MORE THAN THAT
Chapter Nineteen
The next day, Rose went to school. She
still thought about her unsolved dream. What was the meaning of it? The answer
remained a mystery. It freaked her out, though. The reality of it creeped her
out.
Don't bother thinking about it, Rose! she told herself. She tried to block it out by
thinking of schoolwork. As she opened her locker, Rose took a look at her
reflection in the mirror. All was good with her appearance. She threw her
pre-calculus, religion, and history books in her Von Dutch bag and held her
physics book in her arms.
She looked at the pictures of Cal and
herself in her locker. Unfortunately for her, he came over to check up on her.
It was just like him to be on her ass 24/7. Rose pretended to fall asleep until
he left. It was the only way to get rid of him.
Rose slammed her locker shut and turned
around. With her head low, not paying attention, she bumped into Jack. His
books fell out of his hand, and papers flew out of his brown art portfolio.
"Shit!" he cursed. He bent down,
picking up all his stuff.
Rose went to help him. A sketching of his
caught her eye. She went to go pick it up. Just as she was about to pick it up,
Jack placed his hands over it and snatched it from underneath her hand. They
stared into each other’s eyes, Jack half-smiling at her.
"Thanks," he said.
Rose replayed their make out session in
her head. His soft lips kissed hers, and their tongues intertwined with each
other perfectly. It was the perfect kiss. However, she couldn't let it happen
again.
"Jack, I'm glad I bumped into you. I
need to talk to you," Rose said to him. He looked at her, shoving his
books into his black Jansport, his portfolio tucked under his right arm.
"Okay, shoot!"
"Jack, I need you to never talk to me
again--never again." For some reason, Rose's own words hurt her. It was
like someone had pierced her heart.
"All right," was all Jack said.
Rose shook her head and squinted her eyes at him. Was she hearing things right?
What did he mean, all right? He didn't look a bit hurt.
"All right?" Rose questioned
him, annoyed.
"Uh…yeah."
"Okay! Fine, then!" Rose stormed
off, annoyed. She mouthed to herself, "All right?" with a confused
look on her face. She couldn't believe that was all he could say. She knew that
was what she wanted, but it hurt her.
*****
"Hey, guys!" Jack said to
Fabrizio and Tommy. Jack looked at Tommy standing against a locker. His arms
were folded across his chest as one of his feet pressed up against the locker,
his knee bent. He looked up at the ceiling with his head back against the
locker.
"Hey, Jack," Fabrizio said,
opening his locker.
"What's wrong with him?" Jack
asked Fabrizio.
"Christina still isn't talking to
him," Fabrizio whispered to Jack.
That was unbelievable to Jack. Christina
must have still been mad from yesterday. That was quite a temper tantrum to
watch, especially since he didn't understand what she was saying with all the
Spanish. It couldn't be good, though.
Just then, Christina and Hannah stepped up
to the guys. Hannah gave a kiss to Fabrizio and said hi to the boys. Christina
stood there, looking down on the floor.
"Hey, Jack, Fabri," she said.
"I'm going upstairs to my locker. See you three later." Christina
walked off. She and Tommy took one look at each other. Christina quickly turned
her head and continued walking as Tommy watched. Tommy punched the wall, pissed
off.
"Why does she have to be so
stubborn?" Tommy complained. Hannah shrugged, not knowing her best
friend's motives. "I called her when I got home, both her house and cell
phone. I go online and she blocks me!"
"She'll loosen up," Jack said.
"To get that off your mind, Rose told me to fuck off! Well, not in those
words, but I got what she was trying to say!" Jack smiled as he said it, a
sarcastic smile.
"Hasn't she been telling you that for
the past two months?" Tommy asked him.
"Two months? Has it only been that
long? I feel like she's been telling me to fuck off for a lifetime!" Jack
said.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's been two
months, Jack. I'll even check my calendar," Fabrizio said. Hannah rolled
her eyes at him. "What?"
"You moron! He meant it in a
metaphoric way!" Hannah explained to him.
"Why do you have to call me a
moron?" Fabrizio asked her.
"Because you're my moron."
Hannah blushed. They both giggled. "Excuse me, boys. Fabri and I need some
alone time! Come on!" Hannah grabbed his hand and ran down the hall.
"Jesus, Christina won't even talk to
me!" Tommy shut Fabrizio's left open locker.
"Seriously, you wouldn't think that
she'd get mad over that!" Jack said.
"Well, she is very sensitive, and has
a low tolerance of people. I should have thought before I spoke. I know how she
is." Tommy buried his hands in his locker. "Anyway, don't worry, Jack.
You'll find another girl! As for me, two months into the school year and
already I'm out of a girlfriend."
*****
In history class, Rose was as
uncomfortable as she was in homeroom. She sat right in between Jack and
Fabrizio. What was even worse was when Jennifer was talking to her. She kept on
going on and on about junior prom, as if Rose could care. Rose didn't get these
people that she hung around with. They were airheads, even though they were the
smartest people in the school. They acted as if they had no brains.
To top it off, Jennifer kept saying what a
cute couple Cal and Rose were. Jack had moved his seat to talk to Fabrizio.
From what she could hear, they were talking about prom as well. Jack said he
might as well go dateless since he didn't have a girlfriend. That came as a
relief to Rose, as selfish as it sounded. She knew it was selfish of her, but
she couldn't help it.
In history class, Mr. Malone was absent.
Everyone was able to go talk to their friends. From what Rose could see,
Christina was only talking to Hannah. Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy were huddled in
the back of the room. Rose wondered what was going on. Usually, when Mr. Malone
was absent, Hannah and Fabrizio would be all over each other, as well as Tommy
and Christina. Not like they were her friends, anyway. Rose would just keep out
of it. Anything that was connected to Jack, that was. Just then, she overheard
Christina and Hannah talking.
"Why don't you just go over there and
talk to him?" Hannah asked Christina.
"Because…I don't know. I just can't
believe he would say something like that to me. Where does he get off calling
me a bullshitter?"
"Chris, we all thought you were
bullshitting us!"
"Well, he should have believed me!
He's my boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend, now!"
So, the lovely couple broke up? Rose asked herself.
"So what are you going to do about
prom?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know. I'll still have
Jack!" Rose cringed at his name and dropped her book. Christina and Hannah
turned to stare at her. "Some people just don't know how to mind their own
business!" Christina said, loud enough for her to hear.
Rose sank into her seat, continuing to do
her work. Sometimes Christina could be a little bit intimidating, and, of
course, she would intimidate Rose. Should have known better, Rose! she
told herself.
"This announcement is for the junior
class." The principal spoke into the intercom. "The junior prom will
be pushed up to Friday, the thirteenth of February, 2004 due to senior class
activities. The prom will now be held at the Brooklyn Marriott. Thank
you."
The classroom went into a frenzy. Some
people complained, and some people cheered. Rose rolled her eyes, not caring.
Out of nowhere, a chill ran down her spine. Something was to come and it wasn't
good at all.