Average Jane |Lesbian Story|

Chapter 22

Jane lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mind was still humming from the day's activities. Though she did not win the science fair this year, something different clicked within her. It might sound cliché, but for the first time, Jane realized that she could do something and do it well. She wasn't the loser she thought she was. As long as she put her heart into it, she could do it. She didn't know that all it took was someone to come along and wake her up.

Someone like Grace Anderson.

Someone like Lucy Adams.

Staying there, Jane reminisced over what happened in the past few months. She couldn't help feeling indebted to Lucy. And she was restless again thinking about the horrible prank she was involved in.

Jane sat up and went to retrieve the stolen poem from her backpack.

Jane read it again, and she felt sad and angry. Sad that Lucy had thought it won a reward. Angry that the work was too good, it was a waste to not win a real reward.

Suddenly, the anger and the sadness were too much, Jane had to do something to right her wrong.

She stood and went to the computer, and for an hour, she had been searching for legit writing contests all over the internet. She had retyped Lucy's poem into the word processor and reprinted it.

There were so many contests, but none interested her enough. Lucy deserved more than that.

At last, Jane found a poetry contest for high school students. It was one of the most prestigious ones. Luckily, the deadline was three days away. Jane felt her heart leap in her chest. She had to breathe to calm herself, and it wasn't even her own poem. It was easy to imagine how Lucy must have felt submitting her work to strangers and let them judge it. It was nerve-wracking. And to think that it had won, but in a fake contest? Jane flinched at the thought of Lucy finding out the truth. She did care about Lucy more than she dared to admit.

The contest required a recommendation from a teacher, preferably an English teacher. Jane's heart sank. The only person who could do it was Ms. Reeds. But since the book report incident, there was a great awkwardness between them.

But Jane knew she had to force herself to talk the teacher and ask for her favor. 

It wasn't about her.

It was about Lucy.

~*~

At school the next morning, Jane mustered up the courage to speak to Ms. Reeds after class. She waited until everyone was out of the room.

"Ms. Reeds," Jane said as she gingerly came forward. The teacher looked up and smiled at her. It was not the same automatic smile she always had, it was more genuine this time.

"Yes, Jane?"

"Um...I was wondering..." Jane started. "I  was wondering if you can recommend a poem to a poetry contest."

"Your poem?" the teacher said then she seemed to catch herself. "Oh, sorry I didn't mean..."

"No, it's okay," Jane said. "It's not my poem actually. It's Lucy's."

"Oh, I heard that she won a reward. Geez, I forgot to congratulate her on that today, and why doesn't she ask me herself?"

Jane couldn't speak. She just stood there with a pained look that startled Ms. Reeds.

"Are you okay, Jane?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, I would love to do it," the teacher said. "Lucy deserves more recognition for her talent, anyway. I hope she wins this one, too."