All Downhill From Here

It had been a couple days since Jesse and I had hung out. I hardly even saw him since that day, to be quite honest. I had been busy actually hanging around with Andrea. That night, she had brought the application over and I immediately began filling it out and on Monday morning, she turned it in. I received a call from them in no time, saying that they were interested in me and wanted a face-to-face interview on Thursday. I had spent some time with Andrea, questioning her about what I should he expecting in the interview so I could prepare before I went. She gave me a lot of good tips and information, and I was feeling pretty good now.
Today is Wednesday and I decided that I needed to take what little money I had and go buy some decent clothing, considering all I had in my dresser was a bunch of black band tee’s and that wasn’t going to get me hired. I was nervous as all hell and I was just ready for it to be over already so I didn’t have to feel this constant nausea. I also wanted it to be over so I knew whether or not if I was hired, or something. Ugh, I don’t have the patience for this.
I walked up the pathway to the house and unlocked the door, walking in. I look over at the futon and saw Jesse sitting there, looking back at me. “Hey,” I smiled, walking in and closing the door behind me. He turned and leaned over the side of the futon, rubbing his chin with his fingers as he looked at the bag that dangled between my fingers. “Hey, what’s up?” he questioned, raising his eyes up to look at me. I shook my head and set my keys on the little table by the door. “Not much, you?” I said, shrugging at him and setting the bag down on the ground.
“Uhh... Nothing,” he scooted over and little bit and patted his hand on the futon next to him, “Yo, why don’t you come here for a minute? I feel like I haven’t seen you in a month.” I nodded and walked over and sat down next to him, resting my feet on the table. I sighed and leaned back in the futon, looking over at him, “It’s only been a couple of days, dude.” “I know, but still. I usually see you hanging around the house... You haven’t really been here, and when you are, you’re hanging out with Andrea,” he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, “Which is weird, because you two never hang out.” He seemed slightly confused by that fact that Andrea and I had been hanging out, and I was too, as a matter of fact.
I nodded him and looked down at my hands as I rubbed them together, “Yeah, I understand. I’ve been hanging out with her so I can get a better understand of what position that I’m applying for, y’know? Just trying to see what more I can do.” He shook his head a put his hand up, “I get it, Carson. It’s just... I miss you.” I chuckled and looked over at him, “I miss you, too, Jesse.” He leaned back and raised a brow at me, “You better not get too busy with your job. You still gotta make time for your best friend, you know.” I laughed and smacked the back of my hand against his chest.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” He chuckled and grabbed my wrist from his chest and dropped it on my thigh, “Whatever.” I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. I turned at looked at him as he stared at me continuously. “What?!” I asked, raising my brows at him. He shrugged, “I didn’t say anything.” I shrugged my shoulders and turned my body to face him. “So, what’ve you been up to, Jesse?” I questioned.
He rubbed his face with his hands and shrugged, “Work and that’s about it, since you’ve been stealing my girlfriend from me.” He shot a glance at me before resting his head back and sighing. “Hey, you’ll get over it,” I told him, giggling. “Oh,” he laughed and jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow. He ran his hand over his head and put his feet up on the table next time mine. “Agh, what time is it?” he asked before pulling his cell phone, flipping it open and checking the time. “Good question. What time is it?” I questioned. “It’s almost six twenty,” he said, closing the phone and putting it back in his pocket. He rubbed his face with the palm of his hand and stood up, “I better get going. I’m meeting up with Andrea for dinner, so you’re on your own for tonight.” “Alright, fine,” I nodded.
This was really nothing new for me. Jesse and Andrea went out for dinner a lot, so I was typically on my own for dinner a lot of the time. It didn’t bother me any. “Alright, but can you lend me a 20 for a pizza?” I questioned, looking up at him. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his black wallet. He opened it and grabbed out a twenty, handing it to me only to take it away once I reached for it. “What?” I asked, giving him a questioning look.
“Giving,” he said, dropping the cash in my lap, “Not loaning.” I smiled and grabbed the 20 and stuffed it in my pocket. I stood up and turned to him, “Alright, fine. Thank you, though, I appreciate it.” He chuckled and shook his head, “No problem.” I nodded and patted his shoulder a couple of times before walking towards the kitchen, “Have fun tonight. Tell Andrea I said howdy.” He chuckled and walked over to the door, saying, “Will do,” before he shut and locked the door.
I walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge, searching for something to drink. I shrugged and grabbed a Coke, popping the top open and taking a small sip. I cringed as the Coke carbonation burned the inside of my mouth. I shut the fridge door and walked out of the kitchen and to the stairs, sighing. I figured I’d go start a load of laundry and wash my new clothes before I ordered some pizza. Also, I needed those clothes for the interview tomorrow, and that was by far more important than food right now. I got about half way up the stairs before I heard the doorbell ring. I stopped and looked back down the stairs.
I chuckled and walked back down, setting my drink on the table in the living room. I wonder was Jesse forgot this time. I thought, walking over to the door. “Forget something?” I questioned with a smirk as I opened the door. “Oh,” I mumbled, dropping the smirk from my face, surprised that it wasn’t Jesse at the door. I stared at the stranger for moment before furrowing my brows and tilting my head to the side, slightly. “Mr. White?” I questioned, completely shocked that he was standing on the porch and that I even recognized him.
To be honest, he looked slightly different than he had the last time I saw him. I hadn’t seen Mr. White since I was in Chemistry of the senior year of high school, which was well over seven years ago. He looked older now, obviously, and was bald now. It was weird to see him with no hair because he still had a hair full of hair in high school, along with his mustache. He still wore the same glasses that he wore back then and he had more facial hair than before. The aging he had gone through over the years didn’t seem to take nicely in his facial features, considering he had more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.
“Carson? Wow, what a surprise,” Mr. White chuckled and smiled at me. I chuckled awkwardly and nodded, “Yeah... A real surprise.” “How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in years,” he questioned. I nodded and leaned against the door, “I’ve been pretty good. I’ve just trying to get my life together.” He nodded at me and smiled again, “That’s good. Glad to hear it.”
I nodded back and chewed on my bottom lip for a minute. “So uh... Is Jesse home?” he asked me. I raised a brow and shook my head, “Uh, actually, no. He just left a little while ago. You just missed him.” “Oh, okay,” he nodded. We stared at each other for a couple of awkward minutes, not saying anything. It was so weird. I sighed and looked down and then back to him. “So, do you want me to, like, let him know you came by?” I questioned, leaning more against the door, causing it to squeak. Mr. White shook head and raised his hand, “Oh, no. That’s not necessary.” He turned and walked down the path and, as I was just closing the door, he turned and pointed at me, “Hey.” I raised my brow at him again. “Didn’t you ace my class?” he questioned, tilting his head slightly. “Uh,” I thought for a minute before nodding at him, “Yeah.” A mischievous look came across his face as he nodded. “Why?” I questioned, curiously. “Say, do you remember anything from my class?” he asked me, sounding just as curious as I sounded.
I furrowed my brows and shrugged, “Uhm, not right off the bat, but I’m sure if I reviewed some of it, then, yeah.” He smiled at me, “You have a nice day, Carson.” I nodded at him and closed the door as he walked away. What in the hell was that? I was now extremely curious as to why he was asking if I remembered anything from class and I was also very curious as to why he was here for Jesse.