Jack & Jill
Pages 5-8
They were strolling up to the stop light, silent now, just thinking, enjoying the walk, the
day, the company. Their reverie was destroyed by screeching brakes and metal hitting metal, as
an explosion erupted around the corner, out of their sight. The blast was immediately followed
by what sounded like metal scraping along the pavement and a hideous scream. The four of
them ran around the corner to an awful sight. In the right lane was a puke green Ford Focus. Its
front left corner was imbedded into the front right quarter panel of a late model tan Toyota
Camry. The four teens sprinted into action. As they neared, Jill noticed a motorcycle was on its
side, some distance from the cars. The second one was parked at the side of the road. One of the
bikers they had seen on Bell Road was kneeling over the larger of the two men. Her eyes
immediately honed in on the man‟s injury as his painful cries described its effects. She ran over
and knelt down beside the kneeling biker.
Jack raced around the first car to the second. Jake and Rhonda approached the first car,
the Focus. Rhonda looked up along the sidewalk and noticed several people just watching, not
getting involved. None of them had a cell phone out making the call.
“Call 911,” she shouted. “Now.”
These were teens taking charge. All the adults were standing off to the side, doing
absolutely nothing. Jack looked in the driver‟s window of the Toyota. Of course, in the mid day
heat, the windows were closed and the air must have been on. The car was idling, though it
didn‟t sound healthy. The intrusion into this car by the other had done more than just deliver a
dent.
“Are you alright?” he called out. The man was in a daze, as was the woman passenger.
They were looking around, trying to figure out what happened. “Open the window,” Jack said.
The man took a while, but finally he understood what Jack was saying and fiddled around on his
left door panel and the window came down. “Are you two alright?”
“I don‟t…” He looked over at the woman. “Honey, are you okay?”
The woman was dazed and then Jack noticed blood on the window past the woman‟s
head. The impact from the side must have caused her to move away from the window, at first,
then slam back into it on the rebound.
“Open her window,” Jack said, running around to the other side of the car. As he arrived,
the window was coming down. The woman was groggy but awake, though confused. “Ma‟am,
are you alright? The ambulance is on the way. Just stay put, don‟t move until they get here,
okay?”
“Yes, thank you,” she said in an uncertain voice. “Mitch?”
“I‟m here, honey. Just relax. You‟re okay,” her husband said. “You‟ll be okay.”
Jake and Rhonda looked inside the passenger side of the Focus. They could only see a
woman behind the wheel. She was awake and kept trying to turn around, looking behind her.
Rhonda ran around to the driver‟s side and had to step past Jack, who was talking to the female
passenger in the other car. The two vehicles were still locked together and there was only a
small triangle of space in between. The windshield of the Focus was now just bits of glass,
scattered everywhere, but all the other windows were intact, which seemed a miracle. The
woman was straining to look behind her.
“Ma‟am,” Rhonda said. “Ma‟am,” she tried again, the woman either ignoring her or
unable to hear. Finally, she turned around. “Are you alright?”
“My baby,” she cried out, frantically. “My baby‟s back there.”
Rhonda bent lower and peered into the back seat from the front driver‟s side window and
couldn‟t see anything. Then she stepped back to look in the rear driver‟s side window, but it was
so darkly tinted, it was difficult to see. She stood up and spoke to Jake over the top of the car.
“Jake, look in the back seat. Can you see a baby back there?”
Jake lowered his six-four frame and tried to see in. Also having difficulty, he cupped his
hands on the window and put his face right up to the glass.
“Yes,” he said in a muffled voice, trying to remember, pink for girl, blue for boy, or is it
the other way around. He took a guess. “It‟s a boy?”
“Your son?” Rhonda asked the woman.
“Yes, Roger,” she said. “Is he okay?” She was almost beside herself, but Rhonda could
see she was also injured and was unable to move too well.
“Yes, it‟s a boy, Roger,” she called out to Jake.
“Yeah, he‟s okay, just kind of looking around.” Jake knocked on the glass, caught the
baby‟s attention. “Hey, little Rogie,” he said in a baby voice. “Coochie Coo. Yes, you‟re a big
boy, Mr. Rogie boy, aren‟t you?”
Rhonda rolled her eyes and talked to the woman.
