by Desiree Day
“Fine just hurry up!”
Jessica hurried over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt then made her way to the bathroom. “You guys had better come up with an idea by the time I get out of the bathroom, otherwise somebody’s gonna be in trouble,” she called over her shoulder before she closed the bathroom door. As soon as she closed the door, she slumped against it. “If Mom sees this, I will be in so much trouble.”
Chapter 20
Jessica’s parents had run into a few friends who were holidaying in Hawaii and decided to spend Christmas Eve with them, leaving Jessica and her friends alone.
Samantha and Sean were relaxing on the couch; Jessica and Matt were on the floor. A John Legend song played in the background.
“Whew,” Samantha said to Sean. “I still don’t know how you got Jessica’s Mom to believe that your bathroom was out of order and you had to use ours.”
Sean grinned. “Master lying. I’m a pro at it.”
Matt scowled at his friend. “Hey dawg, that’s not something I would brag about, especially in front of your girl.”
Jessica snuggled up to Matt glad that he was no longer mad at her. An hour after the incident, he had come to her suite and apologized for his behavior. “If you want to know the truth it wasn’t your lie, my mom could have easily verified your story, but she was so worried about me that she barely noticed.”
“Well whatever it was, it worked,” Sean decided.
“Guess what time it is?” Samantha sang.
“What?” Jessica asked on cue. She and Samantha had rehearsed earlier.
“It’s gift opening time.”
“We should wait until Christmas,” Matt said.
“It is,” Jessica answered as she nodded toward the clock on the wall. It read one minute after midnight. “Technically, it’s Christmas morning.”
“That’s good,” Matt drawled. “Otherwise, I’ll have to carry this around all day.” He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a ring size gift box.
“Matt?” Jessica whispered.
“Merry Christmas baby,” Matt said softly then kissed her gently on the cheek.
“Matt?” Jessica’s eyes watered.
“Open it.”
“Okay I will.” Jessica slowly lifted the lid and peeked in. Inside was a princess charm. “It’s beautiful,” Jessica breathed.
“You’re my princess baby. And hold on to it, as soon as I save up enough money, I’ll buy you a bracelet to put it on.”
“That is so sweet,” Samantha gushed.
“I love it. It doesn’t matter if you get me a bracelet or not. I’ll put it on my key chain so that way I can look at it every day. Hold on,” Jessica said before rushing over to her suitcase.
“While we wait for her, I want to give you your gift,” Samantha said to Sean. She reached behind the couch and pulled out a medium size box. “Here you go sweetie.”
Sean ripped the paper off, flicked off the lid and pulled out a picture of him and Samantha. It was taken the night of the sophomore dance by Jessica’s Dad. “Is this all?” He frowned before tossing the picture back in the box and automatically tossing himself out of Samantha’s heart.
“Is this all?” Samantha sneered recovering quickly and gearing herself up for a full blown out fight. “How freaking dare you. Do you think it was easy for me to do this?” She hissed as she snatched the picture out of the box and shook it in his face, the smirk Sean had been wearing slipped off as he pressed himself against the couch. “I had to have Jessica’s Dad e-mail the picture to me, then I had to e-mail it to a place that would print it. But for some reason, they didn’t want to enlarge it for me, so I had to get the smaller size picture, have my mother take me all over town to find a place where I could have it enlarged and then,” she paused to breathe deeply. “And then, I glued every piece of those little mirrors piece thingies on. That took me two weeks. And you have the nerve to say ‘is that all’. Remember Sean, chubby chicks rule, and little men like you are fools,” Samantha reminded him, enjoying his look of fear.
“Um, I’m sorry,” he stuttered, he had seen this side of Samantha before. “Here’s your gift.” He held it out to her as though he was making a peace offering to the gods.
Samantha glared at him before snatching it out of his hands. Matt watched the scene with amusement but he didn’t dare crack a smile, there was no need to embarrass his boy any further.
Samantha opened the box to find a sweater the color of a spoiled eggplant bunched into a ball. She held it up and immediately saw that it was too small. “What the hell is this?” she asked meanly and she knew she was being mean but didn’t care.
