Did You Forget : Chapter 2 : Monday

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad, where the west was all but won...

The beginnings of The Fray's newest single, 'You Found Me' hardly started before Daniel scowled, changing the radio station and continuing to gaze out the window of Keith's 2004 Honda Pilot. Jenna had been in the car for no more than twelve seconds before his lips crushed together in a tight line and his arms crossed angrily across his chest.

Jenna noticed this and frowned, faking a smile when Keith caught her gaze in the rear view mirror.

"So, Jenn, yesterday you said you were with your uncle and Gram at the doctor's for tests... you weren't the one that was sick, right?" Keith questioned, trying to make friendly conversation for the ten-minute car ride. The Reeds' and the Matthews' houses were just a little over five miles from Hawthorne High School, but driving it on a school day made the car ride seem even longer.

In the backseat, Jenna's fingers fumbled with the straps to her backpack, uncharacteristically nervous. She wasn’t anxious about meeting new friends or finding a place to sit at lunch… her mind was occupied trying to figure out what she had done to offend Danny.

“Jenna?”

Keith’s voice broke her concentration and Jenna sheepishly grinned. “Sorry,” she quickly apologized before launching into her explanation. "Gramma was coughing and had a sore throat for a while and my uncle’s a major worry wart. He convinced her to go to the hospital for some tests, all of which turned out negative.” She laughed the situation off lightly. “It was nothing major, she was all fixed up with a few days of hot tea and crackers and a lot of rest. No way would Gramma let a cold get the best of her.”

Keith nodded his head and the trio fell back into another small silence. Usually the one to ease the group out of situations like the present one, Keith just sighed, accepting defeat. I just need to give D some time to… readjust, he decided as he turned his blinker on and turned into the HHS student parking lot.

When his car finally came to a stop, Keith put the car in park and put his hand behind his head, reaching towards Jenna. “Schedule,” he demanded easily.

Jenna blinked, wearing a questioning look as she reached into her messenger bag for her ‘New Student’ folder, which was full with a school map, a teacher list, a bell schedule, and her own class schedule. As she passed it to Keith, Danny reached for the door handle, grabbed his bag, and stepped out.

Jenna and Keith stared at him with open mouths. “Don’t you want to see if she’s in any of your classes?” Keith asked incredulously.

Danny, while avoiding Jenna’s gaze, shrugged. “I need to meet up with Caitlyn,” he said simply, nothing the look of confusion that briefly flashed across Jenna’s face. “Besides, Jenn’ll be fine, she has you.”

His bitter tone did not go unnoticed. As his retreating figure grew smaller while he approached the front of the school, Keith turned to Jenna with an apologetic smile. “He’s just—” Keith tried to explain, searching for the right word.

“Who’s Caitlyn?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Keith looked out the window, nodding his head towards a petite redhead who ran up to Danny and threw her arms around his neck in greeting. Danny did not return the hug and wasn’t really responsive, but as he let her hug him, Jenna felt a pinch of jealousy in her chest.

“Don’t worry about it, Jenna,” Keith sympathized. “He won’t be able to stay away from you forever. Even if he forgot what he saw in you when we were kids, he’ll remember. Just give him some time.”

- - -

First days were usually the worst for new students, but Jenna found herself skating through the first day with relative ease. Perhaps it was because she was only getting new books and rubrics and not doing actual work, or maybe it was just because she had too much on her mind to focus on everything else… regardless, lunch came faster than she expected.

With a look around the cafeteria, Jenna realized that she hadn’t been faced with the whole ‘where do I sit?’ predicament since she moved in seventh grade. As she walked towards the lunch line in HHS, she kept an eye out for Danny or Keith, hoping one of them would wave her down.

Meanwhile, at a table near the lunch line but off to the edge of the cafeteria, Danny watched Jenna with guarded eyes.

“Are you going to tell her to sit with us, or just hope she can feel your glare, see us, and come over?” Keith asked him with a hint of exasperation.

Danny ignored his brother, watching as Jenna started talking to the junior in front of her in the lunch line. He scowled as he watched the two converse. Her easy friendliness was something he had always admired, but as he grew older he realized that it meant she could replace friends easier too (or so he thought).

“If she wants to sit with us, she’ll find us,” he muttered, turning his back on Jenna and taking a bite out of the sandwich he had.

Across the table, Keith rolled his eyes before getting up and coming back a few minutes later with Jenna in tow.

Putting her best face on, she gave the table a wide smile, a bit intimidated by the amount of people there, but looking confident on the outside anyway. She took a seat next to Keith and the girl on her other side gave her a friendly smile.

With a deep breath, Keith quickly introduced everyone in the table. “Jenna, this is: Liz, Brett, Caitlyn, Danny (but you know him), Shay, and Jake. Everyone else, this is Jenna.”

Jenna followed his quickly pointing finger, trying to match each name to a face. Liz, the girl who sat next to her, patted her knee sympathetically. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn everyone’s name eventually. And if not, no one’ll take offense.”

