Limits, opinions and choices

[Crow]

Secret admirer

Three o’ clock and the bell rang the end of classes at Pines high school. While most students headed to the exit, a young girl was running to the small park on the school grounds. Her blonde hair was waving in the air as she sped to her destination. She stopped when she reached the tall tree the note in her hand told her to go to. She looked around but saw no one. She read the note again: ‘Meet me after class under the large oak tree left of the gym’.
The day had finally come when she would meet her secret admirer face to face. She straightened her blue skirt and white shirt, her red scarf, then combed her hair to pass the time but she was too impatient and she tossed her hairbrush in her school bag. Still, no one, except… a strange man wearing a pair of jeans and a black, leather jacket, lying down under a tree. He seemed to be sleeping, could he be the one?
‘No,’ she thought. ‘He would be waiting for me, not sleeping.’
With that thought in mind, she looked around again but there was no one else around. The girl sighed and sat down on the nearest bench. She started thinking it may have all been a practical joke someone played on her. or maybe, her admirer was delayed for some reason.
Suddenly she heard footsteps but when she turned she saw three boys. She recognised them not only because they had the Kyoto uniform on but because she had seen them in school. Could one of them be her secret admirer?
They walked right up to her and surrounded her on all sides.
“Hey, Karen! What are you doin’ here all alone?” the one in front of her asked.
“That is none of your business,” she replied with a frown.
“Maybe she’s waiting for someone,” the one on the left stated.
“Maybe she was told to go passed the gym after class,” the one on the right added.
“And wait under the tall oak tree,” the one in front of her concluded.
“What?!” she yelled surprised and stood up. “You wrote me this note?!”
“How else were we going to get you all alone?” the one in front of her said grabbing her wrist.
“No! Let me go!” she shouted trying to get away.
The other two grabbed her arms and pinned her to the tree while their leader took off her red scarf and started waving it in front of her. Karen was frightened but she was not about to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry or beg for mercy, what girl in her position would?
“We just want to have a little fun… I promise you’ll like it,” the one in the middle said smiling and unbuttoned her collar.
Realising just how far they intended to go, she hit the one on her left in the knee to get him to release her arm and slapped the one in front of her with all her strength. The skin on his cheek where she hit him turned red in seconds but making him mad did not seem like a good idea. When her arms were secure again, the boy she slapped ripped open her shirt, revealing her white bra.
“Now you’re gonna pay you lil’ bitch!” he said raising his hand.
But just as he was about to slap her, someone grabbed his arm. Before he could take a look at who it was, his body was spun around and he was kicked in the stomach so hard he fell down. When Karen looked up, she saw the young man that she saw sleeping earlier.
The two holding her down immediately released her and attacked him. The man avoided the first punch from the one on the right and hit him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground as well. Next he ducked just in time to avoid a punch from the last one standing, then grabbed his arm and tossed him over his shoulder.
Seeing they were outmatched, when the three boys managed to get up, they all ran off as fast as they could. Karen watched them leave with a deep frown then calmed down and turned to the man who had rescued her. He was staring her right in the face. His green eyes mesmerised her and she started blushing, forgetting that her shirt was still open. When he moved towards her, she gasped. He then reached out his hands to her shirt and closed it, then picked up her scarf and handed it to her. She grabbed it, unable to speak, and the moment she had a tight grip on it, the young man let go, turned around and started walking away.
“Wait! Thank you!” she yelled.
“Don’t mention it,” was his reply as he waved at her with his back still turned.
His voice sounded so soft and so gentle, yet strong at the same time. She didn’t move an inch, not even after he had disappeared. He may not have been her secret admirer, or perhaps there never was one, but she would never forget him.
As she walked home she couldn’t get her mind off him. His face was so flawless, his eyes so dreamy, like two emeralds sparkling in the moonlight. And his voice… was so soft and kind, ‘Maybe he’s a singer,’ she thought. She would have loved to know his name but her mind was too busy registering everything that had happened to act, as she would normally have.

[alexina_002]

Ce sa spun...Foarte interesanta ideea. Ai un stil de a scrie clar si concis. Imi place mult. Fara cuvinte in plus, fara floricele multe. . Are o continuare? Caci as fi curioasa

[Crow]

ms si asta e doar inceputul.

