Wistful Smile or Wishful Thinking

Chapter 5: Flashback

Chapter 5: Flashback

Cindy Lauper's Time After Time was playing on Jenna's Ipod at ten thirty in the evening. She couldn't sleep.

Just a few hours ago, Curtis had revealed to her his ploy to embarrass her, and in the process, revealed a very unlikely situation. The moment had to cease as it suddenly drizzled. Running back to the apartment, the two ex-classmates were met by their colleagues" questioning gazes.

“Where have you been?” Cassandra asked. She had on her hand her cellphone, trying to dial Jenna's number but not finding any response. She reckoned Jenna didn't bring her cellphone with her.

“Dude, what's the deal? You are so gonna be in trouble when we go back home!” Tyler retorted.

Jenna suddenly caught Devon looking at her. The look on his eyes mirrored the reality that she had known that he knew about her little secret. Jenna gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, telling him she knew.

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Lying on her bed with her arm on her forehead, Jenna blinked her eyes. She was trying to make sense of what just happened between her and Curtis. She was also trying to reconcile that moment with Tyler's warning of Curtis facing trouble upon returning to Boston. A lone tear fell from her eyes. Were Curtis and Amanda already married? If so, what was he trying to make sense of? A closure was definitely what she had been wanting for so long. But the door had already been closed, and she didn't get her answers.

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“I felt that you are doing this flirting thing to spite me, Jenna. Look, I'm not playing at my best and my coach is gonna cut my head off. My teammates had been complaining about you hanging around the locker room. It's almost Championship and I don't want to mess with the opportunity to win this to get a better scholarship. Why are you doing this?”

Curtis ran a hand over his hair, the frustration evident in his voice. He slammed his hand on the locker, chewing his cheeks as he was waiting for Jenna to respond. Looking at her spitefully, he was met with a wistful smile.

“Curtis, I don't want anything from you. I just want you to like me. I flirt with you because I want you to notice me.”

“Yeah, you've made me notice you the wrong way.”

“Hey, I could be your inspiration for the game.”

“You could be my expiration, Jenna.”

The blond girl laughed. “Oh, seriously, Curtis? Can't you come up with a better retaliation? You know very well that a guy deserves a girl to make him happy, right?” Jenna said as she approached Curtis, traced her fingers on his face and leaned in for a kiss. But Curtis turned the other way, inadvertently avoiding Jenna's luscious lips.”

“If you want so badly to make out with a guy, go to London. You know very much he's got the hots for you.”

Jenna pouted her lips as she frowned. “I don't like London, like he's so creepy and a perv.”

A laugh escaped Curtis' lips. “A creep and a perv? Look who's talking!”

“You're hurting my feelings, Curtis!”

Curtis raised his hands. “Hey, it's not my fault you fell for me. Ask your stupid hormones why you're acting  creepy.”

And he walked back to the classroom.

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“How could i have been so stupid?” Jenna asked herself as she boxed her pillow. Now, it seems that karma did play a ruthless game on her. The retribution came so swift she didn't see it coming. And right now, in the living room, the victim of the injustice had been softly snoring. In the morning, Curtis and friends would be heading back for Boston, leaving Jenna again in the mercy of her woes. She would then become a memory that no one would bother to look back.

 

The lightning flashed, and the thunder clapped. The rain started to fall heavily. But Jenna's tears were as scarce as a dry well. She had wanted to cry out, to wail into the night. But her wailing would wake her guests up, and she didn't them to know about her feelings. She'd have to keep them to herself once again, the loner that she had become.