Are You Locked Up in a World That's Been Planned Out for You?
Chapter eight
There were lots of little rules when it came to Jessica. Half of them were made up on the spot, she was so high maintenance. I only had two main ones when it came to associating with her.
The golden rule was to call her Jessica. Never Jessie, never Jess and never any other variations. She stated that Jessie was a boy’s name, and every girl with the name Jessica always liked to be called Jess and she was kind of a big deal. She also stated Jessica was a nice feminine name, whilst Jess was too trashy.
The second rule was a little rule that everybody followed by. When you make plans with Jessica, plan it out that she’s most likely going to be late. I don’t think she was unreliable, I think she just had a poor grasp on how long she took to do things.
This is why I was shocked when I opened the door an hour earlier than planned to see Jessica staring back at me grinning.
“Did you just get out of bed or are you going to Millie’s party like that? I heard the pyjama look is in this season.” Jessica joked as she walked into the apartment and set a few plastic bags on the table.
“Jessica, don’t you know fashion at all? During winter you shop for spring, and sex hair is so in for spring.” I winked, earning a very unattractive snort from Jessica.
“So how long is Horatio in Miami for anyway?” Jessica asked me.
“I dunno. He only really said the weekend. I don’t even think he has booked his return yet. I don’t think he’s just going for family though. I think he’s in talks with MDPD about a job,” I replied, and explained when Jessica gave me a blank stare “Miami Dade Police Department”
“Oh why? Is it something to do with his undercover work for them four years ago when you stayed with us?” Jessica asked me.
“I think so. He’s kinda vague with me about this. I don’t think he wants to tell me until he’s absolutely certain. At the very least I’d be finished school so I can decide to go with him or stay here.” I shrugged, wanting to breeze this conversation through. I did not want to think about having to choose between abandoning my friends or my father.
“Ah well, who cares for now. All we should care about right now is the fact that it’s still in the AM but we’re about to start drinking. I bought enough alcohol to last us all day and all night.” Jessica winked, motioning to the bags she bought.
She obviously knew I was already torn up about having to think about this, and needed to distract me as well as cheer me up. All I could do was crack a smile, what a great best friend.
***
I felt nervous as I entered the elevator in Millie’s apartment complex. Jessica and I didn’t go to many drunken teen parties, as they were hard to hold in apartment complexes without getting busted up by police. Our group sometimes had little drinking gatherings in Central Park but even then you had to be wary of foot patrol cops, as well as other drunks and drug addicts.
As Millie lived in a very soundproof top storey penthouse I felt a little more at ease, however I wouldn’t feel like I was safe from trouble until I passed out in my bed when I got home.
We reached Millie’s apartment and the music could still be heard which made me freeze up a little.
“Relaaaaaax.” Jessica advised, drawing out the “a” and put an arm around my shoulder, as she walked in without even knocking.
I looked around at the scenes before me. Nothing too out of control, probably only about thirty people, most of which I had met at least once. As the penthouse was mostly open space and quite large it was more than spacious enough to accommodate all the guests.
“Okay I feel a lot more at ease now, but at the same time I’m disappointed it’s not like those kind of drunken teen parties in movies.” I pouted.
“Whilst I completely agree with you, sorry babe this is NYC and not suburbia Jersey nowhere. No offense to your Hoboken roots and stuff.” Jessica stated.
“I was like two when we moved to The Hat. None taken. I’ll always consider this place my roots and my home, no matter where life takes me.” I responded and dropped my smile as soon as Jessica bounded off to greet people.
Manhattan was the greatest place in the world and I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. But at the same time I was envious of my father over a thousand miles away enjoying the peacefulness and warm weather of Miami.
I also had a craving to one day attend a house party like one in the movies. Red plastic cups, front yard littered with trash, people passed out in the backyard, god knows what in the pool, people throwing up upstairs and the entire downstairs area being converted to a dance floor except the kitchen which had been converted into a bar. This however made no sense as even just this party I was attending now made me nervous. But the “movie style” party to me represented freedom. Just for one night I could be a normal teen, not Detective Caine’s teenage daughter.
