Two Birds, One Stone

17. Bare Bones

"Oh, you've got to be joking!" Vanessa groaned. She glared down at her phone screen and began typing furiously, leaving Bryan and I staring in wonder at her outburst. Jamie glanced over as well, but only out of the corner of his eye, God forbid he show interest in something.

     Vanessa sent whatever angry message she'd typed up, tossed her phone to the grass beside her, and turned back to her sandwich.

     Bryan and I exchanged a glance.

     "So . . ." Bryan trailed with a raise of his eyebrows, "We just gonna ignore that, or . . ?

     Vanessa took a mildly aggressive bite of her sandwich. "My bitchy aunt demanded I babysit her satanic child tonight -- she was all, 'is it so hard to help out your family after all we do for you?' -- and I agreed because, you know, I'm a broke bitch. I pushed my plans for tonight aside and everything just so I could take care of this demon baby because, again, a bitch is broke. And now she texts me that she hired a 'professional' caretaker because she doesn't want an 'amateur'  watching her 'little precious'. And what the fuck!" Vanessa finished angrily, chucking her sandwich at the tree against which Jamie and I sat. I narrowly dodged mayo to the forehead.

     "Okay, let's maybe not assault my best friend with ninety-nine percent whole-wheat," said Bryan. I could see he was holding back a laugh, but not a mocking one -- the amount of adoration in his eyes made me want to eat Vanessa's tree sandwich just to puke it back out.

     "I could've really used that cash," Vanessa sighed, drooping her head so that it was hidden behind a mass of dark hair. "I don't have time for a steady job, and my aunt is rich as fuck. I'd kill for a gig right now."

    Jamie finally gave away that he was listening and looked up. "I can get you one," he said.

    Vanessa raised her chin in surprise, glanced at an equally startled Bryan, and turned back to Jamie with a nod. "Uh -- yeah, okay, sweet. When and where?"

     Bryan turned his astonished gaze to me. Jamie almost never spoke up at lunch, and when he did, it was always to me. What was more shocking, I guessed, was the poorly veiled enthusiasm behind his words; they'd only ever heard his usual bored, disinterested, oftentimes snarky tone.

     "My house," he told Vanessa. "Friday afternoon to Saturday morning. My sister needs someone to watch her, and my parents will pay big."

    Vanessa hesitated. "I actually -- I have plans on Friday. The ones I already moved for my aunt's thing. Thank you, though." 

   Jamie, who had edged forward slightly, leaned back against the tree, quick to hide his disappointment. "Oh," he said, and he must have realized that he had sounded snappy, because he quickly added, "That's alright."

     Vanessa frowned. Her eyes lingered for a moment on Jamie, who averted his gaze, and she twisted her rings around her fingers. "I could always move them again . . . of course."

    Jamie looked up, and I could tell it was a lot faster than he'd meant to, because his head twitched as if he wanted to go back in time and undo his eagerness. "Seriously?" He said. Vanessa's hair bobbed as she nodded. "You have no idea how much I'd appreciate that."

    Bryan gaped at me, and I sent an eye-roll his way.

    "You don't even have to totally cancel your plans," Jamie said earnestly. It was a good thing he didn't look at Bryan, because the latter's mouth was still hanging slightly open -- this had to be the most he'd ever heard Jamie talk. "You just have to be there when my parents leave and get back by around nine or ten -- that's when they usually call to check on Penelope. I'll be there, they just -- it's a whole situation, doesn't matter. Just . . . make sure you don't listen to anything they say about me."