“I thought you’d like it,” Sean said pitifully. Samantha glared at him a second time and smacked her teeth.
Jessica returned to the living room to find Samantha staring angrily at Sean like he had given her a box of dog poop for Christmas. I’ll ask her about that later, Jessica decided. “Merry Christmas,” she said handing Matt a box.
Matt shook his head. “This is too much Jessica, you gave me a trip to Hawaii, I don’t expect anything else.”
“My parents gave you that.”
“But you asked them to,” Matt argued.
“I did, but this is something special from me. I want you to have it.”
Matt sighed before taking the box. He flipped off the lid to find a pair of custom made Timberlands, which even had his initials embroidered in them. His mouth dropped down to the floor and Jessica was sure that a drop of his drool had stained them. “Jessica, I can’t take these,” he said pushing the box back toward her. “This is too much.”
“Hell, I’ll take them. What size are they?” Sean asked.
Samantha punched him in the arm. “Boy mind your business and focus on why you got me a sweater three sizes too small.”
“I can’t take these Jessica,” Matt said as he closed the lid on the box and tried to give it back to her but she steadfastly refused.
“They’re a thank you for beating up Darryl. Remember on that day, you told me that I owed you big time.”
“Yeah, like buying me a Starbucks coffee big time. Not a trip to Hawaii and Tims, big time,” he said frustrated. “I really can’t take it.”
“Just take it and enjoy it for what it is, a gift,” Jessica said.
“Come with me.” Matt tucked the box under his arm and pulled Jessica into the bedroom then closed the door behind them. He didn’t want an audience. He sat on the bed and Jessica sat next to him. “It’s cool that you want to give me all this stuff, but baby, I can’t accept it. I can’t have dudes thinking that I’m using you for your money or worse that I’m a punk and his girl gotta buy his shit.”
“We know that’s not true. So why should we worry about what some jerks think anyway?”
“I don’t care what they think, it’s my rep. I’m worried about. I can’t let people think that I’m a punk.”
“Everybody knows that you’re not, especially after Sam told everybody about you beating up Darryl.”
“True dat.”
“Just take them. Please,” Jessica insisted as she lifted the lid off the box and tilted it so that Matt could see the shoes. He stared longingly at them.
Chapter 21
Jessica doodled in her notebook, Matt and Jessica, Jessica and Matt, JS and MR, Jessica Smith and Matt Rice. She was back in school. After the week-long sun drenched vacation in Hawaii, the snow and ice draped over Middleville felt like a frozen hell.
Behind her she heard hushed voices and muffled chuckles. She didn’t have to look to find the culprits. Their voices were easily recognizable, she suffered through it every day in homeroom, even though they were five rows back, Chloe’s and Tamia’s voices grated on her like a spider crawling up her spine. Normally she enjoyed history but today she had about as much interest in it as nineteen-year-old alcoholic does in a glass of grapefruit juice.
“As if I don’t get enough of them in homeroom,” she mutte
red.
“Does anybody have any ideas about your sophomore trip to Washington D.C.,” Mrs. Browning asked. “It’s already February and we need a fundraiser by the end of the school year.”
“A bake sale?” someone offered.
“So elementary school,” Chloe mocked.
“That’s nice,” Mrs. Browning answered while ignoring Chloe, she was used to her snide comments. She scribbled the suggestion on the board. “We can do that. What else?”
“Car wash,” a young man named Herb called.
“Ewww too messy. I can’t mess up my pedicure,” Chloe sneered while admiring her freshly painted toenails.
“Anything else?” Mrs. Browning asked while writing the suggestion on the board.
“Why don’t we have a talent show,” someone proposed.
“That’s so eighties,” Chloe scoffed.
Mrs. Browning peered at Chloe over her glasses. “You seem to have a lot to say. Do you have an idea?”
“For sure,” Chloe quipped. “Why don’t we have a fashion show?” Her gaze slid over to Tamia and they smirked at each other.
Jessica gasped then masked it with a cough. A fashion show!
