A New Acquaintence

Shelley makes a 'friend'.

When I got up the next morning, dad was either still gone, or had come and gone back to work while I still slept, not an unusual thing to happen after one of their fights. He worked a lot, and it shocked me that he didn’t make enough in overtime alone to make mother happy. How much money did that woman need, anyway? It wasn’t like she went out on these incredible shopping sprees all the time. That would have required her to miss her soaps, and heaven forbid that every happen. She took the occasional trip to the store for groceries, but she always made sure to get home long before he shows started for the day. I think she would get up before the crack of dawn just to make sure she made it home on time. What frivolous shopping she did do was on Saturdays when she was sure not to miss anything on the television. She would buy a number of things we really didn’t need, but I couldn’t say there was a ridiculous amount of money being spent on these trips, at least she never brought home enough to make it look like she had spent thousands of dollars. Then again, I could be wrong. As my parents were fond of saying, I still didn’t understand much about the ‘real world’.

I dragged myself out of bed, not something I really felt like doing, got showered and dressed and ate breakfast in relative silence. Mother was already watching the morning news programs, and I was sure she wouldn’t have any time for me anytime soon. It would probably be after school that I would actually talk to her that day, not that that bothered me all that much. I was rather use to this by now, and would have been surprised if our schedule would change by one iota. I finished eating, and was out the door, my worn pack slung over my shoulder.

I got in my old, trusty truck, and headed off to the high school, not really wondering what the day would bring, nor could I say I was really all that excited about it. It was just going to be another day in the life and boredom that was my life. The drive wasn’t too long, less than half an hour, but then again, just about everything was less than half an hour from where I live. We live near the very center of a rather small town. It shocked me that we actually have our own mall. That tells you how big most of the towns around us were. We were sort of like the top village in a land of small, pointless villages. The top savages in an uncivilized world.

I got to the building, and got out of the truck to be greeted by the same, terrible music I had heard the day before. Couldn’t these losers find anything else to listen to? Oh, yeah, that’s right, if they did, they wouldn’t be such losers. Sorry, my bad. I made my way through the terrible cacophony that was called modern music, and escaped into the loud, screaming pit of bodies that was high school. I amazed myself by making it to my homeroom without colliding with too many people, and took the same seat I had taken the day before. No point being a butt two days in a row, or so I told myself. There were better ways to tick off a teacher than by playing musical chairs.

I was a bit surprised when a blond took the seat the goth girl had claimed yesterday. She had the lightest colored hair I had ever seen on a person, emerald green eyes and a smile that just wouldn’t quit, even if it did seem to have a bit of wickedness to it. Her features just seemed to dance with delight as she started putting her stuff on the desk, as if she were getting ready to start the day. I refrained from telling her it wasn’t her desk, thinking that it wasn’t my place to correct her. She was my age, and should have known what she wanted to do. Who was I to tell her otherwise?

The goth girl came in a few minutes later, and stood beside the seat that had been hers the day before. “That’s my seat,” she snapped about as rudely as a person can. She scrunched up her face, making her black lined eyes into narrow slits that took away from what little beauty the girl could actually lay any claim to. Did she know how ugly that look made her? I sort of doubted it.

The blond shrugged her shoulders, and continued to set out her stuff. “No it’s not. It’s my seat,” she said with so much confidence that I was just about ready to believe her.

“No, that’s mine,” the goth almost whined. How pathetic is that? She’s really putting the fear of her people in my heart right now.

The blond looked around, and said, “Well, I’m sitting in this seat, so it must be my seat. Why don’t you go sit in that empty seat over there? I’m sure it must be your seat.” She pointed to the seat she had been sitting in the day before as if that would solve everything just fine and dandy.

She glared at the blond before snorting and moving away. I can’t say I was all that impressed with the goth girl. Way to stand up for your rights there. Then again, the blond was in a black, leather jacket and sort of had that, kick your a*s, attitude about her. Not that I would have been the least bit frightened of her, but I guess goth girl didn’t want to push her luck.

The blond turned to me, and stuck out her hand. “Jessica Welsh,” she introduced herself.

Out of politeness, I did the same. “Shelly Marshells.”

“I know,” she quipped, and turned back to the front of the room, hands folded neatly on the desk, awaiting the class to start. I couldn’t seem to get a good read on this girl. She just seemed too unbelievable to be real, and I had no idea why she would choose to sit by me, especially since she had been one of the few, lucky ones to have gotten a window seat the day before. You would have thought she would have much rather have kept her old seat than give it up to goth girl.

Mrs. Bremingham came into the room a few minutes later, and the class started to settle down again. She read over the seating list, and amazingly enough the goth girl’s name was after Jessica’s so she didn’t notice anything was out of place until she got to the person beside me. That said a lot about her attention to detail, considering how much of a sore thumb goth girl purposely made herself out to be. “Miss Welsh, you’re not in your assigned seat.”

