Forbidden

The day continued on just like any other would for Jessa Davis, even after the almost fight Scott and Jason DiMera had. She went to her classes and did her very best to leave any other thought that wasn’t school related back out in the hallway, to most likely be picked up by Alyson when the bell rang and the drama resumed.

It wasn’t too hard for Jessa to forget her worries, considering the schedule she had. The classes she attended were all honors, something she was quite proud of, being the only one out of her group of friends to accomplish such a feat. She’d been given the option of taking the early release program for her senior year, but her parents made her deny it, claiming that she needed all the extra credit she could use for college. She was reminded of this every day, when she sat in her fourth-period class and watched as all the other early release kids walked past the window, en route to home or work. This, along with the laundry list of other offenses, was why Jessa resented her parents.

“Jessa?”

Jessa's eyes jumped to the front of the room quickly. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Answer the question,” Miss Rogers, the intuitive English teacher, commanded.

“Can you repeat it again, please?” Jessa asked, her voice quiet in embarrassment.

“Explain the emotions felt by Crusoe when he made the decision to go against his families wishes and take that tumultuous voyage,” Miss Rogers repeated. Jessa sighed quietly and quickly recalled the novel the class had just finished reading.

“Well,” She began. “Crusoe was on a path of self-discovery. He had lived his whole life under the scrutiny of his family; doing what they thought was best for him, even if he wasn’t ultimately happy. He felt that this was his time and even though his parents continued to scold him for not taking their suggested paths, it didn’t matter because this was the freedom he’d always dreamed of and nothing was going to stop him.”

Miss Rogers flashed Jessa a surprised, but no doubt satisfied smile. “Very good. That’s absolutely right. Robinson Crusoe was ultimately about the path of self-discovery.”

Jessa sighed in relief, letting her mind wander again. It suddenly hit her that Robinson Crusoe sounded a lot like her own reality. Order, scrutiny, rule, dictation; it all fit almost to the tee. She just hoped that the result of it all would play out similarly, too, and the route taken by Mr. Crusoe would allow her to take the same one and rebel against the ungodly forces known as mom and dad.

Jessa slunk back in her seat, dead set on sailing through the rest of the period and making it to lunch, where she could cut loose and work on some homework that had been assigned during first period.



“What do you think of Tommy Miller?”

“Eh, he’s cute, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“I’m gonna try and hook up with him at Nate’s party.”



“What?! Shut up. You little slut!”



“Hey, he’s hot as hell. If I can get away with nailing him, then I will.”

“You must be off your rocker if you think you can get away with it. The whole school will be talking about it by next Monday, Alyson. Right, Jess?”

The dynamic studies of Principia Mathematica was what currently held Jessa's attention as she scribbled interesting facts in her notebook for Latin class.

“Jessa? Earth to Jessa!” Alyson snapped her fingers in front of Jessa's face, and the deep-in-study girl was quick to lift her head.

“What?” She asked, looking between Alyson and another one of their many clique members, Taylor Hale.

“I was trying to get your opinion on something, but since you’re obviously too engaged in--” Taylor leaned over and looked at the two open books in front of Jessa. “Latin? You’re seriously taking Latin?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s one of the most diverse languages out there and the hardest to learn. I find it quite interesting, though,” Jessa replied, leaning forward to grab hold of her Snapple bottle. Alyson and Taylor looked to one another and shook their heads with matching smirks.

“You know, if you weren’t so pretty and rich, we might consider you to be a nerd,” Alyson remarked, giggling. Jessa shrugged her shoulders and ducked her head in slight embarrassment.

“What did you want, anyway?” Jessa asked as she looked over at Taylor again.

“Oh, Alyson was talking about how she was going to hook up with Tommy Miller at Nate’s party and I told her that everyone would be talking about it by Monday. Am I right?” Taylor questioned again. Jessa sighed and placed her pen down on the open notebook page.

“I don’t know. It depends on who witnesses and if Tommy decides to blab the story to everyone. Then again, knowing how high Aly ranks on the popularity chain, would anyone really want to mess with her?” Jessa replied, rubbing at her temples.

“See, I knew there was a reason we kept this girl around. She’s so damn smart!” Alyson said, wrapping her arm around Jessa's shoulders exaggeratedly and sticking her tongue out at Taylor. She then received a light shove from the appearing Scott, who overheard her remarked when he made his way over to the three girls.

“Don’t forget that she’s dating me, so that automatically makes her cool,” He said, sitting next to Jessa and smiling cockily. Jessa rolled her eyes and picked up her pen again, resuming her work. “Are you seriously doing work during the lunch period?”

“Yes, I am. I’d rather not have to go home and do it; besides, I’m not doing anything else.”

“This girl,” Scott began, as he looked between Alyson and Taylor. “Is such a nerd!”

He nudged her in the side and joined in the laughter being produced by their surrounding friends. Jessa smiled a little, masking the anger that was beginning to form. No matter how much her friends liked to tease her, and even if they were joking, it always seemed to piss her off greatly. Scott was the biggest trigger of all of them, as he did it just to push her buttons and get a laugh from everyone else. He was a chauvinist, which Jessa realized probably a month or two into their relationship. This was just another way for her parents to control her life. They loved Scott; they loved that he was the captain of the football team, and that his father was rich, and that he was receiving a scholarship to CSULA to play for their prestigious football team. Jessa suspected her parents wanted her to marry Scott and have his children and attend fancy theater shows like one of those stuck-up couples that throw money every which way they can, simply because they can. This wasn’t Jessa, and she just didn’t see a future with Scott after high school.

