-John Greenleaf Whittier
-John Greenleaf Whittier
Monday Afternoon
"But... but!"
"No buts," said Mike firmly, dragging Mira out of her office. "Out."
Mira whined inaudibly as she quickly gathered papers and notebooks in her arms. "My battery was only disconnected. My car didn't break down, you know," she muttered, allowing Mike and Leanna to drag her out the office door, pausing only to lock the room. "It still works."
"I don't care," said Leanna. "There's a psycho on campus somewhere who knows your name, and Josh is insistent on personally driving us home. I'll be damned if I let you drive yourself for a while," said Leanna with a firm nod.
Mira rolled her eyes. "You worry too much."
"Says the girl who was nearly killed by a stranger," said Mike. "He knew your name? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" He paused, observing the obviously unconcerned look on Mira's face. "Look, Mir, if it wasn't Jace, it'd be me driving you home, and I know you don't want me to be the one driving you everywhere."
Mira crossed her arms over her chest, much similar to a sullen teenager. "I hate you."
Mike grinned gleefully. Leanna pushed the two out the door of Hildebrand Hall and began the walk towards the nearest road, where JC sat patiently in his black jeep Cherokee sitting along the curb.
"He does know that I'm taking care of Lily this afternoon, right?" asked Mira slowly. Leanna nodded.
"Of course he knows," she said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it, Mir."
"Ok, I better get going to lecture," said Mike, kissing Mira quickly on the forehead. "Be good." Mira rolled her eyes. Mike waved to JC and Leanna before he jogged off.
Mira slid into the backseat of the car on the leather bound seats, instantly remembering the last time she'd been in his car. JC turned partway in his seat, smiling at her. "Hey Mir," he said.
"Hey yourself," said Mira with a smile. She paused for a moment. "Thanks for doing this," she said.
JC shrugged. "Don't mention it. What time do you have to pick up Lily?"
Mira glanced down at her watch. "At 2:30," she said.
"Then we better get going," said Leanna, climbing into the front seat, flashing her boyfriend a quick smile. JC turned the key in the ignition and started the engine, smoothly pulling away.
A mere ten minutes later found the jeep pulling up along the curb in front of a rather ragged old building with the title "Nanny Dot Daycare" in red plastic letters along the front. Mira unlatched her seatbelt and was about to open her door when she realized JC was getting out of the car too.
"Are you coming?" asked Mira, her brow creasing in confusion.
JC looked around him self-consciously. "Should I not?"
"Oh, its not that," said Mira with a shake of her head. "I just thought that maybe you'd want to stay with Leanna," she said, motioning to the car where Leanna sat, talking on her cell phone. As though clairvoyant, she turned and smiled at the pair, waving at them to go ahead and go inside.
JC chuckled. "I don't think she'll miss me much," he said with a shrug.
Mira giggled. "Ok then... come on," said Mira, motioning for JC to follow her into the daycare center. Mira breezed into the daycare and immediately walked up to the counter in front. JC hung back, looking around him curiously at the hand drawn pictures pinned to the walls, the small coat hanger that sat only three feet off the ground so little arms could reach. Along the side wall was a small bookshelf, filled with divided little compartments. Inside each compartment were small dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, drawings, and everything else, it seemed, that could be associated with children. JC smiled to himself.
"Are you coming?" asked Mira, tearing JC out of his reverie.
"Huh? Oh yeah," he said with a nod, following Mira out of the foyer and into a main room where children, ranging from infantile to age eight or so, were scattered about, each playing their own games with children their own age. Mira wove through the children, JC close behind her, to a corner where a little girl, about the age of four, with long black hair sat with two other girls about her age, brushing the hair of the dolls they held in their chubby hands.
"Lily?" said Mira, approaching the girl. She looked up, her eyes wide with excitement as she spotted Mira. She jumped up, dropping her doll to the ground, and wrapped herself around Mira's knees.
"Miwah!" she cried excitedly.
"It's nice to see you too," said Mira with a giggle, unwrapping the child from her legs. She lowered herself until she was eye to eye with Lily. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yup!" said Lily excitedly, turning around and snatching her doll off the ground. "Bye!" she said to the other girls she had been sitting with. Lily was about to take off when she realized that Mira was not alone. She stopped and stared up at JC cautiously. "Who's dat?" she whispered into Mira's ear solemnly.
"Lily, this is my friend JC," said Mira with a smile. "JC, this is my very special friend Lily."
JC grinned and lowered himself to Lily's height and held out his hand. Lily cautiously slid her hand into his. "It's very nice to meet you, Lily," said JC.
Lily simply stared at JC solemnly. Her eyes shifted from JC to Mira and back again. "Do you kiss Miwah?" she asked flatly.
"Oookay, I think it's time to go, Lil," said Mira, standing up, her eyes wide in surprise. She pushed Lily along towards the door. JC chuckled and followed the two out the door.
