Chapter Two
Jenny
I drove to school, not bothering to stop by Melissa’s house to pick her up. I couldn’t even look at her after what she had done to me. Of all the people I could imagine Tyler with; Melissa never even crossed my mind.
I parked next to my friends cars. That’s how we usually did it; if we needed to talk to each other after school we didn’t have to look everywhere for them. They were parked right next to me. Tom Shepard, my closest guy friend, was standing in my parking spot with his girlfriend, Leanne Port, Macy Springsteen, another close friend of mine, Steve Benson, the guy who liked Melissa- although I was going to make sure he changed his mind- and some other guy I didn’t recognize. They moved aside so that I could park, and then rushed to me when I got out of the car. I pulled my sunglasses off and leaned against my car, staring at the ground.
“Where’s Melissa?” Scott asked. I wasn’t surprised he did.
“I have to tell you guys something. And Tyler won’t be parking here today, so make sure his spot gets taken,” I told them, standing up straight.
“Jenny, this doesn’t sound good,” Macy said.
I sighed. “It’s not,” I admitted. “I caught Melissa and Tyler having sex at Tyler’s house. He was cheating on me with my best friend.” I still couldn’t even wrap that fact around my mind. Melissa did that to me?
“No. Effen. Way,” Leanne said. “Are you kidding? Tyler Jones, that sweetie, did that to you?”
“Leanne, he’s not such a sweetie. Not after we took him in and made him such a big shot. And did anyone expect this of Melissa?” Scott was staring at the floor, disappointed. “Scott there is a million other girls out there dying for you to go for them. This just means that Melissa wasn’t good enough for you. Don’t feel bad.”
Scott chuckled. “Man, I hate it when you talk all inspirational and shit. And the worst part is that you’re right.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“What are you brewing up for them?” Tom asked with maliciousness in his eyes. I smiled slyly. Every time someone embarrassed me or made me look bad didn’t just do it and get away with it. They pay a huge price.
“Well, for Melissa I wanted to do something dirty. I’m still thinking about that. But for Tyler I was planning on doing nothing. He’s going to be rejected by us because we don’t stand for people who cheat us like that,” I picked out my friends with specific personalities. They’re popular, they’re hot, they’re smart, and most of all they’re respectful. “He’s also going to be rejected by his former friends for ditching them to hang out with the IN crowd and not bringing them along. Then he goes back to his dorky self with no friends and no nothing. That would make him miserable.”
“Jen, that’s the smartest plan ever. And I want to be there when it’s Melissa’s turn,” Leanne said. “I’ve always hated her and you all knew that.” We all nodded.
“I guess you’re instincts are always right Lea,” Tom said, kissing her. The boy standing behind Tom looked at them longingly. Maybe he was missing his own girlfriend or something. I wonder who he is. He looks exotic for some reason, not like tropical or anything, but it’s obvious he’s not from around here. But he was really cute. He had dark brown hair and entrancing green eyes. He was really tall and had an amazing, strong, sexy build.
“Um, Tom who’s your friend? I’ve never seen him before,” I said.
“Oh, Jen this is my buddy Will Kurt. Will, this is my best girl friend, Jenny Garth. He’s from Minnesota and he’s here for college next year.” I shook his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you Will,” I said, staring into the green eyes. I imagined myself in a rain forest with nothing other than green around me. That’s how stupefying they were. Something weird happened when my skin touched his. Suddenly my whole body was hot and I could feel heat rushing up my neck. I pulled away fast.
“Nice to meet you, too,” said Will. Was…was that and English accent? Oh God, Tom. Did you bring him here so I could faint? I was ker-azy for guys with accents.
Just then Tyler’s car turned into the lot. We all stood still in his space, not moving when he honked his horn for us to move. He understood that I wasn’t going to let him get away with what he did just like that, and drove to the other end of the school. “It’s okay Jenny. We got you your back,” said Tom, kissing my cheek. He and Leanne walked into the building with his friend, Will, right behind them. Macy took Scott’s hand then mine and we followed our friends inside.