Then I remembered Mike’s advice of saving that stuff for college, which made me smirk as I followed off after Jessica.
***
“Yeaaaaahhhhh!” I screamed in victory, as I high fived Jessica.
We had somehow been winning at Beer Pong intoxicated, getting in this state from losing the first few rounds. It had gotten to a point where people were handing us their drinks, as they could drink no more.
We were up against two guys before, and in an attempt to be flirty Jessica agreed to drink their drinks if they gave us their ties. Therefore we looked super cool as she had a tie loosely around her neck whilst I fastened mine around my head, with the tie bit to the side.
“Alright, I can’t take anymore.” Jessica said to me, collapsing onto a couch.
I took a seat next to her, also dramatically falling into it. The two guys from before, Pierre (the one sweet on Jessica) and Robert (the one trying with me) sat on either side of us.
“Take note of this song and band, they’re the new Nirvana but they’re going to be bigger. Trust me.” Pierre proudly stated.
This was another reason why I felt uncomfortable about these two. This Pierre guy had a father who was high up at a record company so Millie let him have control over the music all night and was bragging about all the artists he supposedly knew.
“They’re called Green Day. Pretty sweet.” Robert added on.
Jessica only gave me a sour look as she pulled me to my feet.
“We have somewhere else to be!” She loudly stated, storming out of the apartment before even saying goodbye to anyone.
I grinned sheepishly amused at how drunk she was. However I knew I had to attend to her as soon as possible before she got into some kind of trouble.
“Nice to meet you both, want your tie back?” I said to the two guys but directed my last question to Robert.
“Keep it as something to remember me by.” He winked, and I sent him a weak smile, turning and scampering away before I could roll my eyes and mutter ‘whatever’
I couldn’t find Jessica in the hallway leading up to the penthouse, and just as panic set in the elevator sent out a loud ‘ding’ and Jessica was inside grinning.
The golden rule was to call her Jessica. Never Jessie, never Jess and never any other variations. She stated that Jessie was a boy’s name, and every girl with the name Jessica always liked to be called Jess and she was kind of a big deal. She also stated Jessica was a nice feminine name, whilst Jess was too trashy.
The second rule was a little rule that everybody followed by. When you make plans with Jessica, plan it out that she’s most likely going to be late. I don’t think she was unreliable, I think she just had a poor grasp on how long she took to do things.
This is why I was shocked when I opened the door an hour earlier than planned to see Jessica staring back at me grinning.
“Did you just get out of bed or are you going to Millie’s party like that? I heard the pyjama look is in this season.” Jessica joked as she walked into the apartment and set a few plastic bags on the table.
“Jessica, don’t you know fashion at all? During winter you shop for spring, and sex hair is so in for spring.” I winked, earning a very unattractive snort from Jessica.
“So how long is Horatio in Miami for anyway?” Jessica asked me.
“I dunno. He only really said the weekend. I don’t even think he has booked his return yet. I don’t think he’s just going for family though. I think he’s in talks with MDPD about a job,” I replied, and explained when Jessica gave me a blank stare “Miami Dade Police Department”
“Oh why? Is it something to do with his undercover work for them four years ago when you stayed with us?” Jessica asked me.
“I think so. He’s kinda vague with me about this. I don’t think he wants to tell me until he’s absolutely certain. At the very least I’d be finished school so I can decide to go with him or stay here.” I shrugged, wanting to breeze this conversation through. I did not want to think about having to choose between abandoning my friends or my father.
“Ah well, who cares for now. All we should care about right now is the fact that it’s still in the AM but we’re about to start drinking. I bought enough alcohol to last us all day and all night.” Jessica winked, motioning to the bags she bought.
