This choice: Go out there; it might be worth it • Go Back... You decide that the best thing to do is to just go along with it. It's not like you know who actually wrote that note so if whoever did write it sees you out there then they'll approach you. And if they don't or you miss them or it turns out to be a joke? Well you're not really on the hook for anything and while you're there you can at least pick up some lunch.
The rest of the day after lunch goes as normal though you continue to say nothing about the note at lunch nor do you make mention to Caleb of what you plan on doing about it, nor does he ask. You instead spend most of your time after school hanging out with him while he heckles you a bit about turning down Dorothy's invitation to the Warehouse. Once you're at home decide to do a bit of homework and then turn in early.
Turning in early, however, means waking up early... early enough that unfortunately your parents catch you and put you on some light chore duty. It's annoying but nothing particularly bad either and you're able to finish a little after eleven. You shower and make sure you're presentable, although you don't necessarily dress up as you think that would be lame and dorky. You count the money you have left over from summer -- dwindling but still more than enough to afford some lunch -- and tell your parents that you're heading out to meet some friends for lunch. Thankfully you don't really meet any resistance or further questioning from them on your way out.
* * * * *
You arrive at Panera a bit after noon. You head inside and get in line while looking around to potentially catch anyone noticing you or to see if you can recognize anyone from school; a girl who could have potentially written that note. There's nothing that catches your eye however until you get up to order. The girl who takes it looks like she could be a high schooler but she's nobody you recognize so you can only wonder if she's an underclassmen, part of the faceless masses or even if she goes to an entirely different school. Anyway it's not like someone taking orders and working behind a cash register would be giving you an invite to join them for lunch.
With your order made you head over to the dining area and grab a table and scan the other people sitting there. There are adults, families and other older people you can immediately discount. A group of what looks like middle schoolers is also easy to toss aside. But there are a few girls scattered around that look closer in age than you but if it is one of them then none of them betray this fact as they either chat with one another or busy themselves with their phones as opposed to coming over to join you.
You're beginning to feel very disheartened by the time the buzzer goes off to alert you that your food's ready. You're grabbing the tray from the counter when you hear a voice call out to you.
"Will? Is that you?"
You look over to your left to see Jenny, an empty cup in her hand, heading over to you with a friendly expression. "It is you, hey," she greets you as she stands next to you. "Nice running into you."
"Ah, yeah, good to see you too," you reply. "You here to pick something up?"
"Eating here," she replies as she shakes her empty cup at you. "Same as you it looks like. Mind if I join you?"
Of course Jenny is a friend, of a sort anyway, and it'd be better than sitting here and eating alone waiting for a girl who might not even show up so you're only too happy to accept. "It's not a problem," you say as you lead her back over to the table you'd picked out and sit down. "You come out here a lot?" you ask not really being sure how to break the ice.
"Often enough I guess," she shrugs. "Never see you out here though. Wanted to try something new?"
"A little," you answer nervously, unsure of if you should actually tell her the truth. But she's been sticking up for you -- when she's around anyway -- this week so you figure it can't hurt. "Actually I'm hoping to meet someone out here."
"Oooh, really? Who? A girl?" she teases and smirks.
"Actually yeah. At least I think so," you state nervously. "The truth is I found a note in my locker yesterday. Whoever wrote it said that they thought I was cute and they were having lunch here today."
"No way!" Jenny exclaims in astonishment. "And you think it's a girl? Did they sign it?"
"They didn't sign it," you tell her, "but it had to have been a girl right?"
"Unless it was a guy," she laughs. "Oh, hold up," she says when her food is ready. She gets up to grab it and comes back a moment later. "Okay so yeah, you got this note maybe from a girl? Did you say anything about it at lunch yesterday?"
"Nuh uh," you shake your head. "They would've just razzed me if I did."
"Yeah, guess you're right," she mutters. "I swear to god those fuckers are more useless than tits on a bull."
"How are you feeling by the way? You know the nurse's office and everything?"
