Jacky Hazardous - Jacob Long (reading fiction txt) 📗

Jacky was at school after hours when Melissa dropped the case into his lap, though neither of them knew it at the time. The leaves on the oak trees painted the scene in reds and oranges that fell in droves to the ground. Jacky and his chubby, ginger friend Ron were sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Jacky was hunched over the bench with his bony elbows on the table, hands in a ball in front of his face. He looked intense, like he usually did without even trying, because his feathery blonde hair fell over his vibrant, blue eyes. He listened intently to everything Ron had to say, unable to turn off the constant analyzing with which his brain tormented those around him.
Ron finished his story with a flourish, “And that’s why I say you should go through this life with ten toes, and one extra toenail.”
One of Jacky’s eyebrows shot up, and he held it there for a long time before replying. “Even if I possessed the eccentricity to carry an extra toenail with me, and acquire one from god knows where in the first place, a lot of things would have to go wrong for me to be shoeless and riding on the bolts on the back of another person’s bike.”
Ron scratched the back of his neck coyly. “Yeah, well. I don’t really know how I always end up in these situations anyway.”
Jacky replied flatly. “At least you always learn something from them. Why it always has to be epitomized in a nonsensical aphorism, I’ll never know, though.”
“Hey! Jacky!”
The voice came from behind him, but Jacky would recognize it even if it were only a whisper siphoned through a fuzzy space-age walkie-talkie communication. Melissa was coming over to talk to him.
Jacky took his hands from his face and twisted around to see her. Everything about her was perfect; her long black hair, her bright, green eyes accentuated by all the eye shadow, the way the tight Flyleaf shirt hugged her every curve. Jacky didn’t even have time to react. The intense, analytical Jacky Hazardous took a back seat, and the dorky, stumbling, love struck Jacky reared his ugly head again. Before he knew it, Jacky had a big, dumb, creeper grin on his face.
Melissa was with her friend, Joanie; Ron’s older sister. Like Ron, she had muted red hair. It was frizzy, and seemed to spout from her head in all directions as if from a fountain. The two walked up and stood next to the poor juniors.
Melissa was smiling brightly. “Jacky, me and Joan are gonna go to John Demeo’s birthday party, I thought it would be cool if you came. You in?”
Jacky giggled like a little idiot. “Isn’t that a senior party?”
“Yeah, but you can come. Everybody already knows who you are, and I’ll vouch for you so no one’s gonna give you any crap. Ron can come, too.”
“Mistake.” Joanie chimed in.
“Hey!” Ron whined.
Melissa ignored them and kept her eyes on Jacky. “You’ll come, right?”
“S-sure. Where is it?”
“It’s at his house.” Melissa cocked her head over toward the school parking lot. “Hop in my car. I’ll drive you guys there.”
“In your car?” Jacky asked.
“Yeah, no sweat.” Melissa said. “Come on.”
At that Melissa an0d Joanie turned and walked away, chased by Jacky’s eyes. He drifted off of his seat after them. Ron followed grudgingly.

During the ride in Melissa’s black Honda, Jacky and Ron sat in the back. Jacky couldn’t take his eyes off the rearview mirror, for in it shone Melissa’s big, green eyes. At one point, they came off the road and caught him staring. Jacky couldn’t see her mouth, but the shape that her eyes became suggested a smile.
They pulled up to a small, art-deco home near the edge of Cyalume. Several other cars were already outside. No noise registered from inside the house. Jacky had expected loud music.
As they walked up to the front door, he asked about it. “Why isn’t there any music, or, like, party lights?”
Melissa looked over her shoulder at him. “Yeah, John’s kind of weird.”
Joanie was upset by this. “Mel!”
“He is!” Melissa retorted, and then turned back to Jacky. “He grew up in a kind of strange environment. His parents were rich, so they subjected him to, you know, like a Victorian upbringing. So this is going to be more of a dinner party than a drunk-and-falling-down party. I normally wouldn’t even hang out with this guy, but Joanie likes him, so here we are.”
“Mel!”
Melissa rolled her eyes and shook her head. They had arrived at the door. Even as Melissa reached for the bell, the door opened.