She obviously knew I was already torn up about having to think about this, and needed to distract me as well as cheer me up. All I could do was crack a smile, what a great best friend.
***
I felt nervous as I entered the elevator in Millie’s apartment complex. Jessica and I didn’t go to many drunken teen parties, as they were hard to hold in apartment complexes without getting busted up by police. Our group sometimes had little drinking gatherings in Central Park but even then you had to be wary of foot patrol cops, as well as other drunks and drug addicts.
As Millie lived in a very soundproof top storey penthouse I felt a little more at ease, however I wouldn’t feel like I was safe from trouble until I passed out in my bed when I got home.
We reached Millie’s apartment and the music could still be heard which made me freeze up a little.
“Relaaaaaax.” Jessica advised, drawing out the “a” and put an arm around my shoulder, as she walked in without even knocking.
I looked around at the scenes before me. Nothing too out of control, probably only about thirty people, most of which I had met at least once. As the penthouse was mostly open space and quite large it was more than spacious enough to accommodate all the guests.
“Okay I feel a lot more at ease now, but at the same time I’m disappointed it’s not like those kind of drunken teen parties in movies.” I pouted.
“Whilst I completely agree with you, sorry babe this is NYC and not suburbia Jersey nowhere. No offense to your Hoboken roots and stuff.” Jessica stated.
“I was like two when we moved to The Hat. None taken. I’ll always consider this place my roots and my home, no matter where life takes me.” I responded and dropped my smile as soon as Jessica bounded off to greet people.
Manhattan was the greatest place in the world and I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. But at the same time I was envious of my father over a thousand miles away enjoying the peacefulness and warm weather of Miami.
I also had a craving to one day attend a house party like one in the movies. Red plastic cups, front yard littered with trash, people passed out in the backyard, god knows what in the pool, people throwing up upstairs and the entire downstairs area being converted to a dance floor except the kitchen which had been converted into a bar. This however made no sense as even just this party I was attending now made me nervous. But the “movie style” party to me represented freedom. Just for one night I could be a normal teen, not Detective Caine’s teenage daughter.
Then I remembered Mike’s advice of saving that stuff for college, which made me smirk as I followed off after Jessica.
***
“Yeaaaaahhhhh!” I screamed in victory, as I high fived Jessica.
We had somehow been winning at Beer Pong intoxicated, getting in this state from losing the first few rounds. It had gotten to a point where people were handing us their drinks, as they could drink no more.
We were up against two guys before, and in an attempt to be flirty Jessica agreed to drink their drinks if they gave us their ties. Therefore we looked super cool as she had a tie loosely around her neck whilst I fastened mine around my head, with the tie bit to the side.
“Alright, I can’t take anymore.” Jessica said to me, collapsing onto a couch.
I took a seat next to her, also dramatically falling into it. The two guys from before, Pierre (the one sweet on Jessica) and Robert (the one trying with me) sat on either side of us.
“Take note of this song and band, they’re the new Nirvana but they’re going to be bigger. Trust me.” Pierre proudly stated.
This was another reason why I felt uncomfortable about these two. This Pierre guy had a father who was high up at a record company so Millie let him have control over the music all night and was bragging about all the artists he supposedly knew.
“They’re called Green Day. Pretty sweet.” Robert added on.
Jessica only gave me a sour look as she pulled me to my feet.
“We have somewhere else to be!” She loudly stated, storming out of the apartment before even saying goodbye to anyone.
I grinned sheepishly amused at how drunk she was. However I knew I had to attend to her as soon as possible before she got into some kind of trouble.
“Nice to meet you both, want your tie back?” I said to the two guys but directed my last question to Robert.
“Keep it as something to remember me by.” He winked, and I sent him a weak smile, turning and scampering away before I could roll my eyes and mutter ‘whatever’
I couldn’t find Jessica in the hallway leading up to the penthouse, and just as panic set in the elevator sent out a loud ‘ding’ and Jessica was inside grinning.