’m sorry sir, I’m…” he held his hand to silence here.
“Please leave my house Emily,” he replied. Jesse just looked at her angrily; this was not the reunion she was expecting. She didn’t look at them as she grabbed her purse and stormed out the door, slamming it in the process.
Walking home when it was growing dark is not generally a safe pursuit. Her mind verged on hyper sensitive. Every sound made drew her attention. She tried to make herself inconspicuous. She could feel the headlights, as if they were touching her and she broke into a run through the back streets. It didn’t take long until she lost the car, feeling safer than before she checked behind her before running smack bang into a man. She stumbled back slightly and the man didn’t respond, he gave her the once over, the twice over, a thrice over and then whistled, a low, wolf whistle. She felt fear from that whistle, her response had only been natural, and without a second thought she kneed him in the balls. He fell on the ground grabbing his pants and howling in pain.
“Jesus,” said a voice behind her, Emily swung around and wasn’t sure if she was happy or disappointed that it was Jesse. His car was parked at the side of the road and she recognised the headlights. It had been him that was following her.
“What on earth did you do to him?” Jesse asked as he bent over the kneeling man.
“He made a pass at me, and I felt threatened, thus I kicked him,” she replied swiftly, she didn’t really want to think about what had just happened.
“Good job,” Jesse said as the man continued to wither.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Granddad asked for me to make sure you got home safe, so I started following you, I didn’t manage to get close enough before you gave me the slip. I don’t think he should have been so worried, it’s obvious you can take care of yourself,” he said gesturing to the man on the ground. Jesse and Emily were still for a moment as the man stood up, he coughed and his breath smelt of alcohol, he looked at both of them and walked of, dragging his sorry arse to his house.
“Thank goodness your safe, now get in the car,” Jesse said.
“I’m sorry, but what?”
“Come on, I promised granddad you’d get home safe.”
“So you believe being safe means acting the hero and getting me into the car, well thank you I shall walk,” she said, draping her jacket across her shoulders.
“Your pride annoys me,” he said hoping to cause insult.
“Your vanity precedes you,” she replied. She started to walk away as Jesse got into the car. She expected him to turn around, but he was still following her.
“Those shoes can’t be comfortable, hope in and you won’t have to walk,” he said, she ignored him.
“It’s cold outside, I have heating.” Again she ignored him.
“Come on, I want to get back to my grandfathers quickly.”
“Then go, I’m not stopping you,” she replied.
“I can’t, I gave him my word you’d get home safely.” This was met by more silence from Emily. To an outsider they would have looked like a strange pair one young woman, walking in the dark, next to a black BMW shining the road, and young man behind the wheel.
“You’re really loyal to your grandfather, I can’t believe he said those things to me.”
“What do you expect? I’m all he’s got.”
“That’s not true he has our family, what have you done? I haven’t seen you since we were kids and even then, that was probably only once or twice…”
“Shut up, you talk too much, even for a girl.”
“Oh stop it with the comments, seriously I do a lot for him and you, you just don’t.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t care, you said it before, I’m an inner city school boy, yeah my family has money, but I don’t take pride in it, you on the other hand.”
“Oh me…”
“Yeah, you, you take proud in your ability to degrade others. You’re judging me already without knowing me…”
“And so are you, you hypocrite.”
“Why am I here? I should just go home; you don’t even care about your safety…”
“I don’t care, well I have news for you” by now she had stopped walking and faced him “…I can take care of myself, I don’t need you or any other jerk bothering me, so just get out of my face.”
“Fine,” he replied. She started walking and he still followed.
“Stop following me, just go home.”
“I can’t, because, and this has nothing to do with you, a lesser man would let his anger take hold and leave you, but I won’t. I have a job to do, not for you, but for my grandfather.” She was silent, thinking of a bitter retort, she waited until they arrived at her house.
“Jesse, you needn’t worry about becoming a lesser man” she started to say, he looked at her, as if expecting an apology “…because you’re not even a man to begin with,” she finished. He didn’t say anything, his knuckles went white on the steering wheel, and he just closed the window and sped off. Emily felt a sharp stab of regret over what she said, but after his vanity, he was just like every North Shore, Sydney boy, rude, rich and vain, very, very vain.
YOU ARE READING
World Peace isn't Just for Beauty Queens
Fiksi Remaja"One day I hope to win a Nobel Prize, the Peace Prize, don't know how I'm going to do it, but I will." Emily Finch had only one plan, that was to get through her HSC in one piece, unscathed by other nuances that plague teenagers in their final year...