His name is…

The next day, Karen was walking home, pushing her scooter by the handlebars like a bicycle. Two of her friends were walking with her. a tall girl with short, dark hair and eye-glasses on her left and on her right a girl about of average height, with her blonde hair in a braid.
“I can’t believe the nerve of those three,” the tall girl said. “If it were me, I’d have kicked their asses.”
“If it were you, Sonja, they’d be in the morgue, not detention,” the girl on Karen’s left commented. “But you know our little Karen is not the violent type. If it hadn’t been for that guy they would have raped you.”
“I don’t think they would have gone that far, Mary,” Karen said embarrassed.
“So, why did you bring the scooter to school if it doesn’t work?” Sonja asked.
“One of my neighbours told me there’s a bike shop around here and I wanted to get it fixed tonight.”
“Enough about the stupid scooter! Tell us more about Prince Charming! When he reached out and closed your shirt… are you sure that’s all he did?” Mary asked with a smirk.
“Yes, I’m sure!” Karen retorted angrily and hastened her pace.
The bike shop was only a few blocks from their school and not too far away from her home either. It looked like an old warehouse that was split up into rooms by sheets of iron that had been welded on the support beams. It was full of old and new cars that the workers had not fixed yet or had not been picked up by their owners.
Right next to the entrance there was a small wooden table with a cash register and a bell like they hotels had at the front desk. Karen walked next to it and rang it twice. There was a lot of noise of people talking or working that she wondered if anyone had heard it. After a minute she ran it again, three times. Again she waited but no answer. Starting to get frustrated she rang it again but didn’t stop.
“Alright, alright! I heard you the first time!” a voice yelled from somewhere in the back, a vaguely familiar voice.
When the person who yelled showed up, Karen froze. It was the young man that had saved her. he was wearing a large, stained overall and his face was dirty but she was sure of it when she looked into his eyes, the same green eyes that mesmerised her that afternoon.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
Karen didn’t hear the question, she just stared at him dumbfounded. When she didn’t answer, her two friends turned to her confused, then back at the young man and back at her with smiles on their faces. Seeing that she was still unable to respond, they told him that there was something wrong with the scooter.
“Well, let’s have a look,” he said walking next to Karen and putting his hands on the handlebars, touching hers as well.
The moment she felt him touch her, her heart started beating wildly and she blushed.
“You’re going to have to let go if you want me to fix it.”
“Y…yeah…” Karen answered and finally let go.
The young man took the scooter inside, next to a box of tools, then kneeled down and started looking it over. Meanwhile, the two girls had realised what was going on and pulled their friend out of the garage.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Mary asked excited.
“You told us you knew noting about him,” Sonja scolded her.
“I don’t!” Karen protested, then looked at him again. “Or at least I didn’t…”
Ten minutes later, he took the engine apart, then after examining a few of its pieces, went back into the garage and came out with an identical one tore place it. After putting the engine back together, he turned it on and it worked perfectly. The three girls went back in as he was walking to the cash register.
“Ok… that’s forty bucks for the part, plus twenty for services, sixty dollars!”
Megumi searched inside her wallet, took out the money and handed it to him. He opened the cash register and just as he was about to put the money in, someone yelled: “Hey, Jack! You fixed this Dodge yet? You were supposed to have it done by noon!”
“Gimme a break, Morty!” he yelled tossing the money inside and slamming it shut. “I’m with a customer here!”
After he gave her a receipt, Karen left the garage accompanied by her two friends who were still giggling. But even though they called her a coward because she didn’t talk to him, she didn’t care. She had learned his name and knew where to find him.

[alexina_002]

nice. Dar cum de ai pus asa repede? Atata inspiratie ai la ora asta sau le aveai facute de mai demult?Oricum, imi place. Astept continuarea

[anarazell]

deci 2 zile mia luat sa citesc <stii dc:">>

e marfa...nu le am f bn q cititu imi place k nu aberezi daia cred k am citit tot ^.^

astept continuarea si promit k nu o sa mai imi ia atata sa o citesc:D


<ai vazut k mam tinut d cuvant?;)>

[Crow]

