Jenny

“I don’t want to hear one complaint out of you missy. You spent forty-five minutes slow dancing with Draven. Half of those songs were not even slow.” Lo was in a bit of a nagging mood the morning after. Her prom date turned out to be a real drag.

Prom wasn’t so bad after all. Being wrapped in his arms made everything a little bit more tolerable. I knew people would notice, but with two weeks left until graduation, I quit caring so much. 

“Fine,” I admitted. “I ended up having a decent time, but that doesn’t change anything. I still think we should’ve just dressed up, and went out. We could’ve skipped the whole thing altogether. We could’ve found something else to do in town. Like prom bowling, or prom movies.”

“You’re so full of crap.” She said tossing something at me from across my room. 

I seriously loved her, and I knew that if I really had wanted to skip prom, she would’ve been right by my side. 

“I can’t believe tomorrow is already Senior Skip Day.” 

I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m not going to skip right?” She could hate me all she wanted. She was on her own for skip day. If there were ever a good day to go to school, it was skip day. I could have the entire library to myself. 

“I know,” she replied. She plopped down on my bed, and offered me a serious look. “You already got into college. You know you don’t have to go tomorrow. What’s the point anyway? No one will be there.”

“I know.” I beamed, letting out a sigh of relief. “All the more reason to go.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

I batted my lashes. “And you love me for it.” 

“True,” she pulled me in for a hug. “I’m going to go take a shower, because my pits are stinky, then I say we have an all-night marathon of One Tree Hill.  We can watch from the very beginning.”

I laughed. “Okay, but some of us have school tomorrow. So don’t blame me if I fall asleep before season two.”

***

I stayed up way too late. When I padded into the kitchen the next morning, I found Draven at the table with a bowl of cereal, or the whole box. He had a bowl the size of my head. 

“Can I ride with you this morning?” He asked me. “I don’t have any gas in my car.”

“You’re going to school? You do know it’s skip day, right?”

“I don’t want to go, but I still have to pass my finals, and I don’t want to give any of those teachers a reason to fail me. I figured I’d better suck it up and go. We only have a couple of weeks left.”

“That’s smart actually,” I narrowed my eyes before sipping my coffee.

“What, like its hard?” His voice sounded girly and I realized he was movie quoting again. 

“You’ve really got to get away from the T.V.” I rolled my eyes. 

He laughed. It was too damn early for happy moods.

“Good morning kids. I’m glad to see the two of you up for school this morning, seeing as it’s senior skip day.” Mom smiled. It was too much for a Monday morning.

I groaned. “Lo is upstairs in my bed. She’s not going today, so I’m leaving her there. She has a key, so if you’re not home when she gets up, she’ll lock the door.”

“Okay, dear,” she said. “Her mom knows she isn’t going right?”

“Yep.” I nodded. “I’m leaving in ten minutes,” I told Draven. “I need a latte from Maxwell’s.”

“I’m ready when you are, Grumpy Butt.”

He and my mom shared a good laugh over that one. I’m sorry, but I hated waking up for school when I only had a few hours of sleep, especially on a Monday. It also didn’t help that the entire school was going to be off having a great time. 

I was really starting to second-guess the whole –not skipping thing. 

When we got to Maxwell’s the place was practically empty. Everybody was still at home in the bed, which is exactly where I wished I were. 

I ordered two large lattes. I didn’t even ask what he wanted. He was getting a latte whether he wanted it or not. 

He took his cup, and followed me to my favorite spot way in the back. 

“What were you and Lo doing all night? I woke up around two o’clock this morning and I heard the two of you cracking up.” 

I took a long slow sip of my latte, and let it sink it a bit before I answered. I still wasn’t awake yet, and I couldn’t even remember if I brushed my hair before we left the house. “We were binge-watching a show we love, but mostly we were talking about old times. We only have a few weeks left together before she leaves for Florida.”

“You’re going to miss her a lot aren’t you?” He asked.

“So much.” I replied, before sipping more of my coffee. “What’s going to happen to you after graduation? Do you have plans?” I really wanted to know. I was going to be leaving him too, and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. He had no place to go after graduation.

“Actually,” he rubbed his hands together. “I’ve been talking to your dad about getting a job. Possibly even finding a place out of town where no one knows me. Steve’s been a big help, and I think we may have found something.”

“Really?” I almost choked on my drink. “My Dad?” It sounded weird hearing him talk about “Steve” like it was no big deal. 

“Yeah,” he shifted in his seat. “We talked about some things that night he took me to rent a tux. I told him about the trouble I’d been facing with getting a job, and we talked about my Dad a little. He said he wanted to try and help. I told him he didn’t have to do that. I mean, they’ve already helped me so much. But he insisted.”

“Sounds like my Dad.” I smiled at the thought. We weren’t the richest family in town, but my Dad was kind. He would help anyone who was willing to help themselves. I sort of hit the jackpot in the parent department. Not him though. He had no one. “I’m sorry that you don’t have your parents around.” 

“Not me,” he said matter-of-fact. “They aren’t worth having.”

“Besides, I have yours,” he winked.

I rolled my eyes. “I never thought in a million years that I’d one day be sitting at this table with you. I couldn’t stand the sight of you.”

“Thanks,” he scoffed.

“You know what I mean.” I playfully swatted his hand. “Over the past couple of months, we’ve really become friends. It still shocks me whenever I think about it.”

“I know. I should be living on the streets right now, and I should’ve dropped out of high school. Things have really changed in my life, and I owe it all to you and your family.”

“Who would’ve thought it?” I smiled. “Pearson and Lepage.” I shook my head.

I wished I could’ve told him the truth, but there was no sense in drudging up all those feelings when I was about to leave. In another life, maybe it would’ve worked. Not this one, at least not now. I knew the old saying was true, that oil and vinegar didn’t mix. 

I had to be thankful that he was my friend. 

We finished our coffee, and talked a little more about college and life, before making the short drive to school. Just like I predicted, there were maybe five cars in the parking lot. Juniors always used Senior Skip Day as an excuse not to come either. 

“This is a drag.”

“I know.” I pulled my backpack over my right shoulder. “Maybe they will take pity on us all and let us go home early.”

“Right, like that’s going to happen.” He mocked.

The vice principal’s voice came over the intercom as we were making our way inside. 

“All junior and senior students please report to the gymnasium at this time. Whoever is here anyway?”

Well that was hilarious. It was going to be funny to see how many of us were actually there. I stopped by my locker to grab the rest of my things, and walked with Draven to the gym. 

We waited for about fifteen minutes, but less than twenty people showed up. It was really pathetic. 

They gave us the entire day to work on finals. We were allowed to stay in the gym or go to the library. So, the two of us went to the library and did what we did best. We spent the rest of the day preparing for finals. He knew the information forwards and back, and he was going to pass with flying colors. I felt so proud of him.

He worked so hard. The boy was smart enough to go to college, but life cheated him out of it. I hoped that one-day, he’d be able to go. He could do great things in life if he really wanted to. 

By the time school was over we decided to have a little fun ourselves. We’d sat through the longest day of school ever, so we earned it. 

“Any chance you want to go paintballing again?” He asked me.

I remember how that night ended the last time, but I couldn’t resist. This time we’d take some friends with us. It would be a good chance for me to get to know some of the people he hung out with, and for us to blow off some steam. Plus, I knew Lo would love the idea. Any chance for me to get quality time with her was a bonus.

“Let’s do it.”

“Hell yeah.”