Drabbles for potato

Another Justin drabble

Everyone messes up. That's something that these stupid teens at Liberty high can't seem to wrap their heads around. Justin made some horrible mistakes, and he feels horrible for all of them. Does that mean we should hate him and shun him for the rest of his life? In my opinion, the answer is no. But of course, because I'm just Jackie Gardner, the emo photographer that doesn't work for Tyler the stalker. I had no part in any of that drama, because most people only know me as that loner girl whose life has consisted of trying to get photography scholarships. No one bothers to talk to me or get to know me, and to be quite honest, I don't want to get to know most of them, either.

But something about Justin is different. I sympathize with him, even though I haven't really made mistakes that I regret. Somehow, I feel like I can understand him and where he's coming from even though our lives and experiences have been completely different. I guess it's also because i've always had a crush on him, but because I'm Ms. nobody, I haven't really had much courage to talk to him much. I've helped him with his homework a couple times, and I talked to him about what happened when he disappeared, but other than that we don't interact much. We text a lot though, so we know quite a lot about each other. Which exactly why I have come up with the plan 'kidnap Justin Foley.'

Now I know that sounds wrong, but trust me it's not like it seems. I'm not going to actually kidnap Justin, just force him to go on a random road trip to some random place I find while driving along Monroe boulevard, one of the longest streets in our little town. Anyways, here's the plan. I wait till I find Justin alone, and ask him to come with me. If he refuses, I'll grab him by the wrist and drag his skinny ass to my car, and we'll be off. I don't know where we'll go, or what we'll do, but what I do know is that in my mind, I'll be a hero. Jackie, the girl who dragged a boy away from his problems for the day just to try and give him one good memory.

I got to school early. Knowing that Justin was with Clay, I knew it would be a while before they got here (Clay is slower than a grandfather turtle when it comes to going places he doesn't want to go), so I just sat in the courtyard with my camera, taking pictures at different angles. I put it away once people started to filter in, and just waited, humming songs to myself. Anyone else who looked at me might wonder if I was high or just simply insane, but of course not. I'm just a girl waiting for her plan to be in action.

Justin did not appear in the courtyard before the bell rang. But because I know Justin probably better than he knows himself at this point because of how fucked up his brain is, I knew that he wouldn't be here. Not yet. Once the bell rang, all of the "good students" left to go to class. Five minutes later, and all of the sluffers would be here to hide. Some would smoke, a couple might play magic the gathering, and there's always that one couple who think that it's the best time to have a not-so-private make-out session in the corner.

It took ten minutes after the bell before Justin arrived. I was sitting right out in the open, so it didn't take long for our eyes to lock. We stare at each other for the longest time, and he smiles at me. He's probably thinking about how long it had been since we had talked face to face. The day before he disappeared. We texted while he was MIA, but he never said anything about what was going on; he just asked about me and what I was doing.

With a single hand, I beckon him over, and to my surprise, he actually comes over. I know there are some people around, so I have to be careful about how I approach this. "Want to get out of here?" I whisper. He stands motionless for a moment, and then to my surprise, gives me a single nod. I point to the door opposite of me; if he goes the opposite direction, people don't suspect anything. Sure the kids hanging around the courtyard might be nobodies too, but that doesn't mean they won't try to spread rumors for attention or popularity. Those are the rules of high school, my friend. Justin nods, and we exit opposite directions. I go to the parking lot, and just as I suspected, Justin was waiting by my car. The fact that he knew which was mine made me smile.