Last day of school, July 2008
It was the last day of my high school career, and I was overjoyed to have it over with. I was grateful that I hadn't had to worry that I would not see him as he was sent to the juvenile facility. Once he was gone and I didn't have to worry about seeing him every day, the rest of the year flew by. Today was yearbook day, so there were no classes. It was a day of farewells and signing yearbooks. Tomorrow I'll walk across the stage and receive my diploma. As I walk through the halls, I watch students and teachers talk and laugh. Even though I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, I knew I would miss this place. To tell you the truth, I will miss some of my teachers, and my friends, as well as this building. I know that life must move on.
I was extremely grateful for my teacher Mrs. Childs who always listened to my stories and offered me her advice about all of my problems. I was also grateful for Mr. Baker because he inspired me to follow my dreams and pursue writing as a profession. I even had a few of my poems published in the school magazine. He always told me I was a natural storyteller.
"Makena-" I heard a voice that could only belong to my only friend at Maple Ridge High School. Suri rushes up behind me, stepping up to the locker right next to mine and opening it.
A friendly smile appeared on my face as I asked, "How are you?".
She glances up and down the hallway as she asks, "Have you heard the rumors that everyone is spreading?" I smile at her. Of course, she would know the latest gossip.
"What now?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"You're not going to believe this one..." she said, and now I was starting to get impatient. what was going on?
"Suri, just say it!" I snap.
"Can you guess who came back today?" she asked curiously. Usually, I dislike playing games, even of this type.
I furrowed my brow at her in confusion, asking, "Who is it?".
"Jesse is here!" she says, her hand covering her mouth as if she just told me the world's most terrible secret. Her words sent chills down my spine as I realized who she was talking about.
"Jesse is here?" I asked her in shock. Trying to avoid seeing him my group of friends found a comfortable and cozy spot in the lobby to hang out today. We sat around telling stories and reminiscing about our favorite memories of our time spent here at school. "Hey Mak, do you remember when you knocked Jake over in the hallway by your locker?" Trinity asks with a chuckle.
"Yes, " I looked up at Jake and found him trying to hold on to a laugh. "These boys were staring at me. You all know who it was. Jake said something about one being my boyfriend and it just pissed me off so badly that I pushed him away. I was actually surprised when he went over in front of a hallway full of kids."
"Yeah well, I wasn't balanced properly. That was the only reason you were able to push me over in the first place." He explains, moving his hands as he talks.
"Yeah, yeah."
"No seriously, a girl as small as you could never otherwise take a guy like me down like that!" He mumbles out, his brows furrowed and his voice raised a bit.
"But still Jake, you should admit that it was pretty funny," I say, chuckling.
"Yeah, I know it was funny! At least I can laugh at it now!" He nudged me lightly in the side, while he laughed.
"Plus, no one knew where it was going to lead. Jesse was crazy and I was glad he had been arrested." I squeal out loud to everyone around me. "Especially since it was that dang phone call that Trinity forced me to make that started it all..."
"You do know that all of that happened by mistake, right?" She looks my way with sympathy. "I am so sorry, you know that I never intended it to happen like that." She says.
"Well, of course, I was just reminiscing." I let out a small laugh to clarify that I wasn't mad at all. But I knew all too well how our friendship had suffered after that day.
A short while later, we were signing our yearbooks when I noticed they were entering from across the room. Standing up, I waited for Suri to finish teasing Jake because we had already decided to leave the office and head to Mrs. Child's class to officially say goodbye. As I watched them approach us, I laughed out loud at the joke she just told.
I saw Jake's face as he came closer. He was furious at Jesse and glared straight at him. I could feel my heart begin to race as he drew closer, and I worried about what he would do to me. I had put him in jail and turned him in and he always told me he'd come after me if he ever got out. But was he going to be doing that now? He stopped right in front of me and for a moment I thought this was it. But then he just began speaking.
"Hey Makena, can you sign my yearbook?" He asks holding the book out toward me. He has a nervous look on his face, and stares straight at Jake." I had never seen him like this. Usually, he was so cocky and smug always showing off for the ladies who might be watching.
"Um, sure, but please sign mine as well." I followed his lead, taking his book and handing him mine. It was a very tense couple of minutes while we both signed each other's books.
"Will you sign mine too?" Ruben and Curtis simultaneously ask me, while I laugh quietly.
"Sure, but the same deal!" I smile quietly as I watch them sign my book. The message I had written was simple and I had already worked with all three. They took their books back, gave mine to me, and left. Simple.
