The clock said that school was over, yet the teacher was still blabbing about quarter projects. Her words were lost on Jordan, who found that the scratches on his desk were far more interesting. A glance at his neighbor's wristwatch caused him to groan. If it could be trusted, the clock on the wall was exactly five minutes behind. He knew as well as he knew his own name that he couldn't make it five more minutes. In all fairness, he'd had a tough week of 'all work and no play'. After some reflection, a Friday night to do whatever he wanted was too good to be true.
At the very least he hoped for an easy night, possibly going downtown for a movie with the guys and turning in early. If he was lucky, Bradley would invite a few girls along. If he hadn't been driven to his physical and mental limits, Jordan would have been all for picking up some nameless girl at a party and having his way with her in the back of his Jeep. At the moment, it didn't seem worth the effort.
Although he gave his friends every reason to believe differently, he wasn't the type of guy who wanted to sleep around. It was his lack of time, energy, and patience that made a committed relationship near impossible. True, he didn't like to sleep around, but every guy had needs and Jordan was no exception.
Remembering that he wanted an easy night, Jordan pushed away all thoughts of girls and his Jeep. Maybe he'd give into his mother's urgings and take Dominic out for some fast food and stop at the video store. She was always saying that he didn't spend enough time with his younger brother, and this would be the perfect opportunity for some 'bonding time'. Jordan hated how fragile their relationship had become, but he didn't have the time necessary to share anything but coexistence.
A small, manicured finger appeared on his desk, dragging into the wood. The jarring noise was enough to startle him out of his thoughts. Dazed, Jordan lifted his eyes to an all-too familiar grin and fought the urge to run screaming from the room. He just barely succeeded.
"Hey Isobel," he said, frantically grasping for an excuse to escape. Anything was better than listening to her useless drivel.
Looking around the classroom, he noted that other people were talking as they waited for the bell, but Jordan didn't know, or care to know, anyone in the class. For reasons lost on him, Isobel seemed to make it her personal mission to change that. So, for that reason, he was subject to long, one-sided conversations with her that usually involved drowning out her voice for the entire duration of the "talk".
She wasn't pretty to look at, either. It didn't make much of a difference; even if she had been the most beautiful girl in the entire world, he wouldn't have been able to stand the sight of her. Still, it never hurt. Her face was so long and narrow, it was borderline on deformed, but he wasn't so shallow that he judged someone on how they looked. It was her incessant talking and shrill, girly laugh that formed the basis of his less than stellar opinion of her.
She blinked down at him, somehow oblivious to his death glare.
"Jordan, baby. Are you doing anything tonight?" She cooed, never pausing to give him a chance to answer. "My boyfriend and I are going to Donyella's party tonight, and I heard that, like, everyone is going so of course you're going to go, right? Did you even know about it? Oh, wait. That's a stupid question, of course you did."
Her voice grated on what little patience he still had. Before he'd met her, he'd never dreamed of hating someone so passionately. He carefully avoided eye contact, unwilling to unintentionally encourage her to continue speaking to him. Grudgingly, he conceded that the length of time she could go without pausing to breathe was impressive.
"You were planning on going, I'm sure. So are you going with anyone? I know you don't have a girlfriend because I asked some people and they said you didn't, but maybe you were going with a friend? Well, I'm your friend, too, so I think we should go together. Of course my boyfriend would have to be there, but it's no big deal. Do you mind him being there or does it make you jealous? Are you going to beat him up? We can be together, but I think it'd look better for you if you hit him a few times and broke something, don't you think?"
