Being behind the wheel is most definitely up there on my list of things I hate doing, but with my aunt having a demanding job which leaves no flexibility, I had no choice but to drive my cousin to school. There was no way on Earth I was going to let him take the school bus knowing good and well it was full of delinquents who'd cloud his innocent suburban mind. The kid didn't even receive his first piece of technology until his 13th birthday, which was only two weeks ago mind you, and that just so happened to be a handed down Sony Xperia. "It does the job", Aunt Tina would state bluntly whenever I argued the case on behalf of Elijah that he'd be bullied at school. There was no changing her mind after it had been made up though, as Aunt T was a very traditional woman and every action she took was practical. It makes utmost sense as to why she chooses to work as a nurse.
"Eliiii..." I cooed. "Finally the big 1-3, hey? How does teenagehood feel?"
"Humm, I wouldn't know. I'm barely 15 days into it." He sighed in his faint Southern accent. Looks like he inherited his candidness from his mom. I glanced up at the rear-view mirror and took a good look at him for the first time in quite a while, realizing that although his personality was reminiscent of Aunt T's, he looked nothing like her. While she had hazel cat eyes which slanted upwards, he had big brown eyes, abundant in youth. His melanin wasn't half as rich as hers, leaning more towards a light complexion but still caramel nonetheless. Aunt Tina had a prominent African American nose which contrasted against Elijah's flat, upturned button nose. What took me by surprise was his light brown hair and the light sprinkling of freckles across the mid-part of his heart shaped face which I had to squint to make out under his thick, rectangular, red-rimmed glasses. Definitely Caucasian features that he didn't take from Aunt T at all. Elijah's entire frame was delicate and frail, from the tip of his wispy hair down to his small toes which stuck out from his slides, and it was at that moment I felt blessed to have such a beautiful family. "JAZZ!" Elijah yelled abruptly, pointing at the road and curling into a ball in his seat. I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and looked ahead, seeing the soon-to-be roadkill if I didn't swerve out the way NOW. My hands started to tremble and my stomach dropped as all the strength in my arms seemed to diminish. Plan B. Put on the brakes and hope for the best.
Skrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt.
I shut my eyes tightly as I felt my entire body jolt forward, as did Elijah judging by the loud thud echoing in the car. One eye peaked open, looking at the rear-view mirror once again and noticing that he stayed in the exact same ball he pulled himself into before I braked. I shook my head and finally realized that the sound wasn't Elijah bumping into something.
Shit.
I killed it.
Pulling off the seat-belt and lurching out of my car, I trembled towards the innocent animal as it stayed in the same position, whimpering up at me. "Wait, so I didn't kill it?", I made yet another silent prayer to the Lord above and pulled the frail little thing into my arms, feeling it nuzzle into my neck and place it's small paws on my shoulder blades. It was a stray, I could just tell by the way it instantly trusted me; it hadn't felt love or human touch in a long time and I was it's new security. As I strolled back towards my car and gently dropped the brown Dachshund puppy in my seat, it struck me. If that thud wasn't Elijah, or the puppy, then what was it?
"Are you fucking serious." A voice boomed behind me as I heard two doors close softly.
"Dangggggg," Another voice remarked. "How much do you wanna bet that the driver's a girl?" He added with a hint of amusement. No. I'm not having that. Not in my books.
"Stay here, Eli." I pulled my head out of the car, closed the door softly so as to not scare the animal, and straightened my clothes, ready to give them a piece of my mind. Turning on my heel, I got a look at the duo for the first time, but before I had time to absorb what I saw, one of them was standing right in front of me.
"Show me your drivers license." The man thundered, looming over me.
"Excuse me?"
"I need proof that you're even qualified to be on the road." He carried on bellowing sadistically. The other shorter man stumbled next to him, eyeing me up and down quizzically. I'd never been spoken to or treated as if I was inferior, so there was no way today would be the day I would experience it for the first time. I had to hold my ground one way or another. "Now just who do you think you're talking to, BFG?" Yep, that got his attention.
