This is something that I started writing a couple of months ago and I think this is the thing that I want to be my first novel. The title is bad so help me to give it a nice title. I first wrote this on Jen's POV. I just translated it. If you think that would be better tell me. And please give suggestions/comments.
San Leandro High School:
"Jen, Jen. Wake up." Nate whispers to his best friend while nudging her gently on the shoulder.
"Huh?", A very sleepy Jen said. "What happened?"
"Class is over.", Nate chuckled while he stood up and fixed his things.
"Oh. I was asleep the whole class?" Jen asked Nate.
"Uh-huh. You're lucky Mr. Adams didn't notice you. If he did, you'd be dead by now."
"We should go. Or we'll miss the bus." Jen said before following Nate who was heading out of the classroom.
Nate and Jen are best friends and have been since they were in kindergarten. They are those kind of BFFs that you can't separate. They are also neighbors. Nate lives with his parents, his little brother Dylan and his dog Josh. While Jen lives with her mom alone since her parents aren't married. Since they are neighbors, and Jen is an only child, Jen's mom, Janice Williams, treats Nate like her own. She would pack lunch for him. How cute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jen, what is your mom cooking for dinner?" Nate asks Jen as they get down from the bus.
"I don't know. Why? You comin' for dinner tonight? It's Friday." Jen tells Nate as they near their houses.
"I want to. But only if she's cooking a better meal than my mom. My mom's cooking meatloaf."
"I don't know what my mom's cooking. Let's go ask her" Jen tells Nate as they walk in the front door of Jen's house.
"Mom, I'm home!" Jen shouted.
"Honey, I'm in the kitchen!" Jen's mom, Janice shouted back. Nate and Jen head to the kitchen.
"Hey mom! What's up?" Jen greets her mother as she opens the fridge.
"Hey honey. I'm cooking lasagna and roasted for dinner." A seemingly cheery Janice Williams greeted her daughter.
"Hello Mrs. Williams. Good afternoon." Nate greeted politely.
"Oh hello Nathaniel. It's good to see you. Are you joining us for dinner?" Janice says as she takes Nate, or rather, Nathaniel in her arms.
"Well, I just heard you're cooking lasagna and roasted chicken, so I'll definitely stay." Nate smiled. "But first, I have to go home and change. I'll also tell my mom that I'll be having dinner here. I'll be back in a jiffy." Nate says as he gathered up his things.
"Oh okay then. Bye." Jen replies.
"Bye" Then he's gone. Aww. Which leaves us with Jen and her mom.
"Honey, can you get the pepper in the cupboard please?" Janice asks her daughter.
"Okay" Jen politely told her mother before getting the pepper in the cupboard and handing it to her mom.
"Thank you honey." Janice thanks her daughter before continuing what she was doing.
"Your father called today. He asked me if he could borrow you on Sunday. I said yes already." Janice tells Jen out of nowhere.
"Oh." Jen said blankly. "Did he say why he'd want me to be with him on Sunday?"
"Uh, I think he would take you shopping. He said he hadn't taken you shopping in a while."
"Oh." Jen said uninterestedly.
Jen's parents weren't married when they had her. They weren't even adults yet when they had her. They were 16 and still in high school when they found out that they'll be having Jen. Janice once told Jen that when she found out she was pregnant, she didn't want to tell Jen's father about it because she knew that he wouldn't want a baby at that age. But of course, she knew that it was wrong. When Janice told Jen's father, he immediately told her to get rid of it. But she didn't. Though Janice knew it was going to be hard, she kept it and now we have Jen. She did grow up as a great kid. Don't we all agree?
"I don't want to go mom. Shopping with dad I mean" Jen confesses to her mom.
"Why don't you want to go? I mean you only get to see your dad once in a while, and he's even taking you shopping."
"That's the point mom. I only get to see him once in a while. My birthday, Christmas. Why the sudden change in habit? Is it because he now realizes that he is supposed to be a father now? That he has to be responsible? Why now? Why not before when I was little, when I needed him the most?" Jen says angrily as fresh hot tears fall down from her face. It is true that when Jen was little, she would ask for her dad, call him on the phone and all he can say is that he is busy. And now Jen realizes that she doesn't need him, he would go calling her mom and ask her to go shopping with him.
"Jennifer, I know that this is hard for you. It is also for me. I know that your father has missed a lot in your life and he hasn't been a good father to you, but he is still your father. Maybe he wants to catch up with the things that he wasn't able to do." Janice tells her daughter sincerely. She still loves Jen's dad, it is written all over her face.
"But why now, mom? Why just now? Why not last year? Or--or the year before that?" Jen sobbed.
"Honey, your dad wasn't ready and matured enough yet when I found out that I was pregnant with you. And if you're gonna ask me, it is only now that your dad realized that he has to be responsible. Better late than never right?"
