Sequel: In Too Deep ›
Dirty Journalism
One Week Was All It Took
“Okay, we’ve decided on the stories for the entertainment section,” Jackie said at the newspaper’s next editorial meeting. “Let’s move on to commentaries. Max?”
Max smiled and cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve been eating at a different table during meals lately,” he began slowly. Everyone in the room turned their eyes to Jackie, knowing full well that they had started to eat at the same table.
“And?” Jackie prompted, ignoring everyone’s stares.
“And I’ve noticed some bizarre eating habits,” Max finished. Stella, Lexi, Jeffrey, and Scooter snickered, since all they ate with Jackie and Max and knew exactly what Max was talking about.
Jackie pursed her lips. “Where are you going with this?”
Max flashed a smile. “Commentaries are for opinions, and my opinion is that people have weird eating habits when they want attention. Specifically if they’re obsessed with, say, a certain fruit juice, and request it at every party, or if they always only eat the top half of a muffin, and offer the bottom to everyone at the table.”
At this, the entire room was laughing. Everyone knew he was talking about Jackie. She crossed her arms and said what she was supposed to say. “What does everyone else think about this?”
Everyone responded enthusiastically, mostly because they found the interaction between Jackie and Max humorous. Max smiled triumphantly, stood up, and walked over to where Jackie was sitting in the circle of chairs.
“What?” she said through gritted teeth, looking up at him.
“I want to include an experiment in the article,” he said lightly. Jackie held a bottle of cranberry juice in her hand, and Max immediately grabbed it from her fingers.
“Hey!” she screeched as he moved quickly away from her.
“I’m cutting you off!” Max said, shaking the bottle tauntingly. “For four days, you can’t drink cranberry juice, and you have to eat the whole muffin at breakfast!”
“Max!” she whined, leaping at him in an attempt to get her precious juice back.
He began to run around the room, weaving around desks and chairs. Jackie chased after him, desperate for her cranberry juice. Everyone else remained in the circle, thoroughly entertained by the scene unfolding before them.
Max turned around abruptly, causing Jackie to nearly bump into him. He grabbed her around the waist to stop her from falling and pulled her into a kiss.
“One week was all it took,” Jeffrey said, shaking his head in disbelief, “to end six years of hatred.”
Everyone watched as Jackie continued to kiss Max, but also slowly reached for the cranberry juice clutched in his hand. She grabbed it, pushed him away, and shouted, “Take my cranberry juice again and I’ll kill you!”
Jeffrey frowned. “Okay, maybe not.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Stella was at tennis practice and Lexi was hanging with Scooter, leaving Jackie alone in the dorm that evening. She still had mountains of homework to do, but she couldn’t concentrate no matter how hard she tried. She had hoped her headaches would lessen when she and Max started… dating.
Whoa. That was weird.
“This is weird,” Jackie muttered to herself. A few weeks ago, things were normal. She genuinely hated Maxwell Leopold’s guts and wanted nothing more than to attack his stupid head with a sledgehammer.
Now? Now she wanted to talk to him. Watch gangster movies with him. Play tennis with him. Kiss him. And yet, she still wanted to argue with him. It was just something they would always do.
To add to the normality of a few weeks ago, Jackie hadn’t been getting headaches like crazy. In fact, she hadn’t gotten headaches like this since sixth grade, when she had had prescribed medicine to make them less constant and less intense. She had told Stella and Lexi the headaches were a result of stress. That was her first lie to Stella and Lexi.
The second lie was that she got control over her headaches by seventh grade and didn’t need medication anymore. The third lie was that the ‘Michaela Bodello’ in all the old JA yearbooks wasn’t related to her, that she just strangely resembled her and had her last name. The fourth lie was that she was an only child.
The fifth lie was to her parents, and it was that she had gotten over it, that she was okay.
Biggest. Lie. Ever.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the next chapter of Dirty Journalism…
”You’re going to think I’m stupid.”
”I already think that. Just tell me.”
-
-
”Can I talk to you guys for a second? Alone?”