Jenna gave her a grateful smile.

Looking around the table again, she was surprised at the motley group Keith and Danny had. Liz was the usual beautiful blond, slender and a bit tall, with wide blue eyes and fair skin. Next to her was Brett, who was a very muscle-y Hispanic, and beside him was Caitlyn, whose red hair and freckles greatly contrasted with her pale skin. Danny was, well, Danny, and Shay beside him had jet black hair and slightly tanned skin.

As Jenna looked at the last at their table, Jake, she squinted in partial recognition. “What was your name again?” she asked him hesitantly.

Keith, who was sitting in between Jenna and Jake, clapped his friend lightly on the back. “This here is Jake Mason, though he’s probably the most forgettable of us all,” he joked.

Beside him Jake rolled his eyes. “I’d answer the question, but Big Mouth over here did already,” he said with a small smile.

Jenna stared at him with a blank gaze, trying to place where she though she recognized him from. A second or two later, the same look crossed over Jake’s face as the rest of the table kept talking and eating, not noticing the two.

Suddenly, Jenna’s hand slapped the table energetically and a faint blush crept across her face, embarrassed by her sudden outburst.

“Jake Mason, you were in my homeroom in seventh grade when I moved to Jackson Reed Academy!” Jenna exclaimed, relieved to finally figure out why she recognized Jake.

Likewise, Jake’s face lit up, “That’s it!” he agreed with a laugh. “I thought I recognized you, but you look so different than you did at JRA.” He paused. "And definitely in a good way."

Jenna blushed again. “Thanks, I think.” Fingering her dark curls self-consciously, she thought she caught a hint of anger on Danny’s face but quickly dismissed it. When isn’t he mad at me now? she thought absentmindedly.

Keith, seated in between the two, shook his head in confusion. “So wait… you two already know each other?”

Jake shrugged. “Sort of. We had one class together for like… a year and a half? Then I moved to Hawthorne.” Jenna nodded in confirmation.

Wanting to bring up some of the teachers and friends she had at JRA, Jenna was cut off by the end-of-lunch bell. Slowly, she put all of her trash on her lunch tray and gathered her books.

“Allow me,” Jake said with a grin as he grabbed her tray and started towards the trash. “See you later, Jenna,” he called back as he disappeared into the crowd of HHS seniors and juniors.

“Later,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

From her left, Liz appeared. “Keith told me you have Psychology next, right?” she asked, not pausing for Jenna’s response. “I have Humanities II, so our classes are next to each other.” Linking her arm in Jenna's, the taller girl quickly steered her in the proper direction, which was the opposite way Jake was heading.

“Jenna, not that you really know me yet, but I hope you’ll get to, I want you to trust me on this one, okay?” Blinking, Jenna just nodded her head, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t let yourself get charmed by Jake. He seems all nice, but he’s been with as many girls in junior year alone as Keith, Danny, and Brett have been in their entire high school career.” Liz let out a small laugh at that simile. “But in all seriousness… just watch out for yourself, okay?”

With a sigh, Jenna nodded, a bit disappointed at the news. “Thanks, Liz.”

Danny, who was walking behind the two, frowned. He made a note to talk to Jake later… or no, maybe not Jake. Maybe just Keith.

- - -

The end of the day came as fast as lunch, and Jenna found herself relieved to be going home. Unfortunately, her last few classes weren’t as easy as her first. Half her Psychology class was gone for a meeting for the Principal’s Council, so nothing happened then, but in AP Calculus, AP Biology, and Honors Government, she learned that she had to work hard to cover the few days worth of work they’d gone over already.

Meeting up with Keith at his silver Honda, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she saw the empty passenger seat.

Without even looking up, Keith replied, “Danny has football.”

“Oh,” was all Jenna said as she got into the car, shutting the door behind her quickly as she tried to hide her disappointment.

Keith got in silently and started the car, getting in the crawling line of cars trying to exit the student parking lot.

“He’s changed a lot, you know. Since you left.”

Jenna’s eyes widened as she processed Keith’s words. “Who?” she asked dumbly. “Danny?”

Keith nodded, keeping his eyes on his road but speaking to her. “You know how shy and quiet he was before you befriended him? He was worse than that after you left…” Keith paused, losing his mind a bit in past memories. “It took him a while to get over it. I think that’s why he’s still a bit… distant.”

Jenna nodded her head in understanding, surprised and guilty. “Maybe… we can do something nice for him then,” she said, her voice clouded with thought. “I have an idea, we can surprise him with something nice tomorrow.”

Keith hesitated, not sure if it was a good idea, but Jenna’s mind was already set.

“Tomorrow after school, okay? We'll do something that he'll enjoy. And hopefully it'll cheer him up a bit."

Keith knew that convincing Jenna otherwise would take serious time and effort and instead hoped that Danny wouldn't be as rude to her tomorrow as he has been the past few days. But... I can only hope.