by Traci Sek
"Don't worry about me." He yanks his wrist from my hand and whips open the door. The two people inside scream.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Spencer yells vehemently. His chest rising and falling rapidly.
I move in front of the door and see Julia and Alex standing there. Julia's dress is half up her leg, and Alex's shirt is unbuttoned at the top. My mouth falls open.
"I knew it!"
Spencer reaches in and grabs Alex by the shirt collar and rips him out of their hiding spot.
"How could you do this to Gia?" he screams, now holding him against the wall. I knew he could fight, but it never registered before.
"Dude, calm down. I don't know,” he says with a panicked voice.
Spencer raises his fist towards Alex’s face. I try to stop him, but I’m yanked back by my hair. Oaf! I fall on my back, which sends shooting pains through my spine. Julia’s now standing over me with a menacing glare.
"I have had just about enough of your crap!" She screams.
"Oh, screw you! Oh, wait that was already happening, wasn't it?" I taunt her.
Julia pulls her fist back like a slingshot and swings, and I block it with my hands and push her backward. I get up as fast as I can. Spencer and Alex are now fighting as well. Julia lunges at me and grabs my arms, but before I could block anything, I feel my jaw slightly snap. She punches me, and now I’m furious. There is no holding me back this time. I get one hand free and punch back. I hear screaming coming from somewhere: two teachers were upon us. One teacher pulls Julia off of me, and the other pulls Spencer off of Alex. My head is spinning, yet I manage to look around and see Gia standing next to Alex.
"What is going on here?" one of the teachers yells, holding Spencer.
"These two idiots were practically having sex in the janitor's closet!" Spencer shouts.
Gia's face is now horrified. She looks as if she might pass out.
"What?" She screeches, looking from Julia to Alex to me then back to Alex.
"Babe, it's not like that." Alex starts putting his hand on her shoulder. Gia backs away from him and looks at me.
"Is it true?" She starts crying.
I felt my heart shatter for her; she didn't need this, not after finding out about her parents. I’m still leaning up against the wall. All I can do is nod. Gia cries harder and runs off into the now growing crowd of onlookers.
"Gia, wait," I manage to yell.
"Stop! All four of you are not going anywhere until your parents and the principal gets here," the teacher holding Julia, yells.
Spencer wriggles out of the teacher’s grasp and comes over to me.
"Are you ok? I was torn. I saw her go after you, but I didn't want Alex getting away." He looks panicked and torn at the same time.
I smile at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Now you're going to be in trouble. I told you not to do that."
"I don't care, and they need to be taught a lesson. You won't be in trouble, don't worry."
"Spencer..." He put his hand up to my lips. I decide it best not to argue with him.
The teachers finally clear out the other kids and escort the four of us to the front hall. I dread what’s to come.
Yes!
About an hour later, all the parents stand behind each one of us. Roy, of course, brought Sarah.
"Please tell me you didn't punch someone again," Roy whispers. I give him a dirty look.
"No. I didn't do anything this time, Dad and least not first."
"Then, why am I here?"
"Good question Mr. Staffe." Principal Sena walks in. "It seems like this group of kids just can't get along, especially you two." She points at Julia and me.
"Jessa didn't do anything," Spencer spoke up.
"Then tell me what happened, Spencer."
"Jessa and I were suspicious when we saw those two leave the dance hall, so we followed them, and then they disappeared. I guess they thought they wouldn't be caught doing the nasty, but they were. I opened up the door and saw them, and I overreacted. I pulled Alex out and went to punch him. Jessa wanted to stop me, but Julia pulled her hair, and Jessa fell to the floor. Alex punched me in the face, but in between punches, I glanced over, and Julia punched Jessa in the face."
Julia's parents are horrified. "Julia Elizabeth Scalia, is this true?"
"Not all of it." She crosses her arms.
"Oh, for the love of God! Just grow up and tell the truth!" Spencer spits out.
