Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

38. A Friend In Need....

A real friend is the one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

~Walter Winchell

***

"Where are you going young boy?!" Jane roared from the living room.

Marcus rushed over to the kitchen carrying the dishes he had used for supper.

To get away from you and your tedious blathering.

"To do the dishes mother," Marcus replied sweetly as he hurriedly placed the dishes in the sink and started scrubbing them. Marcus only used the word 'mother' when he was trying to talk his mother into buying him something or talking his way out of trouble; the latter being involved here. Jane had brought up the subject of Marcus escaping with his father at the dinner table and Marcus, who was already tired from the day's events, wasn't prepared for yet another episode of his mother's lectures. All he wanted to do was just get upstairs and take a well-deserved night's rest and wake up ready for the summer holiday.

However, there was one obstacle to achieving his goal: an angry woman who was still not over her ex fourteen years later, and who was storming into the kitchen right now.

God! Get her a boyfriend.

"First of all, you accept that imbecile of a man here, you ran away with him and to top it all off you come back late after having some silly adventures with him to God-knows-where!" She cried out. Marcus turned off the water.

"I didn't come back late because of dad. I was with..." he searched for a suitable answer, "...Michelle."

That did the trick. Jane's expression suddenly went from I-am-mad-at-you-and-your-stupid-father to tell-me-all-the-details-about-you-and-your-hot-date. She leaned over the countertop and placed her head on her right palm.

"Ooooohhh. Michelle, you say?" she toyed with him.

"No, it was Jeff. And would you stop looking at me like one of those moms at your silly mother meetings waiting for gossip about their cheating husbands?" He turned back to rinse the dishes.

"At least tell me what happened?" Jane begged.

"I won't tell you. Maybe we went for a movie, kissed, had sex and then came home pretending nothing had happened."

"On the sex part, did you use a condom?"

"Gross mom! I don't even know how she tastes, " Marcus told her off.

The bell rang, interrupting their conversation.

"I hope it's your father because I want to smack his face really hard." Jane took off for the door. Marcus followed her, half-hoping that his father hadn't stuck his big head in front of the door without proper defences.

"You silly bitch...." Jane had begun while opening the door but stopped abruptly on seeing a teary Jeff before her.

"Jefferson, what's the matter?" she asked him, genuinely worried. Jeff stood there for a moment, not sure what to say, and suddenly dropped into her arms, sobbing.

"Jeff?" Marcus was surprised. His best friend rarely cried. This definitely had to be something big if Jeff was pouring out. He approached the two and put his hand over Jeff shoulders, unsure of what to say to comfort him.

Jane released Jeff from her embrace and led him inside, shutting the door behind. She placed him on the couch and ordered Marcus to find a warm shawl for him, muttering into Jeff's ears that everything was okay. Marcus was soon back with the shawl and Jane placed it over Jeff, who was still weeping.