A teenage boy in a blue military dress uniform answered the door. His face was freckled and his short hair was cropped up in a high top fade. His uniform was awash in awards. Jacky didn’t have a clue what they could be for, but at least the name plate he wore made it easy to discern him as John Demeo.
“Hey girls.” The boy said.
“Hey, John.” Joanie smiled.
Melissa was unimpressed. “What’s with the get-up?”
John answered quickly and surely. “I just got back from being promoted at my ROTC unit.” He exuded confidence.
Joanie was still behaving like, well, a school girl. “I think it looks great on you. You look tough, and dignified at the same time.”
“Thanks.” John stepped from the doorway and invited them in. “Well, come on in and have a seat. Everyone’s just chatting right now. Later my mother will be serving tea and cakes.”
John walked away into the kitchen, and the kids were left to themselves. Melissa sighed in exasperation.
“His mother is here? What did you get me into?”
Joanie looked at her. “Come on. It won’t be that bad. I just need a minute alone with John, and then we can go.”
Melissa held her hand up with the pinky stuck out and adopted a satirical accent of refinement. “Splendid, let’s go have tea and crumpets with General Patton.”
Her remark caused Jacky to spit out a laugh. It made him sound mentally handicapped. No one else but him seemed to notice, though.
They walked in and Ron shut the front door after them. As the kids walked toward the crowd, the wheels in Jacky’s brain churned. He needed to say something before some senior in here stole her away; just to start the conversation. His brain had already made a couple of observations, he could start there.
“Is John’s mother his birth mother?”
Melissa stopped and turned around, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. “No. How did you know that?”
Joanie and Ron drifted off to other parts of the house.
“You said his parents were rich.” Jacky answered. “Also that he had a Victorian upbringing, but now he lives in this small house.”
Melissa nodded. She seemed impressed. “Yeah. They died. His mother died when he was young and his father died about two years ago. His dad left all of the assets to him, but he’s not allowed to touch it until he’s 21. His step-mother must be a real saint, taking care of him and his little brother the way she does.”
Jacky nodded in agreement. “Interesting.”
The two continued into the epicenter of the little party. Jacky stuck close to Melissa and tried to occupy her attention as much as possible. After a few minutes, John came back into the room.
With an air of officiality, he quickly got everyone’s attention. “Excuse me, everyone! The tea and cakes are about to be served, if you could take your seats, please!”
All of the teenagers dropped their conversations and complied, grabbing chairs around a long table that had been set up in the den. There were only maybe ten guests total. John sat at the head of the table. He looked very out of place with the other teens in his uniform, but seemed not to mind at all.
John’s eyes immediately fell on the two unfamiliar faces sitting at the table. “I recognize you. You’re name’s Jacky, right?”
“It’s Jack,” Jacky corrected. “Jack Hazardous.”
John’s left eyebrow elevated. “You know your last name’s an adjective?”
Jacky snickered and shook his head. “You know, I never hear that.”
A smirk grew on John’s face. He understood and appreciated the sarcasm. “Well, I’m glad to have you here. It’s not every day you meet a celebrity.”
“Yeah, you’re the kid that busted up that thing with the teachers, aren’t you?” One of the other seniors, Arthur, had chimed in.
Jacky recognized Arthur. He was a football player with a large, football player’s body and short, black hair. Jacky never understood the paragon that Arthur was. He played sports, but wasn’t very popular. He was good in science. He’d look like a total nerd with those thick back rims he wears if it wasn’t for the physique.
As Jacky considered this, an Asian woman came into the room holding two large trays of cups and cakes. She appeared to be in her early-to-mid-thirties, but even to a teenager like Jacky, she was beautiful. This was John’s step mother. Of course, a wealthy man looking to remarry could pick from any young woman he wanted.
With an undeniable skill, John’s step-mother laid the giant trays down on the table without spilling a drop.
“Eat up.” She said; bowing, and then shuffling out of the room with dainty little steps.
All of the kids at the table grabbed a cup of tea and a slice of cake, except John, who only grabbed a cup of tea.
“You’re not going to have any cake, John?” Joanie asked.
John shook his head as he took a drink of his tea. After he took the