Underneath
At school in the morning, all she could think of was Jack. Having seen him twice she had an image of him imprinted in her mind with every last detail that made butterflies flutter in her stomach. All through her classes she was absentminded. Even at lunch she couldn’t focus on what her two friends were talking about, it was like the rest of the world didn’t matter anymore.
She also felt tired, since she had not slept much the previous night because of too many unanswered questions. Should she go talk to him but what would she say to him? The way he acted, it was like he didn’t even recognise her. Maybe he had forgotten all about that afternoon where he saved her. Maybe he wasn’t the type to care about that stuff and only did it because he was there.
But she could not believe he could be that cold not when his voice was so soft and gentle and the look in his eyes so calm and compassionate. He also looked very athletic, from what she remembered about from two days ago. Moreover, he dispatched the three boys that were picking on her like they were rag dolls.
“Karen!” Mary shouted. “Stop day-dreaming about him and tell us what you’ve decided!”
“What do you mean what I’ve decided?”
“Are you going to talk to him or just sit around the rest of your life hoping he’ll come to you?” Sonja asked.
“I… I don’t know what to do… What if he doesn’t like me? What if he has a girlfriend? What if…”
“What if he gets one by the time you get the guts to talk to him?” Mary cut her off.
Her friends were right, she couldn’t sit idly by and wait for something to happen, she had to make it happen. But they were also right about her being a coward. She had never had a boyfriend, her so-called secret admirer was the closest she had ever been to a boy. The idea of being rejected frightened her too much and kept her up for three nights.
If she hesitated she risked losing him but if she acted, she risked being rejected. In the end she decided to tempt fate. At least she wouldn’t lose any more sleep and perhaps rejection was better than constantly wondering what would have happened. But because she still couldn’t find the courage to go to him without an excuse, she decided to take a rusty nail from the Arts and Crafts department and puncture a hole in one of her scooter’s tires.
That day she had extra classes and a student meeting so by the time she got to the garage it was already sunset. It was quiet but the doors were still open. She shyly approached the wooden table with the intention to ring the bell before she lost her nerve.
“What’s this, last minute?” came an old man’s voice. “Sorry miss, we’re almost closed.”
“Oh… I see…” Karen said retreating her arm, disappointed.
“Jack’s still here, though. Hey Jack! Got time to change a tire for this young lady?”
“Be right there!” the voice Karen had come to recognise yelled.
Soon after the old man left, Jack showed up, wearing the same stained overalls. He stopped for a moment to look at her, then walked up to her, looking at the tire.
“This scooter’s going to have a hard life with you. What happened?”
“Uh… well, I don’t know… when I finished classes today I saw the wheel was deflated,” she answered trying not to stutter.
Jack kneeled next to the scooter and inspected the tire. After pushing it to the side for a bit he pulled out the rusted nail and examined it for a moment. Then he stood up, went to the back and returned a few minutes later with a spare tire. Changing the tire took only a few minutes but for Karen it seemed like a lifetime.
“Mind if I go change my clothes before I bill you? I was about to leave,” he said as soon as he was finished with the scooter.
“Of course not!” she said enthusiastically.
Jack took the deflated tire in the back and ten minutes later showed up wearing the same jeans and leather jacket he had on the day she met him. Then he charged her for the tire, closed the garage and the two started walking down the street. Karen kept looking at him with the corner of her eye, being careful not to seem she was staring.
“You want something to drink?” he suddenly asked when they reached a vending machine.
“Uh, yes… thank you.”
He paid for two juices and when he turned around she was sitting down on a bench in the bus stop they had just passed. After handing her the juice, he sat down, opened his and started drinking. Karen opened her juice, drank a little then set it down on her lap while her left hand rested next to her. What happened next gave her butterflies again because she felt his hand on hers. Her heart was beating faster and faster but it only lasted for a few seconds because he soon retreated it, smelled his hand and then smiled.
“So I was right.”
“Excuse me?” Karen asked confused.
“That nail in your tire… it smelled like lavender hand cream, just like the one on your hands,” he explained.
“So what? Maybe the one who did it wore hand cream too…” she tried to make up an excuse.
“I’ll bet… listen, you thanked me that night and that’s that, you don’t owe me anything. Go home,” he said and was about to stand up.
She grabbed his jacket and pulled him back down and just as he turned to look at her, she kissed him. The kiss lasted only a few seconds then she retreated looking worried that he might be angry with her but instead he smiled and sat back down.
“Listen kid… I’m flattered but I don’t think you’d like me if you knew who I was.”
“I don’t care about what you did or do, I just want to be with you,” she said and tears started clouding her eyes.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said standing. “You say you like me ‘cause I saved your life and maybe ‘cause I’m good looking but you don’t know the truth.”
“There’s nothing that would make me stop liking you!” she protested.
“Really?” he asked taking off his jacket, revealing a very slender torso but when he turned around, Karen saw what the ‘truth’ was. “They call me Jack, that’s short for Jacqueline.”