"What did he sign, Mak?" Suri inquires as I open my book. Flipping through the pages to find their messages. When I finally found them, I realized that they had all signed the same page, but Jesse's stood out the most.
"He wrote... Dear Makena, I am very sorry for everything I've done to you! You are a remarkable girl. Don't ever change. I truly hope that we will see each other again someday. Yours forever, Jesse Campbell... Wait, what?" He had placed several hearts around the message.
"Does anyone else think that what he did was a coward's way of apologizing to you?" Suri inquires.
"Yes, but what I'm most curious about is why it contains the phrase 'Love forever' and he put all those hearts!" I reply softly, wanting to get to the bottom of all this. I wanted to know the truth.
"Yes, I do. He's a coward, he's always been a coward and I don't think that will ever change." He says. I never expected to hear something like that.
When I walked into the classroom, I noticed my favorite teacher was engaged in a deep discussion with another student. I left the classroom to give them some space. How could they have released Jesse from prison like this? I was angry and confused. It seemed too easy for someone with so much to answer for to be let off so lightly. I couldn't help but feel that justice had not been served.
I heard some laughter coming down the hall, and it scared me a bit. The laughter sounded like his... I wanted to get out of there quickly so I ducked into the empty classroom across the hall. It wasn't until I heard his voice that I became more alert... why did I have to leave the safety of my friends?
"I thought you said she came this way?" He sounded so angry. I wondered if he was searching for me. My heart raced as I heard the urgency in his voice; I knew he was looking for me.
A friend of Jesse's said, "She did, Jake said she was on her way to Mrs. Child's room." As they approached her door, I watched as they looked inside. Obviously, I wasn't there, so he swung back around glancing straight in my direction and I gulped down some air as a smile crept across his face.
He stepped up to the classroom doorway where I was hiding. There was no light and I had no idea if he could see me. Therefore, I kept as still and silent as possible. As soon as he turned on the light, the room became bright. Despite knowing I had been caught, I did not move to come out of hiding. I know you're in here, Makena. Come out and talk to me," he shouted. Despite his words and the bright light illuminating the room, I remained frozen in place, feeling the weight of my fear pressing down on me.
Even though I breathe out loud, I do not move. Suddenly, a hand grabs my wrist and pulls me from behind the cabinet. He covered my mouth with his other hand as I screamed. I was stunned and silent, frozen with fear as he stared into my eyes with a smile on his face. My Makena, there you are. I see you." He said with a smile. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk. I felt the grip of his hand on my wrist, the warmth of his breath on my skin, and the smell of his cologne.
"Leave me alone, Jesse!" I try to say around his hand.
He laughed at my predicament, keeping his hand across my mouth as he asked, "What was that?"?" This made me feel angry. He said, "I only want to talk to you. Could you shake your head if you don't mind?"
My head bobs up and down. There was no clear indication of what he wanted to talk to me about. Nevertheless, I knew he wouldn't let me go without telling me. Therefore, it is better to get it out of the way... "Don't you remember I wanted to discuss something with you before the cops stormed the house and arrested me?" he snaps out, forcing me to keep shaking my head.
In my eyes, I feel a tear welling up as I shake my head. It was clear that he wanted to tell me something important, maybe even something that could help him with his current legal situation. He seemed desperate to finally get it all out in the open, so I knew that I had to stay and listen to what he had to say.
If I let go of your mouth, would you scream?" he asks. Nodding, I tell him no.
When he removes his hand from my mouth, I turn to look at him. I snap out, "What do you want from me, Jesse?".
"All I want to do is talk. I want to tell you the truth about myself," he smiles. It was clear he wanted to do more but realized he would not get anything from me. "While I understand that it probably shocked you, I want to tell you that was genuinely shocked as well when I realized what was going on when you called me that day."
"Jesse, let's move forward. Tomorrow is graduation. We will be starting to move forward, so let's move on." I begged him. His eyes flashed with anger...It was clear to me that he was not interested in doing that.
"Jesse, stop right now!" Jake's deep voice boomed through the doorway. As I looked back into his eyes with a grateful smile, I noticed how dark brown they were.
Jake growls at Jesse, "You promised me I could talk to her.".
"Yes, but she looks terrified, so I think you're done now. Step away!" he said again. I feel Suri pull my hand away and drag me through the hall. Immediately, she drags me to Mrs. Child's class. My favorite teacher can help me sort through everything that has happened. I enjoyed Mrs. Child's classes because she was always understanding and kind. My gut instinct told me that she could help me sort out everything I had been through. I took a deep breath as I walked into her class.