"Firstly, you have absolutely no mannerisms when it comes to speaking to women. If you need me to pay towards etiquette classes I'm sure we can arrange something," His friend stifled a laugh. "Secondly, there was a dog in front of the car. I don't know about you, but murdering an animal is not something I'm too fond of. And lastly, don't act like you're the only person on these streets with places to be. Now take my name down as well as my insurer's information and do what you need to do." I dictated, arousing puzzled looks from both of them.
"Am I talking to a wall?" My eyes rolled unintentionally. Where all this sass came from, I have no clue, but what I do know is that I wasn't going to take either of their bullshit. Looks of confusion turned to looks of panic as the shorter man nudged him; an almost telepathic way of telling him to do what I say.
Checkmate.
"Name?" The lanky boy inquired.
"Jasmine A. Glazebrook."
"Glazebrook? What a surname." His friend remarked, shutting up almost instantly when I shot him a dirty look. "Oops." He blubbered.
"Insurance company..." I drifted off. Okay, I have to admit, I haven't driven in a while. In a world dominated by Uber-driving, I never found the need to anymore, so I may have accidentally forgot my insurers name. It took a while before it came to me, but when it did I said it loud and clear. "Liberty Mutual."
"No need to shout." His friend commented once again.
"Do you always need to give your two cents?" I sighed, causing him to nod rigorously.
"Yes. Yes I do. What I have to say is always important," So we have a joker on our hands. Whoop-di-doo. "Right Ben?"
"Right, Cisco." He acknowledged.
"Cisco? What a name." I taunted back, causing Ben to glare up from his phone and look me in the eyes for the first time. And with that, he shot me down without hesitation. "You're not funny, or daunting. I hope you know that." His rudeness honestly caught me by surprise. "Who the hell does he think he is?", I pondered, looking right back into his empty eyes with fury then at his vehicle in the background. I couldn't help but laugh.
"And you're not slick with your flashy car. What even is that?" The pale blue saloon car twinkled in the sun. Sure, it was a beauty, but I wasn't about to admit that to him.
"A Bentley." Cisco marvelled.
"A damaged Bentley." Ben corrected.
"Like I care." I snapped, stepping back into my car and carrying on the journey to Elijah's school. Peering in the rear-view mirror that put me in this mess in the first place, I saw Cisco leaning on his friend laughing whilst Ben stared at the back of my car, presumably at the damage. Frankly, I couldn't care less about what the trunk looked like; as long as the car had enough muscle to drive my cousin to school and then to the MOT, or maybe even a junkyard, I was all good. After what felt like driving along the longest road ever, I took a left turn into the next street, never having to see any of their smug faces again, thank God.
"What was that about?" Elijah quizzed, adjusting his spectacles whilst looking at his wristwatch.
"It's the procedure." And at that, I left the situation alone, as did he. Before I knew it, I heard a soft bark. Fuck, I'm squishing the dog. Elijah must've sensed me panic as he said "Don't worry, Jazz, the puppy is here with me."
"You're a lifesaver Elijah."
"So are you." That made me smile. The conversation with the two men made me completely forget that I saved a life. It was almost a fact that if they were the ones driving in front, they would've pulled a hit-and-run with the poor thing. What a sad thought.
A good five minutes later, I stopped the car at a reasonable distance away from the school. The last thing I wanted was for Elijah to be taunted by his peers on account of my car's hideous state. "You good from here?" He removed his seat-belt and leaned forward, placing a stiff kiss on my cheek. "You're the best." He grinned. Not at all, but I'll take it. "Have a good day, kiddo." He took off, running towards the building as fast as his skinny legs allowed and I sighed, glancing down at the little creature beside me.
"What am I gonna do with you." Her beady eyes twinkled as they met mine and I couldn't help but smile. "You don't have an owner, huh." I stroked her smooth fur, causing her tail to waggle uncontrollably and a high-pitched bark to escape her mouth. "I can change that."
➳ ♡ ➳
All I could smell in this building was guinea pigs, and three hours ago I didn't even knew guinea pigs had a distinct smell.
"First-time owner?" The Hispanic woman at the counter asked chirpily as she scanned my items.
"Yeah, was it that obvious?" I found myself laughing nervously.