[alexina_002]

 =))ce tare a fost! Sunt foarte impresionata. Mi-a placut mult. Nu doar ideea, ci si felul in care ai conturat personajele.

[Crow]

Right or wrong
‘Jacqueline… he’s a girl’ she kept repeating to herself that night in bed. She couldn’t believe that the first guy she had a crush turned out to be a girl. But how could she have known? His face was not that girlish and neither was his voice. The clothes he… she wore, you’d think she was trying to hide what she was and the way she fought those three guys, Karen didn’t know too many boys that could do that, let alone girls.
She was so confused she could barely sleep and in the morning she felt exhausted. At breakfast she merely stared at her bowl of cereal with the spoon in her hand. Her sudden change did not go unnoticed by the woman sitting in front of her.
“Something wrong with your cereal, dear? The milk hasn’t gone bad has it?”
“No, it’s fine,” the girl answered but still didn’t eat.
“Do you have problems at school or with your friends?”
“No… nothing like that,” she answered lowering her voice.
“Ah, boy problems,” the woman said smiling. “I knew this would come eventually. Come on, tell your auntie everything,” she added sitting next to her niece and putting an arm around her shoulders.
“Aunt Gertie, what if, hypothetically you liked someone but they said you couldn’t be with them?”
“Well why not?”
“I think it’s because people would think it’s weird or wrong…” the girl answered, her voice turning into a whisper.
“Well… hypothetically, I think you should convince them that you don’t care about what other people say as long as they like you in return.”
“Do you think that’s enough?” the girl asked raising her head.
“I’m positive,” Gertrude said smiling. “Now finish your breakfast or you’ll be late for school.”
Although her aunt’s words had made her feel a bit better she still was not sure about what was the right thing to do. It still felt weird for her to find out she liked another girl so she understood why the rest of the world would feel the same way. But even knowing what Jack was she couldn’t deny she still had feelings for him… for her.
When she got to school, things got even worse. Apparently Sonja and Mary had seen her put a hole in her scooter’s tire and realised that she was making up an excuse to go see Jack. Her two friends wanted to know everything she said, everything she did and everything he said and did. Karen desperately tried to avoid talking about it but they were relentless. In the end she saw no alternative and was forced to tell them… something.
She started going over the entire day in as much detail as she could, so as not to leave room for questions. She told them about Jack’s boss, their walk, the juice, how he figured out that she had deflated the tire herself but after she told them about the kiss she froze. There was no way she could tell them that Jack was actually a girl, they’d think she was some kind of weirdo but she had to tell them something or they wouldn’t stop asking about it.
“Well? What next?!” the two girls asked impatiently.
“Uh… he said… he said we come from different worlds… and… that we’d never get along and it would be better for both if we didn’t try.”
For a few minutes the two girls were silent. Karen started worrying that they might have seen through her lie and she didn’t know if she could come up with another excuse that would not arouse suspicion. After a few good minutes, the two girls frowned.
“That bastard!” Sonja yelled.
“Who does he think he is, a super star? Thinks he’s too good for our Karen, does he?” Mary said looking very angry.
“Just give me five minutes with him, I’ll teach him some humility,” Sonja said making her knuckles snap.
The rest of the day went on in the same way, with Karen’s two friends discrediting Jack at every turn and doing their best to console their friend. She was just glad they had believed the lies she told them and just smiled every time they cheered her up.
However she felt a little guilty. She had never lied to her best friends. Would they think less of her if they found out the truth? That thought was what made her look genuinely upset and made Sonja and Mary worry about her even more. She only realised how much when their classes were over and they were determined to go to the garage and give Jack a piece of their minds.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Karen said trying to stop them.
“What do you mean? He behaved like an asshole!” Sonja protested.
“Yeah, he made up some bullshit excuse because he didn’t think you were good enough for him,” Mary added.
“Yeah but I don’t think you two yelling at him will make him like me any better.”
She was right and they knew it. The two girls stopped, crossed their arms over their chests and looked at her intently.
“W…what?” Karen asked worried.
“We can’t sit idly by,” Mary answered.
“If you’ve got a better idea, we’re listening,” Sonja stated.
“Just… let me handle it my way.”
“Then you promise not to give up?” the girls asked together.
“Yes… I promise… I won’t give up on Jack no matter what,” Karen said determined.

