Jenny

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Draven and his friends sitting at the corner table. If I couldn’t already tell it was him by the cloud of dread in the room, then his deep laugh would’ve given it away. I couldn’t look. I mean I wanted to, but I couldn’t. 

Eyes forward. Don’t let him see you.

Maxwell’s coffee shop was my favorite place, and I knew the day would come when he’d ruin it for me. Draven wasn’t known in this town for his quick wit and adorable personality. In fact, people would choose a different part of town to go to just to avoid contact. He was an Asshole with a capital A and that’s putting it mildly. 

Borders, New Hampshire was small. Population 1,983 and that was including pets. A couple more litters of kittens and we’d be hitting the big 2K. With small towns, came large gossip. I despised this place with a passion. Only sixty-eight more days and I could leave it all behind, only sixty-eight more days until graduation. I was pretty sure that the other sixty-four members of my graduating class felt the same way. Everyone who grew up here had the same dream. One day we’d leave this town and everything in it, including Draven Lepage. We all knew everything there was to know about him, and there wasn’t an ounce of good in any story that was told. It was even worse now that his Dad was locked up. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Anyone who’d ever had a run in with Draven most likely regretted it.

There were a total of ten people who liked him, and nine of them were cheap hussies. 

Well, maybe I was exaggerating a little, but I couldn’t stand the little bastard.

Sixty.

Eight.

More. 

Days.

I still had this haunting memory of him engraved in my brain to this day. We were in eighth grade at Vista Coast Middle School, and Draven was sitting several tables away from me in the cafeteria. He and Oakland Murray, another guy in our class, were arguing back and forth across the table, and causing a huge commotion. Horrible words were said between the two of them, and the comment that set fire to the whole situation was the one where Oakland called Draven a poor, useless waste of air. I remember watching Draven kick Oakland in the stomach over and over. It was horrible, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Every chance Draven could, he made Oakland’s life a living hell. There were rumors that he could never come back from. We all knew just how bad Draven Lepage was, but to see it first hand scared people. At least it did me. When Oakland was down on the ground, not one single person tried to help him. The lunch ladies were oblivious. I rushed over to Oakland when the kicking was over, and kneeled down beside him. I immediately regretted it. Draven’s fists hung down by his side, and he stared at me like I was his enemy, like I would regret ever getting in his path. There was no coming back from that look. I remember thinking that I never wanted to be treated the way Oakland was. The rumors that were repeated about him were more painful than the blows he endured to the stomach, and for weeks I silently hoped that the next rumors weren’t about me.

This town thrived off of gossip. I despised it. Just like I despised Draven Lepage.

Staring down at my freshly baked bagel, the one that I dragged myself out of bed for every Thursday morning, I decided that I wasn’t hungry anymore. His presence made me completely lose my appetite, and the only thing I wanted to do was sneak out of Maxwell’s without getting noticed. 

Sneaking out on Bagel Thursday… Hell must’ve frozen over. 

The old iron chair squeaked as I scooted it back causing a screeching noise that I hoped no one noticed. I didn’t dare peek over my shoulder to find out. I slipped my backpack quickly over my shoulder and grabbed my drink. My eyes were fixated on the floor as I maneuvered through the tables. It was just a couple more steps. 

“Where are you heading in such a hurry?”

Ugh. Must’ve been my unlucky day. “School. Bye.” I grumbled trying to skirt by. 

Draven moved to block the exit door. It was just like him to be an annoyance to my life. He was the most unpredictable person I’d ever met. He was the reason the eye roll was invented. His body towered over me casting a dark shadow. I hated the way he made me feel –slightly out of control and like the blood had frozen in my veins.

“What do you want?” I asked in a sour tone. Surely he could’ve found someone else to bother. It was like I had a sign glued to my forehead that said, “Kick Me Good, cause I can take it.”

“I need a favor?” His eyes locked with mine. Just when I thought I couldn’t feel more uncomfortable, he proved me wrong. 

I sighed and squirmed. “I’m busy.” I tried to pass by him, but he blocked me by sticking his arm right in my way. If I thought a punch in the gut would hurt him, I would’ve given him my best shot. Stupid, arrogant, brooding, pain in my ass cheek. 

“Come on Jen. I really need a favor.”

Jen? Very funny, you pig. I thought to myself. He knew my name was Jenny. He just found another way to get under my skin, because existing just wasn’t enough. “Like I said before, I’m busy.” 

