"I am never going to live that one down, I can see it now."
"Got that right." She looked back at Sophia. "So, the Party Woman Extraordinaire is going out with the Ultimate Preppie, have I got this right?"
"Right."
Jessica snorted. "You know, this is gonna go over real well with the gang at the next beer and bong bash."
"I don’t care, Jess."
"No, I don’t suppose that you do. Probably a good thing. You’ve spent too much time worrying about what other people think, Soph, I’ve told you that before. Not caring what anyone else thinks is a big step."
"I know."
Jessica thought for a minute. Then she looked at Warren with a practiced eye. "He’s not bad-looking, is he? For a preppy, I mean."
"I feel like a piece of meat," Warren mock-complained.
"You just learn your place, honey, and we’ll get along just fine," Jess spat out. Sophia cracked up laughing.
"Course, I can’t see his ass in that position, so I can’t give him a number grade, but he seems to look presentable and all."
"Is she always like this?" Warren asked.
Sophia giggled. "Oh, this is mild, man-of-mine. You haven’t gotten even a hint of Full Metal Jessica just yet."
Jessica snorted, "Damn straight. Hey, I’m trying to be open and welcoming, here."
Warren laughed at that. "And the effort has not gone unappreciated. Unnoticed until you mentioned it, maybe, but not unappreciated."
Jessie looked at Sophia, in amazement. "Prep Boy actually gives as good as he gets?"
"Frequently."
"Wow. The mind boggles. You’ll have to excuse me, but I have seen my entire worldview turned upside down in an instant, here."
Sophia said, "Your worldview? Imagine the flips mine has taken in the past couple of months! Actually, Jess, you’re taking this quite well. I expected a whole ‘Are you crazy, what the hell do you think you’re doing???’ rant by now."
Jessie looked serious. "And, a month ago you might have gotten one. Sophia, you love him?"
"Yes"
"Preppy, you love her?"
"Completely."
"Good. Considering what’s gone on in Sophia’s life recently, I only have one rant to make." She stood up. "Preppy, listen to me and listen good. You had better make damn sure you are very fucking good to my one and only best friend. Do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, ma’am."
"Good. You hurt her like those other assholes and I will rip your balls off and feed them to my hamster."
Jess softened, and sat back down. "But you’re not the type to hurt his girlfriend, are you? No, not at all, I’d wager," she said almost to herself. Then she recovered herself: "Besides, look at the two of you, cuddling up all cozy-like. It’s enough to make a body sick." They all laughed.
"Jess," Sophia said, "thanks for making this easy. I really appreciate it."
Jessie snorted, "What? Me stand in the course of true love? Heaven forbid."
Warren chuckled. "Honey, I have to get going. I have a pile of studying, plus I’m hungry."
"Can you call me later?"
"Sure." They got up, and shared a good-bye kiss, as Jessica made mock-gagging noises. They just looked at her and grinned, and Warren headed off down the street.
From behind him, he heard Jessica yell, so he could hear. "Alright, Sophia, I give the ass an eight!"
JUST LIKE ROMEO AND JULIET (Chapter 8)
Sophia sat at her kitchen table, doling out the happy meals to Eric and Tara, her younger brother and sister. Eric was 8, Tara 6, and they really were cute kids. She had to baby-sit tonight after work, because her mother had gotten an extra shift at the hotel where she worked the front desk. Luckily, she had company-Warren had come home with her. He had gone with her to McDonalds to get some food, and was now making googoo eyes at Tara while he ate his Big Mac. Sophia smiled to herself, as Warren engaged Eric on the finer points of the Boston Bruins’ power play. Then he made more funny faces at Tara. Tara was utterly charmed, Eric thought Warren was "neat", and Sophia couldn’t stop smiling. She’d never had another boyfriend who even acknowledged Eric and Tara’s existence. What a guy, she thought for about the millionth time in the two weeks that they had been going out.
"You’re really good with little kids."
"I like ‘em. Always have. And Eric and Tara are cool."
"You’ve got these at home, didn’t you say?"
"Yeah, but a little bit older. Ryan is eleven, and Kristin is nine."
"Well, you’ve got Eric and Tara eating out of the palm of your hand."
Warren laughed. "It’s practice."
"Practice?"
"I told you I want to be a doctor, right? Well, what I want to be is a pediatrician."
"Judging from my siblings here, you’ve certainly got the bedside manner thing down already."
"It was easy with them. They’re good kids."
"I gotta get ‘em ready for bed. Wanna help?"
"Actually, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna crack these books. I did tell you if I came over with you, you’d have to put up with me studying for a bit."
"Right. OK, come on guys, let’s get those PJ’s on!"
Sophia got her brother and sister ready for bed, and Tara insisted on coming down to "kiss Warren goodnight." Eric settled for a high five. Sophia shooed them up to bed, then came back down to find Warren with his nose buried in a book.
"Watcha readin’?"
"Hamlet."
"Isn’t that Shakespeare?"
"Uh-huh. I wasn’t lying when I told you I read him for fun, but this is an assignment. I’ve read it before, but it’s been a while, so I’m refreshing my memory. I got my biology done so I figured I’d delve into Hamlet for a while."
"Why do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Study so hard."
"So I can get good grades, which will allow me to get into a good college, which if I continue to get good grades will allow me to get into medical school."
"Got it all figured out, eh?"
"Well, I am only fourteen. Things could change. But you still need the grades to get into college, that part doesn’t change."
"I’m just in awe that you even have a clue of what to do with your life. I don’t."
"What do you like?"
"Academically? Nothing."
"Soph, if you paid attention in class every once in a while, you might find something."
"Thanks, Prep Boy,"
"Don’t mention it. Besides which, I do know something you like. I doubt you could take it yet, but you could build towards it."
"What?"
"When we’re watching TV, what channel do you keep flipping to?"
"Well, the Weather Channel. I like weather."
"Right. Meteorology is a career, you know." Warren teased.
"Hmmm. I never thought about it. Ah, it doesn’t matter. I’ll never get into college, not with my grades."
"Sophia, you’re a freshman. You have plenty of time to change."
"Yeah, but I’ve got a horrible hole to dig myself out of."
"That’s the easy part. Colleges will ignore your freshman year, if the other years are good. In fact, they love that stuff. Big improvement in high school grades? That overshadows the crummy beginning."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"Hmmm. Of course, I’d have to start to care about school. That’s the real tough part. It’s so boring."
"It can’t be all boring. You have to keep your mind open. I have discovered interesting things in school that I wouldn’t have otherwise."
"You go to a better school than I do."
"True. But you’ll find something. And, sometimes, you just have to fake it for the sake of the grade." They both laughed. "I hate math, with a passion. But I’ve got an A in geometry so far."
"I’ll have to give this some thought. Now, tell me about this Shakespeare guy."