-
-
”Please. Please don’t make me go back.”
Max smiled and cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve been eating at a different table during meals lately,” he began slowly. Everyone in the room turned their eyes to Jackie, knowing full well that they had started to eat at the same table.
“And?” Jackie prompted, ignoring everyone’s stares.
“And I’ve noticed some bizarre eating habits,” Max finished. Stella, Lexi, Jeffrey, and Scooter snickered, since all they ate with Jackie and Max and knew exactly what Max was talking about.
Jackie pursed her lips. “Where are you going with this?”
Max flashed a smile. “Commentaries are for opinions, and my opinion is that people have weird eating habits when they want attention. Specifically if they’re obsessed with, say, a certain fruit juice, and request it at every party, or if they always only eat the top half of a muffin, and offer the bottom to everyone at the table.”
At this, the entire room was laughing. Everyone knew he was talking about Jackie. She crossed her arms and said what she was supposed to say. “What does everyone else think about this?”
Everyone responded enthusiastically, mostly because they found the interaction between Jackie and Max humorous. Max smiled triumphantly, stood up, and walked over to where Jackie was sitting in the circle of chairs.
“What?” she said through gritted teeth, looking up at him.
“I want to include an experiment in the article,” he said lightly. Jackie held a bottle of cranberry juice in her hand, and Max immediately grabbed it from her fingers.
“Hey!” she screeched as he moved quickly away from her.
“I’m cutting you off!” Max said, shaking the bottle tauntingly. “For four days, you can’t drink cranberry juice, and you have to eat the whole muffin at breakfast!”
“Max!” she whined, leaping at him in an attempt to get her precious juice back.
He began to run around the room, weaving around desks and chairs. Jackie chased after him, desperate for her cranberry juice. Everyone else remained in the circle, thoroughly entertained by the scene unfolding before them.
Max turned around abruptly, causing Jackie to nearly bump into him. He grabbed her around the waist to stop her from falling and pulled her into a kiss.
“One week was all it took,” Jeffrey said, shaking his head in disbelief, “to end six years of hatred.”
Everyone watched as Jackie continued to kiss Max, but also slowly reached for the cranberry juice clutched in his hand. She grabbed it, pushed him away, and shouted, “Take my cranberry juice again and I’ll kill you!”
Jeffrey frowned. “Okay, maybe not.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Stella was at tennis practice and Lexi was hanging with Scooter, leaving Jackie alone in the dorm that evening. She still had mountains of homework to do, but she couldn’t concentrate no matter how hard she tried. She had hoped her headaches would lessen when she and Max started… dating.
Whoa. That was weird.
“This is weird,” Jackie muttered to herself. A few weeks ago, things were normal. She genuinely hated Maxwell Leopold’s guts and wanted nothing more than to attack his stupid head with a sledgehammer.
Now? Now she wanted to talk to him. Watch gangster movies with him. Play tennis with him. Kiss him. And yet, she still wanted to argue with him. It was just something they would always do.
To add to the normality of a few weeks ago, Jackie hadn’t been getting headaches like crazy. In fact, she hadn’t gotten headaches like this since sixth grade, when she had had prescribed medicine to make them less constant and less intense. She had told Stella and Lexi the headaches were a result of stress. That was her first lie to Stella and Lexi.
The second lie was that she got control over her headaches by seventh grade and didn’t need medication anymore. The third lie was that the ‘Michaela Bodello’ in all the old JA yearbooks wasn’t related to her, that she just strangely resembled her and had her last name. The fourth lie was that she was an only child.
The fifth lie was to her parents, and it was that she had gotten over it, that she was okay.
Biggest. Lie. Ever.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the next chapter of Dirty Journalism…
”You’re going to think I’m stupid.”
”I already think that. Just tell me.”
-
-
”Can I talk to you guys for a second? Alone?”
-
-
”Please. Please don’t make me go back.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Short, I know. The first part was pretty much pointless filler, but I thought it was kind of cute. :-) The second part has significance. Just wait...