“Yes I am,” she stated in no uncertain terms. I think I could come to like this girl.

“I have you down in that seat over there,” Mrs. Bremingham said, pointing to the goth girl who was now smirking at Jessica. She really didn’t care about her looks, did she?

Jessica shook her head. “I was sitting here the entire time. I’ve been here since day one, and now you want to kick me out of this seat just because you wrote down the wrong name? That doesn’t sound very professional of you. Are you sure you’re looking at that right? Maybe it’s time to get a new prescription on those glasses of yours. I think you’re just starting to loss it a bit. It’s okay, I understand perfectly. My mom has the same problems from time to time. No big deal, so we can all put this behind us and get right into what we came here for, the learning. Am I right everyone?”

Her speech was flawless. Her tone of voice was perfect, and the way she held herself was just short of perfection. She had talked back to the teacher, but in such a way that not even Mrs. Bremingham could come up with a good enough come back. She just stood there, speechless, staring at the girl sitting next to me, who had turned to one of her books, and was now pouring over the pages as if her life depended on it. “Miss Welsh,” she finally said.

Jessica looked up, a sweet, angelic look on her face. “Yes, is something wrong, Mrs. Bremingham?”

“Would you please go back to your seat.”

She looked to the seat where the goth girl had gone back to glaring, and said, “That’s not my seat. I already explained that to you. I’ve been here the entire time, and I rather like it here. I hate windows, they’re very distracting when it comes to learning, don’t you think? I mean, it’s so hard to keep one’s head in their books when the sun is shining so brightly from outside, and all those people moving around down there. I’ve got a condition, you see, and it’s hard enough for me to keep my mind focused on things as it is. I don’t need any extra distractions.”

Mrs. Bremingham all but threw up her hands in exasperation. “Fine, fine. Sit there, but this is the last time I let you move. That seat is the one you have for the rest of the year now, and I don’t want you changing again, do you understand me?”

“Of course, but I didn’t move in the first place.”

Mrs. Bremingham glared at her, and the girl next to me took the initiative, and quieted down. “I really did have this chair yesterday,” she whispered softly to me.

“No you didn’t, and we both know that,” I whispered back. “Plan on doing that again tomorrow?” I asked, almost hoping the answer would be yes. I had sort of enjoyed this little show, and a repeat wouldn’t have been a bad thing to me.

She shook her head. “Nay, that would be too early in the game. Got to give her a while, and then do it. Makes them question their own sanity if you do it just right.”

“Drive many teachers insane?” I wanted to know. If she had secret tactics, I wanted to find them out.

“She’ll be the third one,” she said with pride, and how did I envy her at that time.

We really didn’t do anything in homeroom that day, mainly because we hadn’t done anything in any of the classes the day before. We were told about a prep rally that was scheduled for that Friday, and how everyone was expected to attend. I repressed my groan of despair as best I could. I really couldn’t say I was in the mood for any school spirit being shoved down my throat, but I also knew I wasn’t going to have any say in the matter, so it was best to just keep my opinion to myself.

The class ended, and Jessica grabbed my elbow before I could get away from her. “What’s your next class?” she asked rather eagerly.

“World History with Mrs. Harrison-Gray,” I answered, too stunned by the fact that someone was actually choosing to talk to me. It was just too odd for me, and I wasn’t sure how to react. My normal, biting criticism was temporarily lost to me.

“Great. I’ll walk with you.”

“You don’t have the same class,” I reminded her.

She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. “So. We can still walk together, unless you’ve got something against me?” she asked, a glaring look on her face, but there was no anger behind it, and I took it that she was just meaning it as a joke.

She sped me down the hall, ignoring those that stood in her way, moving everyone aside with a rather rude shove and a push to get through the crowds. People were glaring at us left and right, but Jessica didn’t seem to care, and I didn’t really care much myself. It was actually sort of fun, getting through the throngs of obnoxious teenagers with so much ease. I was just starting to think it was nice having her with me when we finally made it to my classroom.

“Okay,” she said, almost breathlessly, “here’s your stop. I’ll pick you up after class.”

“You don’t have to,” I said, rather shaken by her direct and forward attitude. “I’m fine.”

She shook her head and waved me off. “I’ll be back after class. See you then,” she called out, waving to me as she disappeared into the crowd.

I went into the class, wondering if I should worry about when class ended or not. Perhaps my strange acquaintance would not even remember me after the bell rang. She did seem rather flighty in her mind.