[alexina_002]

Chiar ai talent...Imi place ca ai putut sa surprinzi cu atata usurinta anumite situatii de viata.Astept continuarea

[Crow]

5 Why?
When Friday came she was determined to keep her promise to her friends and to herself. She woke up early to take a quick shower, had breakfast and put makeup on. Although Jack was a girl and there was no way of knowing whether she would like her at all, with or without makeup on, she still wanted to look her best. Her aunt didn’t say anything and only smiled when her niece left the house with a wide smile on her face.
At school she immediately attracted attention and her friends were glad to see she was going to keep her word. She smiled all day long and couldn’t wait to go see Jack again. She was not a fool, she knew there was a good change that she would reject her again but she had to try no matter what.
As soon as the bell rang for the last time that day she had already packed all of her books and practically ran out of her school. With every step she took, her heart seemed to beat harder and harder. By the time she reached the garage she was out of breath and had to stop for a few minutes. Just then, Jack came out of the garage wearing her street clothes.
Karen’s heart jumped and she ran to her. “Hi!”
“What?” Jack said turning around confused. “You?! What the hell are you doing here?”
“I wanted to go for a walk with you,” Karen answered smiling.
“Wasn’t I clear last time? You and me… ain’t gonna happen.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” Jack repeated. “In case you forgot I’m not a man!”
“So?” Karen replied confused. “Is that the only reason?”
“That’s the best reason! People don’t look kindly on same sex couples. I’m not afraid of losing my job, Morty can’t afford to fire his best mechanic. But your life will be a living hell at school.”
“So you’re worried about me…” Karen said with a wicked smile on her face. “You do like me!”
“What? No! Just go home!” Jack said then turned around and walked away.
But Karen was not ready to give up just yet. Jack had unwillingly admitted that she liked her after all, if only a little. She waited until Jack was about twenty feet away before she started following her. For a good ten minutes she didn’t seem to notice her stalker but then she suddenly turned around looking angry.
“What are you doing?”
“Following you home,” the younger girl answered plainly.
“You are not! Go home!”
“Make me,” Karen replied smiling.
She knew Jack wouldn’t use force to get rid of her and after a couple of minutes of growling she turned around and kept walking, but hastened her pace every few minutes. In about half an hour they reached an apartment building where Jack walked up, followed closely by Karen. The schoolgirl was only a few feet away from her when she opened the door and walked in but just as Karen was about to walk in after her, the door slammed shut.
She was having just about enough of Jack’s cold and indifferent act so she started knocking. When no answer came she knocked harder and harder until she found herself pounding on the door with her fist. A few neighbours came out and complained about the noise just as she was about to start yelling and apparently they were enough to make Jack open the door.
She looked around with an angry look on her face. “What do you all want? Go back to your soap operas and ball games!” she yelled at her neighbours, making them go back inside their homes. “And you!” she added turning to Karen. “Go home!”
“No!” Karen retorted glaring at her and pushed passed her.
The girl sat down on an old sofa, crossed her arms over her chest and looked around the apartment upset. There wasn’t much to look at. A small kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom at the end of the hall she was sitting in.
“Just how thick-headed are you?” Jack asked closing the door. “You can’t make someone be with you!”
“Well why don’t you want to? So far the only reason you’ve given me is that people at school would make life hard for me. You think I don’t know that? And that means you’re worried about me, which means you do like me.”
“Jeez…” Jack sighed sitting down next to her. “Listen, you seem to be a nice and attractive girl and pretty smart if you at least thought this over but… what you’re feeling is just a teenage crush.”
“Maybe…but maybe not, I won’t know until I try.”
“You’re nuts… what do you think your parents will think about this?”
“Nothing… they’re dead,” Karen answered lowering her head. “I live with my aunt.”
“Well you think she’d like it any better than they would have?”
“I don’t care, it’s my life!” Karen yelled suddenly raising her head.
“Well forget it!” Jack said standing. “I’m not interested in a relationship, not with a guy and certainly not with a girl. That’s part of the reason I dress the way I do, so men won’t hit on me… I never thought a girl would.”
“Well I did and I don’t care if you’re not a man!”
“Alright you…” Jack said turning around but was interrupted.
Karen had jumped to her feet and the moment she turned around, the girl put her arms around her neck and kissed her. For a few minutes Jack stood still but then suddenly pushed her back and held her tightly by her shoulders.
“Stop that! If you think kissing people will make them like you, you’re more immature than I thought. I’m not a lesbian and I have no intention of going out with a girl with her head in the clouds!”

