Her Wish

Her Wish [Chapter 6]

Late again, Jennie inwardly groaned as she checked her watch for the third time in the past minute, Elie is ten minutes late.

She should have expected it when Elie had called her out of the blue, asking to hang out, but like every time before, Jennie wasn't willing to risk the chance of being late. Just because someone else happened to possess bad habits, it didn't mean that she had to follow in their suit. But because she stubbornly chose to arrive in a timely matter just like every other time the two friends met, Jennie always ended up being the one to wait.

Still, Elie's tendency for tardiness never failed to irk Jennie's every nerve.

"I'm leaving if she doesn't show up in five minutes," Jennie mumbled an empty-handed threat. It was like this every time. But no matter how many times she had used that bluff, she could never actually bring herself to leave her friend hanging like the many times Elie had done to her.

Five... four... three...

"Jennie?"

It wasn't Elie. It was someone better, leaving Jennie wondering if she had simply been hearing things. She turned around to see George smiling uncertainly down at her.

"Hi," she replied softly with a small smile.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? I was supposed to meet my friends here but they haven't arrived yet. Are you waiting for someone too?"

Jennie nodded as George took the seat across from her that was originally meant for Elie, "I'm meeting Elie but she's always late."

At the mention of her friend's name, George’s expression turned sullen, which surprised Jennie greatly because usually it had the opposite effect on him.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

The usually outgoing and confident George was gone as Jennie watched him struggle for the right words to say and pondered if he should say them at all, "Actually, I wanted to ask you about her."

Once more, George had managed to kill Jennie's spirits. Although he had just recently begun talking to her, it seemed as though three out of every five times they talked, the topic of conversation eventually led to Elie instead. However, just like every other time, Jennie pushed aside such bitter thoughts of her own and focused on what George had to say.

"Does she ever say anything about me?"

Jennie stayed silent for a moment, unsure of whether or not to tell the truth. She didn't want to feed George false hope nor did she want to witness his saddened expression after she admitted the truth. Either way, it was a losing situation.

"She does," Jennie responded slowly, "But she only thinks of you as a friend."

He was disappointed. That much was clear from his visage.

Although she should have expected it, much like in the same way that George should have expected her own response to his question, Jennie couldn't help but to feel glum as well. It was the same thing over and over again. The only two expressions Jennie ever seemed to see across George's face were happiness and it's dreadful opposite, sadness - both caused by Elie.

As she thought of these things, a bubble of bitterness arose in Jennie's chest and before she knew it, she was spewing out words with courage that she previously never believed herself to carry.

"Why are you so surprised? It's not as though you didn't know the answer already."

George said nothing but instead, just sat and stared at Jennie with that same baleful expression.

Feeling slightly bad at her harsh tone, Jennie bit her lip and looked away, "I'm sorry but if I said anything else, you and I both know I was lying. It's a universally known fact that Elie likes Danny only."