Our group of friends, I mean Scott, Tom, Macy, Leanne, and me, all had our schedules worked out so that we had all the same classes. When you have parents that are big in the city and your mom’s a constant volunteer at all your schools, they have a say in things. Now there’s a new addition into the group; Will Kurt. And two others have been kicked out; Melissa Park and Tyler Jones. We all walked to class. We were the first people there; Mr. Keller still didn’t have our schedule posted on the board yet.
“Good morning,” Keller said, greeting us. We were his top students and we were all basically best friends with all of our teachers and counselors. “Would you just take care of the room? I want to run to Tim Hortons and grab a cup of coffee.” He talked about his classroom like it was a little misbehaving child.
“Sure,” we said. I sat in my char. Tom sat on my desk with Leanne in his lap, Scott stood behind us, and Macy was standing next to me. Will was standing next to Tom. He looked uncomfortable and left out. “What’s the plan Jen?” Scott asked. “How are we supposed to get that kid back?”
“Wow, is it necessary to be that tough on the boy?” Tom’s friend asked. “Isn’t it enough you left him?”
“Actually, the only reason he befriended us to become popular. He wanted a name and Jenny is the one who gave it to him,” Tom explained to him. “He was using us all. And when Jenny wouldn’t give in to him when he wanted to get her in bed, he used her friend Melissa for pleasure. All of us have been friends since elementary school and it’s part of the bond we share that we have each others backs.”
“In that case, you have a right to hurt him,” Will said, changing his mind. I nodded, then the bell rang and students began pouring in. A few minutes later Keller walked in with trays of coffee. He handed one to Tom, Will, Macy, Scott, Leanne, and me.
“Thanks for watching the room,” he said, walking to the front of the class. Tyler was sitting right in front of me. I could see him squirm uncomfortably in his seat. He could feel that this day wasn’t going to go by without any pain. I looked left at Melissa’s seat. She still wasn’t here. Did she think that I was still going to talk to her and give her rides after what she did?
Halfway into the hour Melissa showed up. She walked right to her seat and looked at me. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed when Keller turned away. I just shook my head and pretended to listen to Keller’s lecture.
During lunch we sat at our regular table with the rest of our friends. The Bunch and I made sure we got there before Melissa and Tyler, spreading out across the table to take up all the left over space. All we had to do was sit Will in Tyler’s usual spot and pile our backpacks on Melissa’s. We would wait to get lunch after they had come and gone.
“So Will, you’re from Minnesota but why do you have an English accent?” I asked.
“I was born in London, England so my parents are all English. But when I was seven years old they moved to Minnesota for reasons unknown. I never learned American,” he explained.
“Why would your parents move from London to… this place?” I asked. “People dream of traveling to London. And here you are, a lucky boy who was born there and had the chance to live there, yet you come to America.”
Will sighed. “I don’t want to be here. In Michigan, I mean.”
“Why?” I asked. “Canton is a really nice place. Everything you need to be living the life is here.”
“I’m not looking for the perfect life,” he told me. “I’m here for an education so I could live a good life with my girlfriend.”
Hearing he had a girlfriend shocked me. I mean, of course someone like him would be taken, but I guess he was just so cute that I wanted someone who looked like that to be mine. “O-oh. So you’re engaged?”
“No,” he said laughing, like it was a ridiculous idea. “We’re not at that stage yet. But we are committed to each other. We love each other very much, and we plan on living together for a few months or years before we decide whether or not we want to live together and that that’s the life we both want.”
“Wow, it sounds like you have your whole future planned out ahead of you,” I said.
He nodded. “It’s good to start thinking about your life early.”
“You sound very… confident that everything you’re planning will work out the way you want it.” He nodded. “Well, what if things don’t work out that way, what would you do?”
“I’m very optimistic they will,” he assured me.
“Don’t you have an alternative plan, another road to go down incase the first one isn’t right?”
“I told you,” he said, “Lily and I are in love. There is nothing that could separate us.”
“People say long distance relationships don’t always work out. You think yours will be special one that will?”
“Why am I being interrogated by you?” Will asked, simply annoyed. “What does my love life matter to you?”
I turned red. I have never been scolded before. “I-I was only curious,” I said quietly.
Will sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t want to be here, and now you’re giving more reason not to be here by making me doubt the way I’m running my life.”
“I won’t bother you anymore, I promise.” He smiled politely at me and I just smiled back. Maybe I was being a slight bother, pestering him for things I had no reason to be prying about. I was just curious.
