And Then There Were Five *Watty Awards 2012*

Meet Jessie

~Sky~

After saying goodbye to Grace's friends, I feel better. They were all so nice. I look at my schedule- AP Chemistry. I head to the class, a little bit bummed that none of Grace of her friends are there. I remember Jessie mentioning she had afternoon AP Chemistry. Jessie lives in my neighborhood, the only girl around my age, so we got to know eachother a bit, but I hadn't seen her all day. I sat down by a girl with blonde braids, and her outfit had a country vibe. She turned to me and smiled, introducing herself as Hannah Lane. The girl to her left, a pretty brunette, introduced herself as well, as Haley Beams. Class began, and the teacher, Mr. V, as people called him, called role. After calling my name, I noticed that he had called Jessie's name, yet there was no familiar 'here'. "Excuse me", I say, raising my hand. " I can look for her. I think I know where she is."

"Quickly. We have tings to do and places to see.", Mr. V responds, and with that he continues with role. I hurried out of class, and into the empty hallways. My sneakers squeak on the shiny floors. I walk briskly until I reach the first bothroom to find it empty. I hurry downstairs to the next bathroom and hear quiet sniffling. I open the door to see tear-streaked Jessie at he sink.

"Jessie. There you are.", I say, reaching out to hug her. "Where in the world have y..."

"Get AWAY from me! Go away!", she yells backing up against the wall.

"Jessie. What's wrong?", I ask, concearned. I know Jessie can have anger flare-ups, but they are never this drastic. She starts to cry again.

"I'm sorry...", she mutters over and over again, sinking slowly to the cold tile floor. I embrace her in a bear hug.

"It's ok. Just tell me what's wrong."

"My parents...I think they're getting a divorce...", she cries, shaking her head, "and it's all because of me."

"No. Jessie don't be silly. Of course it's not. How do you think it's you?", I shush her, squeezing her.

"I don't know. I feel like I'm always starting arguments between them...", she trails off. 

"Jessie. You and I both know your parents love you very much. Now we gotta get to class.", I say looking at my watch- it had been over five minutes. I grab some toilet paper, "Here blow your nose." She does, wipes some mascara off her cheeks, and we walk to class.