Mrs. Browning considered the idea. “That sounds good. That’ll be our main fundraiser in conjunction with the other ideas. We should have enough money to make it to D.C.” She furrowed her brow. “But I have to lay down some ground rules for the fashion show,” she stated sternly. The last thing she needed was for it to turn into a Victoria Secret special. “Take out your pens, BlackBerrys and laptops or whatever it is you use to write notes, because I don’t want any excuses if my rules are ignored or forgotten.” While everyone scurried for their note taking items, Jessica dropped her pen in shock. Me in a fashion show?
Jessica read the list to her friends, Leslie, Vivian and Kathy, while yelling over the music. Ciara latest song filled the room. “Number one, no bikinis. Number two, no exposed thongs, bras or any type of underwear. Number three, cropped tops are allowed, but they cannot be more than two inches above the belly button. Number four, no stilettos. Heels cannot be higher than two inches.” Jessica continued reading the list. “We’re going to be laughed off the stage if we do this,” she said thinking of Chloe and her friends. “Rules or no rules. We’re not fashion models.”
“Humph! Speak for yourself,” Sam quipped as she stood up and pranced in front of her friends as though she was walking down a runway, working it so hard that it would make even Tyra Banks proud. “Come on girl,” Sam encouraged as she grabbed Jessica’s hand and pulled her up.
Leslie, Vivian and Kathy all watched expectantly.
Jessica looked helplessly at her friend. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Listen to the music girl. Let it guide you.” Jessica thrust her hip forward and kicked out her leg. “Stop!” Sam ordered. “You look like you’ve just been electrocuted.”
Samantha clapped her hands and motioned to Leslie. “Next!” She tripped over her feet as she tried to stand up. “Sit down!” Leslie plopped to the floor. Samantha pointed to Kathy. “Come on up here.” Kathy popped up and sauntered to Samantha. “I’m liking the confidence. Walk for me.” Kathy walked stiffly as though she had been starched. “What happened, a second ago you were walking like you were ready to take on the world. Sit down.” Samantha caught Vivian’s eyes. “Don’t bother to get up.”
“Whew! I’m glad I signed on as coach, lord have mercy you girls are pitiful. It’s a good thing we have some time to practice. In the meantime, try to find some America’s Next Top Model DVDs, they’ll show you how to walk it out.” As soon as Samantha heard about the fashion show, she had assigned herself as their coach.
“Watch me,” Samantha said as she pushed a CD in Jessica’s hand. “Put this on,” she instructed. Jessica replaced the Ciara CD with Nelly. “Heyyyy!” Samantha shouted as she threw her shoulders back, jutted her chin out, placed her hand on her hip and began strutting. “This is for the brother who made millions on girls’ apple bottoms! He’s a genius.” Jessica watched in awe as her friend moved sensuously to the music and floated as though she was a size zero instead of an eighteen. “This is for all the curvy girls,” Samantha shouted before coming to a stop in front of her friend.
Jessica started clapping. “You were so good! I can so see you doing the fashion show.”
“I was great!” Samantha boasted. “And you all will be the crunkest chicks out there, remember chubby chicks rule. But I need to focus on getting the clothes, music and your makeup. And I need to teach you all how to walk. Right now you guys look like an uptight bunch of suburbanites.”
“We weren’t that bad,” Leslie pouted. “We were pretty good.”
“Would you like me to show you the tape,” Samantha asked and Jessica’s eyes widened.
“You have us on tape?”
Samantha burst out laughing. “Nope! Just teasing. But if I did…you would’ve seen how horrible you all looked. But seriously, we’re going to have to get it together. We’re going to have to prove to the school that big girls are sexy. And that we love ourselves.”
“That’s a lot to prove,” Jessica mumbled.
“But we can do it. I know we can. Am I right girls.” She was met with as much enthusiasm as though she had announced that they would be modeling lingerie. “Okay then. We’re going to meet twice a week to work on walking. I’ll teach you all how to walk to get all the men salivating for you. So who’s with me?”