"Calm down, son," Spencer's dad says, holding his shoulder. I had never seen his parents before, but now looking at his dad, I can tell Spencer’s the spitting image of him. Even in the way they spoke. His dad’s about six feet tall, with dark hair and the same chocolate eyes. He’s dressed in a business suit and looks stern.
"Mr. Stanley, Mr. Fein, where did this occur?" Principal Sena asks the two teachers.
"In front of the janitor’s closet on the west wing. In fact, the door was open, and some of the supplies were on the floor."
"Alex, would you like to say something?"
"No."
"Well then, I have no choice, for provocative behavior during a school event, Alex and Julia, you are suspended for two weeks. I better not hear of this kind of behavior again. Spencer, as for you, this is not how a student body president acts. You are supposed to be a role model and a leader, which was not shown here tonight. For that, I'm going to have to remove you from the student body, and you will serve a week of detention for unnecessary violence on school property. You are not allowed to run for any student body position senior year. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma’am."
"Jessa, you're free to go, but I do not want you involved with anything again. The four of you need to stay away from each other. I believe two weeks of suspension should do the trick. Unfortunately, I have to give out such punishment so close to the end of the year. Thank you, parents, for coming. I think it's late enough; we all need to be going home."
We all get up one by one and leave the room silently.
"I'm glad you aren't the one that started the fight, Jessa," my dad announces as he pulls away from the curb.
"Thanks, dad."
"Was prom at least somewhat decent?" Sarah asks.
I think for a moment and then realize I never gave Spencer an answer. I smack my head. "Oh, no," I whine out loud.
"What is it, Jess?" my dad asks. I turn around to look out the back window and see Spencer getting in the car.
"Dad, stop the car!" I yell. Roy slams on the brakes, and I open up the door.
"Jessa, what's gotten into you?"
It's now or never.
"Dad, I forgot to do something. I'll be right back." I hop out of the car, whip my heels off, and run in the direction of Spencer's car.
"Wait," I scream, hoping he could hear me or at least see me. Spencer’s car door reopens, and he jumps out. "Jessa?"
"Oh, thank God." My heart beats a million miles an hour: partly from running and my adrenaline.
"Spencer," I say, out of breath. "I'm so sorry. I have been a complete idiot. I got so caught up in Julia, I forgot to answer you, and I hope it's not too late."
I pause and look at him, and the stunned expression on his face. I continue and simply say, "yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, I will be your girlfriend if I haven't screwed it up already or lost my chance."
He smiles at me, grabs my face, and kisses me ever so gently.
"Thank you," he whispers. I smile.
"Spencer, let's go! You're in enough trouble! Get in this car right now!" his parents yell.
"I got to go. I'll call you?"
"Ok." I back away and watch as he gets back in the car and drives away. Satisfied with everything, I slowly stroll back to Sarah's car. The look on both of their faces says it all.
"Awe Jessa's in love! How cute!" Sarah squeals and claps her hands.
"Listen, Jessa..." Roy starts. "Just, you know ... be careful..."
"Dad!"
"Roy!" Sarah a
nd I shout at the same time.
"What?!"
"You don't have to worry, Dad; mom taught me well."
The car falls silent for a moment.
"And yes, Sarah, prom was great."
***
I’m reeling from the night before. Although it turned sour, the ending was magical. I wonder what happened to Gia. I need to visit her. Kate’s still sleeping since we spent half the night, recalling every detail that had happened at prom. She and Ryan were still secretly going strong, but they found it challenging to spend time together.
I dress and head downstairs for the door. Roy was working today, so I had no choice but to walk. It’s five blocks to Gia's house, but the weather is warm, and I enjoy the fresh air.
I finally make it to Gia's and knock on the big brown door. Her mother answers.
"Hello, Mrs. Parker, is Gia awake?"
"Hi, Jessa. No, I am afraid she's still sleeping. She said it was a rough night, wouldn't go into details, but she was pretty upset."