I listened intently to Mrs. Harrison-Gray as she went over the first chapter we would be going over, which I had read in its entirety the night before. It was over early Mesopotamian civilization. I found it rather interesting to listen to the woman. Not only did she know what she was talking about, but she tried her best to relate it to modern day as best she could. Most of the students seemed to find it boring, and were muttering to each other. It was rather irritating, but Mrs. Harrison-Gray seemed to ignore it as best she could, trying to teach those of us who were interested in what she had to say. It was obvious that she was well practiced at this, and knew that to give attention to the miscreants of the class would only encourage their behavior. Most teachers never seem to learn this, and spend all their class time yelling and screaming at those that weren‘t the least bit interested in being there.

The bell sounded long before she had gotten towards the end of the chapter, and I was so enthralled that I hoped she would pick it up where she had left off the next day. I so wanted to hear more of what she had to say on the subject.

I was shocked to find that Jessica was waiting outside the door for me as soon as I had walked out of the room, and I honestly had to wonder if she had waited outside the door for me the enter time instead of going to her own class. She smiled wickedly, and took me by the elbow again, and started dragging me down the hallway. “So, where are we off to next?”

I stared at her with shocked astonishment. Who was this girl, and why was she attaching herself to me? What had I done to catch her attention? What had I done?

She shook my elbow when I failed to answer immediately. “Well, come on. We don’t want to be late now, do we?”

I shook my head, and tried to think of what my next class was. This was just too much for me, and I was feeling more than a little flustered by her attentions. “Uhm…. En…English. I’ve got English with Mr. Patrick next.”

“Great, let’s get going. I’ll met you after the class,” she announced as she dragged me down the hall again, making way through the sea of bodies.

She dropped me off in front of my class with the same threat she had given me before, in that she would return for me once the class was done. Again, I sat in agony, knowing she would be true to her word, and wondering why she had chosen me, of all people, to latch on to. Was the poor girl really that out of her mind? I couldn’t even fathom what could have happened to her to make her so deranged that she would find me a good companion.

The class went rather slowly, the minute hand dragging along the face of the clock. The class itself proved to be rather boring, and I couldn’t believe what we were having to go over. Did high school students really not know how to section up sentences? This was pathetic. I almost drifted off to sleep, wondering if the guy would really notice if I pulled out my book and started reading.

The class finally ended, and I actually considered staying in my seat until I was sure that Jessica would have grown bored and moved on. It was time for lunch, so surely she would head off to the cafeteria instead of waiting for me if I just remained sitting long enough.

I was wrong.

As soon as the last body had left the room, she shot in like a bullet, and caught hold of my arm as if I was an arrant child. “Come on, we’ll be the last ones to eat, and the crap just get worse the later you get there. Don’t want to eat really crappy crap, do you?”

Her voice was so jovial, it was almost shocking that she was discussing the food served here. Away I was swept by this incredible, human force, dragged against my will through the hallways of the high school until we finally reached the cafeteria. There was a good sized crowd before us, but that didn’t bother Jessica in the least. She weaved and wove her way through the crowded mass, quietly sneaking into place before situating the two of us between a jock and a small nerd with large glasses.

Turning back from the other jock he had been talking to, the guy stared down at us, and said in a deep, rumbling voice. “Hey, you two weren’t there a minute ago. No cutting in line. Go back to the back.” He pointed with one, large, chubby hand back the way we had come. Okay, so it was more of a gigantic paw than a hand, but let’s not get too insistent on detail.

Jessica just stared at him as if he were the dumbest thing on the planet. Placing her hands on her hips, she said, “And what do you mean we weren’t here the entire time? We’ve been here. Just because you were too busy ogling the teachers to notice us from the start doesn’t mean we weren’t here.”

He stared at her, gaped mouthed, as the line moved forward. Before he could come up with a good comeback, we were at the food.

She gave him a smile and a wave before she picked up her tray and started down the line, complaining about everything in sight. “Man, do they not know how to cook here, or what? I think the Home Ec. class could do a better job than this. Do they hire cooks, or just grab some old ninnies off the street and give them a job?”

All I could do was look on in horror as the cooks serving the food glared at her, and could only hope that they didn’t put anything in both our food that would insure that neither one of us could complain about school cooking again. I’d seen something like that happen on a show once, and now didn’t put it past these angry women to get a similar idea in their heads. Why did she have to drag me along with her? She was only making matters worse for me than I could make them in a shorter period of time. I wasn’t known as the best student in the world, but I sure didn’t want to make enemies this quickly, and I didn’t like them not being of my own choosing. I really had nothing against the cooks, even if they couldn’t cook, but now they seemed to hate my guts with a passion just because the girl that was bad mouthing them was directing her words at me. I smiled a bit sickly at them, and gave them a ‘what can one do’ shrug, but that didn’t seem to appease them a bit.

