The Bad and Me

A Fancy Car and....a Date?

On the morning of Wednesday, on the second week of school, I woke up extra early, to ready myself for the exciting day ahead and the oh so handsome Jay.  On the way to school I ate my apple in silence as my mom chatted with a client on the phone.  Apparently she had to become really friendly with this one before she could initiate any decision changes.  

I went straight to my locker and stood there, pretending to keep myself busy while I secretly awaited Jay.  After about 15 minutes of waiting I gave up and actually put my books away.  I retrieved my Algebra Two composition book because it was a B day.  

“Mornin’, Lisa,”  a loud voice hissed in my ear.  I whipped around to see Jay with a wide smile plastered on his face and sleepy eyes watering down at me.  

“Good morning to you too, Jay, but you don’t have to scare me like that, especially this early,”  I reprimanded.  But I was already too pleased to see him as a smile spread across my freckly face, joining his.

“I’m sorry, but you were kinda facing the opposite direction,”  he added, “so I just had to do it.”

“You are leaning way to far onto my naughty list right now, and that’s definitely not a place to be with me.” Of course he wouldn’t understand what that meant to someone with manipulating powers.  Surprisingly, he appeared to completely understand me and just put his hairy arm around me in agreement.  

“So are we still on for our date later today?”  he asked.

“I wouldn’t call it a date,”  I teased.

“Oh well I don’t mean a dating date, but more of a friendly date, maybe.” Although I probably wouldn’t mind it being a dating date if it turned into one, I thought smugly.  

“You’re just badgering me. Now if you want to be friends you should probably know I haven’t really had a lot, so go easy on me,”  I made known to him.  

“It’s easy, really,”  he insisted, “just remember to listen to the other person and remember sarcasm is not real and is meant to be funny.”

“That’s it? Maybe we can be friends after all,”  I jested.

“Come on,”  he said, “we gotta get to Algebra Two or else Mr. Rettal will be pissed.” We headed toward our class, arms around each other, and I couldn’t have been happier.  

I hadn’t realized it until now, but Jay and I seemed to have all our classes together including our PE period and electives.  It was strange that such a fetching human being barely had any friends.  He only hung out with me and didn’t pay the tiniest attention to the chattering girls giggling as they gossiped about him behind his back.  Why would he just want to hang out with me when a hundred other girls were bowing at his radiant legs? Maybe he just wanted to spend time with the new kid until I made more friends and then abandon me for a prettier girl.  I wouldn’t blame him if he did, I’m not that attractive and way too awkwardly constructed.  

I couldn’t have been more ecstatic for the moment the releasing bell rang.  And when Jay came by my locker after school I tried to keep it bottled up.  We strolled to the parking lot, and I saw his really fancy car for the first time.  Of course, I assessed, he wasn’t conceited like the other teens, but he was still a rich kid.  It was a sparkling black Mercedes Benz almost as brand new as a shiny penny right out of the machine.  

“Wow, my family can barely afford….” No, I couldn’t just blurt that out or else he would presume I hung out with him for his wealth.  

“Don’t worry, I don’t like to brag about my family’s wealth, and it gets tiring after a while, people always reminding me how fortunate I am.”  Well, that was modest. “Plus half my family thinks they rule the world and can boss around whomever they want.  But I don’t believe in dictating to your friends and making them just to brag about your money.”

His chocolate chip eyes grinned at me, honest and pure.  He was the sun, and I was a star floating in his shimmering flare.  I took his velvety hands in mine and held on tight.

“I’m just glad you reached out and made conversation with me when everybody else just stared at me like I was some poor foreigner.  You are a true friend, don’t doubt yourself.  And I won’t be a follower, I’ll be your friend.” The silence sent chills through my spine as Jay wrapped his large fingers into mine.

We took our time cruising to his house, while we harmonized to Coldplay and Beyoncé.  Neither of us were good singers, but we laughed anyway at our horrendous efforts.  I knew we were nearing his house when we drove through a neighborhood filled with giant expensive mansions, covered in vines and surrounded by fields and flower gardens.  I hadn’t realized how far away he lived from school; we had been driving for almost an hour.  After driving through more fields and forests, we arrived at a tall elegant gate, guarding a stone path leading to his tremendous mansion.  After he punched in the gate code we pulled over outside the right garage next to the main entrance.  His house was made of thick stone masonry painted a faint yellow and looked about three stories high, but obviously had a basement that probably held their own gym and security room.  I threw my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed Jay’s hand for assistance as we strode down his pebble pathway leading to their inky colored door.  A gush of cold air hit me as a butler (or what appeared to be a butler) pulled open the door.