He Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus; But He Talks Like A Gentleman

“Why didn’t you call me all weekend?!”
Monday had come too soon for Chase. Maybe because she’d locked herself away all weekend, not having any visitors. Not even Alex. In fact she hadn’t seen him since school on Friday. She didn’t know if and when she could face him, the one person she had never lied to, or hidden anything from, with her secret.
Now Chase sat, pointedly staring to the wall to her right trying to block out Jasyn Barakat’s conversation right next to her. Tommy Scott had slipped into the room under the substitute’s nose, and was now pestering Jasyn, who wasn’t acknowledging him at all, let alone responding to him.
Finally Chase heard the girl’s voice, cold and unattached. “Why would I call you? I told you I’m done.”
The girl had more courage then Chase, because she was looking him straight in the eyes.
Tommy literally laughed aloud. “Jase,” he said causing Chase to instinctively turn thinking she heard her name. “Come on, we never stay broken up.”
“Well I mean it. It’s over,” she simply replied turning from him to stare to the front of the classroom.
“Baby,” he hesitated attempting to take her hand. Dead weight; she wasn’t helping or hurting his attempts. It was like he wasn’t even there to her.
“Fine,” he said dropping her hand, “GOOD!” he exclaimed loudly standing with his hands in the air. “I don’t need an ice queen.”
The whole class quieted and stared blatantly at Jasyn and Tommy as he left the room, slamming the door.
“Young man!” the inexperienced teacher called out following him into the hall. The class erupted in hush whispers. No doubt about the scene that had just unfolded in front of them. However, Jasyn sat there. Blank stare, sitting, and waiting for the next set of directions. As if she was paying no mind to class around her.
Chase quickly averted her gaze. She had only just realized that she’d been staring at Jasyn when she was able to point out the similarities between Jasyn’s features and Jack’s features. They both had the same eyes.
When the substitute returned in a tired voice, she told the students to get into their lab groups and work on a pre-lab to their first lab of the year. Chase was excited to finally get her mind off of things with work, even if she would have the Barakat girl stealing the answers off of her sheet. At least she wouldn’t have to look at her and be reminded of this weekend’s mistakes.
Jasyn turned towards Chase to copy the answers she’d already written down. Or so Chase thought, so when Jasyn began to speak to her she was surprised.
“Hey.” She said in a monotonous tone.
Chase looked up with a blank stare that seemed to convey a response of ‘what’.
“Stay away from my brother.” She said simply.
Chase’s eyes got huge and she was afraid for a moment that she would start crying right there.
He told her. He told her. He told her. the phrase kept repeating in her head.
“I saw the two of you. Friday night.” She leaned in more towards Chase, “And I don’t think either of our parents, or Alex for that matter would like to hear what I saw.” She said leaning back. “Not that I don’t want to erase it from my mind.”
“You didn’t see anything.” Chase responded once again looking down at the lab and this time tilting it so her answers were clearly not legible to Jasyn by the way she was angled in reference to Chase.
“Listen. All three of us know that the kiss was a mistake. You hate him. He hates you. I definitely hate you. There was just a little too much alcohol.” Jasyn sounded as though she was trying to convince herself; and although she wasn’t being harsh, this was the tipping point for Chase. She got up; angrily throwing her bag over her right shoulder, collecting all of her things, and racing out of the room that held the class that still had 72 of the 80 minutes of class left.
Chase had never skipped a class during her entire high school career. However the anger and hurt built up inside of her was enough to overpower her fear of authority or nerves. Speed walking in a beeline to the back door that led to her car, Chase was so focused on the task at hand; she didn’t hear a set of footsteps pick up behind her.
That was until she heard her name being called. By a familiar voice. A male voice.
“Chase! Chase, stop dammit.” Chase only picked up her speed hoping to avoid a confrontation. Throwing the back doors open with such force that they slammed against the wall on the other side of the door. Before Chase could realize it she was literally running to her car. Sliding into the driver’s seat, throwing her bag over her shoulder onto the backseat, and placing her seat belt on, all in less then thirty seconds; she thought she was safe. She started up the car and was just about to stomp on the gas pedal just when a familiar boy crashed himself into the front of her car, as if to prevent her from going.
Shocked and defeated Chase turned off her car and rolled down her window.
Alex came to her window so quickly, that Chase hadn’t yet blinked. She knew that she’d put up quite a chase because her cousin, star athlete was completely winded and seemingly hyperventilating.
“What is your problem!?” he exclaimed as soon as he caught his breath.
Chase gave him a completely blank stare thinking it best to play dumb, or stay silent.
“Don’t give me that look! You wouldn’t see me all weekend. Now you see me and you’re skipping class! Is this about Friday night? I said I was sorry. It was one night-,”
Chase rolled her eyes in a histrionic manner. “Hey captain conceded, not everything has to do with you.”
“Then what is it?” Alex was exasperated. “This isn’t you! You never skip classes, and we never fight what’s going on with you?”
“You skip classes,” she challenged with a scowl.
“This isn’t about me,” he chided.
“Well isn’t it convenient that everything is about you until someone calls you out,” Chase narrowed her eyes, and gave the car a little gas driving away from Alex who stood there looking to be a little shocked.
+++

Chase went the only place she could think to go. The playground located in a state park that had comforted her as a child. It seemed like a logical idea due to the fact that she was longing to be comforted at the moment. Also it seemed to look even better when she considered the facts that she couldn’t go home and risk seeing her parents, and that she currently had no cash on her to get gas to travel.
The state park was located in a five mile radius to her house and she knew every inch of it like the back of her hand. It was broken up into five different sections named after different tree species. The Sycamore section was the one that had been most frequented by Chase through the years. It held the large playground and a picnic area.
Since it was a week day and early at that, not even quarter after eight, the only people around were about a mile away walking around the track leaving Chase in solitude with her thoughts.
Although she had spent the whole weekend alone, she hadn’t let her mind drift to Friday night. She couldn’t. She’d had things to distract her, television, music, internet, books and magazines. Anything and everything she needed to preoccupy her brain. But now that she sat here alone with nothing but nature surrounding her she could no longer deny her mind access into her memories of the mistake she’d made.
Yes, alcohol had been a factor, but Chase could clearly remember what had occurred with a little thought. She’d been cooperative, and Jack had been more then willing. And the alcohol had made her loosen up to a point she would have never reached sober. To a point where she lost something she’d held onto for the last seventeen years. Something that she could never get back.
Due to regret, and disappointment in herself, the tears began to run down Chase’s face freely. And that’s exactly how it had started. Just rolling tears. But that soon turned into full heavy, chest heaving sobs.
She couldn’t have told you how long that she sat there. She had no sense of time or anything around her in the absolute peace surrounding her. That was until a voice sounded behind her.
“Hi.”