The Misadventures of Jake Foley

Jake's Misadventure #23: Trapped.

The sun shines brightly through an array of clouds. The birds chirp for the first time in weeks, signaling a near end of Winter. As everyone else's alarms ring across town, Jake lies awake in his bed, snuggled underneath the covers. His eyes stare straight upward towards the ceiling. Up for hours, Jake gives up on sleep and launches himself out of bed. His eyes dart quickly towards his nightstand to hear his phone vibrate.

Beth: Good Morning! My mom found out we're friends again. (I have no idea how that happened.) But she offered to give me a ride to school. Would you like to get picked up?

Jake: No, I bask in the glory of the frigid cold. I feel one with nature. Jk, of course!! Thank you very much, I'll see you soon.

Jake quickly gets dressed and races downstairs. Gerry & Tristan sit in silence, munching on their breakfasts. Gerry smiles and greets Jake, but Tristan stays silent. Gerry noticing this, he begins to pry at the two as Jake sits down awkwardly to munch on his own breakfast. 

"You two are still not talking? You guys fight more than girls." Jake rolls his eyes, Tristan's eyes staring into his near-empty bowl of cereal. 

"It's ridiculous that you two aren't talking. For crying out loud, you two live together. What had to happen to have it end up this bad?"

Gerry's voice falls on deaf ears. Tristan is the first to remove himself from the table, clutching his backpack before walking out the door. Gerry turns to his only son, his eyes curious. 

"You're not going to tell me are you?" Jake smirks, before slurping the milk in the bowl. 

"Now why would I do that?" Gerry doesn't appear to be amused by Jake's antics. 

"Because then I can stop walking on fucking eggshells in my own home. That would be nice." Jake immediately looks at his phone and smiles. 

"I'll think about it pops. I'll see you later." With his backpack on his shoulders, Jake walks out the door with a smile. The bag feels a lot heavier with the memory box stationed at the bottom of the bag.

Jake closes the door behind him and quickly enters the van. The door shuts as he quickly puts on his seat belt. 

"Well, Well, Well. I was wondering when I was going to see your face again." Mrs. Sanders eyes Jake from the rearview mirror, making Jake slightly uncomfortable. Beth exclaims from the passenger seat.

"Mom!" Jake nervously laughs a bit. 

"It feels great to be back, Mrs. Sanders." Jake flashes a smile, Making Mrs. Sanders eyes smile. Beth crosses her arms and sinks into her seat, wary of her mother's antics. 

"I always knew I was going to see that handsome face again. But Beth was trying to tell me diff-" 

"MOM! Please stop." Mrs. Sanders giggles from the bellow of her belly. Jake awkwardly looks away only for a moment before his eyes became captivated by Beth.

Arriving at school, Beth quickly hurried Jake out of the car before any more embarrassment can be had. Beth laughs, 

"I hope my mother didn't make you feel uncomfortable." 

"No, not at all. It's always. . . an interesting time with your mom." Both have a laugh while walking side by side. Arriving at the top of the steps, both usually go their separate ways for the day. 

"I have a surprise for you at lunch." Beth's eyes glow up. 

"Oh really? What is it? "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you what it is." Jake smiles before turning and getting lost in the sea of students.

Sitting in his last class before lunch, Jake is jittering in his seat. His mind races quickly, his reaction time is to slow to catch up. Getting lost in his thoughts, he smiles when Beth's face appears with her warm and inviting smile. 

"Mr. Foley?" Jake jolts away from his daydream, his eyes shamefully avoiding the gaze of his Algebra 2 Teacher, Mrs. Lynn. 

"Yes, Mrs. Lynn?" Mrs. Lynn rolls her eyes as the other students snicker in the background. 

"It seems like someone wasn't paying attention in my class!" Abruptly, the school bell rang obnoxiously for a minute or two, creating a huge sense of relief. Jake quickly packs his things and navigates through the sea of kids on his way to the hallway. Lingering behind him is Mrs. Lynn's words, 

"Saved by the bell Mr. Foley." Jake hurries to the cafeteria with his bag slanted on one side of his shoulder.

Surveying the area, his eyes smile wide once he can view Beth already sitting at their usual table, reading a book. Jake's heart flutters before slowly walking over. 

"I hope I didn't disturb your reading time." Jake smiles as he descends into the seat in front of her. Beth closes the book. 

"Not much of reading time. But I'll manage." Jake rests his bookbag atop of the table, avoiding Beth's excited look. 

"Are you going to tell me what the surprise is now!?" Jake laughs before unzipping his bag. 

"I hope I don't disappoint you with the surprise." Beth rolls her eyes. Jake reveals the memory box to Beth and places it in front of the two. 

"I thought since we started talking again, that you'd want this back." Speechless, Beth reaches for the box and opens it.

Her eyes scan the box as her smile gets bigger and bigger with every moment. 

"Jake, I don't know what to say. I honestly thought you've thrown this away by now." 

"Memories are more important to me than that. You got to give me more credit than that." A lingering eye shoots a death glare from across the cafeteria. Trish, with her disheveled hair and red-rimmed eyes, glides across the cafeteria in anger. Arriving at the table, she slams her hand atop of the white table, her angry eyes staring dangerously towards Jake.

"I'm so angry at you. After all, we've been through together. You're going to give us up for this?" Trish points to Beth without directing eye contact with her. Beth scoffs and attempts to rise from her seat, but Jake places a hand on Beth. 

"I got this." Jake rises from his seat and walks towards Trish, her eyes mesmerized for just a moment before returning to her angry ways. 

"Please, let's talk." Jake guides her through the cafeteria. Lingering eyes from the students pause their conversations. After walking halfway, Trish yanks herself free from his warm embrace. 

"I thought you were different Jake Foley. You appear as if you care, deep down about my emotions. But I should've known you were like everybody else. You go & FUCK ME?! And then leave me for this dirty blonde bimbo?" Reactions can be heard from all around. Jake is losing control of the situation quickly.

"Trish, this is different. Okay?" Trish scoffs.

"How is this any different from any of the heartbreaks I've had in my life? I created this pedestal for you and you go tumbling it down, showing me that I never should've trusted you in the first place. I desperately wanted you to be different and for a while you were, but you showed me your true intent. I hope it was worth it. Because now EVERYBODY knows about what you did." Trish acknowledges all of the lingering teenagers with their ears perched towards the drama. Jake shyly looks around and notices the entire cafeteria is nearly silent. Jake hangs his head low. 

"I'm sorry that I've hurt you, that was never the intent." Jake attempts to rest a comforting palm atop her shoulder, but she dodges easily. 

"An apology isn't going to cut it. You're going to get what you deserve." Trish grimaces at Beth before turning around and storming out of the cafeteria.