"Oh, can I at least wait for her or try to talk to her? It's a long walk to your house."
"Yeah, sure, come in." She waves me in. "Would you like something to drink or eat?"
"No, thank you."
"You know Jessa; she was just warming up to the idea of us separating and now this whole thing last night, I'm worried."
"I'm sure she will be ok."
Her mother simply nods. I start towards the stairs as I hear her mom call out.
"Good luck!"
I climb the stairs to her room and knock twice on her door.
"Gia? It's me, Jessa." I hear clunking noises and wait in silence for a moment. Gia whips open the door. Her makeup smeared, no doubt from crying. She still has her dress on, and her hair is still in the same style, give or take a few loose strands.
"Are you ok?"
"Do I look ok to you?"
"No, you're right, a bad question to ask, come on."
I pull her further into her room. I’m determined to make things better for her. I stand behind her to help take her dress off.
"Jess, please. I can do it when I feel like it."
"Oh, stop. I'm here to help, and you are not pushing me away this time."
Gia sighs. I help her out of her dress and help take her hair down.
"Why is everything happening to me?"
Before I can answer, Gia continues.
"I mean seriously, am I not good enough? Am I cursed? I am so sorry I didn't believe you, Jess. You warned me the whole time! I am so stupid and blind!"
"No, you're not. Stop! They are the idiots for doing that to you. They don't know what they lost. Now you can start moving on and find someone better or just focus on yourself for a while."
"I don't know Jess, how am I supposed to get through another year seeing them? I mean, our senior year is supposed to be spectacular. We rule the school finally, and now it's all going to be ruined!"
"Don't say that! We can still rule the school, you, me, and Spencer." I smile at Gia.
"Wait a minute!" Gia yells and seems to perk up. "Did you ever give him an answer?"
I smile. "I did. I said, yes."
"Finally, something good came out of last night! I am just glad Julia didn't get her claws in him as she did Alex." She frowns again, the light quickly escaping her eyes.
I decide not to talk about Spencer; I don't want to gloat. Not when the biggest jerk has crushed my only friend... well, one of the biggest jerks at school.
"Well, what do you want to do today?"
Gia looks at me with confusion. "You want me to leave this house today?"
"We don't have to. We can sit and watch movies all day and eat lots of junk food. It's good for the soul."
Gia thinks for a moment.
"Ok, let's do it. I need a distraction right now anyway."
As we get ready to leave her room, Gia's phone rings. "Are you kidding me?" Gia screams as she looks at her phone. I glance at the phone and see Alex’s name flashing across the screen. I quickly grab the phone from her and turn it off.
"No phones today, just movies and girl time. Now come on, movies await us."
Gia lets out a big breath as if she had been holding it for several minutes and we continue downstairs. We watch several movies, indulge in ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, laugh, and cry. Gia finally turns off the tv at seven pm. We sit in silence for a moment until Gia finally speaks. "That was nice. Thanks so much, Jess. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"No worries. I had a lot of fun today."
"I don't want to go back to school tomorrow," she moans.
"Oh, don't worry, Julia and Alex are both suspended for two weeks."
"Good, they deserve to be expelled, but people are still going to talk. I don't know if I can face the humiliation. I must have looked so stupid, not knowing."
"No, you didn't. Nobody knew. How could you know? They were good at sneaking. Spencer and I will be there for you."
"What did Spencer do when he found out?"
"He grabbed him by the shirt and tore him a new one." Gia lets out a chuckle.
"And he didn't get in trouble?"
"Oh, he did, got detention, and kicked off the student body."
"Oh, no. That's my fault too!" She whines covering her face.
"No! It's so not your fault. He's an excellent friend. I told him not to, but he didn't listen to me either. He said you were his best friend and couldn't bear to see you upset."
"Yeah, he is like a brother to me."
"Well I gotta go, my dad is probably wondering where I am. He still hasn't got me a cellphone, can't afford it."
"Ok, my mom can drive you home."
