If Not For You

Chapter 17

Jenna went back into the classroom and passed Skyler’s desk handing her back her cell phone.  Not even a minute later there was another note coming Jenna’s way.  “What are you going to do?”  Skyler wrote. 

“I’m pretty sure I won’t have to DO anything.  I can guarantee this will get itself worked out.”  Jenna passed the note back.  After Skyler read the note she looked up at Jenna and mouthed, “You’re freakin crazy?!”

The bell for lunch rang and as soon as Jenna exited the classroom Skyler pulled her aside.  “What are you nuts?  You have to do something.  She is facebook friends with EVERYONE!  Everyone will see this.  If this were me I would DIE!!”  Before Jenna could say anything she saw Lena coming towards her.

Lena pulled her into a rarely used stairwell to give them some privacy.  “Have you seen Kelly’s facebook?  This is like super bad.”  Knowing that Jenna didn’t have facebook Lena stood there waiting for Jenna to either be clueless or fall apart.  The pictures were posted 45 minutes ago and bad news travels fast.

The only thing that came out of Jenna’s mouth was, “I’m completely shocked that you are facebook friends with Kelly.   You hate her.”  She tried to hide her disappointment in Lena.

Lena really couldn’t believe how calm Jenna was considering that she obviously had to have seen them.   “I’m not friends with that wench. Ashley in my last class is.  She knows we’re friends and she showed me.  And then she showed everybody else.  What are you going to do?  You looked totally skinny and super cute though.”

Jenna let out a laugh, Lena was so nice, a little shallow but she meant well.  “Look it is what it is.  They seriously aren’t that bad.  I lived in a dorm with 40 other girls 24/7.  This is child’s play compared to that drama.  Plus I have swimsuits that show more than those pictures did.  Let’s go to lunch.”  Jenna and Lena headed towards the cafeteria.

“I have to see these super slutty swimsuits.  Can I borrow one sometime?”  Lena said making Jenna laugh again.  Although she wasn’t sure if Lena was joking or serious.

Once they walked through the doors of the cafeteria, the room became pretty quiet, everybody was staring at Jenna.  “Take a picture it’ll last longer.”  She said to the crowd.  “Oh wait some twit already did.  Twenty bucks for a photo opp.  I’ll donate $5 of it to breast cancer.”  Once the crowd found out she wasn’t willing to play the victim they lost all interest in trying to crucify her.  The cafeteria became buzzing with it’s usually noise once again. 

Ben came up beside her and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the table.  “That’s not funny.  This is serious.”  Lena stood there next to Jax and the four of them were standing in a circle.  Jenna could see Paul across the room flipping out on Kelly who seemed to be enjoying the attention she was getting from him.  He was calling her every name in the book and she was acting like he was asking her out on a date.

“Benny don’t worry so much.  I got this.”  Jenna was laughing now.  “I can’t help it.  My past has seemed to catch up with me.  You know my secret passion for getting naked and showering in locker rooms.”  Jax silently looked at Ben for an explanation on that one, but Ben was avoiding eye contact.  “It just has finally caught up with me.  I have to face the consequences.  Brand me the ‘good girl gone wild’.  That’s good and girl spelled with u’s, remember that.”  Jenna was laughing and having a good time with this, but Ben and clearly Paul still shouting at Kelly, were not.

“Jenna don’t worry about this.  I will handle it.  Kelly is so lucky she is a girl or I would kick her ass.”  Paul had made his way back to the group.

“Now is that a ‘girl’ with an ‘I’ or a ‘u’?”   Jenna piped is.  Paul looked at her with disbelief when it registered to him that she was joking around.  He looked at Ben for some sort of explanation. 

“She apparently thinks this is all funny.”  Ben said to Paul, Jenna noticing a trace of disgust in his voice.

“And how do you want me to react.  Do you want me to cry?  Do you two want to fight over who is going to be the big man and save little me?  I’ve made it 16 years without any help from you.”  She pointed at Ben.  “And you don’t even know half of the shit you couldn’t protect me from growing up Paul.  So you are a little late.  Tell me how are you two going to fix this?”  They both stood there looking at each other, hoping that the other had the solution because they both knew that they themselves did not.  When she realized that neither of them had a plan to actually be the hero they both wanted to be, she stood up on a chair.

“For those of you who have checked out the nice little online photo album that was provided to you by your facebook friend, may I use that term loosely, I would just like to point out, that I am a sophomore here at your school.  If you can’t figure out the math, that makes me 16.  So for you to possess pictures of that nature let me spell it out to you, especially to the poster of the pictures who obviously has a hard time with spelling.  It is considered kiddie porn and it is a federal crime.  So unless you want to go to prison I suggest you delete it.  We all have watched movies about how well the penal system treats pedophiles.  Thank you.” 

She looked over at Kelly to see her reaction before she hopped down from the chair.  Kelly’s face was filled with sheer fear and Jenna knew her message had hit home.  She pushed past both Paul and Ben.  “That good enough for you two.”  She said over her shoulder and disappeared out of the cafeteria.  She knew that calling pictures of her in a bra and underwear kiddie porn was a stretch but she doubted any of those idiots would know that.

Paul and Ben stood there looking at each other not knowing where they stood with one another.”