by Sarah Tork
Peter: She ditched me, bro. Her aunt picked her up. I don’t know how much more my ego can take. You think she’s playing me to get back at her ex?
Tom: Maybe. I got problems too. Remember my horror show, Jenna running after I spilled about liking her. What the hell is going on? Girls are running away from us??? Crazy.
Peter: I have no idea. It doesn’t make any sense. But are you sure about Jenna Sabini though?
Tom: Why?
Peter: Bro, that girl is ice cold.
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Thursday November 1, 2012
My eyes fluttered open to birds chirping outside my open window. Sunlight glared through breaks in my blinds, highlighting my face with a message that spoke silent volumes: wake up, it’s time to face the day, Jenna!
My lower back hurt like hell and I had no idea why. I looked down at what was supposed to be my sleep clothes, random shirt, random shorts, but no, that wasn’t what I was wearing. Yep, that’s right, I’d slept in my Xena costume. Genius, that’s my middle name. The material was made out of an insanely durable kind of plastic that would have taken a truck to squash, and it’s what I slept on, sticking in my back. Which also meant… great, I’d be walking with a hunch today, or a limp… or worse, both.
“Ugh, the one time I turn off brain functions, this happens!” I groaned, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of my bed. There’s a mirror across my room. I get up, thankfully without a hunch in my back, and without limping, and made my over to it. I examined the costume and sighed in relief—all was good with it. Meaning I’d return it to my cousin Deana—Uncle Frank’s daughter from his first marriage a million years ago. Deana had actually bought the costume online three years ago, hoping to impress this guy she met at the University of Florida on orientation day. Apparently the guy had an obsession with the Xena: Warrior Princess TV show. She met up with him at a dorm party that had a superhero theme and everyone came dressed up as a superhero. Long story short, she went as Xena, the guy turned out to be a douche bag who wanted to role-play, so she’d quickly ditched him to spend time with her now fiancé Trevor, who was also at that party.
Funny how fate worked.
Besides all that, the costume held a specific sentiment for her, and I was more than grateful to her for letting me borrow it. After carefully hanging the costume back inside my closet, I got ready for school with a certain thought plaguing my mind, willing me to divulge, explore, and dissect, even though that was the last thing I’d ever want to do. I needed a box, a lock and key, and a shovel with a plot of dirt.
Get the picture?
Jenna Sabini wanted amnesia for the last five minutes of the dance last night.
“Dude, what happened last night?” Annabelle asked me when she got to school, breathless.
“What the hell are you talking about? Hello to you too, by the way.” I pushed off the pillar and headed up the stairs with Annabelle right beside me.
“Excuse me. Hello, hello. There, happy? What I’m talking about is Tom Colleto declaring his devotion to you last night at the dance and you running out on him without answering,” Annabelle stated, grabbing the strap on my backpack.
Oh yeah, I remember now, ugh.
The memory comes back in full force. Which was a fail, because pretending it didn’t happen was clearly not going to work if everybody in the entire gym saw it.
I snapped out of the memory. “Crap,” I murmured, dragging my feet across the patio toward the entrance. “You saw that?”
I felt my bag being tugged. “Jenna, everybody did.”
“Great. That’s great. It’s my turn now to feel the burn of embarrassment,” I moaned, stalling before the entrance.
“Hey,” Annabelle said, gripping my shoulder. “Be a man. Like one who’s in the army, right?”
I closed my eyes. “A man,” I repeated the mantra.
“Like a man in the army,” she stated.
“Like a man in the army,” I repeated.
“Screw that, like a woman in the army,” she stated, sounding proud. That made me happy. My friend was growing up. Girl power, hell yeah!
“Like a woman in the army,” I repeated with a smile.
Girl power kicks ass!
“And like a panther, who will fight back if it needs to,” she stated, her voice booming with more pride. That was a good one. A warrior panther was just what the doctor ordered.
“And like a panther, who will fight back if it needs to. Tearing her enemies to shreds,” I repeated. I took one last deep breath and opened my eyes.
“Are we good?” she asked.
Was I?
Kind of, sort of, maybe, almost, practically there… all right, so it’s more like I’d eventually be good. I exhaled through my nostrils. “Yep, yeah. I mean, I think so.”
Annabelle thought about it for a second before shrugging. “Good enough. Let’s do this.”
*~*~*
*JENNA*
Let’s do this.
The cards were in my favor today. The lunch bell had just rung and I had yet to cross paths with Tom.
My reaction… thank you, God!
I felt lucky but I didn’t show it. This morning after Annabelle and I stepped inside, I changed quickly from the pathetic, scared-for-no-reason girly girl back into my warrior, superhuman self.
Jenna ‘I don’t give a crap’ Sabini was back in business… kind of.
As the day went on, I acted like running into him was the least of my worries, but the bravado was killing a part of my soul. What kind of a warrior got stressed out over a stupid thing like having a face-to-face with a guy who apparently liked her?
Bullshit to the max!
