Jesse's Girl

Chapter 12

    There was one thing I learned today: never trash a guy’s car; he’ll see you as more attractive than anything else.

    Which was only half true, since if I trashed anyone else’s car – especially a car as old as Jesse’s – they would have went at me with a butcher’s knife. That would have been a tragic ending for me.

    All I knew was that Jesse’s response had me wishing that I could read minds. But at the same time I didn’t, since he probably had vivid images in his head that would make professionals run away in sheer terror.

    There was one room in the whole school I knew Jesse wouldn’t step one foot in – especially during lunch – and that was indeed the library. I didn’t know what I liked most about it, either the atmosphere where people were silently eavesdropping on hushed conversations or the thrill of being told to shut up constantly. Either way, it felt safer than I could imagine.

    But all good things had to end sometime.

    A book – a thick one by the looks of it – landed with a thud beside me. I turned and saw that someone had intentionally pushed it forward from the other aisle, and before I could start arguing for no reason, Katrina’s face appeared.

        “What is going on?” She asked quietly, worry very clear in her features.

    I set my things down and turned fully, so that her and I were facing each other through the empty space in the bookcase. “What are you talking about?”

        “Uh, duh. It’s obvious, you guy’s seem to be the most cutest couple throughout the entire country.”

    I made it a point to mimic her tone. “Uh, duh. I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

    She rolled her eyes, and moved another book so that she could see more. “Jesse is going around saying that you and him—”

    Due to my lack of patience, I had jumped to conclusions, and yelled before she even finished. “He’s what?”

    A librarian appeared at the end of my aisle immediately, and gave me a look that I usually gave to people who annoyed me. It was terrifying that such a nice woman could muster up such an expression. “Shh!”

    I smiled nervously and nodded. When she left I turned back to Katrina. “What is he saying?”

        “That the little ‘scene’ in the hallway earlier, was you agreeing to go out with him.”

    I clenched my fist, and automatically started looking through my stuff for a pocketknife. Not that I carried one on me, but I needed something.

        “What’re you doing?” By now, there was a huge gap in the bookcase, and Katrina was small enough to fit through easily so that she could see across.

    I glanced at her. “That was far from what we were even talking about. And to be honest, if he thinks he could lie like that, then he’s dead.”

    I stood up and started walking away. Katrina’s barely audible footsteps followed me from the other aisle. “You can’t just kill him!”

    This time, the librarian shot her a glare, but only before we walked out the library. “He’s lying. That ‘scene’ in the hallway, was him meeting me after I mutilated his car at the beach.”

    Her jaw dropped, but a small smile started form soon after. “Well no wonder he’s after you, you’re acting like a delinquent.”

    I narrowed my eyes at her, but I had to admit she was right. Since when did I total cars? Or, hate someone as if they set my house on fire with my imaginary dog inside? Or much rather, trash someone’s car because they bugged me to no extent?