A few minutes later, after the three had returned to the car and were headed home, Lily resumed her questioning. "Does he?" asked Lily urgently, leaning over to Mira who sat in the backseat beside her.
"Lily," said Mira firmly. "You shouldn't ask people questions like that."
"Why not?" asked Lily.
"Because... because it makes people uncomfortable," said Mira.
"But does he?" asked Lily insistently.
Mira rolled her eyes. "No," said JC from the front seat. His eyes met Mira's in the rear view mirror, twinkling with mischief. "I don't."
"You don't what?" asked Leanna. Mira giggled and JC chuckled softly, each shaking their heads.
"Nevermind," said Mira.
"Mike! Help!"
"Leanna?" asked Mike, keeping his voice hushed as he was sitting in the middle of the silent library. "What's wrong?"
"I need you to come rescue me," said Leanna, shifting the phone from one ear to the other.
Mike chuckled. "Oh really? Rescue you, huh? From what?"
"From this," said Leanna flatly, holding the receiver out away from her body. Mike jumped as loud metal clanging resounded through the phone line. He looked around him conscientiously at the surrounding people, who all turned, having heard the racket through his cell phone. He smiled sheepishly and chuckled nervously.
"Um, Lea," he said hesitantly, keeping his voice hushed. "What the hell was that?"
"That, my friend, is my boyfriend and your sister entertaining a four year old," said Leanna, crossing her arms over her chest as she cradled the phone on her shoulder. She looked into the den where JC, Mira, and Lily were causing all the commotion. JC had Lily perched on top of his shoulders, wearing a football helmet on his head. Lily was giggling hysterically, holding a large pot in one hand, and a large wooden spoon in the other. She was banging the two together as they chased Mira, who wore a long purple feather boa, around the room. The three of them were laughing loudly, obviously enjoying themselves and the goofiness. Leanna looked on helplessly.
"It's not that I don't want them having any fun. I just need to get some work done," said Leanna with a sigh. "I need an excuse to leave the house, which is where you come in."
"How about you come meet me at the library," said Mike. "I could use your help with some of this finance stuff."
"I need the getaway," said Leanna with a smile. "See you in a bit." She hung up the phone and gathered her notebooks and purse. "Josh? Mir? I'm going!" she called, only to be ignored as JC ran after a screaming Mira, Lily giggling excitedly and rapping the spoon against the pot. Leanna sighed and shook her head and opened the front door, only to be confronted by Justin. "Oh," she said in surprise. "Hey J. What are you doing here?"
"Well I came to see-" he paused, spotting Mira running with the feather boa trailing behind her as she screamed. "-my girlfriend..." he said slowly, an amused smirk crossing his lips. "So this is what she does in her spare time."
Leanna burst out laughing. "Oh Mira," she called. Mira paused and turned, freezing when she spotted Justin. JC bumped into her from behind, his vision being hindered from the football helmet on his head as it slid down over his eyes. She swatted him on the arm. He turned and stopped when he saw Justin, slowly raising the helmet so he could see.
Justin simply stared, smirking amusedly. "So..."
"So..." said Mira slowly. "Hi Justin... what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to stop by and see you, but I see you're busy," he teased.
Mira, regaining her sense of cool, tossed her boa around her neck, posing dramatically. "Nonsense, dahling," she breathed. Justin chuckled and shook his head.
"What about you, Jace? Is the helmet a new image thing for you?"
JC rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know Lily thinks it looks good on me," he said with a nod.
"Yeah!" defended Lily, knocking on JC's helmet with the spoon.
The soft knock at the door interrupted the conversation momentarily as they realized Lily's mother stood in the doorway. "Mrs. Yamigachi," said Mira, pulling off the boa and tossing it on the couch.
Mrs. Yamagachi simply laughed. "It's nice to see that Lily had a good time," she said with a nod.
JC leaned down and placed Lily on the ground. "Time to go home, now, Lil," said Mira. Lily ran over to her mother and gripped her hand.
"Do we hafta go now?" she asked urgently.
"I'm afraid so, honey," said Mrs. Yamagachi with a smile.
Lily returned to JC's side and tugged on his shirt. "Yes, Lil?" he asked, leaning down.
"Can you pick me up tomowo?" she asked.
JC's eyes met Mira's for a moment as he smiled. "We'll see," he said. "Maybe not tomorrow, but some other time."
"Okay," said Lily with a shrug. She waved goodbye to Mira and JC and rushed to her mother's side.
"Thanks again, Mira," said Mrs. Yamagachi. "See you later."
"Bye," said Mira with a wave.
As soon as Mrs. Yamagachi was gone, Justin turned to JC. "You picked her up?" he asked, his brow creasing.
"I took Mir there to pick her up," said JC with a shrug. "I gave her a ride home."
"Why?" asked Justin, his eyes bouncing over to Mira for an explanation. "I thought your car was fine."
"It is," said Mira with a nod.
