MORE THAN THAT
Chapter Eighteen
Monday at School
Sulking through the hallways of school,
Jack's thoughts consisted of only one thing. Making out with Rose in the
bathroom on Halloween. After thinking of that, the cryptic message of that
tall, weird guy sprung into his head. He didn't even have a clue who the hell
he was. The guy sure did seem freaky.
Right after that, he ran down the stairs. His
eyes immediately scouted for Rose, but he couldn’t see her in the crowd. Jack
didn't feel like staying around anymore, so he left. He didn't bother to say
good-bye to his friends. He just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Quickly,
he jetted out the door. He didn't bother to pick up his phone, and when he went
on AOL, he put his away message on. There was only one thing he could enjoy
doing--drawing. It kept his mind off everything he was going through.
"Jack! Jack!" He turned around to
see Christina. She caught up to him after practically chasing him down the
hallway.
"Hey, Chris," he said quietly.
"Where have you been? I only saw you at
the party for a minute. We were looking for you!" Christina was clearly
out of breath.
"Yeah. I left."
"Left? You didn't even say bye!"
"I was tired."
"So your make-out session with Pam
Parker took your breath away?" Christina smiled at him. Jack stopped
walking and turned to look at her. Word sure does spread fast around here!
he thought to himself.
"Yeah, sure," was all he could say,
and he started walking again. His face grew an even more sad expression, and it
didn't sneak past Christina.
"Uh-oh. Something tells me you didn't
leave because of that. What happened?" Jack had forgotten that Christina
had vibes when someone lied to her and when something went down.
"You got me! I'm sometimes a little
freaked out by those vibes of yours! Anyhow, yeah, I made out with Rose. Don't
tell anyone," he said as he leaned closer to her so no one could hear.
Christina mouth formed a big O.
"You gotta be shitting me!"
Christina yelled out loud. The people at their lockers stopped what they were
doing and stared at Christina and Jack. "There is nothing to see here! Go
on! Do what you were doing!" she snapped at them. She grabbed Jack's hand
and led him to a far corner. "You're not serious! Are you?"
"Would I lie about that? After I made
out with Pam Parker, I ran to the bathroom. Rose followed me in there and I
just kissed her. Then she left and I ran out with her and ran into one of Cal's
friends."
"Which one?" Christina asked.
"Some freaky dude who doesn't go here.
Tall, brown hair."
"Oh, you're talking about Spicer
Lovejoy! He graduated last year and now goes to NYU. He's like Cal's puppet.
Watch out for him!"
"What's so bad about him? Unless he is
exactly like Cal! Dear God, the world has gone mad!" Jack sarcastically
said, then laughed. His first one since Friday.
"Seriously, Jack, be careful!"
Christina warned him. "I'm gonna go look to see if Tommy is in yet. I'll
see you later." Christina touched his arm and walked away.
I'm not scared of him, Jack told himself. Definitely not afraid of him!
*****
During the day, Rose covered her face with
her comforter. She lied to her mother in the morning, claiming she was sick.
She had even gone as far as turning the heat on in her room to make her sweat.
It had worked. Then she took a can of corn and mixed it with food coloring to
make it look like vomit, something she had learned from Christina. How she
missed Christina's silly antics, no matter how crazy they were.
Since she was sixteen, her mother let her
stay home and care for herself. Rose was thankful for that. Not that she didn't
love her mother, but sometimes she tended to be a nuisance. It racked her
brains.
Although Rose hated to miss a day of school,
she thought it was well worth it. No way did she want to confront Jack, even
though she would have to go to school tomorrow. She just needed an extra day.
Then there was Cal. She could just taste how awkward it'd be in the same
atmosphere as the both of them. It was bad enough she saw Cal the whole
weekend. Thank God I didn't have to see that creepy Lovejoy! she thought
to herself.
Slowly, she forced herself out of bed and
went downstairs with her blanket and pillow to the living room couch. After
watching some crappy talk shows on daytime TV, she poured herself some cereal
and ate it in the living room. It was something her mother detested, but she
did not care.
So there she lay on the couch, completely
bored. She turned on the stereo to Z100, even though she wasn't a radio person.
She hoped something good was on. Then she heard It's My Life by No
Doubt come on. Taking the spoon, she began to sing the words to the song as
if it were a microphone. She jumped around the couch and started to dance in
her purple and white striped pajamas and spun her high ponytail around.
It's funny how I find myself
In love with you
If I could buy my reasoning
I'd pay to lose
One half won't do.
I've asked myself
How much do you
Commit yourself?
It's my life
Don't you forget
It's my life
It never ends.
Funny how I blind myself
I never knew
If I was sometimes played upon
Afraid to lose.
Oh, I'd tell myself
What good do you do
Convince myself.
Oh, it's my life
Don't you forget
Oh, it's my life
It never ends.
And I've asked myself
How much do you
Commit yourself?
It's my life
Don't you forget
Caught in the crowd
It never ends.