Chapter 22
“You got all this for Matt?” Samantha asked. She was hanging out at Jessica’s house.
“You think I did too much?” Jessica asked as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. She didn’t want to ruin Matt’s Valentine’s Day like she almost messed up his Christmas.
“We’re only in the ninth grade and you’re blinging him up like we’re adults. What fourteen-year-old chick gives her boyfriend a Tag Heuer, two Armani outfits, one Sean Jean outfit, a pair of Tims, a sterling silver bracelet and a Gucci scarf? Who does this?” She asked, totally forgetting about her trip to Hawaii.
“So you’re saying that I overdid it?”
“Huh uh, just a little bitty bit. Girl if you give Matt all that stuff he’s gonna think that you’re trying to buy him and you’re always gonna wonder if he likes you for you or for the stuff you buy him. Didn’t you learn anything from Christmas?”
“I know, you’re right.” Jessica was silent for a minute then she asked, “What did you get Sean?”
“A T-shirt, no more handmade or heartfelt stuff,” she said thinking of his reaction to her Christmas gift. “And I got one too. It has our names on it.”
“Ewww, that’s so eighties. I think my parent’s have T-shirts with their names ironed on with velvet letters. They only wear them when they’re just relaxing, which fortunately, isn’t very often.”
“Well, we’re bringing sexy back. And it’s letting everybody knows that Sean is my man.”
“I don’t think you guys need any announcements. I think half the school knows it just by seeing the way you two tongue wrestle every morning.”
“Don’t hate just because my man loves to show me how much he’s feeling me.”
“Matt’s feeling me, he’s just not as demonstrative as your boo.”
“Boring is the correct word.”
Jessica picked up a pillow and threw it at her friend, hitting her in the stomach. “He’s not boring. He’s very affectionate.”
“Yeah, whatevah. He’s sweet but he’s as boring as bubble gum colored fingernail polish.”
Jessica ignored Samantha’s statement. “So, what do you think I should do?” She asked. What seemed like a good idea suddenly seemed as stupid as wearing a bikini in the middle of winter in Buffalo.
“If I were you, I’d give him the scarf and forget about the rest of the stuff.”
“What should I do with it all?”
“Save it for next Christmas, then all you have to worry about buying gifts for are your
parents and me,” she joked.
“Have they decided what they wanted to do?”
“Sean mentioned something about dinner and roller skating.”
“Roller skating?” Jessica gulped. “I don’t know, that’ll be like an elephant tittering on stilts. I don’t know,” she said in a doubt-filled voice.
“Come on. I’ll help you. If I can do it, then you can. Heck, I weigh so much more than you. But on roller skates, I feel weightless. I glide across the floor like the wind. I love it.”
“I won’t look stupid?”
“Naw girl. You’ll be fine. Just remember to have fun. “And remember what I said. Don’t be throwing the goodies at that boy unless their the ones between your legs,” Samantha said with a laugh.
“Thanks for dinner,” Jessica said as she kissed Matt on the cheek. “It was nice.” Even though it was Applebees, the food tasted better than any of the fancy smancy restaurants her parents always took her to. Jessica snuggled against him. “How did you get your father to let you off tonight?”
“I told him that I had a date with an angel.”
“You’re so corny,” Jessica said but laughed. “But you’re sweet.”
“What’s taking Samantha and Sean so long?” Matt asked.
Jessica shrugged. “They said they were coming right back. How long does it take to get something out of the car?” She glanced around the restaurant but they were nowhere in sight.
“I’m glad that they’re gone,” Matt said as he nuzzled her neck. She sighed deeply and she felt all mushy inside.
“Why?” she breathed.
Matt grinned against her neck. “Because I have your Valentine’s gift.”
“You do?” Jessica asked dreamily. Her gift was the last thing on her mind. Matt’s soft lips just inches away from her mouth was enough to make her brain dead.
Matt pulled away and picked up his backpack. He rummaged through then held his hand out. “Here I got you this.” Matt handed her a small gift wrapped box.
“Thank you so much. Did you wrap it yourself?”
