She glanced at Taylor and the girl out of the corner of her eye. She wondered how long it would be until they were a family of 9. At the rate their going, she thought to herself, I'm gonna hafta bet on soon.
She remembered Jerry, who was going to have a baby soon. She'd come along today in the car, too. This time they'd gone to Burger King on the way home. She'd ordered 4 hamburgers, and some fries. Isaac and she were in the kitchen, last time she checked. Jerry was showing Isaac some of her books for a college course she was taking.
Avery and Mackenzie, Zac's younger brother and sister, came flying through the living room again, screaming about "the fat kid". He'd apparently run off with their baseball again. How many times would he do that?
She sighed. Should I just ask to call home? she thought. It appeared as though Zac wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. Where had he gone? She remembered him running...
To the kitchen.
She quietly stood up, trying not to disturb Taylor and the girl. She tiptoed towards the kitchen. There, she found only Mr. Hanson in a frilly pink apron and holding a cookbook.
"Mr. Hanson?" she squeaked, trying to stifle a giggle. He jumped, and looked at her wide-eyed. His cheeks turned red, and he grinned sheepishly.
"I'm making dinner," he mumbled in embarrassment. She giggled, and looked at the table. Jerry's books had been stranded there, along with a half-eaten orange and a Burger King bag.
"Where're Jerry and Isaac?"
"They took off with Zac somewhere," Mr. Hanson said, shrugging. "Why?"
"What do you mean, 'took off'?" Jocelyn asked.
"In the car," he said. He watched as a frown spread across her swollen mouth. "Ohhh...wait. You were here with..."
Jocelyn sighed. "Can I use your phone?"
"Sure. Right there by the fridge."
"Thanks," she said, slightly disheartened. She'd been forgotten, as usual. Unless she was being beaten up by some snobby whore, she was pretty much never noticed by anybody. Josh, her own brother, rarely paid her attention.
And she didn't have any friends so to speak of. There were people she would talk to when she was bored, or occassionally invited over to her house; however, those girls never returned the favor. And guys were worse. She was on the pudgy side, and she hadn't gotten her growth spurt yet. To make matters worse, her face was covered in freckles. She looked like she was 5 years old, and guys didn't like to hang around her. They called her ugly.
Having Zac pay attention to her had made her feel special. For once it seemed as though someone could actually see her for more than just her glasses and chubby cheeks. In the end, though, she saw it was always the same.
The phone rang twice at her house before her mother picked up. "Hello?"
"Mom, it's me. I'm ready to come home now."
"Okay, sweetie."
Jocelyn thanked Mr. Hanson for having her, and went out to wait on the front porch. She'd been sitting there for about 2 minutes when her mother's dark sports car pulled into the driveway. A moment later, another older-model car pulled in beside it. Zac hopped out of the backseat, and stared at the other car in confusion.
"Who's that?!" he shouted up to Jocelyn, who was now coming up the front walk.
"My mom," she said.
"Your mom? But...why?"
"Well, it didn't seem like you'd be back anytime soon, so I just figured I might as well go home," she explained.
He stood by her car, and waited for her to reach him. "I was going to come back, you know."
"I know," she shrugged. "I just didn't know when. I was bored of watch your brother ram his tongue down that girl's throat."
Zac snickered, and looked over his shoulder at Jerry and Isaac. "I'm sorry we were gone for so long."
"It's okay," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm used to it."
He gave her a quizzical look. "I...we went and got you something. It took us forever to find one."
"Okay?" she asked slowly.
He pulled something out of his pocket. She took one glance at it, and burst out laughing. She took it from his hand, and stared at it in amazement.
"A calling card?" she giggled.
"Exactamundo," he said, nodding his head. She looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow.
"To call you while you're on tour?"
"To call me while I'm on tour," he agreed, his voice solemn.
She felt tears coming to her eyes. The first person who had actually taken the time to talk to her was leaving tomorrow...for a really long time. 6 months, to be exact. She stood on tiptoe, and gave him the biggest hug she could. "Thanks," she whispered into his ear.
"Don't mention it," he said, hugging her back.
The two split apart. Jerry and Isaac were going in the front door, and Jocelyn's mother was waiting inside the car. Jocelyn pocketed the calling card. "I've really got to get going."
"Okay," he said. "I'll call you tomorrow and give you the number for my cell phone, okay?"
"Okay," she said, grinning at him. She opened the car door and slid into the seat. He smiled back, and closed the door. As her mother pulled out of the driveway, he waved to her. She and her mother both waved back. He watched as the headlights sweeped the road, and the red tail lights vanished up the street and around a corner.
He turned and walked inside. He immediately became disgusted. "God, must you do that on the COUCH?!" he shrieked.
Taylor and Skye looked up at him innocently - faces flustered. "It could've been worse," Taylor commented.
"Thank God for small favors," Zac muttered to himself, walking out of the room.