It's my life
Don't you forget
Caught in the crowd
It never ends.
After the song was over, she plopped herself
down on the couch and smiled. She used to sing and act like a fool with
Christina. They sang everything from Michael Jackson's Beat It to George
Michael's Freedom. They sometimes even made videos. Rose continued to
smile about it, and drifted off into a deep sleep.
*****
"Jack, can I get a napkin?" Tommy
asked him. "Jack!" he yelled to him.
"Sorry. What?" Jack apologized.
"Napkin, please."
"Oh, sure." Jack handed him a
napkin and went back to drawing. After school, they went to the Vegas Diner.
Jack was caught up in his drawing of cars colliding. He didn't pay attention
anything his friends were saying.
Hmm…I wonder why Rose wasn't in school
today. It felt weird not feeling her
presence as her seat was empty behind him in homeroom and history. He couldn't
smell the sweet aroma of her perfume. Couldn't see the flash of red curls when
she passed by. The color of her creamy skin and the beautiful sparkle that
shone in her green eyes when she angelically smiled.
Jack Dawson, you are obsessed! he told himself. He watched as Tommy fed Christina a
French fry. He saw Hannah and Fabrizio share their cherry milkshake. The things
he wished he could do with someone. To hold someone, run his fingers through
her hair as he could smell its sweetness.
"Jack!" Christina shouted to him.
Jack shot his head up. "I asked for the ketchup!" Jack passed it over
to her. "Thanks!"
"Dude, what's wrong with you? You've
been acting like a zombie all day!" Fabrizio said to him.
"Yeah. What's been up your ass?"
Tommy asked him.
"Nothing's wrong," Jack replied to
them.
"Seriously, Jack, we've been worried
about you!" Hannah said, a concerned look on her face. Jack looked at
Christina. It was an expression asking if she had told them. Her face replied
that she didn't. Tommy, Fabrizio, and Hannah followed Jack's gaze and stared at
Christina.
"What the fuck are you all looking at me
like that for?" Christina asked them.
"What do you know, Chris?" Fabrizio
asked her.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!"
Christina lied.
"Are you bullshitting us?" Hannah
asked.
"No!"
"Bullshitter!" Tommy called her.
Christina looked angry now. She couldn't believe he had called her that.
"Ay Dios mio! Yo no sabe nada!"
she erupted, screaming in Spanish. Practically everyone in the diner heard her.
"All right, then. If you say so,
babe!" Tommy told her. He tried kissing her cheek but she moved.
"What?"
"Don't touch me!"
"You can't possibly me mad at me!"
Tommy looked at her in disbelief.
"Well, believe it, because I am!"
"Uh-oh! Looks like trouble in
paradise!" Fabrizio whispered to Hannah, who nodded in agreement.
Tommy and Christina started arguing. Pretty
soon she started screaming in Spanish, calling him every insult in the
language. He looked at her like she came from Mars.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me!"
Tommy mumbled and sat back, his face covering his hands. "Bitchy
day!" he said, which he thought she didn't hear. That's when Christina had
it.
"Oh, I am the bitch! No le habla
conmigo no mas!" She took her soda and dumped it on his pants.
"Shit!" Tommy stood up and tried
wiping himself off with napkins.
"Excuse me!" she said to Hannah,
pushing out her chair. She dropped a ten dollar bill on the table, grabbed her
coat and bag, and marched on right out of there.
Tommy paid his share, grabbed his stuff, and
followed her out. "Babe!" he yelled after her.
Jack was shocked at the whole argument. He
never would have guessed that Tommy and Christina would have an argument like
that.
"They're not coming back! Probably go
off and have make-up sex!" Hannah said.
"Yeah, and it looks like we gotta take
the bus home!"
*****
There was laughter and music. She couldn't
make out what was playing. She didn't even know where she was. All she could
tell was that there were strong, firm hands holding her by the waist. She
looked up at his face, but it was a blur.
There was a purple haze going on around
her as she danced in her white dress in the arms of the stranger. He spun her
around and dipped her. The hands were warm and soft as they touched her skin.
Now there was a gap between them. He took
her hand and kissed it with his gentle lips. Then a soft tune played. A song
all too familiar, but still she could not make it out. They were close together
as her head leaned against his chest. His hands stroked her hair softly,
leaving every hair in place. They looked at each other and he kissed her
forehead.
She smiled, the smile she always had when
she was in his presence. His hands cupped her face. He leaned down closer to
her and their lips met. It felt like she was floating above the clouds when he
kissed her, and they were the only ones in the room.
Their lips parted, and she looked at him
with a soft glow in her eyes. His hand caressed her cheek as he looked down on
her. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was smiling.
She opened her mouth to speak.
"I--"
Bang!
Rose woke up, startled. She held her hand to
her chest. "Oh, God!" she softly whispered as she closed her eyes and
opened them. She could feel herself sweating. It wasn't the heat this time.
Just a dream, Rose! she told herself. It was a dream that felt all too
real.