"Yeah. Thanks mom. For making me feel better." Jen hugs her mother real tight. She may not have a caring father, but she has a caring mom thrice as much.
Jen continues to cry on her mother's shoulder. But then, our favorite boy-next-door arrived,
"Uhh. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Nate says as he gives his signature smile.
Jen lets go of her mom and chuckles. "Don't worry, you're not. I'm done spilling my drama." Jen says as she wipes her eyes with her forehand.
"I should continue cooking. Why don't you go to your room with Nate." Janice suggests.
"Yeah. That'd be great. Let's go Nate." Jen tells Nate. They head into Jen's room.
Jen's lies down on her bed and hugs her teddy bear Chester that Nate gave her for her birthday when she turned 6. Nate flops down beside her.
"Hey, what happened? Why are you crying?" Nate asks concerned.
"Huh?" Jen shakes out of her thoughts. "It's nothing."
"Nothing huh? I could've sworn that I saw you sobbing on your mom's shoulder. It's nothing right?" Nate says sarcastically.
"I told you it's nothing." Jen fought back.
"If it's nothing, why are you moping on your bed right now with a scrunched-up tear-stained face, hugging Chester so tightly. What is it about anyway?"
Jen sighed. Nate won't give up and she knows it.
"It's about my dad." Jen finally tells Nate though still a bit reluctant about it.
"Oh. What does he want now?" Nate asks. How did he know what to say? We got ourselves a mind reader here, eh? Or maybe he just knows Jen a little too well.
"He wants me to go shopping with him. I told my mom that I don't want to go but she said I have to"
"Shopping. How interesting. Didn't you have something that you wanted to buy at MACY's? The boots that will match your leather backpack?"
"Yup. I have been wanting to buy that for a long time. But I don't want him to buy me anything. It's not even my birthday nor Christmas." Jen frowned.
"Maybe he wants to catch up with you."
"That's exactly what my mom said." Jen sighed. Maybe he did want to catch up.
"Oh alright." Jen gives in. Nate definitely knows her.
"So, are you buying the boots that you're eyeing?" Nate asked Jen before snatching Chester away from her hug.
"I don't know yet." Jen tells Nate rather quietly. She sees him kissing Chester and became not so quiet anymore.
"Hey! I'm the only one who gets to kiss Chester. Give it back!" Jen shouts at Nate. Nate smirks at her as he gives Chester back.
"I gave that bear to you. And besides, I have kissed Chester a lot of times already. Especially when you are not looking." The smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. "And by the way, is Chester a girl or a boy?" Tsk tsk. Typical Nate, always curious.
"I don't know. Chester's gender is unknown. Sometime's Chester's a girl, sometimes a boy."
"Oh. So Chester's like uhh, bisexual or something?"
"No! Of course not. Chester's like unisexual." Jen laughed but Nate didn't
"I was trying to be funny. Didn't you think it was funny?"
"No."
"Okay then, dork. Why don't we just drop it and conclude that Chester's an 'it', okay?" Jen suggests.
"Yeah. You're right" Nate tells Jen before hearing Jen's mom calling them for dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thank you very much Mrs. Williams for the wonderful dinner." Nate tells Jen's mom in an ever-politely way while flashing his signature smile.
"Oh, you're welcome dear." Janice smiled back at him before washing the dishes. Jen offers to help her.
"Mom, I'll help you with that."
"No, honey. It's okay. I can do this. Go watch a movie upstairs with Nate or something. I'll be fine here."
"Are you sure?" Jen asks her.
"Yes, honey. Go." Janice says reassuringly while shoving the two teens out of the kitchen. The two went upstairs in Jen's room to watch a movie.
"Nate, I only got Serendipity. Is that okay with you."
"Yeah, that's fine." Jen put on the movie They lay flat on their tummies on Jen's bed while they watch.
"Do you have some chips or something?" Nate asks.
"We just ate! You can't be possibly hungry again!"
"I'm a guy, Jen. We are always hungry."
"Riiiiight. Well I do. I'll get 'em." Jen opens her closet and pulls out a bag of Cheetos Puffs. Which happens to be Nate's favorite. Jen hands him the bag.
"Here."
"Woo hoo! That's what I'm talking about!" Nate immediately opens the bag and shoves some in his mouth.
"Want some Jen?" Nate asks. As if the bag didn't come from her.
"Sure." Nate shoves some in Jen's mouth too. Hmph. Me too Nate!
