Pb & J: Four

Jules messes up.

- Four -
Dead hamsters buried in the backyard.

 

“Jonas!”

 

I wake up from mom's voice banging on my door.

 

I open my door, and see Zoë’s bedroom door open.

 

Mom pass by me in the hall.

 

“Have you seen your brother by any chance?”

 

I shake my head still asleep.

 

“Your bus will be here in ten minutes Jonas!”

 

She yells around the house, and heads to the kitchen.

 

I stop at Zoë’s bedroom on the way to the bathroom.

 

Empty.

 

I walk to my bedroom with freshness in my mouth.

 

I open my closet, and get dressed.

 

Mom opens my door.

 

“Can you take freckles out while I look for Jonas?”

 

“Okay.”

 

I nod.

 

“Thank you.”

 

She leaves down the hall.

 

I walk to the living room, and find the dog lying on the couch.

 

“Freckles!”

 

I clap my hands, and walk her out to the back.

 

I hear a cough in the laundry room, and open the dryer.

 

“Aww man!”

 

Jonas whines, and crawls out.

 

“Get dress. Your bus should be here.”

 

I tell him letting Freckles back inside.

 

I push him to his bedroom as his feet drag on the floor, and I walk into the kitchen.

 

“I found him. He’s getting ready.”

 

I let mom know.

 

She looks back at me from buttering a slice of toast.

 

“Thank you Jules.”

 

Her voice sounds with ease.

 

I look down the hall at Zoë’s room.

 

“Hey mom? Where’s Zoë?”

 

“Senior breakfast.”

 

“Oh.”

 

I look at the plate mom sets in front of me of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

 

“You know around this time next year you’ll be doing the same things as she is.”

 

She reminds me.

 

“I’d doubt that.”

 

I mumble chewing on my eggs.

 

“Jonas, how nice of you to join us.”

 

Mom greets him as he walks in defeated.

 

She looks out the kitchen window to the front yard.

 

“It’s not here yet so eat what you can.”

 

She says placing his plate on the table.

 

He sits down, and starts shoving food in his mouth.

 

After mom drops me off the bell ring so I have to run to class.

 

I slip behind everyone when the teacher is writing something about a test on Thursday on the board.

 

I sit down in my seat next to Addie who is reading a book about mummies.

 

“Hey.”

 

She greets me with her nose still between the pages.

 

“Hey.”
 
I say back out of breath.

 

She puts her book down, and looks at me perspiring.

 

“You look like you ran a marathon.”

 

She giggles.

 

I pulls my notebook from my backpack, and open it to write down what is on the board.

 

“Mom had a flat tire, and I had to help her put it on down the street.”

 

“Last time it was the engine.”

 

She reminds me.

 

I nod.

 

She looks back to her book.

 

“I’m telling you Jules, that car is possessed.”

 

She should know.

 

She believes in that kind have stuff.

 

Witches.
Fairies.
Goblins.
Vampires.
Ghosts.
Werewolves.

 

She thinks that the president is hiding his own clone in the Whitehouse.

 

“This book is great.”

 

She closes it, and lies it on her desk.

 

“What’s it about?”

 

I ask her looking at the cover of a hand wrapped in toilet paper.

 

“Mummies.”

 

She says jotting down what is on the board onto her date book.

 

She stop, and looks at me.

 

“Duh.”

 

She giggles.

 

“Well…“

 

I say feeling dumb.

 

After school I go to the coffee place with Moon, and Addie.

 

“Yeah, my mom wants me to go to some summer camp this summer. She said she read about it on some website. I told her summer camps are for twelve year olds.”

 

Moon says rolling the wheels on his skateboard that is lying on his lap.

 

“Maybe Jonas would be interested.”

 

I say looking through a magazine.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

 

Moon hesitates.

 

“Why not?”

 

I ask him.

 

“Well, it’s twenty grand to go Jules.”

 

He laughes.

 

“Yeah there’s no way your mom would pay for that.”

 

Addie agrees.

 

“Yeah, I guess you're right, but that would be fun for Jonas to do.”

 

I say flipping the pages of the magazine with my fingertips.

 

“Hey look who it is.”

 

Moon points to the outside.

 

He is pointing to Zoë, and some of her friends.

 

Moon waves in a joking manor.

 

“Oh my God Fee fee! I so want those shoes. They would totally go with my pink leather purse daddy bought for me at Melrose!”

