The bell rings happily on a beautiful Friday afternoon in early April. The sun shines brightly and the grass is green. It is the perfect day to play a game of Frisbee, the first varsity Frisbee game of my life. I stride confidently out of Mrs. Butler's English I class, and head to my locker to pick up my jersey. I twirl the combination lock, and soon my beautiful gold and black uniform is in my hand. I run my hand over the fabric over the Cowboy mascot on the front, and turn it over to feel the embroidered “King 31” on the back. I smile, grab my books, and head to the locker room to change.
I come out of the locker room to see Jenna standing on the other side of the hallway. She grins, and then rushes at me, and we embrace. I start to move away, and she unwraps her arms from my neck.
“How do I look?” I ask, stepping away so that she can see me.
Jenna laughs. “You look too cute. Now, we better get going or else we might be late.”
“Yes, it is a long way to Oakley. Coach says its about an hour. So yeah, let's get going!” I put my arm around her as we walk to my truck.
In ten minutes we are out on the interstate. Jenna leans her head on the dashboard and takes a long sigh.
“So, how was school,” I ask, hoping to at least keep her occupied.
“It was okay, I guess.”
“Anything exciting happen? Did you get to dissect a frog in bio?”
“Yeah. It smelled terrible.” Jenna seems to be in a bad mood now, a change from her upbeat attitude right after school.
“What's got you down?” I ask, hoping to solicit a response instead of the usual “nothing”.
Jenna takes a deep sigh, and a furrow appears on her forehead. She stares down into her seat. “It's Alyse Bauer again. She still hates me. I mean, I'm trying to be nice to her, but she takes it all the wrong way. She gets better grades than me, and is better in everything than I am! I just don't understand! It has happened ever since you first took me home in September, but it seems like it has gotten worse!”
“Jen, I am not Alyse Bauer. There is nothing I can tolerate more than her making you miserable. And really, it's all my fault. She hates you because I love you. All she is trying to do is intimidate you. Come on Jenna, I know you're stronger than she is.”
“I wish you could like tell her off or something!” Jenna complains.
“Now Jenna, you know how dangerous that is. I could get in serious trouble. Alyse is the biggest tattletale in the school,” I warn her.
Jenna seems to ponder my statement in her head for awhile. “You are right.” I grasp her hand and take a second to glance at her face instead.
“We are strong. Alyse Bauer can't stop us.” I give her arm a squeeze before diverting my attention back to the road.
There is silence for the next mile, and I fear the worst. To my relief, Jenna's voice breaks the silence. “May I open the window?” she asks.
“Of course you may! You don't need to ask my permission to do that!” Before I finish, Jenna vigorously cranks down the passenger side window. Cool air rushes in, and blows her long, chocolate hair behind her. She is so beautiful, I have to take my eyes off of the road for a second to admire her.
“Watch where you're going,” she chides me. I heed her advice well for the rest of the drive.
YOU ARE READING
Kansas Summer
SpiritualEveryone wants a perfect love story, although we find that it's impossible at times. Colin King and Jenna Jackson believe they have written the best one of all. However, their faith in their relationship is sheltered by the small Kansas town they...
