Untrustworthy - Chapter 2/Jacob
I ask about a kid from class.
I see Jacob in the hall as I'm going to class from my locker and don't make eye contact. I now know his connection to Gage, Royal and Mayor is through his older brother Arden, who's moved into Mayor's house. I hurry to meet up with Elysa and we go to our favorite spot for lunch, the porch in front of the school's west door. The snow from yesterday has begun to melt and sits in ugly lumpy patches over muddy ground. Elysa looks unhappy, and I take her hand.
"What's wrong honey?"
"I hate that guy." She says in a low voice. "He gives me the creeps."
"Huh?"
"Arden! Jacob's brother. He and Mayor have been friends for a while I think, but now it's like he's taken over the house. I don't even know how Mayor met him, some bar probably." Mayor's drinking and partying had always been a source of conflict between him and his dad.
"Where is he from?"
"He doesn't really say, I think he's from a bigger city close by. He came down here to visit Jacob, met my cousin, and moved into the house like a few weeks ago. I don't know how he met Gage and Royal, but I have a feeling he buys them booze for their parties. Mayor's had friends rent before, but this guy gets on my nerves."
"I thought all his acquaintances got on your nerves." I knew about Mayor's friends. Guys who came from upper class homes like Mayor did, and annoyed Elysa with their frat boy attitudes.
"Yeah," She admitted, tugging at her eyepatch. "But this guy's different. He's cold. I don't know how to explain it, but he isn't like the other bros that come around...I mean he seems to know a lot of people and even throws parties sometimes, but he, I dunno. He's different. I feel like he's out to get something detrimental."
I giggled. That word was on our vocab list today in English. "Breaking out the new words huh?" She looked up and smiled, but it was a tight, anxious smile.
"Hey, don't worry so much." I said, pushing her and trying to break her out of her weird mood. "And stop pulling at your eyepatch. It makes me nervous." She always did that when she was upset or worried. I switched topics.
"Where's Andrew, I haven't seen him for a few days." Andrew was a boy whose locker was on the other side of mine.
"He got kicked out." I jumped at Jacob's voice in my ear. I didn't hear the door open when he came out. He sat down next to Elysa, and gave me a long look through pale, blue eyes.
"What are you doing out here?" I ask. I know he hates me.
"I ain't out here to talk to you." He growled. "I wanted to hang with Elysa for a little bit, okayyy?" I glared at him. I knew he and Elysa had hung in the same crowd early middle-school, and I knew that they were still kinda sorta friends, but that didn't mean I had to like him.
"Sup." Elysa said, not looking at him. Silence for a few seconds as the three of us stare out at the melting snow.
"How long have you and Andrew been friends?" I ask suddenly. The last few months they'd spent a lot of time talking over my head, but I couldn't remember them hanging out much before that.
He shrugged and actually answered. "Awhile. He was tight." Yeah he was tight, I remembered cute, quiet, soft brown hair and big eyes. Funny, always on time for class, got good grades in the math class we'd had together. He had said something about being homeschooled through middle-school, and hadn't had a ton of friends.
"He got kicked out for repeated drug abuse. They found stuff in his backpack." Elysa told me. I stared at her and Jacob.
"Whaat? I've heard you two talk about parties but I would never have...did you know about this?" I asked Jacob.
"Kind of. He just wasn't careful with stuff." Jacob said. He sat there kicking his big, ghetto shoes against the
concrete steps and I studied him. He didn't seem like the kind of person straight-A Andrew would have hung with. He was rude, talked out in class and spent more time in the principal's office than out of it.
"Welp. I came out here to say that I got a note in class; Mayor says he's picking us up from school and taking us out to dinner. I guess that means her too." He said in my direction. The bell ran and he got up. "Gotta go." He jumped off the porch and ran around the side of the school, his oversized South Pole hoodie flapping and his white shoes squelching in the mud. Elysa and I got up and went back inside.
"I'm kind of surprised that he and Andrew are friends." I told her. "They ran in different packs right? Andrew was in the chess club and tennis team and seemed pretty cool and serious about grades. Uh, Jacob's just a douche." Was it because he was lonely? Did he want to be like him? I thought of Jacob's stiff hair, mean eyes and sneer and my lip curled. Who would want to be like him?
"Jacob can be outgoing and sweet if he wants." Elysa said. "He attach his big blue eyes on you and he makes you feel like he's really listening. Even though he got a big mouth, Jacob's good at keeping secrets. Then he takes all them secrets you've told him and uses them against you. I've known the kid for forever, I know how he is. You won't know 'til it's too late that he's just using you because he want something. Yeah I think it was probably because Andrew needed a friend or something and Jacob used that. Got him in big trouble though."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I thought I could see Jacob doing drugs, but why would Andrew get caught and not Jacob? He just wasn't careful with stuff...
Elysa didn't comment so I tried again.
"If Jacob's so good with people," I asked, "Why's he so mean to me?"
"Cuz he thinks you're a goody-two shoes." She shrugged apologetically. "Just saying it like it is hon. You don't drink, you don't party, hate pot and you're always so quiet all the time. Plus he just nice to people he wants something from. Take it from me, I know."
After the last bell rang, and I went to my locker, got my cell phone, called my mom to ask if I could eat dinner with Elysa and Mayor and looked up to see Jacob at my elbow.
"What do you do for fun, Sara?" He asked. His unusually mild tone made me suspicious. I shrug. "You wanna, wanna come hang out at Elysa's house tomorrow?"
"What?" This is so unlike him.
"There's a party tomorrow night, and if I say you're my friend they'll let you in. You can come with me."
"What if I go with Elysa instead? It's her house."
