Itâs morning, not particularly early, but overcast; if you are the romantic sort, or the depressive sort, or some easy combination of both, it gives the distinct impression of faded photographs. Those gray skies. Itâs like the whole of the earth is encased inside of a slate chest that just had the lid shut; itâs foreboding and draining. It saps the strength out of your pores to enrich its faceless, passionless mass.
Itâs after graduation, sheâs almost 19, and sheâs still wearing the fucking schoolgirl uniform.
This is all Jenny can think of as her boyfriendâs car pulls into the school parking lot. He turns to her, slumped in the passengerâs seat and pouting (as she has been the entire trip) and tries to give her a smile.
âLook, Jen. I was busy last night. I turned my cell off at the barâŚâ
âFuck off, Tim.â
Similar sentiments had effectively concluded their conversation minutes ago, and Tim was fully aware of the fact. Still, he swam up against the current a bit more:
âIâm not around every night, you knowâŚâ
âYou should be.â
âNo. No, I shouldnât have to be, Jen. I mean⌠lookâŚâ
He turns to her. She is tying her hair up into a bun, a good sensible knot of dirty blonde. Sheâs already unbuttoned the top of her white blouse. Her neck is smooth, but she still has the mark of their horseplay the other night.
She smiled a bit. Her blue eyes are sweet, but chilly, like two frozen pops.
âYouâre lucky youâve got me, Tim.â
He knows itâs true. He does not respond, but leans forward and kisses her lips. She leans back and rolls her eyes and giggles a bit.
âYou need to take care of me, TimâŚâ she says, opening the door of the car, now parked.
âI do,â he insists, reaching out to stroke her cheeks in both of his hands.
She leans forward and wraps her arms around his neck. Her soft little tongue darts out and quickly rubs up the fronts of Timâs own lips. She smiles wider.
âThen you shouldâve been in bed last night. I wanted us to wake up my mom again. Fucker.â
Sheâs out. Her bodyâs like a strange, brighter cloud on that somber morning.
***
âRemedial - 9:00-9:30 AM: My Boyfriend Worships Me (or: Tabitha, I Miss You Bad)â
***
A random boy smiles in her direction as Jenny steps out of the car. This is natural, as her leg is the first part of her to exit, and Jenny has the best legs at least 45% of the boys at school have ever seen. Just a little meaty, just a little extra pink flesh to bounce around during basketball games, as she leads the cheers. He legs are always a bit pink, like sheâs just waxed them. Sometimes she likes to let a little fuzz grow on them though; itâs ok, it makes them even more distracting. Her skirt is rolled up high, like most of the girls entering the building wear them. The bottom crests just two inches above her knees, one of which is scraped a bit from practice the other day. She is wearing small dark gray ankle-socks, as she always does, and slip-on brown loafers, wonderfully ugly shoes. If you concentrate on her in class, as most will, you will today notice the cruel outline of her green padded bra beaming through the white of her blouse. Keep watching, you voyeur of intense discrimination; sheâll lean back to stretch, and you can then see her flesh and belly and bra in the gaps between the buttons, traveling up to her face. She is wearing lip-gloss and no other makeup. She has already pulled her hair out of the bun, and itâs down to her shoulders, sweet deep blonde with streaks of brown.
This is not a normal school day, which is both bad and good. Bad, in that itâs summer school. Early session is for non-graduated seniors only. No little kids here, everyone is 18, 19. Everyone is here for a little extra instruction. Not everyone is here because theyâre a failure, per se. Jenny knows the history, and a refresher is in order for us, as she walks up the steps of the school, tucking her blouse into her skirt.
Kara was always an emotional girl. By the beginning of senior year, she became a vibrating sack of nerves before any class or situation which may suggest stress. She was a beautiful girl. Very short, only 5â3 at absolute tallest. Meaty, not overweight, really, but very zaftig for a girl of her height. Dark Italian skin. Black hair right down to her butt. She wore her skirt up extra high; if she moved a bit too quickly, you could catch a fast peek at the bottoms of her panties, always cotton, always rich bubblegum pink. Not one for too much affection outside of closed doors, though. Her then (and current) boyfriend was named Chris; smoked a lot of pot, shoulder-length blonde hair, not unlike Jennyâs. Lacrosse physique. Who knew before the âeventâ if they would last. But one Tuesday in April, she runs out of Advanced Natural Science, followed by Chris. Sheâs weeping, which is not a new experience.
âJesus fuck, Chris⌠Iâm gonna fail. I got a 42 on the test.â
âAw, yer alright, babe,â Chris says.
âFuck Chris, fuck⌠I havenât gotten over a 65 since February. Iâm fucking stupidâŚâ
âYer not stupid babe.â
âFUCK YES I AM!! I, aw⌠I canât go to summer school. Itâs fucking humiliatingâŚâ
âNo. Yer not stupid. And Iâll take care of you. Iâm going to summer school with you.â
âYou⌠what? Youâre doing okâŚâ
âGot a 78 average, babe. It can go down.â
It.
Can.
Go.
Down.
âYou. No. No⌠youâŚâ
He rubs his finger up her face; itâs by her nose when she smiles.
âItâs⌠so stupid for me to askâŚâ she mutters.