"I just don't think it's a good idea leaving Mira to wander campus alone anymore, since that guy attacked her," said JC matter-of-factly.
"Oh... yeah... of course," said Justin, shrugging nonchalantly. "I can do it."
"Really, J, it's no big-" began JC.
"No, it's okay Jace," said Justin with a wave of his hand. "I want to pick up my girlfriend." Mira's brow creased at the sudden change in Justin's demeanor, which had transformed from amused to serious.
JC shrugged. "If you insist."
"Guys, you know I'm standing right here, right?" said Mira. As if just realizing her presence, they looked down at the woman standing between them. "You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here."
"Sorry," said Justin and JC simultaneously.
"You better be," said Mira, the hint of teasing on her voice. "I'll just take my own car from now on, so you boys don't have to worry about it."
"No!" said both Justin and JC simultaneously, again.
"Never let it be said that boybands don’t operate out of one mind," asked Mira to Leanna, who remained by the door. She shrugged and continued watching, an amused smile on her face. "I'll drive. Deal with it."
"No," said Justin once more. "I'm giving you a ride to school in the morning and I'm taking you home."
"Listen to him, Mir," said JC. "I don't want you wandering around by yourself with that psycho loose."
"Yeah," said Justin, tossing a quick confused glance at JC. "What he said."
"You might as well listen to them, Mir," said Leanna. "Or else they'll keep arguing and I'll never get my boyfriend back."
Mira rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said with a sigh.
"Great," said Justin, rubbing his hands together. "So... what time do you need to be at school?"
7:15 AM, the next morning
"He's late," said Mira, pacing by the front door.
"Relax, Mir," said Leanna, taking a sip of her coffee. "If it gets to be too late, Josh can just take us both."
"Yeah," said JC, walking out of the kitchen behind her. "I can."
The ringing of the doorbell interrupted Mira's response. She smiled. "I don't think that'll be necessary." She walked over and opened the door to see Justin standing on the porch, his mouth hanging open and his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. "Morning Justin," said Mira, stepping back, allowing him to enter.
Justin trudged inside, dragging his feet along. "It's early," he muttered.
"I warned you," said Mira, closing the door. "Justin, really, you don't have to do this."
"Yeah," said JC. "I can take Mira to class. You know I go into the studio nice and early anyway."
"And you take me," said Leanna, looking up at him.
"What?" asked JC, slightly confused.
"You drive me to class, which is why you go into the studio early," said Leanna slowly.
"Oh yeah," said JC with a shrug. "So see, J, I'm already taking Leanna. I can take Mira."
"No," said Justin, his tone serious. "I will drive my girlfriend to class. End of story."
JC put his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright... I won't take her," he said. "Jeez," he muttered, turning around, shooting Mira a wide-eyed look of surprise. Mira shrugged.
"Then let's go already," said Leanna, a slightly annoyed tone to her voice as she shot JC an unhappy glance. JC turned back to Mira again, giving her a look of helplessness. Justin watched the exchange between the two, slightly put off by the way they could communicate without words. Ignoring the nagging questions in the back of his mind, Justin followed Mira out the door to the driveway.
Together, the four headed down the cement walkway towards the cars parked along the curb. As they passed down the driveway, Mira stopped. "I just remembered, my notebook is in my car. Hang on a second," she said, jogging over to the beat up Honda Civic and sliding her key in the lock, promptly throwing open the door. She reached in, grabbed the notebook off the passenger seat and was locking the car up when JC called out to her.
"Looks like you've got a flat, Mir," he said. "Good thing you didn't drive yourself."
"What? A flat?" she said, walking around the car, looking down at the tires. Indeed, the right front tire was flat. "Dammit," she growled under her breath.
"Wait a second," said Leanna, slowly approaching the car. "So is this one," she said, pointing at the back tire. Mira's brow creased as she slowly circled the car, her eyes widening as she reached the opposite side, finding both tires on the left side of the car flat as well.
"What the hell?" she said, running her hand through her hair in frustration.
Justin approached the car and leaned down to closely inspect the tires. "They've been slashed," he said.
"What?" said Leanna. Mira simply stared in shock at Justin's words.
"They've been slashed," he said, fingering the loose rubber of the sliced tire. "Look at this. Someone got at these with a knife."
JC's eyes met Mira's from opposite sides of the car. They knew they were thinking the same thing; of the man who had assaulted Mira. In an attempt to remain somewhat controlled, Mira began nervously chewing on her fingernail. "I'll go make the phone call," said JC.
Justin stood up, his brow furrowed. "Phone call? What for?"
"He's calling the police," said Mira, her stare fixed on the ground as she chewed on her fingernail.
"Why?" asked Leanna. "This could be random. I mean, you do leave your car parked outside."
"JC and I think it's connected to the man that assaulted me the other night," said Mira, rushing back into the house.
Leanna's eyes met Justin's as they shared the same confused stare.
