= Wands High =

Chapter 17 - 13 May 1998, Wednesday

- You alright there, lead guitar?

Drum sticks in hand, Jessie's ever-so-slightly to the side tilted head was looming over him and, of course, smiling. Always smiling.

- Weren't you with Orianna? – he said quickly while doing his best to hide the issue of "WAND" under his thighs – a task not at all difficult, it seemed, seeing how the girl was now looking at the ceiling above them for some reason.

- She had to go for a bit. Hey, have you noticed that there is a lot of dust up there? They should really get that checked. Anyway, what's wrong?

The straightforward question seemed to take him aback a bit. Perhaps she had seen the newspaper? Or was it all that obvious?

- Nothing is wrong. Just exhausted from that class – Daynen responded and proceeded to shifting the conversation straight after – How well are you faring yourself? You seemed in a pretty good mood at the end despite it all.

Still spinning the sticks between her fingers, Jessie comfortably sat next to him on the bench, gaze still very much pointed towards the dusty ceiling. She seemed more than comfortable with it all, though in truth they barely really knew each other and hadn't really openly spoken about anything outside of band practice.

- Ah, I'm just used to stuff like that, you know. That and I just went to my happy place. Makes it all very easy then.

- I see... and what place is that?

- Just a place. A happy one. That's why it's called a "happy place".

Before he could even begin to think of a way to politely get rid of the girl's company, Jessie's hand suddenly found himself firmly placed on one of his knees, while the girl herself had leaned dangerously close to his face.

- Do you have a place, Daynen? – her big blue eyes seemed to stare into his soul, while the pair of drum sticks performed a gentle dance all over his forehead. – You do, don't you? I bet it's a very nice place...

He tried to move away, but Jessie seemed to close up on him even more, her face inches away from his own.

- A-ha! – the girl proclaimed victoriously, startling him beyond comprehension. – Alright, let's see. Oh, dear...

She put away the issue of "WAND" that she had managed to sneakily snatch away, handing it back to him with a pouty grimace on her face.

- I'm sorry, Daynen. I guess I stuck my nose in your business unwanted.

- What. Was. That. – he muttered, all frozen-like, barely able to take back the newspaper.

- I'm so sorry – the girl said again, now back to her normal position on the bench, body and arms all fidgety. – I sometimes do this when I make up my mind on a matter. I thought you were hiding something and decided to have some fun. Bad joke! Bad joke! Didn't mean anything by it!

- It's fine. It was... scary. That's all – Daynen ended up saying, doing his best to compose himself.

The two sat there for a few minutes, Daynen really thinking as to why his band mate wasn't leaving.

- You know – Jessie went on. – Perhaps it is not my place to say, but my advice to you is not to overreact.

- Say what now?

- Overreact. You boys do it sometimes. Or should I say all the time – the girl tapped on her own forehead this time with the drum sticks, a thoughtful expression on her face, eyes toward the ceiling again. – Especially when it comes to stuff like this. Seeing a girl you like with another boy, I mean. You guys go crazy, as if someone stole your favorite toy or simply used it without permission. It's silly, you see.