“He‟s fine. Just sit tight. Help is on the way.” The woman visibly relaxed. “How are
you doing? Are you hurt?”
“My leg. I don‟t know. I think it might be broken,” she said between gasps of pain. “I
can‟t move it.”
Twenty yards away, Jill looked down at the man‟s leg. It was as ugly an injury as she
had ever seen. Not too knowledgeable about anatomy, she could, however, tell that either the
Tibia or Fibula or both were fractured and the end of one of those bones had broken through the
skin and tore through the pants and was currently sticking up, its end all jagged and asperous,
blood all around, the man still screaming in pain. She began to reach out. The kneeling man
barred her with his arm, his face filled with a combination of anger and pain and fear.
“Hey,” he cried out. “What the hell do you think you‟re doing here?”
She didn‟t have time for this now. The downed man needed her help. She pushed the
man‟s arm to the side.
“Back off, tiny. This man needs me right now so get out of my way.”
The man was so shocked by this young girl‟s forceful display, he was stunned. He hadn‟t
moved, but he couldn‟t respond, either. Jill put one hand on the injured man‟s forehead and the
other just below the injury. The man was so tall, she had to stretch to accomplish it, barely
having the wingspan to do it. All of a sudden, the man quieted. He stopped writhing and settled
down. His eyes closed and he somehow seemed at peace. The kneeling man looked at his
friend, then back at Jill. He was speechless, his complaint from before gone with the hot breeze,
forgotten now.
“How did…what did you…” he mouthed, not sure words were coming out, unable to
finish the questions roiling around in his addled brain now.
Just then, Jack stood up, frozen. Jake noticed and called over to Rhonda. Jake nodded in
Jack‟s direction. Rhonda turned to look. Oh, oh, she thought. After a few seconds, Jack
appeared to sniff the air, test something in it, slowly turning his head from side to side, seeming
to examine something only he could see or smell. This went on for about twenty seconds. Jill
sensed something from thirty yards away and turned to look at Jack.
“Jack,” she shouted, getting up.
Finally, Jack snapped out of wherever he had gone. Concern was etched all over his face.
“We have to move everyone away from here.”
The big man had stood also and was next to Jill.
“What? We can‟t move my brother now. We have to wait for the ambulance.”
“Sir,” Jill said, turning to him. “If Jack says we have to move everyone, we have to move
everyone.”
“No way,” said the man, adamant, steadfast, angered. “We are not moving my brother
just because he says so. What kind of crap is this?”
Jill put her hand on the man‟s forearm.
“We have to do as he says. You have to trust Jack. Do you understand?”
The man was momentarily confused. He looked down at Jill‟s hand on his arm and his
brow furled. He inspected this young girl‟s beautiful face. He didn‟t agree with moving his
brother, well aware that he should remain where he was until qualified medical help arrived, but
there was something about her. There was no reason given why his brother should be moved,
but somehow, he was convinced that this girl completely and wholeheartedly believed he should,
solely upon the word of that equally young boy. She believed in the boy so much, that her
undying trust in him and the fact that what he said held the kind of importance that should be
obeyed without question, that, somehow, he now believed it, too. How he could do this, he
didn‟t have a clue. He looked down at the girl‟s hand again. Maybe that was the conduit she
used to alter his change in attitude. He didn‟t know exactly. He just trusted that the boy knew
something he didn‟t now, like a meteor falling from the sky, destined to land right where they
were, or a sinkhole was about to open up beneath them, something insane like that.
Pages 101-106
“Jake, I have to make a confession.”
Jake led Jack out the back door and around the side of the building. It was still over a
hundred and would probably only cool off to around ninety tonight. It had been a hot summer so
far after a cool spring, and being the valley of the sun, it would stay that way for months more.
“A confession? What would you have to confess to, man?”
“I am a real dummy sometimes.”
“Why, Jack, you are human after all,” Jake said with a wide smile.
“I mean it. I am an idiot.”
“Alright, let‟s hear it. Father Jake is ready to take your confession.”
“How long has Rhonda been hanging around me? I mean seriously, how long?” Jack
asked.
“I don‟t know, a while now.”
“Well, since you don‟t notice anything, I‟ll tell you. Three months.”
“Yeah, so?” Jake said.