We got our food, probably the last time I would feel safe eating here, and she was off to a table in one corner. At least we had the same taste in seating arrangements. There really wasn’t very many people around us, and I was rather enjoying what quiet I could get while it lasted.

“So, how you liking high school?” Jessica asked as if she were the most polite person in the world now. She even ate her food with an amazing amount of manners, which was completely shocking considering how she just treated the cooking staff. I had not suspected that anyone who could talk to her elders that way would have any manners at all. Who was this girl?

“Um…It’s alright, I guess,” I said, not sure how to really answer her question. She was just too strange for me.

“That’s nice. This your first year?”

“Yeah…Isn’t it your first year too?” I said rather slowly, as if talking to a small child. We wouldn’t be in the same homeroom if she wasn’t a freshman.

She shook her head. “Second year as a freshman.”

“You got held back?” For some reason, I could easily believe this. She didn’t seem like the type to just shoot up there through the grades.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah. They said I just wasn’t ready to go forward yet, whatever that means. I just think they were afraid of me sending yet another teacher to the asylum.”

“You sent a teacher to an asylum?” I asked incredulously.

She nodded her head. “Mrs. Strover. She couldn’t handle me for the whole year, and it was said that she was found in her living room, chasing flies and yelling at her cats to shut up, just shut up. Wish I could have seen it. She was the nastiest b***h of a teacher you’d ever meet. She would yell at me for little things, and after a while, I wasn’t even doing anything. She really favored this one boy, and I just couldn’t stand it. She even rubbed his shoulders while we were in class. Said it helped him with his school work, and since he was a jock, he needed all the help he could get, because we needed him on the football team. I think she was just a s**t looking for a piece of young a*s.”

My fork was suspended half way to my mouth, and I couldn’t seem to close it. I couldn’t believe what she had just said, and neither could the jocks a few tables over from the looks on their faces. All I could think was thank God they didn’t come over and pound us to death right then and there, but I was really going to have to watch my back from now on. Boy, was this girl causing me more trouble than she was worth.

I ate as quickly as I could manage to shove the terrible slop into my mouth, but it was not quick enough. My unwanted companion ate about as quickly as I did, and we were both finished at roughly the same time. We disposed of the uneaten stuff, and put our dishes where they went.

“So, where are we off to now?”

She followed me to my math and pottery classes. We shared only homeroom together, but I found myself cursing that bit of bad luck by the end of the day. She had become a near constant presence during any time I was not in class, and I feared she would continue to do so until she finally became bored of me. I prayed that time would come quickly.

We parted ways after school, as we both lived on different sides of the town, and she rode the bus home. Since she lived so far out of my way, I did not feel obliged to take her home. It couldn’t have worked out any better if I had planned it.

Now, I just had to hope she wouldn’t bother me in the morning. With luck, she would quickly realize that I was not half as much fun to be with as she had seemed to think I was.

I got home to find mom in the living room with her soaps, and dad was still not home, as usual.

I went up to my room, and thought over my day, trying to figure out a way to get rid of my now constant and unwanted companion. She was nothing but trouble, and I didn’t even want to have a single friend in the first place. What had drawn her to me, and was there anyway I could push her away?

I headed down the stairs shortly after dad got home, wondering what I would say to them when they asked me how my day went. How on earth would I explain my newest problem to them, and would they even consider it a problem? You never knew, they might consider it a good thing that a girl had latched onto me for dear life, even if the girl seemed stranger than I was. So what if she made trouble, they would tell themselves, at least someone is talking to their deranged daughter. Mom might even mark the day down on the calendar as the first day someone had tried to make friends with me. We’d celebrate it once a year, like some sort of demented holiday.

I didn’t have to worry about my parents finding out about my strange friend. They were too busy with continuing the fight from last night to be bothered with how my day had gone. They didn’t even ask me any questions about school, and so I knew that new novelty was over with. They had had their fill of my life from the day before, and it was now back to the same old, same old. Dad wasn’t talking to mom, and mom could do nothing but snap over this or that little thing, as if anyone was really listening to her complain. We had both heard her often enough, that neither one of us was really that much into paying her the utmost attention anymore. I really couldn’t have cared less about how her day was going, for it was always the same thing every day, boring and crappy.

I went to bed that night knowing that there would be yet another fight, and wondering what tomorrow would bring with Jessica Welsh.

Author's Note

First Draft

Reviews

[Kelleth Metheus]

I somehow skipped the last chapter but I'll go back and read it. This one was much better but Jessica seems kinda creepy. I'm not sure why. Am I supposed to feel that way?

Also, I would look for places to add in the parts of the first chapter into the mix, some of them have already come out in Shelly's interactions with her parents. I would re-read an look for duplication between the first chapter and the rest of the story.