[alexina_002]

stii care e parerea mea, asa ca...sunt curioasa ce o sa faca Jack pana la urma . Incapatanata mai e aia mica

[Crow]

6 Through and through
Rejection felt worse than she could have imagined. If she did like her, then how could she have acted like that? She must have realised how it would feel and yet she had not even tried to go easy on her. Karen felt like her whole world had come crumbling down around her and nothing meant anything to her anymore.
At school her head was anywhere but in the classroom. Her teachers couldn’t get through to her and she ignored everyone else. Her two friends couldn’t get her attention no matter what they tried and even her aunt was shut out. She had expected that it would be a possibility but did not realise how hard it would be.
Day in and day out she simply went to school, came home, did her homework and went to bed. Her schoolwork was had not been affected but her morale was as low as it could possibly get. With her depression hitting an all time low one afternoon when classes were over, Sonja and Mary forced her to accompany them to a diner just a few blocks from their school. There they ordered her an ice cream-sundae and demanded she cheered up or else.
“Or else what?” Karen asked passively looking at the desert in front of her.
“Or we’ll just have to go to Jack and yell at him without knowing why we’re doing it,” Mary answered.
Karen didn’t say anything, instead she started eating slowly while her two friends glared at her. When she had finished her sundae their eyes were still fixed on her and she knew that there was no way she could get them to leave her alone. She understood they were doing it because they cared and were worried about her but it didn’t make it any easier on her.
“Jack said no, ok?” she finally said trying to keep her voice calm.
“Did you tell him how you felt about him?” Mary asked.
“Yes.”
“Did he give a good reason why he didn’t want to be with you or was it the same one?” Sonja asked next.
“The same.”
“Then he’s not worth it,” Mary concluded.
“Guys like him just think about themselves and everyone else is hindrance,” Sonja agreed.
“He’s pretty pathetic then,” Mary joked.
“He probably has a big ego and small… manhood,” Sonja added giggling.
“He must need to push girls around just to…”
“Jack’s not like that!” Karen found herself yelling, leaving her two dumbfounded. “Jack’s sensitive and caring and worried about what everyone thought if they found out…” she suddenly stopped herself before revealing the truth about the one she cared for but her friends did not seem pleased by her outburst.
“You shouldn’t get so worked up over a loser…”
“Stop calling her names!” Karen interrupted the tallest of the three without realising what she had said.
Karen’s first reaction was to freeze and look at the shocked expressions on her friends’ faces then she grabbed her bag and ran out. She went straight home where she locked herself in her room until morning. When she woke up she felt worse than the past few days. She had barely slept, worried about what would happen when she went back to school. Her aunt had left early so she was able to eat in peace then go to school.
Karen walked as slowly as possible, hoping that when she’d get there, everyone else would already be in class. However, Mary and Sonja were waiting for her even though the bell had rung. The girl stopped in her tracks, too afraid to go near them but seeing her reaction the two girls smiled and walked next to her.
“I think the first thing you have to find out is whether or not she likes you at all,” Mary said.
“Then, if she’s still stubborn about it, talk to the others at the garage. See what friends she has and learn everything you can about her,” Sonja added.
“W…what?!” Karen asked stupefied.
“You said you liked her, right?” Mary replied.
“Yes, but…”
“And you promised not to give up on her, right?” Sonja interrupted her.
“Yes, but…”
“But nothing!” the girls cut her off, each putting a hand on one of her shoulders. “You’re our friend and that’s not going to change if you start dating a girl,” the tallest of the three continued smiling.
“Thanks, guys,” Karen said wiping a few tears off her cheeks.
“Come on, school is starting and you need a plan of action,” Sonja said putting an arm around her shoulders.

[alexina_002]

ce imaginatie ai...acum sunt si mai curioasa de sfarsit.