That wasn’t supposed to be me. I must have been doing something wrong if even one guy in the school thought it was okay to come up to me and ask me out?
Um… no!
This fool and I, we’re going to have a talk. He’s going to know that I, Jenna “The Rock Star Swimmer” Sabini was not in the market for being liked/ogled for any other purposes besides her amazing swimming capabilities, and definitely not for being in a relationship.
Nope.
Done.
Finished.
Termination required, therefore immediately granted.
Tom, you crazy goof, you’re about to get ambushed by a warrior. You’ve upset her greatly.
I navigated around the growing crowd of the lunchtime rush. The rest of the swim team was probably in the cafeteria, and Annabelle was doing the whole “walking to the cafeteria with James” thing, so I was on my own anyway. I charged toward the cafeteria, feeling a deadly steam exude from me. I felt like an enraged panther, ready to snatch at my enemy’s throat… and wow, I never knew I could be this intense. I wondered what Annabelle thought about that?
Am I an intense person? A question I’d be asking Annabelle for sure the next time she wasn’t locking lips with Boy Wonder.
So shameful and incredibly rude.
Whatever happened to manners these days?
“Get out of my way,” I screeched at a sophomore girl walking like a granny in front of me.
“Hey, watch it,” she yelped, diving out of the way.
Like I said, whatever happened to manners these days?
I was a senior.
I was moving at a speed so crazy, the cafeteria doors opened without me even touching them. I skidded to a halt, eyeing the room for Tom Colleto and his cute bum. It’s like I was an assassin robot… beep… beep… beep… located.
Tom Colleto stood in line with Roy and Peter, laughing and looking altogether happy.
That was about to change.
“Tom Colleto,” I called, stopping right in front of them. He wore black jeans and a white t-shirt with its short sleeves rolled back. His light brown hair was gelled back and in that moment, he reminded me of a greaser. That was not good. If I was attracted to any sort of guy, that was it. The fifties look always got me.
Again, not good.
I had to snap out of it; my impending swimming scholarship was on line. I shook off the attraction nerves and got to it.
“I need to speak to you in private,” I informed him, focusing on his ear and not his beautiful blue eyes. Again, it would not be a good thing to stare into those pretties, and wow, what the hell was going on with me!
Focus, girl!
And remember, don’t gulp, he’ll think your nervous or something, which you’re totally not. Why would you be? You’re a warrior and warriors don’t get nervous.
They crush their enemies.
Tom Colleto is the enemy.
Enemy numero uno.
He nodded and stepped out of line. I headed out of the cafeteria, knowing he was right behind me. I stopped right behind the entrance; it was quiet there.
“I guess we should talk about last night,” he said as soon as the cafeteria doors shut.
First place.
Parents happy.
Scholarship.
University.
Future.
These things will not happen if I don’t stay strong.
So for the love of everything good and holy, avoid looking him in the eye. Don’t even think about his pretty lips. And don’t even think about his voice and how nice it sounds. He’s the enemy. He stands for everything that could potentially go wrong with the plan. Some things in life aren’t worth it, and besides, he doesn’t even know you that well to like you for plausible reasons.
“Why do you like me, Tom?” I asked, like it didn’t make sense to me. “You don’t even know me.”
He stayed quiet, focusing on my face seriously, tightening his… really, really nice-looking lips. Don’t look at his lips!
“We’ve never been in the same group, let alone had a conversation. So why now? Did you witness a few moments in my life and thought it was enough to come to me and say things you don’t even mean,” I said, shaking my head at him.
“How do you know I didn’t mean them?” Tom shook his head slowly. The ego wound was real in his eyes. Bet that was the first time a girl ever reacted to him like that.
This girl right here, she wanted more than words.
I took a deep breath and as calmly as I could, I laid it all out for him. “I’m cool, bro.”
He jerked his head back, looking confused. “You’re… cool?”
“I’m good, there’s nothing more that needs to be discussed,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, hopefully evoking some sort of powerful stance.
His forehead creased. “So you’re just going to pretend last night didn’t happen?” he asked, his blue eyes looking crazy wounded now, crushed soul status. I should have felt victorious, but instead I felt… wrong.
I didn’t ask for this!
This was ridiculous. He was making me feel guilty for not wanting to go there with him, never mind it being the most random thing ever to happen to me.
“You’re barking up the wrong tree. I’m no good for you.” I’m exasperated, finding it difficult to breathe all of a sudden. “And you’re no good for me.”
“I guess the rumors were right about you,” he stated, breathing harshly.
“What rumors?” I asked, confused.
He scowled and shook his head at me. “That you’re ice cold.”
I gulped, but remained composed. “And don’t you forget it.” I gave him a curt nod and took a step back, feeling… not right.
“Well, I guess it was nice knowing you then,” he said quickly and walked away, leaving me alone in the hallway feeling anything but relieved.
It was so stupid!
I had much more important things to worry about than hurting Tom Colleto’s feelings. I had stuff to take care of and now that the little infatuation was out of the way, I could get back to normal.
