Any Given Thursday

Chapter 3

"So you really plan on going through with it, after everything that has happened between the two of you? Do you honestly think that your project will be a success? The two of you are like volatile gasses, just waiting to explode. How can you expect to get along with one another?"

Jake had neither the time nor the patience to listen to his older brother Brian's misgivings about working with Celina. While the older man may have had a point, he needed the grade curve; he needed to pass all of his classes, even if it meant dealing with Celina on a regular basis. Besides, the assignment was temporary and once everything was completed, they could once again return to their separate lives. He cradled the corded phone between his neck and shoulder, cramming his folders and school things into a near bursting backpack.

"I'm just amazed that you're willing to even do that assignment with her. I mean after the way things ended between you two, I'd just as soon expect her to confess her undying lo—"

"You know that's the way we operate Brian. We're like two extremes, I'm the fire and she's the ice. There has never been any middle ground between us. She's not the same as she once was, bro. She's different, like I don't know… She's more jaded than before. Listen, I have to go meet her so we can leave. Wish me luck okay?"

He groused, gathering his jacket and car keys. He loved his brother very much, but now was not the time to remind him of what once was. He could hear Brian sighing on the phone, knowing that he had struck his little brother's nerve. What Brian had said made perfect sense, but he hadn't known everything Jake had been willing to do to get Celina to forgive him. He had tried to rectify his mistakes, and he had failed. He was still paying for his mistakes, and he wondered if he would ever be finished. Perhaps this extended trip with just the two of them would actually do them both some good.

"Alright, I can take a hint Jay. Anyway, I'll be going now, but as a word of warning be careful. Call me soon."

They hung up their phones, and Jake headed out the door, ready to face the one person with whom everything was difficult. He knocked on her door bright and early, met with a fresh face. Celina gave him the once over, and then reached for her suitcases behind the door. He offered to take her luggage, and before she could protest, he was already out the doors of the dormitory. Not so much as a "good morning" was uttered between the two, but they would have plenty of time to talk later.

The drive out of Athens was quiet, and definitely uncomfortable. They had agreed to drive Jake's car because it was bigger and could house more of their luggage. The stipend they had been given covered some of their gas costs, and their entire hotel stay. They both knew that in order to effectively and quickly finish the assignment; they would both need to be quick. Both wanted to win the grade curve desperately, and were willing to temporarily call a truce. As Jake drove through light traffic, Celina scanned the portfolios she had created.

"We should start on the outer rim, and work our way back towards the school. We wouldn't want to go to the closest first and then have to double back when we finally reach people that live on the edge of the state."

Jake nodded in agreement, his eyes firmly planted on the road. He wanted to avoid talking to her completely, but in such confined quarters for an extended period of time would eventually require him to talk with her. He drove in silence and doing that unnerved, so he finally broke down and turned on the radio. The song that was playing had been one of their favorites. The smooth, soft vocals of Monica trickled out of his late model speakers, as her haunting voice sung of inescapable love. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Celina paused in her reading. Through peripheral vision he could see her eyes begin to tear as the melody of Misty Blue played.

He focused on his driving, wanting to change the station to stop her tears—tears that he had caused, but he was mesmerized by the softness of her face. She looked vulnerable, more so than he had ever seen her. The last time she had appeared so delicate before him had been so long ago that he forgot what a saddened Celina looked like. Sure, she put up a tough façade, but the song had brought painful memories. Those memories, which he had buried in the deep recesses of his mind, in turn made him feel weak and vulnerable. While ultimately his behavior had caused the irreparable rift between him, she had done her share of lashing out as well. Her words had been just as harsh, they had been just as biting as his.