Never have I met a guy who had the rest of his life planned out and was working for it to start. And it just made me wonder why. Why would someone waster their life on one person when they have years and years ahead of them to decide who’s right and who’s wrong? Why would someone plan their whole life out at eighteen when they have no idea what’s going to happen in the future? Will might end up dumping his girlfriend for some girl here, and decide he doesn’t want to move back to Minnesota. He might change his mind about what he wants to study, and where he wants to work. You never know what’s going to happen in life and people who think they do know bother me.
Will
That Jenny girl was a talker. But I admired her for her acquisitiveness. In my opinion it was nice for people to learn about another’s life to get ideas of their own. But when she started talking to me about long distance relationships and how they never work I wanted her stop right there. She didn’t know Lily and me. She had no idea how perfect we were for each other.
I felt sorry for telling her to shut up so rudely, but she wasn’t being very respectful herself.
Seconds later there was a lot of commotion on the table. Everyone’s heads turned towards the lunch room doors where the kid from the parking lot-I think his name was Tyler- was entering the room. He had his head held high and his chest popped out. I stifled a laugh. His movements were so obvious they were rehearsed. They were very over dramatic.
As he neared people got back to what they were doing before, chattering away as if nothing had happened. Tyler leaned down and took hold of Jenny’s arm. “Can I talk to you?” he whispered to her. I just couldn’t help but overhear. She was sitting right next to me.
Jenny pulled away from him like he was something very gross. “Leave right now. I told you I never want to speak to you again.”
“Jen, listen to me. Just hear me out, okay?” he begged. Jenny rolled her eyes and walked away with him just a few feet from our table. I tried to listen in on what they were saying, I just couldn’t help it. It was like a movie where you can’t wait to find out whether the main characters end up together not. I couldn’t catch anything they were saying, but minutes later Jenny was shouting.
“You expect me to go out with you when you were fucking my best friend during our whole relationship?” she was yelling. All eyes were on them two. “Are you really that stupid, or do I look two years old to you?”
“Lower your voice…”
“No,” she shouted again. “Let everyone here hear what a sick bastard you really are.” He swung a fist at her face and she fell onto the tiled floor. I stared at him disbelievingly and ran up to confront him while Tom helped Jenny up.
“Dude, I understand how you feel, but that gives you no right to hit a girl. You just insult yourself,” I told him.
“Man stay out of me and my girlfriends business, alright? What’s the new kid going to do to me for arguing with my girl?”
“Shut up,” Jenny screamed. Tears rolled down her face. “Never call me your girl again. Just forget the two of us ever happened.”
“Girl if you weren’t so worried about staying a virgin until you get married none of this would have happened,” Tyler shouted at her. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Leanne ran up to her side and helped her out of the cafeteria.
“Do you not know what limits are?” Tom asked him, fury masking his face. “We understood you were a bitch from Jenny, but now I think no word can describe what a sick animal you are.” People had gathered round, cheering us on with ‘FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!’
“I already feel sorry for the whore who takes you next,” I muttered to him. He got up in my face and shoved me.
“Jeez new kid, you have got some balls.” I stood up and stared at him. I knew I shouldn’t be doing this. I wasn’t the violent type, and I was very patient. This kid right here though really didn’t know what his limits were. He just wanted to keep on going.
“Will, sit down bro. It’s your first day, you don’t want to get suspended already,” Tom said, trying to calm me down. I agreed with him. I was here to learn, not be part of a couple’s drama. I kept staring at Tyler though until he grunted and rushed out of the lunch room. Then there were shouts coming from outside the door. Tom made sure he was the first to get there.
“What’s going on now?” I asked Macy, one of Tom’s friends.
“Tyler saw Jenny here with Leanne and he started shouting about how she’s such a disappointment, and sucks at… things.”
“He’s a very thick headed boy,” I said.
“I swear to you no one knew he was like this. Not even Jenny and she was the closest one to him,” Macy told me.
I though about Jenny’s plan. She had just wanted to embarrass Tyler in front his friends and the school. But in the end what she had planned didn’t turn out as she had expected it to. I wondered did she know that something was going go awry, or did she think everything was going to run smoothly, just like I expect my future to go?