I headed back inside the cafeteria, keeping my eyes away from the baseball team’s table. I found Dana sitting with the rest of the swim team. I took a seat next to her on the bench and placed my lunch on the table. Mom had made pasta last night and packed me some in a plastic container with an apple juice box.
I poked the straw into the box and brought the damn juice to my lips, finishing it in ten seconds, and because I was an idiot, all while staring across the cafeteria at Tom Colleto chilling at his table like nothing had even happened. He looked kind of happy, which was a huge contradiction to how he’d presented himself just a few minutes ago.
Somebody was lying, and his nonchalant stance and happy-go-lucky expression were my proof!
Liked me?
That player didn’t even know me.
He was just a fan, and I’d just given him his autograph. Hopefully now he’d be on his way to whomever he had stars for next… probably one of those idiots from the “hot” girl crew.
Done.
*~*~*
*JENNA*
I was sick of smelling like chlorine.
And while we were at it, I was tired of showering every day, too. Sometimes I couldn’t be bothered with cleaning myself. Going an extra day without showering wasn’t going to make me unhygienic… right?
I mean, I’d just double up on deodorant and that should solve any potential stink issues. And if a double layer of deodorant didn’t work, there’s nothing a few sprays of air freshener couldn’t fix.
And since I was already waiting in line to use one of the showers in the pool’s change room, perhaps tomorrow would be the first day when I skipped showering.
We’d see.
“Tina, I swear to God if you are still conditioning your hair… hurry up!” Coach Donaldson yelled, eyeing the long line. We had six showers, but four of them were out of order. They’d been out of order since this past summer and it didn’t look like the school was going to be fixing them anytime soon.
“Um… Coach,” Tina pulled back the curtain, showing her product-infused hair. “The bottle’s instructions say I have to rinse and repeat for maximum results.”
“This is the second time you’re conditioning your hair?” Coach Donaldson screeched, grabbing her forehead.
“My hair’s important to me!” Tina screeched back, flipping the curtain back. Laughter erupted, mine included. That’s just Tina. That’s what we used to say about her, but now that she and Gabe had made it official, she’d gone into hair care overdrive. Even more than before. As a result, we’re all being punished. God forbid Gabe witness her split ends, or worse, her hair up in a tight bun… like he had for the last three years.
Everyone around me was falling in love. It was like the plague. We were in competition season; who in their right mind would want to get into a relationship right before one of the most important meets of the swim season, which was in a couple of weeks. Our futures were on the line. Every meet was crucial if we were going to be drawing the attention of university scouts.
Why weren’t they taking it more seriously?
Now that was the million dollar question.
I checked over my shoulder, where Dana was waiting. She had a sad look on her face. She still wasn’t over the whole Roy and Latisha thing? That happened like three weeks ago.
Shouldn’t she be over it by now?
She should be focused on the team, not some stupid boy who’d given up too quickly—don’t say anything!
And speaking of Latisha, that traitor quit the team two weeks ago, right after the whole Donna-dethroning thing. She said she didn’t have time for swimming anymore and that she was going to be really busy.
With what, I had no idea.
I guess being popular had a lot more work to it than I imagined. She wasn’t that good a swimmer anyway. I think it was more for exercise than anything else.
Anyway, I’d made plans with Dana to go out tonight, right after I finished showering and changing out of my amazing Smashtide swimsuit. I was going to make it up to her. We’re going to Wilson’s Arcade to eat pizza and play some video games.
Screw boys.
Annabelle couldn’t come tonight because her parents wanted a fam
ily dinner night and to also make sure she ate something. According to Annabelle, they’re making the situation worse again.
I went home and finished some of my homework. At 6:30 p.m. I met Dana at the entrance and we headed inside, grabbing a bite at the restaurant next to the batting cages.
“Jenna.” Dana’s face went ghostly white after she took her last bite of pepperoni pizza.
I wiped my face with a napkin. “What is it?”
“They’re here,” she whispered, eyeing something over my shoulder.
“Who?” I turned around and jerked back in shock. “Oh no.”
Inside one of the batting cages was Roy, swinging at shooting baseballs. Tom was hanging outside, hollering at him.
I felt my heart hammer against my ribs.
What the hell was he doing here?
“Let’s go,” Dana murmured, getting up and heading straight toward them. That cloud of guilt over me, I felt obliged to follow her. Trailing behind her toward an inevitable confrontation that I’d probably be an active participant in, I bumped into Dana’s back when she froze all of a sudden.
“Um, ouch,” I mumbled, blowing Dana’s hair out of my mouth. I glanced over her frozen shoulder at two very familiar girls standing next to Tom. They were eying Cage Four’s entrance as Roy came out, looking victorious. Latisha’s hyena laugh pierced the air, along with her best friend Stacey Two, who was by her side.
By the way, Stacey Two hated the nickname we—as in the whole school—had given her. Donna’s best friend was also named Stacey and for that she got to be called just Stacey. But since Donna’s dethroning weeks ago, Stacey Two thought she was just Stacey now.