The sudden sound of the doorbell as it opened behind him caused Draven to move just enough, giving me room to squeeze through. I was out the door, and to my car in a flash. I heard him call out my name, but pretended I didn’t. What kind of favor could he possibly want from me? It’s not like we frequently talked, we’d only exchanged a few words here and there, and certainly not enough for him to think I was in the business of returning favors.

My little Nissan roared to life and I sped out of the parking lot of Maxwell’s. I’d thoroughly escaped him, but chances were good that I’d see him at school. I was going to have to stake out the halls all day. Unless… Maybe he didn’t really need a favor. Maybe he was just messing with me. One could hope. 

I was early to school, so I stayed in my car for a bit. I texted my bestie Lola to see what time she’d be there. Of course I had to fill her in on this mornings fiasco. She’d find it amusing. She’s one of the few people in this town who didn’t loathe Draven, mostly because she never knew him the way that the people of this town did. Lola was one of those people who liked to stay off the radar. She preferred to go unnoticed, like myself. It was hard to do in a small town like ours, but she was relatively new here. Her family only moved here a couple of years ago. That was something I still couldn’t figure out. Most people were trying to get out of this town, not move here. But, I was eternally grateful, because she was my very best friend in the whole world. I had other friends, but none of them compared to Lo. 

There was a tap on my window that had me jumping out of my skin. I suppose I was still on edge after the morning I’d had. 

“You hussie,” I mouthed. Lo stood there with a wide grin stretched across her face. I climbed out of the car mumbling all the obscene words I could think of under my breath. She scared the crap out of me. 

“Are we a little edgy this morning?” She asked in a sarcastic tone. Her big green eyes were gleaming. 

“Very funny.” I slid my backpack over my shoulders. “I owe you one.”

“I couldn’t resist. You should’ve seen your face.” She continued to laugh. 

I jabbed her arm. “Come on. I want to get inside before you know who finds me.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. Hear him out. Maybe he really needs something important.” She tried swaying me to see his side, but all I could do was roll my eyes. 

“So he needs something that only I can give him,” I said. Her eyes grew wide. “Don’t you dare say another word,” I warned her, shoving a finger in her face. I could tell by the look on her face that she was about to say something dirty. She had a way with words. 

“But…”

I stopped her. “Not another word Lola Clark.” 

She giggled behind me as we made our way through the parking lot and into school. 

As we headed down the main hall, I stopped dead in my tracks. “I’ve got to run to the library before first period. I just remembered. I need to see if Mrs. Larson will let me print my History paper. My printer is out of ink.” 

“Uh huh.” 

“Gotta go.” I hurried in the other direction. “See you at lunch,” I called out. 

I hadn’t gotten ten feet when my phone beeped telling me I had a new text message.

Lo- you just missed him.

Me- Who?

Lo- you can’t fool me!

One crisis averted. 

It was going to be a long day. 

***

“I thought we were meeting at lunch?” Lo asked. “Where have you been all day? I texted you twice.”

“I was busy.”

“You know you can’t avoid him forever.” She reminded me, with pursed lips and a scolding mom look. “I can’t understand why you’d want to. He’s a hottie.” She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. 

I groaned. “Being a hottie doesn’t earn him extra brownie points, Lo.”

“Who’s a hottie?”

Dammit! Where’s a cloaking device when you need one?

Lo smiled at me. “I’ll talk to you later Jen.”

Oh she was going to get it. I should’ve kept my fat mouth shut and not told her about this morning. That “Jen” comment was perfect, and I was going to stick my perfect boot up her…

“So who’s hot?” Draven asked again, like I didn’t hear him the first time. I could feel him move closer and my treacherous breath hitched.

Slowly I turned around to face him. “You wouldn’t know him,” I lied. His head was already abnormally large. No sense in making it bigger. 

Obviously, he knew I was lying. He draped his arm comfortably over my shoulder not caring one bit about my lack of care, or the fact that there were at least thirty people within view of us. “I know you want me.”

Do guys ever grow up? Ugh!

I stomped quickly off in the direction of my car, trying to get as far from him as I could. 

“Wait! Jen!” He called after me. That pissed me off worse, so I flipped him the bird over my shoulder. “Jenny Baby!” He called loudly. So much for trying to go unnoticed. I slammed my car door, and let out an ugly growl. He infuriated me. If it were legal to hit him with my car, then I would have. Not too hard, just a little tap in the kneecap, something to bring him to his knees. 

As I was pulling out of the parking lot he was staring me down. There was no way I was going to get away from him. Eventually I was going to have to listen to whatever it was that he had to say, because he wasn’t the type to give up. 

Lucky me.