The bell signaling the end of lunch period rang, startling Jessa out of her thoughts. She closed her books and quickly shoved them into her bag, before standing and being met with a big, wet kiss on her lips from Scott.

“Love ya, babe,” He said, flashing her that cocky grin he uses with all his friends, and striding off to his next class. Jessa sighed and followed her own path to sixth period.



The clock on the dashboard of Jessa's car read 2:01 as she sat in the driver’s seat and waited for Alyson to show up. She had texted Jessa during seventh period and insisted on being given a ride home after school that afternoon. ‘Don't make me ride on that dinky old bus, Jess! Carl Horvath was creepin’ on me during gym and he’s on my bus! You know he’ll try and feel me up or something!!’ Jessa smiled in remembrance of the random text, but ultimately ended up agreeing to drive Alyson home as long as she didn’t make a habit of it.

The passenger side door opened suddenly, and Jessa was met with the sly smile of Alyson Clark, as she climbed into the car and shut the door behind her.

“It’s about time,” Jessa said, as Alyson pulled her seatbelt across her chest.

“Yeah, well, you know how the hallways get this time of day. Plus, having your class on the opposite side of the building to where your locker is, doesn’t help much either,” Alyson replied. She was quick to reach in her hoodie pocket and pull out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, opening the plastic box and retrieving a cancer stick from within. “Is it cool if I smoke real quick?”

“Yeah, if you want my mom to smell it and end up thinking I smoke now,” Jessa said. Alyson lit it up anyway, taking a drag of it and letting her armrest out the window so the majority of the smoke blew away.

Jessa rolled her eyes at her defiant best friend, and proceeded to place the gear in reverse and backed out of her parking spot. Switching it back into drive, she was quick to press down on the gas pedal and make a dash for the exit of the school’s lot

“So you’re going to Nate’s party on Friday, right?” Alyson conversed as they began their route to her house.

“I think so. My mom was talking to me about it this morning, telling me if I don’t act decent for the rest of the week, then I can’t go. But you know how she’s like in love with Scott so if he wants me to go then I’ll be able to go.”

Alyson chuckled at Jessa words before replying, “Yeah, well, everyone’s in love with Scott so I wouldn’t be surprised if your mom was, too.”

“Are you in love with Scott?” Jessa asked, speculatively.

“What?! No! No, of course not. He’s your man. Why would I try and jeep on him like that?” Alyson exclaimed, looking at Jessa with wide eyes.

“Jeep? What the hell does jeep mean?”

“You know, jeep. When someone jeeps on your relationship or if your guy is jeepin’ behind your back?”

Jessa shook her head, grinning. “I guess so. Anyway, I was only kidding, Al. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh,” Alyson sat back, letting out a breath of relief before taking a drag of her cigarette. Jessa stole a few glances at her, taking in her disheveled appearance and squinting her eyebrows in confusion.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked her friend.

“No. Why would there be?”

“You’re all…fidgety.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

Alyson tossed her cigarette out the window, just as they were pulling up in front of her house. “There’s nothing wrong. Thanks for the ride, Jess. I’ll text you later.”

“Okay. Bye,” Jessa mumbled as Alyson exited the car and hurried up to her front door. “Well, that wasn’t weird at all…” She spoke to herself, sighing quietly and pulling away from the curb.

Turning the corner, thoughts of Alyson’s strange actions plagued her mind continuously. Why was she being so weird? There was no reason for it. It was only a joke, after all. Jessa shook her head in disarray and set her sights back on the road in front of her. She took a hold of the wheel tighter and swerved the car closer to the right side of the road where she belonged, as another car was making its way down from the other direction. She paid no mind to it, as it was a residential road with many houses and many places where it could turn into a driveway and end its journey.

Jessa's eyes widened as the adjacent vehicle began to deviate in its path and move in her own lane. It was obvious the other driver wasn’t paying attention, so she took the initiative and laid on the horn roughly. Her hands moved wildly on the steering wheel, trying every way possible to avoid crashing. The other car suddenly took control once again and jerked back to its own side of the road. She slammed on the breaks as soon as she was in the clear and heard the faint sound of the other car crashing into something.

“Oh my God,” She breathed out heavily, before unhooking her seat belt and throwing her car door open. She hurried over to the other car, feeling panic begin to rise in her stomach.

Jessa pulled on the handle of the driver’s seat door and opened it up to look in at the disoriented motorist. He was holding his head in his hand and coughing quietly. She winced as she noticed a few drops of blood on his forehead.

“Are you okay, sir?” She asked the other with a hushed voice. He then removed his hand and blinked his eyes a few times as if to regain his posture, before moving to glance up at the young woman.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I just hit my--” He stopped short, and a faint gasp escaped Jessa's lips as she now realized just who this other driver was.

“Jason DiMera?” She questioned, taking a few steps back away from the loose cannon of a man. This was not going to be good.