“We kissed for the first time four days ago, on Friday.”
“That‟s impossible, man. I‟ve seen you guys kissing a lot,” Jake said. “You‟re playing
around, man.”
“No, I said we, Jake, we kissed for the first time. Sure, she‟s kissed me, you know, pecks
on the cheek? And we‟ve held hands, but none of that was me.”
“Alright, so it wasn‟t you. So what was it then?”
“I‟m so dumb right now, man. She‟s making this effort to get close to me and I‟m all
oblivious to her, you know, like okay, she‟s there, no big deal. Meanwhile, I‟m in my own little
world, not getting it, man.”
“So, you finally got it, so go for it. You say you kissed her, great. Kiss her some more,
but buy her a freaking present.”
“Forget the present for now, will you please? What‟s with you and the presents? I‟m
telling something happened to me. You remember when, man, right? In our workout class,
Friday.”
“You mean when you zoned out that time? Yeah, that was hilarious, man. You were like
dreaming away and Don is yelling your name at the top of his lungs. The whole class broke up
over that one.”
“Yeah, great, but did you happen to notice what I was looking at when I zoned out like
that?”
“Yes, come to think of it, you were…you were staring at Rhonda. Oh, man, you mean to
tell me you saw her then, I mean really saw her for the first time, in that class?”
“That‟s what I‟m trying to tell you. I mean, how sexy is she, man? She invaded my
entire mind just then. Everything in the world at that moment was all her. And later when we
were alone, I mean, I couldn‟t think straight and she could tell, man. I‟m telling you she could
tell and she seduced me, man.”
“Oh, man,” Jake said, in awe. “She seduced you, man. Alright. Did you do it then? I
mean, right there in the exercise room? I promise I won‟t tell anyone, but you gotta tell me,
man.”
“No, we didn‟t do it. What do you think I am? What do you think she is, man? No, we
just kissed. But, it was the most awesome experience of my life. I never knew it could be like
that, Jake. God, it sent me to another planet.”
“Well, great, a kiss. And here I‟m gearing up for some rip-roaring tear your clothes off
wild…”
“Jake, please. I don‟t want you to think of her like that, man.”
“Sorry, Jack. Yeah, I‟m real sorry. Still, it sounds pretty hot to me. It was hot, though,
right?”
“Surface of the sun hot. I‟m just saying, I was a complete idiot.”
“But you changed.”
“I changed.”
“Good, Jack. Welcome to the world of the grownup. You know, before you just told me
that, I thought you were a grownup, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Yeah, I was just a scared little kid, but now I‟ve tasted adulthood and it tasted mighty
good.”
Single file, they walked down the narrow walkway along the building to the sidewalk.
To their right along the front of the restaurant, there was a fairly long line to get in. They did a
great business at night, even during the week.
“So, are you gonna do it?”
“Do what?”
“C‟mon, man, earth to Jack, come in Jack. You know, more than just kiss.”
“Man, don‟t go asking me that. There are no plans for…I don‟t think it‟s a good…”
“There they are, the world‟s biggest losers,” came a voice from somewhere in the line of
waiting revelers.
Both, Jack and Jake recognized it without having to see where it originated. They turned
to see Larry Grabowski. With him was Rick Heller. They were accompanied by two girls from
high school, Fran something and Ginger Ridger. Jack always wondered if Ginger‟s parents ever
thought of changing their last name to Rogers. It wouldn‟t be a huge change. They stopped and
turned to face the lineup. There they were about ten people from the front. Jack stayed where he
was. Jake approached. He ignored the boys and spoke to the girls.
“Hi, Ginger, Fran. You two out on a dare tonight?”
“Hi, Jake,” Ginger said. “What are you guys doing here?”
“They clean the grease trap here,” Larry said. “It‟s about all they‟re qualified to do.
Can‟t you smell it on „em?”
Jake continued to ignore Larry.
“You two are looking mighty fine. With these guys, isn‟t that like, how does that
expression go, lipstick on a pig?”
“Get the hell out of here, Robbins. I‟d tell you to go home, but, wait, that‟s right, you
don‟t have a home.”
