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The lunchroom was clearing out and Jodi hadn’t touched a piece of her food.
As Mitch stood up, he asked her, “You alright? You didn’t touch your lunch.”
She forced a smile onto her face.
“Yea, I’m fine. Just not hungry I guess,” she said, gazing at the back of Blake’s retreating head.
Fourth hour came and went. She received an assignment from her Introduction to Literature teacher, a book to read. Figuring she should get a jump start and perhaps get better grades than at her other school, she headed to the Library. When she entered, she spotted Mitch checking out a textbook. So overwhelmed by his mere presence, she clipped the end of a pull cart, sending the books into a domino effect, each one tumbling to the floor.
Embarrassed, she knelt down to pick them up. Mitch had just finished checking out and stooped to help her pick up the books when Renee came into the Library.
“Mitch. Ready to go?” she spoke, rather harshly.
Mitch looked at Jodi and she gave him a nod that he could leave. When the couple had left, she presumed shelving, when another figure knelt beside her. She didn’t look up, still embarrassed, but recognized who it was. For some odd reason, she remembered a certain blonde boy wearing a dark metal ring on the middle finger of his right hand. She didn’t understand. He was helping her even after she had blown him off? They finished picking up and both stood. Jodi opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when Blake gave her a curt shake of his head. She stood in place while he walked away, leaving the Library.
After Jodi got her book, she drove home. Frustrated and distracted, Jodi pressed her foot down hard on the gas pedal; sending the speedometer way over the posted limit. She needed a place where she could just stop and think. The perfect place came into her mind. She turned onto the freeway and easily sped over 55 miles per hour to about 75 miles per hour. She flew by cars, passing them hurriedly. As she passed a large semi-truck, the traffic was jammed not yards in front of her. She slammed on her brakes, but was going too fast. She rammed a truck in front of her and the semi behind her, hit her in the back. All in an instant, she was thrown forward and backward, promptly knocking her self unconscious with the airbag.
The next thing she knew, she was laid out in a hospital bed, her mother sleeping with her head on the bedside. Jodi didn’t know how long her mom stayed awake, so she let her sleep. Soon enough though, a nurse came in.
She smiled warmly at Jodi, “Good to see you awake. How do you feel?”
The question rang in her head as she assessed herself. Let’s see… head, face, and neck definitely hurting… left leg was in a cast… collarbone maybe broken… and her back hurt too. The nurse seemed to notice the pained look on Jodi’s face.
“Don’t worry. Everything will mend,” the nurse coaxed while she added more Morphine to her IV tube.
The painkiller set in and just as Jodi fell asleep, her mom finally stirred. Jodi smiled to herself in the last second before she fell asleep. She loved her mom for staying awake so long… no wonder she didn’t wake with the nurse’s chatter…
Later in time, Jodi awoke again to her mom staring at her.
Janice smiled groggily and squeezed Jodi’s hand, “How are you feeling?”
Jodi spoke, “Don’t know. Too many drugs covering it all.”
Janice couldn’t help, but laugh.
Jodi’s eyes began to grow heavy, “When can I go home?”
“In a few…” her mom was saying, until Jodi fell asleep.
Two whole days later and Jodi was finally able to stay awake for longer.
She was chatting with her mom, “Don’t you have to go back to work?”
“I took a leave of absence. I figured you’d need me more than the hospital would,” Janice answered. “Want to watch any T.V.?”
Jodi shook her head and motioned toward her night stand, “Did you bring me flowers?”
Janice turned a light shade of pink, “No.”
She smiled, “It appears you made some friends.”
“Huh?” Jodi asked. “Who are they from?”
“Our neighbor Mitch Anderson and his girlfriend Renee. He had come over to the house when you didn’t show up for school again today, so I told him what had happened and then he showed up with the flowers.”
“He was here? When?”
“Just about an hour ago, you were sleeping still, so he left.”
Jodi groaned on the inside. She had missed him! Stupid drugs! She pulled a cup of ice cream toward herself and nearly choked when she saw a metal ring appear around the door; thus followed a blonde head. Janice’s head snapped to face the door where Jodi stared.
“Hello…” Janice said timidly.
