Survive

While Jenny was walking the halls in Jason's jacket, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She was headed to her locker for her PE-clothes, but her mind was still with Jason in that moment in the hallway. Only when they were so close, did she realize how much she had missed him. Along with that she felt a hint of guilt. Even when she was treating him so harshly, he had been concerned with her well being. Walking out of his own class, just to hand her his jacket, without expecting anything in return. Anymore of these encounters and her resolve would break. This couldn't go on like this for much longer. She needed to find a way to deal with their situation without them having to be apart. If only she knew how.

Once she reached her locker she grabbed her clean gym shirt and her vest, after that she headed for the women's changing room, where she could change. When she stepped into the changing room, she locked the door behind her and exchanged her wet clothes for dry ones. She used the hanger from her locker to hang her wet blouse and vest to dry on one of the doors of the lockers in the changing room. Expecting that no one would think to steal half of a uniform, a wet one at that, she left the clothes behind as she headed back to the classroom.

When she got inside the classroom, Elizabeth walked up to her. "Where have you been? I was worried about you. I saw that kid walk inside, but you weren't with him and he was completely soaked. I was afraid something had happened." Jenny chuckled, "Calm down worry wart. I just went to change out of my wet clothes." Elizabeth glanced down and saw a jacket in Jenny's hands. She could tell it was a man's jacket, but when she turned to the side to look at Max, he was still wearing his jacket. She pointed at Jenny's hands and asked, "Whose jacket is that?" Jenny's smile dropped and she said as she stared at the jacket and held onto it tightly, "Jason's." Not fully understanding what Jason had to do with the situation or when he had gotten involved, Elizabeth looked at her questioningly, but didn't say anything. She could tell that Jenny's feelings were complicated at the moment and talking about it in a full classroom, wasn't exactly suitable. "Has everyone returned? Has everyone been able to save their drawings? If not, come to my desk so we can see what we can do about the assignment."

Even if she had wanted to talk about it, the teacher's interruption had made it impossible for now. So, she returned to her seat and so did Jenny. When she did, Max immediately turned to her and asked her in a hushed tone, "Did your drawing survive the run?" with a smile and a slight chuckle. Jenny hadn't looked yet and now that she was reminded, she too was curious. She turned around the clipboard that she had been holding onto since they had started this assignment, so she could assess the damage. With half closed eyes and a dreadful feeling, she slowly lifted her eyes from the bottom of the clipboard all the way to the top.

To her surprise, aside from the edges, the paper had remained dry and her drawing had remained intact. "Apparently it did." She said with a surprised tone and slightly widened eyes. Max chuckled again, "Lucky you, my drawing didn't survive. I have to do it over at home with an object of choice." He said somewhat unwillingly. Jenny felt for him and patted his shoulder, "That sucks, but I am sure you'll find something to draw. From what I saw at the garden, drawing is your hidden talent, so you should be finished in no time. I am sure of it." Max smiled at her and said, "Thanks. If you say that then lady luck must have been on my side for this assignment. I'll consider the rest of your words blessings for the replacement assignment." After these words he winked at her teasingly, before they were made to focus to the front of the class.

The rest of the classes passed by in no time and before she knew it another weekend had arrived and she was at a loss of what to do with her free time once more. It almost made her wonder what she did before to fill her weekends. Not just before her fight with Jason, but also before she was even together with Jason. No matter what she thought of, everything seemed off at the moment, making her feel like not doing anything and at the same time feeling it's a waste to spend her free days like that. Being done with school before Jason on Fridays, she felt like it was the perfect day to pass by the house and pick up some more clothes and of course an undershirt. She still had some time before work and Jason wouldn't be home until another hour, making it impossible for them to run into each other. One encounter was enough for one day if she didn't want to break down on the spot. She grabbed her bag and asked Max if he could cover for her with their tasks, in return she would do it all by herself next Friday. Max happily agreed as he had a party next Friday and everything that earned him points with Jenny was more than welcome these days. But little did the two of them know that by next Friday, they wouldn't be on speaking terms any more and this promise would no longer hold any meaning...