Jeni returned home and Juliearl ran off to do 16 year old little girl things. Guilt and anxiety washed over her. Why had she promised Nic she was going to tell Daniel?
Because he has a right to know why his life is going to the dogs, Jeni thought.
Considering it was Saturday, and it was about 1 o’clock after she and Nic had finished their conversation, it was going to be a nerve-racking eleven hours.
Meanwhile, Daniel was at his house in his room. His door was always closed for roughly four hours everyday. No one really knew what he did behind the door, but you, dear reader, get to find out.
Now, nothing disgusting happens behind closed doors, unless you count spiritual penance disgusting. In truth, Daniel was fasting and beating himself because he felt that he deserved punishment for wronging Jeni, and not having to pay the price with her. We aren’t going to describe his penance in great detail, but you just have to know that it was absolutely horrible.
In truth, that really has nothing to do with the story, as Daniel was doing this to himself. Sure, he was already dying, but this wasn’t helping.
Since the beginning of our story, Daniel had been growing closer to death with every passing hour. The chances of him making it to the end of his senior year were slim to none, not that anyone knew that. He wanted to keep his current… “predicament” a secret. Nobody needed to be bothered by the fact that he was dying slowly and painfully.
On the bright side, Daniel was going to see Jeni that night for their midnight walk. He was filled with a sense of excitement that could not be diminished by anything, not even his oncoming demise. Whilst fantasizing about spending quality time with his beloved and their child, he continued to punish himself—whippings and beatings and such, the usual drill.
At a certain point, Daniel was losing quite a bit of blood from his penance. He had begun to feel lightheaded, seeing white spots flashing before his eyes. Suddenly, he collapsed on the floor in a heap of beaten and worn-down pubescent boy. He remained there for about ten hours and thirty minutes until he awoke with a moan.
“Ow! WHY?” he moaned and screamed.
He attempted to stand, but found that he could not - his body was aching far too much. He laid himself back down on the floor while simultaneously reaching up to check the clock - it was 11:35 PM. Jeni would be at school in a mere twenty five minutes! Beginning to panic, he heaved himself up and rushed off to take a shower.
After cleansing himself, Daniel dressed in a loose-fitting T-shirt and sweatpants (hopefully his attire wouldn’t irritate his penance wounds too much). He grabbed his car keys, shouted “See you later!” to his mom, and painfully made his way out the door.
It could be said that Daniel drove way too fast on his way to the school… it could also be said that he was driving recklessly… it could be said. Speeding into the parking lot, Daniel parked his car in three spots at once and lept out of it. He found that (unfortunately) his wounds really slowed him down when travelling on foot, but Daniel was not about to miss the only thing in his life that was going right.
Moving at a snail’s pace, Daniel walked through the front doors and made his way toward the lunch room. He was nearing the ramp when he began to see spots again, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him! He got a third of the way up the ramp, halfway, two thirds… then the most terrible thing happened. Our lovable (no longer) jock fell, hitting his head on the ground and passing out for the second time that day.
As he lost consciousness, he let out one (barely coherent) word, “Jeni?”
Luckily at the exact same moment that he fell, Jeni was walking with Juliearl to find Daniel (he was two minutes late). Upon seeing him crumpled on the ground, Jeni let out a shriek, running to his aid.
“Daniel? Daniel talk to me! Please!”
His eyes began to open slightly, “Jeni? Jeni. Juliearl.” He began to smile.
“I thought you had left me.”
“Never.”
It was a tender moment, but the only problem was that Daniel knew he was dying and so did Jeni. Here’s the kicker, dear reader, Daniel didn’t know that Jeni knew… Until now.
“You know that’s not true. You’re dying. You have been for a while now.”
“Wha- How did you…?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know. All that matters is that it’s happening and there’s nothing you or I or anyone can do to help!”
“I’m sorry.” He sounded so defeated, Jeni pulled him up into her arms.
While she held the depressingly damaged boy, Jeni thought about what she had come to tell him… How could she pile that information onto everything else that was going wrong in his life? It didn’t matter, she eventually decided, Jeni had planned to tell Daniel the truth and that was what she was going to do. Helping him up, Jeni led him to Mr. Krause’s room (there was a couch in there that he could lie down on). As soon as she got him settled in a somewhat comfortable position, Jeni became extremely serious.
“Daniel… I need to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
“You… um… You know how you were being tutored by Nic?”
“Yeah.”
“Well… he… um… He’s been teaching you the wrong things so you would fail.”
“Wha-?”
“Let me finish… I dated Nic for a while before everything happened… And… We kind of tried to relight the flame that once flared. Then he found out about… us. He was hurt and he wanted to make you hurt, too.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“I’m sure he never expected it to go this far-”
“You were dating my best friend then you kissed me! You are a terrible person.”
“Forgive me. I’m a flawed individual.”
“I can’t.”
Jeni held him close and began to cry slightly (in truth, they were crocodile tears).
“Please, please” she begged.
“I shall forgive you.”
“Pfew. Thank goodness.”
They sat there, in Mr. Krause’s room, for hours. They held one another and talked of happier times than those that currently plagued them. Suddenly, Daniel had a realization.
“What if we left?”
“What?”
“School will be done soon and we are seniors. We could just leave and live together.”
“That’s brilliant.”
They spent the next two hours planning their trip to Salt Lake City, where they would live out their days together. Occasionally Jeni would think about Nic and how hurt he would be that his best friend and the girl he loves were running away together with their illegitimate child… But those thoughts made her sad so she moved on.
At around eight o’clock (the next morning), Jeni was getting ready to leave when (all of a sudden) Daniel reached up and grabbed her hand.
“Jeni? Jeni, I-” he passed out, but he sounded terrified.
“Daniel? He must be asleep. Oh well.”
He looked so cold. He shivered slightly. His facial features were quiet, but
his body language suggested his freezing temperament. She couldn’t let him freeze to death. She looked for a blanket to cover him with. There were none in Krause’s room. The speech team must’ve taken them to cover up their bursting awesomeness. Without a warm sheet to cover his body, Daniel would freeze! She looked down, and saw the “A” on her sweater, adorning her front.
Better to have him safe and sound than cold, Jeni thought. She removed her sweater and wrapped him in it.
Jeni got Juliearl and they left. She drove the two of them home, following the rules of the road. Upon arriving home, Jeni was struck by the odd fact that her parents were asleep in the living room. As she walked down the stairs toward her family’s sleeping forms, she noticed that they were watching the popular movie “Easy A.” “Pocketful of Sunshine” blared through the speakers and Jeni was rattled by the irony of the situation. She plopped down on the couch and proceeded to enjoy the cinematographic beauty that was this film on Cinemax.
The movie reached its end (symbolism caught by Jeni, who, after finishing The Scarlet Letter, understood completely). Jeni’s family (as well as her dog) hadn’t moved throughout the duration of the film. She looked at them closer and observed their physicalities.
No, she thought. They couldn’t be...?