 

Moon says in a girly voice.

 

We all laugh.

 

Zoë walk in with her hands on her hips.

 

“We can hear you skater boy.”

 

Moon sinks in his chair in embarrassment.

 

Addie giggles at him.

 

Zoë looks at me.

 

“Mom called me, and said to give you a ride.”

 

She looks at Addie, and Moon.

 

“Without the geek, and the weirdo.”

 

“I resent that.”

 

Addie says back defended.

 

"Like I care."

 

Zoë smiles at Addie.

 

"I can walk home."

 

I say shaking my head.

 

"That's what I said, but Jules can't do anything herself. Can she?"

 

She looks down at her freshly done nail polish.

 

"I'll walk. I mean, it's nice outside and-"

 

Zoë rolls her eyes, and looks at her watch.

 

“If your not at my car in five, then I’m leaving you, and you can ask one of these car-less losers mommy for a ride.”

 

She warns me, and leaves with her friends to the parking lot.

 

Addie looks at Moon.

 

“What’s wrong Moon? B***h got your tongue?”

 

He sits up, and stands up.

 

“I’m going before Cruella De Ville gets back.”

 

“Okay. Bye.”

 

I say to him, and he skates off.

 

Addie looks at me.

 

“Have I mentioned your sister’s a b***h?”

 

“Yeah I should get going too.”

 

I say putting my backpack on.

 

“Are you okay here by yourself?”

 

I ask her.

 

“Yeah. Mom’s at yoga so I’ll  be here for another hour.”

 

She says checking the clock next to her on the wall.

 

“Okay. See ya tomorrow.”

 

“Bye. Good luck with you know who.”

 

She look outside at Zoë waiting in her car. 

 

I lift my hand in front of me with crossed fingers.

 

I walk to Zoë’s car, and get inside.

 

She starts the car, and pulls out of the parking lot.

 

“I recommend new friends Jules.”

 

She commented.

 

I ignore her, and look out the window.

 

“I recommend new everything.”

 

I look at her eyeing my clothing.

 

We stop at a red light, and notice Chris in a car next to us.

 

“Chris!”

 

Zoë leans over me, and yells to him.

 

He notices her, and turns down his radio.

 

“Hey!”

 

He waves.

 

"Where were you this morning?”

 

He asks her.

 

“Oh, I had to be… where was it?”

 

She looks away to recap her thoughts.

 

“At the senior breakfast.”

 

I say to him for her.

 

His face turns unsure.

 

“No, you weren’t. Wendi said you weren’t there.”

 

“Oh, I was at home eating breakfast with my family. You know how my mom is with family time?”

 

She lies.

 

He looks at the light turn green.

 

“Don’t lie to me Zoë.”

 

He says with disappoint, and drives off.

 

“Chris!”

 

She looks at me.

 

“Why did you have to tell him that?”

 

She makes a left hand turn onto our street.

 

“I thought you were there.”

 

“Yeah, well I wasn’t.

 

She says upset.

 

“Where were you?”

 

I ask her.

 

She looks at me annoyed.

 

“God, who are you mom?”

 

She pulls into our driveway, and turns off the car.

 

“And stop trying to finish my sentences like we’re the God damn Parent Trap twins.”

 

She steps out of her car, and slams the door.

 

I step out, and follow her into the house.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

She stops and turns around.

 

“That’s one thing I’m not going to argue about.”

 

She says, and walks into her room slamming that door too.

 

“If you keep on slamming that door Zoë, then it’s coming off!”

 

Mom yells from the bathroom.

 

I sit at the kitchen table, and take out my binder to start on my homework, and pull out Addie’s notebook with it.

 

I find the phone in the living room, and start to dial her number.

 

“Get off the phone!”

 

Zoë yells on the other end.

 

“God she‘s so awful!”

 

I heard Zoë complain to her friend before I hang up the phone.

 

Author's Note

:) I'm sorry my chapters are long.

Reviews

[Travis Lawrence]

Not that long, the spacing makes it easier to read. Keep the story going, you've got it close to full swing now. Good job giving the reader something to ponder until the next chapter (not knowing where Zoe was that morning, what could it be??). Can't wait to keep going. And I PROMISE to get to editing it all at some point :-)

-Travis

[a Messenger]

Good job of keeping it interesting. The story holds together and the characters are believable.

[forfila]

another great addition to your book, I am much enjoying it, please continue to send the requests my dear..

Love
Me