"Just promise me you will be in school tomorrow."
Gia hesitates. "Alright, I will."
I smile, give her one last hug, and head home.
Moving Again
I arrive home, and my dad and Kate instantly greet me.
"Where have you been, Jess?" my father asks me immediately.
"I was at my friend Gia's house; she was having a bad day."
"You should have called me! I was worried, your sister was worried, you left no note."
"Whoa! I'm sorry. You never really cared before! So, I’m not used to it.”
"Don't start that crap with me again, Jessa! Let it go; we are moving on from this... here." He tosses me a small box.
I look inside to see a black cellphone, and I’m shocked. It must have shown on my face when my father spoke up. "Yes, Jess, it's a cellphone," he states sarcastically.
"Thank you! Wait, can you even afford this?"
"Well, it's prepaid for now."
"I got one too," Kate interrupts, holding up her phone.
"What's the catch?" I ask curiously.
"Well, I decided to use the rent money to get you cellphones..."
"Why would you do that?" My thoughts are running wild. My stomach churns, and I feel like I’m about to be sick. He wouldn't do this again. No! He can’t be doing this again to us!
"Well, you really wanted them, and you need them. How much you need a phone was clear to me today. Unfortunately, I’m a month behind on rent because of unplanned car repairs. However, Sarah and I have been talking, and before we get evicted again, we decided to move in together."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I hold up my hand, now overwhelmed.
"So you thought skipping out on paying rent and bribing us with cell phones was going to make it ok for us to move in with Sarah? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am starting to like her, but not enough to move in already."
"Well, do you want to be evicted again?"
I hesitate. "No, of course not!"
"Then this is what we have to do. It's silly to pay two rents and risk bad things when we can put our money together and have nice things for you guys. Anyways it's already decided whether you like it or not."
I bite my tongue and want to scream as I feel the blood rushing to my head. I take a deep breath and fi
nally nod.
After a minute of silence, Kate spoke up. "So, dad, you never said when we are moving."
"Well, you might as well start packing your stuff. The sooner, the better."
Kate jumps off the couch, giddy. The girl who was so sad a few months ago, who I promised would never have to move again, is now giddy and happy. Of course, she’s giddy the girl’s moving in with her boyfriend. This is her lucky day. I follow Kate up the stairs sulking every inch of the way. I can't believe this, I murmur under my breath.
As soon as I get upstairs, I find the numberSpencer gave me and enter it into my new phone. I debate for a minute whether or not to text him. What would I say? Kate’s already texting up a storm. Spencer is my first boyfriend, and I quite frankly did not know how to be in a relationship. Here goes nothing.
Hey! This is Jessa, finally got a phone…
I decide to leave it short and sweet and I click send. I stare at the phone. Was that stupid? Probably too short and plain, maybe I should have added an emoji or something. My phone suddenly beeps, and my heart does a little flip. It’s from Spencer.
That's great! Now we can stay up late and chat.
I smile, satisfied with his response, and then message Gia to let her know the same thing. Gia’s thrilled, of course. Afterward, I decide to start packing. I lay my phone down on the dresser and walk away. A couple of hours later, I hear my phone buzz. I rush to grab it and see It’s from Spencer. My heart does more flips in my chest.
I hope I didn't scare you away with my last text. Can we hang on Saturday? Maybe see a movie?
I hurry and text back.
No way! You can't scare me away anymore! And yeah, that would be really great!
I hope that didn’t sound too desperate. To be honest, I’m dying to see him because we haven’t seen each other since the night before. I wasn’t at all happy with how that night unfolded. how the night's events unfolded.
Bleep, my phone sounded.
Alright, I'll pick you up around seven. Sleep well.
Butterflies flutter around in my empty stomach. Do I respond? Hmm... I'll just send him a smiley face.
The next day we fill up Roy's pickup truck with the few things we have and head for Sarah's house. When we arrive, Sarah’s waiting on her front porch with a massive smile on her face. I don't like this at all.