Larry gave Rick a knuckle bump. Jack was getting steamed and he could barely hear the
conversation. He hated Larry Grabowski and his crew. He still blamed them for a disaster in
Jill‟s life that he couldn‟t prevent, mainly because of Larry. Every time he saw Larry, he wanted
to charge him like a Grizzly bear protecting her young.
“At least I don‟t have to be licking my father‟s ass for everything I get. How does it
taste, Larry, Mmm, yummy,” Jake added, swishing his tongue around his lips.
“Shut up, Robbins. Why don‟t you go back to that slum house of yours with your homo
pal over there,” Rick said, cleverness being one of his strong points.
“Talk about licking someone‟s ass,” Jake said, turning his attention to Rick. “You got
your head so far up Larry‟s ass, they‟ll need forceps just to get it out, maybe a squirt of oil and
an ice cream scooper. Larry, you been walking around a little funny lately. Come to think about
it, how do you take a crap with his head stuck up there like that, anyway?”
Rick stepped forward and pushed Jake in the chest, forcing his torso back, but the shove
didn‟t dislodge him. Jake was big and strong and couldn‟t be moved so easily.
“Rick,” Fran said, reaching out and grabbing his arm.
“That‟s alright, Fran. I‟d think twice about associating with these guys. They might
seem to rule the school, but everyone hates them. You don‟t want everyone to hate you by
association, right? And did I say you girls really look delicious tonight?”
“You are such a dick, Robbins,” Larry said stepping forward, getting in Jake‟s face. He
was one of the only students at their school who was tall enough to look Jake straight in the eyes.
“I should beat the crap outta you.”
“Why don‟t you, Larry. Go ahead, give it your best shot, you don‟t see me going
anywhere, do you?” Jake dared. “You can‟t back down now, especially in front of these
gorgeous girls, can you?”
Larry, seething now, reached out and took a handful of Jake‟s shirt and raised his other
hand, already formed into a fist. Jake just stood there, his prodding and nudging ready to pay
off. Just as Larry was about to let it loose, Jake‟s chin being the target, the fist wouldn‟t move.
Then Jake felt like his wrist was in a vice grip. He looked over in surprise. Jack was standing
there, his hand clamped around Larry‟s wrist. Larry tried to pull it free. It wouldn‟t budge.
Larry turned back and looked into Jake‟s face. Jake shrugged, like, someone has my back. Who
has yours? Casually, finger by finger, Jake removed Larry‟s hand from his shirt.
With a wicked smile, Jake addressed him. “Ah, Larry, I think you better just shut your
stupid mouth, get back in line and mind your own business. I mean, I would be more than happy
to kick your sorry ass, but if you really want to persist, Jack will wipe the floor with you, and
you know he has extra incentive to do just that.”
Jake turned and began walking away. Larry had a look on his face like boiling hot water
had been poured all over it. His fists were turning his knuckles white and he just stood there,
vibrating in place, like steam might come out of his ears at any time now. He took a step
forward, thinking about going after Jake. He was stopped by a hand on his chest. He looked
over. It was Jack. Jack leaned in and spoke in a soft voice, though the girls could surely hear
him.
“Larry, enough. You‟re here with two beautiful girls. Do you really think they came
with you and Rick to see something like this? Go back, enjoy the evening and let it go. Jake‟s
right, I have every right to hate on you and beat on you and everything else. You know I do.
But I‟m not up for it, man. Why do you persist? What did Jake or I ever do to you? You pissed
off at me because I lost my parents? Is that what it is? Well, I‟m sorry, I didn‟t mean to upset
you with that. I just don‟t get it. Now, look over there. Look at the expression on Ginger‟s face.
Is that what you want?”
Jack turned and followed Jake. Larry just stood there, embarrassed now. He was afraid
to turn around. He didn‟t want to see the look on Ginger‟s face, a face that was usually so
beautiful. He knew what it must look like now. Other girl friends had worn that same face from
time to time and he was just afraid to look.
Jake had turned several steps away and waited for Jack to catch up. When he got there
Jake turned around and they walked into the parking lot on the way to the sidewalk and the walk
home. They both stopped short. About twenty yards away sat a huge motorcycle. An equally
huge man was sitting sideways on the seat, his long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles
crossed, as were his arms over his chest. When the boys had stopped, seeing him there, a wide
smile formed on his face.