"Huh? Oh, fine I guess," she states. "Just an upset stomach. Felt like shit at the time though. Thanks for asking."
You two continue to chat -- about school and your friends and whatever cheerleader drama Yumi and Cindy and the others have been feeding her -- while you eat your lunches. By the time you're ready to leave the girl that wrote that note, whoever she is, never shows up but you suppose it could be worse since at least you got some food and and are getting to hang out with a friend you never really spend time with outside of school.
So you're pleasantly surprised when Jenny gets your attention as you're both throwing away your trash. "Hey Will," she starts, "would you mind taking me up to the mall?"
"What for?" you ask.
"It's my stupid phone," she groans. "I kinda spilled soda on it last night and it's totally dead. I had to get a ride up here and was planning to get a ride over there to pick up a new one but if you don't mind then it'd save me a lot of headache."
"Yeah, sure, I guess. I don't have anything else going on," you answer. "Do you need a ride back?"
"If you don't mind," she answers and gives you a smile. "I'll pay you back for it."
* * * * *
You head up to the mall with Jenny and accompany her to one of the cellphone stores where after a bit of looking around she eventually finds something she likes as well as a phone card (it's easier to go month to month versus a contract she tells you). She gets it activated when you're back in the truck.
"There we go," she says once she's finished. She looks over at you with a grateful expression. "Thanks Will, I mean it. You're a life saver," she says with relief. "So I said I'd pay you back for helping me right? Well I've been enjoying myself so do you want to keep hanging out? Do you have anything going on?"
:Oh! Uh, no, it's fine."
"Great! Okay then, I know just the place!"
She starts giving directions as you pull out of the parking lot. You follow them heading south and eventually you're clear on the other side out town, The older and underdeveloped portion on the outskirts south of of the university. An area that's a reminder of the town's origins as little more than a stop over for travelers headed to places of far greater importance. You continue to follow them as you turn into the parking lot of the Donna, a motel that looks like it's definitely seen its fair share of things over the decades.
"Wait here," Jenny says once you've parked. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
You around and decide to kill the engine as you look at your phone. You're not sure how much time passes but Jenny eventually comes knocking on your window. "Alright," she says when you lower it. "Come with me. We've got a few hours."
"For what?" you ask as you hop out of the truck and lock it. But Jenny is already ahead of you, the short jean shorts she's wearing making her legs look longer than you'd think as she walks quickly, and you have to pick up the pace yourself to keep up with her.
"You'll see," is all she coyly says.
You follow her and are actually starting to get a little winded as you attempt to keep up before she stops in front of a room. She pulls out a key and unlocks the door gesturing for you to come in. You do and she shuts the door behind you. You turn to see her set the large bag she's been carrying down and to your surprise Jenny launches herself at you. Her mouth is against yours, her tongue probes the inside of your mouth and wrestles with your own and her fingers press hard against your chest.
"Jenny!" you exclaim in shock when she finally pulls away. "What the hell is going on!? What are we doing here!?"
"Will," she says and her voice has taken a lower (and you want to say sultrier) register. "Remember what Keith joked about on Wednesday? What I got really pissed at him for? Well I've been thinking about it and I thought... why not? We've got this room all to ourselves for the next few hours. What do you think we're doing here?"
Your eyes damn near pop out of your head at what you're hearing. "Did... did you put that note in my locker?"
But Jenny says nothing. Merely smirks as she walks past you towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a few minutes to freshen up," she says looking back, "so I can pay you back properly. Get comfy, Will."
She disappears into the bathroom and you hear the door click. You're sweating nervously and your eyes dart around when they spot something in the bag she'd set down. You pull it out and notice that it looks like a mask. You flip it over and are surprised to see a name emblazoned on the back.
LORI DENISE SHERMAN
The name stands out in big, bold letters. You take a quick glance in the bag and notice a few more similar items. Just what is this? Why does Jenny have it? What's going on?   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2024 rugal b. (UN: rugal at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Seuzz has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author