Wistful Smile or Wishful Thinking

Chapter 2: For the love of Sonic

Chapter 2: For the love of Sonic

The doorbell rang four times before Jenna was awakened from her slumber. Fighting the urge to sleep, she unwillingly pushed herself up out bed. Just dressed in her tank-top shirt and boxer shorts, hair unkempt and drool lines on her lips, she went to the door. Her eyes were still clouded with sleep despite the fact that the sun was shining. It was already one in the afternoon.

“Good afternoon...”

Tyler smacked Jenna's arms, causing her to jolt.

“Wake up, sleepy head!”

Confused, Jenna rubbed her eyes. “How did you know I lived here?”

Conrad smirked. “Our good friend Devon here saw you ride on your pick-up truck this morning. He thought you still had the same plate number and viola! We found your truck, and your apartment!”

“Don't blame me! I have the knack of memorizing everything!” Devon defended himself.

Cassandra entered the apartment gingerly as she inspected every nook.

“I'm sorry my place is such a mess.”

“Oh, relax, girl. Your place is better than mine. You've got big space here. How much per month?”

“$350.”

“That's a good find,” Tyler said as he picked a piece of banana from the fruit basket on the table. His face stopped in caution when he saw Jenna's look of disapproval. And so, he placed the banana on the table.

“Curtis is going to be discharged this afternoon. We're just waiting of the doctor's final instructions, and we should be good to go.” Conrad informed Jenna.

“What's that got to do with me?”

“Aren't you glad to see him?” Devon asked. He knew that Jenna liked Curtis even to the point of making him make out with her. But little did Jenna know that it was Devon who saw her untoward reaction when she saw Amanda and Curtis that afternoon in the music room. When Devon told Curtis about the incident, the latter made it his ploy to announce the wedding to make Jenna jealous. But of course, Amanda had no idea about this ploy, and she willingly baited herself to it. And Curtis also liked Amanda, so he didn't feel guilty about his decision.

Jenna arched her brows as she looked at Devon. “Based on my reaction this morning, do you think I was happy?”

The tension began building up when Devon did not answer. And so, Cassandra went to Jenna and perched her hand on the latter's shoulder.

“Jenna, the past is past, okay? No matter what, Curtis was still your past as well as your classmate. Now, whatever grievances you may had with him, let it go. Besides, we're all going back to Boston in a few days. You might not see him again. I told him this morning not to be rude to you. He raised his hands up in surrender because he knew that no matter what he'll do, he'd still lose to my reprimands. Now, better come with us when we'll pick him up. I'm also famished and I need to eat.”

Accepting the inevitable, Jenna shrugged her shoulders. “Fine. Just give me fifteen minutes to get ready.”

&&&

Making no effort to doll up, Jenna pulled her hair to a messy ponytail. She was wearing a extra small tee with a vintage picture of The Beatles. Her pants were tattered by the knees, and she was wearing flipflops. Slinging the cross-body bag across her body, she got her keys and went out of her room.

Tyler whistled out. “Hey girl, what's with the punk look? You used to slut up for Curtis!”

Rolling her eyeballs, Jenna retorted. “That was ten years ago. People change.”

And so, the gang went to ride on Cassandra's Toyota Prius. They picked Curtis up in the hospital. Still musing over Jenna's look, Curtis kept shaking his head.

“Are you drugged up? Really, Jenna, I thought that your dream was to become a runway model!”

A punch hit his arm. “Don't you ever say that again. And no, I'm not taking drugs. I could sue you for that if my colleagues would suspect me because I'm perfectly rational and drugs are not the answer to the problems.”

Taking his bags, Curtis sheepishly followed the others outside. He was smiling to himself when he found that he was seated beside Jenna. He could sense the smell of fear emanating from her, like a dog sensing fear from a cat. He knew he'd find many ways to earn back his revenge. And while he's still there, he'll make his plans.

Jenna, meanwhile, was feeling annoyed. Sure, she did use to like Curtis, but she now knew what kind of an asshole and a jerk he was. And it made her even more jittery when she knew she was sandwiched between Devon and Curtis. She wanted very much to take even a small nap, and she didn't want to doze on both guy's shoulders. And so, she bent her head and dozed off.

A tap on her shoulder signaled her to wake up.

“We're here, Snow White,” Devon said. To Jenna's dismay, she found they were at Sonic. She really didn't have anything against the fastfood chain. She just had some memories about Sonic and Curtis.

“I'm staying here. You can all go and get something to chow on. I'm sleeping here.”

Curtis whined. “Oh come on now, Jen. Don't be such a killjoy. Just come with us. It'll be on me for your meal. I promise I'll be nice to you.”

“Yeah Jenna. Besides, I reckoned you didn't have breakfast. So it'll do you good to have lunch,” Conrad reasoned out.

Jenna couldn't even budge nor retort anything because really, she was hungry too. So she got out of the car and followed the others. Devon followed them.

The Sonics in that place had a dine in place too. So Jenna took a table by the center of the building and watched in boredom as the others began to fall in line. Still in a daze, she absentmindedly looked at Curtis who sat across from her after ordering. He looked at her with that amusement on his face when he saw that Jenna didn't even move a muscle. The others started to pick up their seats as they waited to be served.

“Here are your orders sir,” a lad of about fifteen came as he handed Curtis his orders. Thanking the lad, Curtis handed Jenna a paper bag with his treat. The gal, meanwhile, slowly opened the bag. She peeled open the food wrapper and stopped midway when she realized what was inside.

“Bacon and double cheeseburger. That's your favorite, right?” Curtis said as he raised his sandwich in mock salute.

Streams of thoughts began racing through Jenna's mind. How did he know that I liked this? When did he know? And why this? Why not all the other Sonic products? Well, she made a bad memory with him while they were at a Sonic fastfood chain someplace back in high school. It was on a championship game that Jenna ordered a shake and then went up to the car where Curtis was. She spilled the shake on his pants on purpose, so that she could clean it up and begin molesting him in front of his teammates. So it never occurred to her how in the world he knew about her fetish food.

Biting the bun, the scene still replayed on her mind. How could karma be such a bitch to me? Fighting the urge to cry, she felt relief when her phone rang.

“Hello? Yes, Jason, what can I do for you?”

The others looked at her as she kept talking on the phone. Who is Jason?

Curtis observed his former classmate as she frowned.

“W..well, how about Dianna? Look Jason, I was beat last night...really, you can't find another volunteer?”

Volunteer? The word seemed to have a negative connotation on the others present at table.

Jenna shook her head as she ran a hand on her hair. “Okay, fine, I'll be there in ten...I'm not at home and I don't have my car with me.”

Pushing the end button close, Jenna turned to Cassandra.

“Can you drop me off at Main Street? I need to fill in for Jason while he runs on an errand.”

“Really now, Jenna, who is this Jason guy?” Tyler asked, smirking.

Jenna looked at him, deadpan. “He's the owner of the pet shelter where I work as a volunteer. Now, if you could get me there, I'd appreciate it.”