[Kyo]

crow has a fan >_>

[Crow]

7 Giving in
Sonja and Mary had a lot more experience dating boys than she did and although Jack was a girl, she was a tomboy, which made her close enough to a guy. Mary’s advice was simple: “Don’t give up no matter what!” the best way to find out whether she liked her or not was to drive her crazy by being around her as much as possible. That way she could measure just how much she liked her by how much she could tolerate her.
“Or how stubborn she is,” Karen stated.
“So it’s not flawless… but it’s a good plan,” Mary replied.
“I disagree,” Sonja argued. “You should push her against a wall, hold her by the wrists and kiss him until he screams: I give up!”
“Her, Sonja, her… and Karen’s trying to find out if she likes her, not rape her.”
In the end she decided to do it her way. Nagging her would not get any results, she had already proven that, but maybe Mary was right when she said that she should ask the people Jack worked with. The more she knew about her the better. However, it was easier said than done. She had to wait outside and out of sight until Jack left and to her misfortune she was the last to leave.
Eventually, after six days of waiting for the right moment, Jack finally left early. As soon as she was out of sight, Karen went inside and was lucky to find the old man sitting at the wooden table.
“Yes, miss! What can we do for you?”
“Uh, actually I wanted to ask about Jack,” she answered.
“Hmm… ‘fraid I can’t help you there. Keeps to herself that one. Thought she was a guy first time I saw her,” the old man said scratching his beard.
“So you don’t know anything about her?” Karen asked, sounding disappointed.
“Only that she has not family or at least none that she keeps in touch with. And she likes to work out a lot. Heck, she’s beat up everyone here that was stupid enough to pick on her,” the old man said laughing.
It wasn’t much but it was a start. They at least had one thing in common, they didn’t have parents any more. And if she liked to work out, it meant that she had to go to a gym somewhere and it only seemed logical that she’d go to the closest one.
Karen started down the road that led her to Jack’s apartment, keeping an eye out for any gyms. Just as she was almost there she saw one down the street from where she lived. With her morale on the rise, Karen went straight there to check, before going up to Jack’s apartment.
The place was full of men and women both middle aged and teenagers. Most of them were obvious weightlifters and the moment she stepped inside she attracted the attention of the whole room. Over a dozen of men gathered around her, flexing their muscles and smiling at her. She was starting to get nervous, especially when one of them moved next to her and leaned against the wall next to her.
“What brings you here, darlin’?” he said with a wide smile.
“I… was just looking for someone,” she said taking a step backwards but bumped into another man with a wide grin.
“Wanna feel my muscles gorgeous?” he asked her flexing his biceps.
“Alright you perverts! Go inject some steroids, she’s with me!” Jack yelled and they soon scattered looking disappointed.
Karen was relieved to see her but Jack looked angry. She grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to the back of the room then pushed her into a small hallway that separated the showers. Before she could speak, Jack put a finger on her lips and looked her in the eyes.
“Before I listen to anything you have to say, you promise no more kissing, not if you want me to take you seriously.”
Karen nodded as a response then Jack backed up, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. But when she was able to speak, the schoolgirl couldn’t find the words and only stared at her, holding her schoolbag tightly.
“What? Still in shock from those over-pumped steroid addicts? This place is full of people who have seen way too many bad TV shows but at least it’s cheap. If you have to come see me, don’t do it here.”
“You’re not angry with me?” Karen said, finally finding her voice.
“No more than I’d be because of an itch I couldn’t scratch.”
“Well I know you said that you said that people would think it was weird and that you didn’t exactly like me… and I know I’m just an air-headed girl but even though I’m younger than you I still want to try if you at least don’t dislike me… I mean if you don’t hate me… But if you don’t want to because I’m a girl and not because I’m younger, or both… and I promise not to kiss you… I mean, to not do anything you didn’t want me to…”
“Alright, stop, stop, stop! You’re babbling… but I get it. Listen, I’ll go take a shower then go home, wait for me outside,” Jack said and went to the girls’ showers.
Karen was still worried that she would still refuse but she at least tried. She was obviously becoming annoying but it was no longer sure what Jack thought of her. When she came out, they both went back to her apartment and Jack let her in first. Then she offered her a drink and sat down on the bed while Karen sat on the couch.
“I don’t know what brought on this crush or whatever it is… but it’s becoming obvious that you’re not about to let it pass and if you keep showing up like this, you’re going to get yourself into trouble. I guess, for a while, we could try it and see what happens.”
“Really?!” Karen shouted jumping to her feet.
“Don’t get so excited, there are going to be rules. First: no kissing without my permission. Second: don’t come to work or anywhere else, only here. Third: no questions about me, my past… actually no questions about me at all. Got it?”
“Got it!” Karen answered smiling.
“One more thing,” Jack said standing and walking next to her and leaning her head down to her level. “Three strikes and you’re out,” she said then kissed her.