"Whateva. But you'll have more fun with me." He said. I look straight into his eyes, and shake my head. Why would I ever go with you?! I want to say, but don't. What did he want? Was he hitting on me? Ugh! This was a 180 degree turn from how he'd been treating me. I remembered what Elysa said and turned away.
"What's wrong honey?"
"I hate that guy." She says in a low voice. "He gives me the creeps."
"Huh?"
"Arden! Jacob's brother. He and Mayor have been friends for a while I think, but now it's like he's taken over the house. I don't even know how Mayor met him, some bar probably." Mayor's drinking and partying had always been a source of conflict between him and his dad.
"Where is he from?"
"He doesn't really say, I think he's from a bigger city close by. He came down here to visit Jacob, met my cousin, and moved into the house like a few weeks ago. I don't know how he met Gage and Royal, but I have a feeling he buys them booze for their parties. Mayor's had friends rent before, but this guy gets on my nerves."
"I thought all his acquaintances got on your nerves." I knew about Mayor's friends. Guys who came from upper class homes like Mayor did, and annoyed Elysa with their frat boy attitudes.
"Yeah," She admitted, tugging at her eyepatch. "But this guy's different. He's cold. I don't know how to explain it, but he isn't like the other bros that come around...I mean he seems to know a lot of people and even throws parties sometimes, but he, I dunno. He's different. I feel like he's out to get something detrimental."
I giggled. That word was on our vocab list today in English. "Breaking out the new words huh?" She looked up and smiled, but it was a tight, anxious smile.
"Hey, don't worry so much." I said, pushing her and trying to break her out of her weird mood. "And stop pulling at your eyepatch. It makes me nervous." She always did that when she was upset or worried. I switched topics.
"Where's Andrew, I haven't seen him for a few days." Andrew was a boy whose locker was on the other side of mine.
"He got kicked out." I jumped at Jacob's voice in my ear. I didn't hear the door open when he came out. He sat down next to Elysa, and gave me a long look through pale, blue eyes.
"What are you doing out here?" I ask. I know he hates me.
"I ain't out here to talk to you." He growled. "I wanted to hang with Elysa for a little bit, okayyy?" I glared at him. I knew he and Elysa had hung in the same crowd early middle-school, and I knew that they were still kinda sorta friends, but that didn't mean I had to like him.
"Sup." Elysa said, not looking at him. Silence for a few seconds as the three of us stare out at the melting snow.
"How long have you and Andrew been friends?" I ask suddenly. The last few months they'd spent a lot of time talking over my head, but I couldn't remember them hanging out much before that.
He shrugged and actually answered. "Awhile. He was tight." Yeah he was tight, I remembered cute, quiet, soft brown hair and big eyes. Funny, always on time for class, got good grades in the math class we'd had together. He had said something about being homeschooled through middle-school, and hadn't had a ton of friends.
"He got kicked out for repeated drug abuse. They found stuff in his backpack." Elysa told me. I stared at her and Jacob.
"Whaat? I've heard you two talk about parties but I would never have...did you know about this?" I asked Jacob.
"Kind of. He just wasn't careful with stuff." Jacob said. He sat there kicking his big, ghetto shoes against the
concrete steps and I studied him. He didn't seem like the kind of person straight-A Andrew would have hung with. He was rude, talked out in class and spent more time in the principal's office than out of it.
"Welp. I came out here to say that I got a note in class; Mayor says he's picking us up from school and taking us out to dinner. I guess that means her too." He said in my direction. The bell ran and he got up. "Gotta go." He jumped off the porch and ran around the side of the school, his oversized South Pole hoodie flapping and his white shoes squelching in the mud. Elysa and I got up and went back inside.
"I'm kind of surprised that he and Andrew are friends." I told her. "They ran in different packs right? Andrew was in the chess club and tennis team and seemed pretty cool and serious about grades. Uh, Jacob's just a douche." Was it because he was lonely? Did he want to be like him? I thought of Jacob's stiff hair, mean eyes and sneer and my lip curled. Who would want to be like him?
"Jacob can be outgoing and sweet if he wants." Elysa said. "He attach his big blue eyes on you and he makes you feel like he's really listening. Even though he got a big mouth, Jacob's good at keeping secrets. Then he takes all them secrets you've told him and uses them against you. I've known the kid for forever, I know how he is. You won't know 'til it's too late that he's just using you because he want something. Yeah I think it was probably because Andrew needed a friend or something and Jacob used that. Got him in big trouble though."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I thought I could see Jacob doing drugs, but why would Andrew get caught and not Jacob? He just wasn't careful with stuff...
Elysa didn't comment so I tried again.
"If Jacob's so good with people," I asked, "Why's he so mean to me?"
"Cuz he thinks you're a goody-two shoes." She shrugged apologetically. "Just saying it like it is hon. You don't drink, you don't party, hate pot and you're always so quiet all the time. Plus he just nice to people he wants something from. Take it from me, I know."
After the last bell rang, and I went to my locker, got my cell phone, called my mom to ask if I could eat dinner with Elysa and Mayor and looked up to see Jacob at my elbow.
"What do you do for fun, Sara?" He asked. His unusually mild tone made me suspicious. I shrug. "You wanna, wanna come hang out at Elysa's house tomorrow?"
"What?" This is so unlike him.
"There's a party tomorrow night, and if I say you're my friend they'll let you in. You can come with me."
"What if I go with Elysa instead? It's her house."
"Whateva. But you'll have more fun with me." He said. I look straight into his eyes, and shake my head. Why would I ever go with you?! I want to say, but don't. What did he want? Was he hitting on me? Ugh! This was a 180 degree turn from how he'd been treating me. I remembered what Elysa said and turned away.
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