Don't Scream (Complete)

Chapter 20

Jonah Whitley 

Jonah's and Ponnie's relationship seemed to deepen after that day. It started out small, with a friendly glance across the classroom - Ponnie and Jonah were both taking Art and French - and continued on its small journey. A subtle grin flashed to each other because of an inside joke that only the pair knew about. A helpful nod of the head whenever the other seemed to be coping with some difficulty. A pair of raised eyebrows to indicate a question pertaining to a particular topic. Those were some of the ways Jonah found he now indulged in to communicate with Ponnie in class. 

For some reason, Jonah felt his interest in class slipping away. Day by day, he looked forward to coming to school, not to put his nose to the grindstone but just to see and speak to Ponnie again. It had been so long, so infuriatingly, unbelievably long since Jonah had a friend he could share so many supposedly insignificant but wonderful memories with - most in the space of an ordinary schoolday. 

In class, the two would catch each other's eyes and communicate telepathically with the help of smiles and grins and other forms of cheeky facial expressions. Sadly, the two only shared two classes together. Jonah being a sophomore whereas Ponnie was a junior student, neither of them spent much time with each other while at school. All the more they treasured the time they'd spend with one another outside of class. 

Whether it be during recess, when they'd sneak off into the Photography Club Meeting Room, or if it was after school hours itself, Jonah felt his life was finally picking up for real. He was now capable of speaking more than just a couple of sentences per day now. He'd find himself lost in conversation with Ponnie - conversations that would spread over the span of the three or four hours they'd spend hanging out together after school. 

Even Jonah's uncle was beginning to notice the differences in his nephew's behavior. Jonah was brighter, perkier, less robotic. He'd come home from school with a skip in his step and a smile on his face, he'd watch more television than usual in the night and - most unusual of all - he would go to his room early as per normal, but not to continue his mindless studies. Instead, his uncle would walk in on Jonah while he was on the computer. Only someone who truly knew Jonah could grasp the amazing news of this discovery. 

To Jonah, modern technology and social media were not things to take much interest in unless it would directly benefit his education or interest in photography. Jonah was an Egoist. He did things only for the sake of his own benefit and not much for any other reason or motive if deemed pointless. 

Ponnie, on the other hand, was on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. She also had her own blog online which she'd update on a regular basis with photos she'd taken. Jonah had only found out about her online blog recently. There was a little album that Ponnie had entitled "Friends". Photos of Jonah and Ponnie were in there, but he wasn't the only one. There were other photos of Ponnie with a group of three other girls, presumably friends Ponnie had made in her old neighborhood. To Jonah's envy, Ponnie was also seen in one of the photos, posing with a male teenager that had his arm around her. But Ponnie told Jonah the guy was her older brother, who was currently studying at some prestigious overseas college that Jonah didn't care about. 

Jonah visited Ponnie's webpage frequently. The two would chat together online for hours and hours, drinking in each other's presence through the computer screen. Jonah began losing himself in Ponnie. Whether it was her face in the pictures she'd taken or in the words she'd typed out from within her own room, it didn't matter. On top of losing himself in her, Jonah began to lose sleep too. It started slowly. 

Jonah went to bed on the dot at 9:00 each night. Steadily, his bedtimes grew ever later. 10:00...11:00...12:00...1:00... 

By the time the second last week of the first school semester came around, Jonah's transformation astounded his uncle. Lack of sleep meant a loss of focus in school for Jonah, but he was rejuvenated just by the time he spent with Ponnie. 

Jonah knew that his grades were slipping. Four months ago, he'd been the top scorer in his class with an A+ for all his exams and just one A in Chemistry. Now, Jonah was getting mostly Bs for his class tests and the highest mark he'd gotten was an A - ironically - in chemistry. 

Whether or not Ponnie noticed these differences in Jonah's life was unknown. Ponnie just seemed equally as glad as Jonah to be with him. It seemed to Jonah that Ponnie was livelier and more open-minded when she was around him. Each day, he learned something new about the girl from his childhood. 

Jonah and Ponnie would spend the days catching up with each other, sharing snippets of their lives since they'd last met all those years in the past. 

Jonah discovered the names of the three girls in Ponnie's pictures: Brenda, Selena and Alicia. Apparently, the three girls used to be Ponnie's neighbors and the four were tight friends, at least, until Ponnie's father and last surviving family member decided to move to a different neighborhood. This, however, put Ponnie in Jonah's jurisdiction and both of them were thankful for it. 

"I've noticed you've seemed...different lately, Jonah," his uncle Keith spoke with him one night in the living room of their house. Both of them sat on opposite couches. Uncle Keith had his fingers criss-crossed and his hands on the coffee table, his expression showing he was in deep thought. "I don't claim to be a good father substitute. I know real parents have been something you've craved, Jonah, ever since your mom died in that car crash when you were 3 and my deadbeat father-in-law tried to raise you up in bad company. So I'm honestly not sure how to speak to you on this topic...but it's come to my attention that the source of your recent changed behavior is because of a girl?" 

Jonah shrugged. Not that he seemed particularly embarrassed about talking any more. Jonah could feel sentences practically bouncing up and down on his tongue, ready to be unleashed at any time in any situation. He felt confident, something he hadn't truly felt when it came down to the issue of socializing. Normally, even exchanging the smallest number of sentences with his uncle was a hard job. This was not the cause of Jonah remaining silent, however. Jonah just hoped his uncle would be cool about his recent - almost worrying - infatuation with Ponnie. 

Jonah wouldn't refer to it as an infatuation, per say, but after several weeks of watching drama serials on the television and hearing actresses playing the roles of concerned moms, it was all he could reference to at this point. 

His uncle chuckled slightly, looking at Jonah curiously. "All I can say is, Jonah, I'm glad that you're lightening up a bit. When your mom and I were teenagers like you, we'd go out almost every night; she to her friends' place for sleepovers and me to the nightclub with the guys on the football team. Since you're still young, you ought to be out there living it up a little bit. This is the 21st century, Jonah. Your interest in photography is purely yours and you don't have to give that up to get out there. But still, being cooped up at home and sticking to the strict way you run your life wouldn't be good for you. I'm glad that you're putting yourself out there and experiencing all that the world has to offer a little more." 

On Ponnie's advice, Jonah went online and put himself on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube...He found himself - unusually - fascinated by what he was seeing. Not all his newfound discoveries were very pleasant - he was absolutely appalled by the modern generation's interpretation of "music", especially when he stumbled upon some rather scandalous and yet public videos. But if he closed his eyes, the tune was actually pretty catchy and Jonah had to admit it. 

The school term was drawing in to a close and the summer holidays were approaching. Nothing but a month when he and Ponnie could go and hang out together, uninhibited by time limits or school teachers or mean girls. They would have the chance to catch up on the years they missed out on each other's lives.