Danger is My Middle Name-2
1626 Words
Ant Saunders- Yellow Hearts
I slept through the rest of the day and the entire night. I somehow still managed to wake up tired the next morning, but in the very least, I don't feel like hell anymore. Jerry made us breakfast and left some in the microwave for her mom when she woke up in a couple of hours. The bus ride from Jerry's duplex to school is amazingly peaceful. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not alone for once and Jerry isn't the type of person who makes situations uncomfortable.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked handing me vitamin water from inside of her satchel. I swear Jerry has the world in that thing.
"Yeah, did you?"
"Yeah, I'm relishing the silence. The neighbor is due any day now and I feel like their baby is going to keep us all up at night. I think I might make the living room pull out my permanent bed," we both laughed.
"Did we have homework?"
"I did yours for you," she shrugged. "I'll give them to you if you tell me something about each subject,"
"Shoot," I smirked.
"When was Abraham Lincoln elected president?"
"November sixth eighteen sixty," I answered. She laughed.
"What does Je devaris jevouir faire mes propres devoir mean?" I looked over at her and smiled.
"I should be able to do my own homework," I answered. "You're going to have to try harder than that,"
"Why do you complicate our lives so much? You can do all of this with your eyes closed. I wish I was able to learn like you. I have to study all this s**t for hours and I'm still barely average,"
"If I could give you this. I would," I shrugged.
The bus came to a stop in front of the school. The two of us got off the bus. Jerry is the kind of person that doesn't like to be noticed but she has an enormous presence. She always walks two steps behind me. She doesn't like talking to people and she's oblivious to those who stare at her.
The so-called friends I have outside of her see her first and then notice I'm with her. She's a lot prettier than I am. She's taller and thicker than I am. Her big light almost honey-colored eyes peer into your soul when she looks at you. If she were to let her hair loose instead of pulling it back into a high ponytail or a bun, she'd be the envy of the school. Not that she isn't already.
One thing I love about Jerry is that she doesn't care about being friends with anyone here. She doesn't need to be invited to any of the parties or gatherings of our peers. She can care less about what people say to and about her. She has more important things than that weighing on her mind.
Unlike my mother, her mother works day in and day out to barely scrape by. Her father had been the primary provider of her family and he was arrested for something stupid. I'm convinced that the only reason why he was given such a long sentence is because of his race and because he has a bunch of tattoos.
"Hey, lover boy is back," she whispered from behind me.
I looked up to the boy from yesterday and Rocket Parker leaning against the wall by my locker. Rocket walked away when he saw me. He's sporting a few bruises on his face and his hands are wrapped with bandages. I'm glad Jerry didn't see that. Like her father, Parker fights underground. That's how he got the name Rocket. I feel like that would trigger something dark in Jerry.
"Hey," I greeted him when we arrived.
"Hey," he smiled. "I wanted to apologize to you. For what happened yesterday,"
"I should apologize to you. I almost had you break into someone's locker," we both laughed.
"That's not- No, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean what happened with Rocket. He's a hot head and he really doesn't know how to talk to people,"
"Laters," Jerry smiled at me as she handed me the homework she had done for me as she walked away. I took the papers from her and nodded letting her know I'd catch up.
"Is that the girl from the library? I always see you two together," he didn't watch her walk away. Not like the others do.
"Yeah, she's my best friend. Her name is Jerimiah. Say something about her name and I will smack you,"
"I wasn't going to," he laughed.
"Good, I hate that s**t," I shook off the anger and took what I need for first period. "You don't have to apologize for anyone and I'm pretty sure I accidentally started that argument and I hadn't slept very well so it wasn't his fault. I know he's a hothead. I've known him since second grade,"
"Regardless of what you said to him or what you did. He never should have disrespected you like that. It's never going to happen again. You have my word. I hope your day goes well," he walked off. I'm standing here flabbergasted with this conversation. Who the hell is that guy?
"Want some gum?" Jerry asked when I sat down behind her. I took the stick of gum mindlessly and opened it up. "Now, put it in your mouth,"
"Shut up," I laughed when she pushed my hand towards my face. I stuffed the stick of gum in my mouth.
"You okay? He might be big but I can still probably lay him out," she chuckled. Obviously she's kidding but she's not wrong. I've seen her do it to others.
"He wasn't bugging me. I had this stupid argument with this other dude yesterday but it was at the end of the day and I was tired. I don't really remember what we even argued about. He was really weird about it. He promised he wouldn't do it again,"
"You do know who that is right? That's Trip. Your dad has been trying to put his dad in prison for a while now. He never gets anything solid so, he gets out on bail. People say his dad runs drugs for the cartel. Trip also plays baseball and he's amazingly good at it. There's a game tomorrow. You want to come?"
"I forget you like weird s**t like that. But yeah, I will go just to see him in baseball pants. Bet that ass is out of this world,"
"You're terrible but I'll take it," she beamed.
"Don't you work tomorrow?"
"No, they're doing renovations in the fiction section and Marice made me cut back everyone's hours. Obviously, I took advantage and gave myself a bunch of days off,"
I laughed.
"Nice, are you off today?"
"Yeah,"
"Want to come home with me after school and get some clothes from my house? My dad's probably going to be there and we can get money for snacks,"
"Sure. My mom isn't going to be home til late. So as long as she comes home to food and a clean house, she doesn't mind you being with me,"
Jerry's mom is a nurse and is always taking extra shifts at work. She pays their bills and she pays for her dad's gym. It's not open right now so it's not making any money. Jerry is terrified to go in there. When her dad was around they two of them basically lived in that place but the night he was arrested, something happened to the two of them. Something that scares the hell out of Jerry. It has to be bad because Jerry isn't afraid of anything.
After school, we walked to my parent's house. I put somethings in a backpack and when we were leaving my dad showed up. Perfect timing. I have no idea where my mom is or if she's even here. I rarely see her and when I do we end up arguing.
"What are you girls up to?" my dad asked.
"I'm going to spend the night at Jerry's is that okay?" I asked. Not that it matters. He probably wouldn't have noticed me gone.
"Yeah, anything planned?"
"No, it's a school night. We're probably just going to binge food network," Jerry answered.
"I'll give you girls a ride. Mom isn't here anyway. She's at a summit in LA," he motioned us to get in the car. The two of us sat in the back. "Anything fun going on tomorrow?"
"Baseball game after school. If we win, we got to state this year," Jerry beamed.
"That's right. They're playing Southeast High," my dad answered. Of course, he knows about that. "B, how's school going? I haven't heard your mom complain about your grades as of late,"
"Probably cause she hasn't been home," I scoffed. Jerry lightly elbowed me, shaking her head. "I'm doing fine. Jerry and I study together,"
"More like she helps me study," Jerry added. "I probably would have failed Chem last year if it wasn't for her,"
That's just like Jerry. Always trying to make them look at me. She reminds them of special dates. She invites them to birthday parties at her house. Christmas, graduations, awards. Jerry plans things, they give her money for it and they show up as if they were going to their firend's kid's party. That's who my parents are. When we arrived he slipped me two hundred dollar bills and left.
"Snacks?" I asked her holding up the money. She smiled. It doesn't reach her eyes when she knows that it hurts me when my parents do this but she smiles for me and that's why she's my home.
- Writer