"Darling, just look at how many things you're buying." Surveying the items sprawled out in front of me, I knew she was right. There has to be at least 24 commodities ranging from food to vitamins, lilac bedding to collars, chew toys to nail clippers. I couldn't help my maternal nature, it was ingrained in me and I was going to embrace it. Is there even such a thing as loving or caring too much?
"That'll be $354.76." I stared intensely at her as if she was speaking a foreign language.
"Since this is your first time, I'll knock off $200." What a saint.
"You're an angel!" I gushed. She cackled at the comment and placed everything into six large plastic bags whilst I swiped my card. "Mind if I take the trolley to my car?" She nodded politely.
"Have a good day, cariña. Thank you for shopping at PetSmart." The lady persisted monotonously as I bid her farewell with the cheesiest grin I could manage to pull.
As I was in the parking lot pushing the trolley with all my new goods, and pet on top, I felt a tap on my shoulder. My head instinctively turned.
"You dropped something." The stranger pursed their lips into an endearing smile, placing the dog shampoo into a cozy corner so it wouldn't fall out again. There was so much in it that I didn't even notice something spilled out.
"Thank you." I forced a smile back, barely acknowledging him and feeling the urge to carry on with my day. The last thing I wanted at this point was to socialise, but he clearly wasn't done. "Wait," The guy walked in front of me, searching my face. "Wow." My confusion must have been painfully obvious because his next words were:
"I'm not passing up the opportunity to take down the number of the most beautiful girl I've ever had the pleasure of seeing."
It took me a while to realize this man was indeed decent looking. He stood at a reasonable height with a fairly muscular stature judging by the way his chest stood firm under his polo shirt, and his smile was white, bright and toothy. Somewhat like my Aunt T's, he had dark brown skin, but it was radiant. Nevertheless, I noticed his flaws almost instantly, but who was perfect?
"Sorry, but I'll have to pass. It was nice meeting you though." I felt myself wincing as the words came out of my mouth. He looked ashamed of himself for even attempting to talk to me, but still managed to smile and stroll away in the opposite direction. There really wasn't anything wrong with the guy, I just wasn't interested. Being approached in a parking lot is hardly the ideal way of meeting someone anyway; it's borderline creepy in fact. Or maybe I'm just hideously picky and will die alone, except for my pet of course. That reminds me.
"What do I call you?"
➳ ♡ ➳
"Call her Jasmine. That's a classic dog name." The question was still on my mind seven hours later in the comfort of the apartment I shared with my best friend.
"Very funny."
"Lulu?"
"Too basic."
"Bella."
"Too common."
"Yolanda."
"Too... eww, no. What the hell?" I chuckled.
Imani rubbed her temples with her fingertips, scrunching her whole face up with frustration. "Jazz, you're too picky. It's just a name." She said it as if a name wasn't an important thing. What I call her will stick with her for the rest of her life, as well as mine. I'll be yelling it when she does something wrong, or whispering it with love when she falls asleep in my lap. It had to be perfect.
"It has to be perfect." I repeated the thought in my mind, slouching into the plush beanbag chair whilst Imani opened a can of Coke in the open plan kitchen.
"I'm done helping you, you got this." She chugged down the can, pulling faces at how fizzy the drink was and letting out a muted burp. On the other side of the room was my nameless pet, scratching her ears. It came to my attention that if I didn't come up with a name this instance, the idea would be bugging me until I did, and I already have enough on my mind as it is. Looking around the living room for inspiration, my eyes finally settled upon the sterling silver birthstone ring on my index finger that was given to me as a gift by none other than Imani for my 18th birthday last year.
"Ruby." I whispered.
"Hmm?" Imani walked back into the living room with her now already half-empty can and fell into the armchair opposite me. "Did you say something?" She slurped her drink.
Rather than replying, I grinned towards the puppy who was idly prodding a plush toy and out of nowhere I fell in love with not only the name but the little critter herself, knowing that things happen for a reason. The hassle of this morning's events was undoubtedly God's way of introducing me to my new companion, Ruby, and if I had to sacrifice my car and a little bit of my sanity just to have her in my life, so be it. It was all worth it.
"Her name's Ruby."