Break Your Little Heart

I had just gotten back from basketball practice and told my mom that I would be home late since I wanted to hang out with Luke and my other friend, Brigitte, who was also on the basketball team. We decided to go downtown and get a snack to eat and then chill in the park. We stopped at 7-Eleven and we each bought a drink and a snack and brought them to the park. We sat at one of the picnic tables and started eating. We put everything in the middle so that we could have a little bit of everything. After we finished eating Brigitte asked me a question.

“Jaymi, do you have anybody you like?” she asked me.

“No, not really. Why?” I asked her.

“Well, because I think I know a guy who might ask you out this week,” Brigitte told me.

“Really? Who?” I asked her interested.

“Jeremy Hoptkins,” she said.

“Jeremy? Really? I kinda doubt that,” I told her while shaking my head in disbelief. Jeremy Hoptkins was smart but a jokester. He never took anything seriously and that was one of the reasons why I didn’t believe Brigitte.

“Yeah, I saw him staring at you a couple times during History,” Luke added.

“Well, I would never date Jeremy. We just aren’t compatible,” I told them while taking a sip of my Arizona Iced Tea.

They fell into an awkward silence after that but it was broken when Brigitte asked, “Then, would you mind if I went for him?”

I just stared at her with wide eyes.

“Would you really go out with Jeremy?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I mean he’s cute, funny, nice, smart, and on the baseball team! A total catch,” she said while winking.

“Well, you can do what you want,” I replied not caring.

“Since Jaymi doesn’t like the good all American boy, that must mean that she likes the bad boys right?” Luke reasoned.

Brigitte gasped. “That’s totally it!” she said while looking at Jaymi with wide eyes. “You’re like Sandy and you want a Danny Zuko!” she exclaimed.

Brigitte had recently found an obsession with Grease and made comparisons like this all the time.

“Sure, whatever you say,” I told her.

“Y’know we should start going to some rock concerts so that we can try and get you a boyfriend,” Brigitte told her.

“You mean the heavy stuff that Kristen listens to? How about no,” I said while grimacing as I remembered hearing some of Kristen’s music blasting from her room.

Brigitte was about to say something but she got cut off when my phone started to ring. It was my mom.

“Hey Mom,” I said into the phone.

“Hi darling. I was just wondering do you know where your sister is?” she asked me.

“No, sorry,” I told her.

“Oh, well, if you get a hold of her tell her come back immediately because I need to talk some sense into that girl,” she said angrily.

“What did she do?” I asked her concerned.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with honey,” she said.

“Oh, okay. Well, bye,” I said into the phone and then my mother hung up.

“Well, I gotta go,” Luke said while getting up.

“Yeah, me too,” Brigitte said while collecting her things.

“Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” I called after them.

{~break~}

I was now at home and walked up to my room and started on my homework. I was in the middle of my AP Physics homework when my mom called me downstairs for dinner. When I walked down the stairs and into the dining room I was surprised to see my father sitting there as well. He never joined us for dinner. He always said that he was too busy and that he’d eat later. Something special must be happening tonight.

“Jaymi, honey, eat your dinner and then your father and I are going to tell you something,” mother told me sweetly.

I just nodded and started to eat her dinner, which consisted of steak, potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower. Once I was done I put her plate in the kitchen sink and then sat down at the table.

“Okay, this may come as a shock to you but your father and I have decided on something. We’re thinking of getting a divorce. We aren’t positive that we’re going to get it but it’s likely,” she said to me.

“What?! Why?” I asked her.

“Well, your father and just aren’t seeing eye to eye anymore, but maybe that’ll change in a couple of months and we can still get this marriage to work,” my mother explained.

“What about Kristen? Have you told her yet?” I asked my parents.

“Don’t worry honey we’ll tell her soon, we just knew that you would take it better than she would since you’re the more levelheaded of the two of you,” my father said, speaking for the first time all night.

“Oh, well, then, do you mind if I excuse myself and finish my homework?” I asked them.

“Of course darling, but please don’t tell your sister this. We want to be the ones who tell her,” warned my father.

I just nodded and slowly walked up the stairs trying to grasp what I was just told. My parents might get a divorce. I will no longer have that happy family I have always wanted. I’ll have two different families living in two different houses. What if one of them gets remarried?! Then I’ll have a step family! That’s not how it’s supposed to happen! I’m Jaymi Lee Brooks! I supposed to have the perfect grades, the perfect family, and the perfect clothes, but I guess I’ll have to try harder in the two other categories to make up for my lack of the perfect family. Okay, I have to make it seem like this doesn’t bother me and that I’ve got my shit together. I can do this. Make it seem like this is not bothering me and just carry on with my life.