Nathaniel Jean's Senior Year

8: Nathaniel Jean's Project

"Adiós Hermano!"

     Jenna was out of sight before I'd even found a parking spot. You'd think she'd at least walk into the mall with me after I'd driven her all the way here, but nope. Gone like the wind to meet her friends, leaving me to fight through the Black Friday crowd and hope a spot would open up.

     Then again, driving alone was better than listening to my little sister rant about celebrity couples and millennial pink.

     It took thirty minutes. Thirty minutes, in which I followed a bunch of people to their cars like a stalker, almost got into a fight with a middle-aged mom, and probably wasted all of my gas.

     The mall was one of the few places I went regularly where I didn't recognize almost everybody present. There were no big shopping centers in my little town, so I had to drive a few extra miles to get here, and once I left Nowhere, Nebraska, I felt as if I were in a new world. The Midview Square Mall was always full of unfamiliar faces, which was more than a little refreshing compared to my day-to-day.

     After I parked, it didn't take long to find the boys. Trevor texted me a few minutes ago that they were in Adidas—surprise, surprise—so I just needed to navigate the mall to find it.

     I would much rather be hanging out with Lucas right now, as he'd proposed, but raiding sports stores on Black Friday was a tradition among my friend group. I would have to be puking blood to get out of going—to not show up was, in their eyes, nothing short of blasphemous.

     I heard a voice hollering my name and turned around to see Cameron Schetwaldski beckoning me over. In his hands was a pair of neat looking cleats. "Watcha think of these, Jean?"

I joined him, nodding approvingly. "Sick, man. How much are they?"

Cameron scoffed. "Who the fuck cares?"

"Where is everyone?" I asked, raising my voice over the noise of the crowd. Cameron waved his hand dismissively.

"Around. Tyler's right there."

He pointed behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Tyler Fiero approaching, joggers slung over his shoulder. "Don't you already have those?" I asked, because I was pretty sure that just about every member of the boys soccer team had the basic adidas joggers. Lucas looked really good in them, by the way. Just saying. 

Tyler, however, shrugged. "Yeah, but those are a few months old now. Time for a change, dontcha think?"

And this, everyone, is why people hate rich white boys like us. Nevertheless, I nodded and said, "Yeah, 'course."

Tyler looked around for something, then turned back to me with a disappointed pout. "Yo, where's the better of the Jeans? I thought you said you were bringing Jenna, too?"

"I did, but she's off with her friends," I explained. Tyler's frown deepened.

"What a shame . . ." He said. "I was looking forward to seeing her. She's grown up so . . . nicely."

My eyes widened at the suggestive glance he exchanged with Cameron. "What the fuck, man?" I exclaimed. "She's my sister! Better yet, she's fourteen."