“Hi,” he answered. “I’m Blake Chamberlain… a friend of Jodi’s. I heard from Mitch what happened…”
“Well that’s nice of you to visit,” Janice said.
She looked at Jodi, “I’m going to go get some coffee…”
Janice left and Blake still remained standing by the door.
“You can come sit yea know,” Jodi spoke.
Blake moved and sat down by her bedside, unable to say anything. His blue eyes were amazing, Jodi thought. They sat there in silence, just shyly peeking at one another. Their hand rested near each others and Blake slowly moved his closer. Jodi never noticed until his hand gently rested over hers. To his surprise, she didn’t move hers. With that, he wrapped his fingers under and squeezed lightly. He watched their hands for awhile and when he looked up, he found himself looking into her smoky gray eyes.
She whispered to him, almost inaudibly, “I’m sorry.”
He brushed it away and proceeded to rub the back of her hand with his thumb. A piece of blonde, almost white, hair hung down over Blake’s forehead and before he could brush it away, Jodi reached her free hand over to move it… but her IV tubes caught. She sighed and began to lower he hand, when Blake moved his head closer so she could reach. A light smile played across her face and she pushed the clump of hair towards his other bangs. He smiled at her touch and to her upmost surprise, he lifted her hand that he held and kissed it.
Just as her hand left his lips, the room’s door opened and Janice entered. As she strode over to the bed, she spied him holding her hand. He didn’t look over to Janice, but continued watching Jodi. Just as Janice pulled up another chair, Blake stood up.
“I should probably go,” he said.
Jodi understood how it might be awkward and nodded to him. He then nodded to Janice and then left.
Janice’s eyebrows rose, “Now what was that all about?”
“All what?” Jodi asked.
“I saw him holding your hand.”
“Yea? So?”
“You were only at school one day! How does that happen in one day?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
She tried acting like she didn’t know; didn’t notice, but she knew and was probably just as confused as her mom.
Janice groaned, “Oh, haha, very funny. How can he like you after one day? Not even one day…”
“It’s easy to like someone that fast. They’re called ‘crushes’ mom. Pretty sure you’ve heard of those…” Jodi remarked.
“Yes, I have, but you must have made quite the impression on him…”
When Jodi thought about that day, in all reality, she made a terrible impression on him. Why did he like her?
“I guess,” Jodi shrugged to her mom. “You’d have to ask him.”
After many questions and stares, her first block was done. She began wheeling herself to her second hour Government class. Halfway there, Blake came from behind and pushed her along.
He leaned down into her ear, “Hello.”
She recognized his soft voice and allowed him to shuttle her to class. She wanted to ask him why he only came and saw her on that Wednesday, but was still unsure if she wanted him to know that she did after all… sort of like him, because certainly after that question he would know. What if he did that on purpose though? Just to get her to ask that question… When Blake had gotten her to a table and was just about to leave her, Jodi grabbed his hand stealthily. He leaned down to look at her face to face.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Anytime,” he whispered back.
He was about to leave again when she pulled him back.
“For everything,” she said, squeezing his hand.
He smiled warmly ad squeezed her hand back. They dropped hands and Blake walked back to the corner where Mitch sat.
“Quite the girl isn’t she? There’s something about her,” Mitch commented.
“Yea. There is,” Blake answered.
He could still feel her touch on his hand as class commenced.
Blake stopped pushing her wheelchair and knelt down to speak to her, “Jodi, will you go to Homecoming with me?”
“Oh… I would, but uh…” Jodi answered while referring to her injuries. “I have to give my collar bone about six weeks to heal. Then I can use crutches to bring my leg back to being used, but that all won’t be in time for the dance. Might as well ask someone else.”
“I don’t want to ask anyone else,” he said. “How about we have our own Homecoming? We can just hang out.”
Jodi couldn’t help, but smile, “Sure. What time are you picking me up?”
“Let’s say 5 p.m.? We can go out to eat first and then go back to my house?”
She shrugged, “Doesn’t matter to me.”
Blake smiled, “Ok. We’ll do that then.”
“Sounds good.”
With that, Blake continued to push her to their second hour class.
-WMystic