The movie went on and on. Then Jen started to feel a little sleepy. She turns her head to the left only to find Nate fast asleep under the covers and hugging Chester. Jen snatches Chester from him and went under the covers beside Nate. And feels her own body guiding her to sleep too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen wakes up with a feeling of something heavy on her. She opens her eyes and sees Nate's big head on her shoulder and his heavy arm around her waist. And he's hugging little Chester. Nate is sleeping like a rock. Jen scowls angrily at him. She was about to put off his arm around her but she might wake him up. He looks like a baby when he's asleep. Jen decides not to wake him and just lay there, as she gets lost into her own thoughts.
Nate has been her best friend for all her life. He has been a very good and trust-worthy friend. A friend that anybody would kill for. Their friendship is still very, very strong, it's like held by a super-duper glue. She loves Nate and she's pretty sure Nate loves her too, but only as a friend. But she is quite unsure if she wants to conclude that she loves Nate only as a friend. He may not know it, but she loves him more than just a friend.
Nate unconsciously hugs Jen tighter while he is asleep. Jen wonders what he's dreaming about. Jen looks at him. Nate is handsome. No, he's more like hot. With his chestnut-brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, he could take any girl's breath away. Jen loves the way he smiles, the way his face becomes serious every time he plays soccer. No matter what happens anyway, she would always love him.
Jen feels Nate's breath on her neck. She looks at him again. There was something that came over her that made her want to kiss him. She does. She kissed him. Just a quick kiss on the lips. He wouldn't be able to notice it since he is fast asleep. Then, Jen hugs him. But the sleeping Nate wasn't hugging her anymore, he was squishing her.
"Ow, ow. Nate, Nate!" Jen shouts at him. He wakes up.
"Huh?" Nate asks sleepily.
"You're squishing me!"
"Oh. I'm sorry." Nate sits up. "Did we fall asleep?"
"Apparently, yes." Jen tells Nate. Nate lies back down on the bed and hugs Chester.
"Did you finish my Cheetos last night?" Jen asks Nate.
"Yup." Nate grins. "Even the crumbs."
"I forgot that you were the Cheetos monster. Anyway, it's Saturday today, Natey-Poo. It's park day!" Jen proclaims happily.
"Oh yeah. It slipped my mind."
"Can we bring little Dylan?" Jen asks.
"Yeah, sure. If he doesn't have a play date scheduled." Nate said.
"Okay." Jen smiles.
Dylan is Nate's 5-year-old brother. He is absolutely adorable. He is like a mini-Nate. But with the cute little chubby cheeks. He also has Nate's cute dimples and cleft chin. He is always trying to do what Nate would do. Like play soccer. Nate teaches him though.
Jen and Nate head downstairs after hearing Janice calling for breakfast.
"Nathaniel, I didn't know you slept over."
"Uhm, not really. We kinda fell asleep. The movie was boring." Nate said shyly.
"Oh okay. Would you like to stay for breakfast?" Janice asks.
"No it's okay. My mom must be looking for me already." Nate said smiling. "Bye, see ya later Jen." Then he's gone.
"What's for breakfast mom?" Jen asks while sitting down.
"Your personal favorite. Waffles with walnuts and chocolate chips." Janice replied while giving Jen her plate.
"Yum!" Jen starts her waffles immediately. Taking as much as her mouth can contain.
"Hey, take your time. You might choke." Janice says cautioning her daughter.
"Okay." Jen replies with her mouth full of waffles.
"What did you and Nathaniel watch last night?" Janice asks as she starts eating.
"Uhh, Serendipity. That's all I had."
"No wonder the both of you fell asleep."
"Yeah. I know. By the way mom, I'm going out today. With Nate and Dylan. Saturday tradition."
"Oh alright. Do you need money?"
"Huh? No, I don't need money. I mean, I still have money. You gave me my allowance already."
"Are you sure? I'll give you some" Janice says while giving Jen a ten dollar bill.
"No, it's okay mom." Jen pushes the bill back to her mom.
"Take it Jen. It's yours." Janice insisted. She pushes the bill back to her daughter.
"Alright. Thanks mom." Jen puts the bill in her pocket before helping her mom wash the dishes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wee! Faster! Higher!" Dylan screams as Nate and Jen push him on the swings of the town park where they always hang-out.
"Dylan, we can't push you higher. Or else we might see you hanging up there on that tall building" Jen tells the little boy.
"It's okay. Superman will save me if I hang on that building." Dylan tells Jen.
"Superman is just a character, Dyl. He's not true. He doesn't even exist in real life." Dylan pouted and frowned at Nate. Leave the kid alone, Cheetos Monster! He's five for heaven's sake!
"Of course he's real, Nathan! And he will be able to save me because he saves everyone who's in trouble!" Dylan fought.
"Whatever you say." Nate gave up knowing he wouldn't be able to argue and instead, continued to push him on the swing.
"Let him be a kid, Nate." Jen whispered to him.
"Yeah, yeah I know."
"I don't want to swing anymore." Dylan says.
Jen crouches down to his level. "Well, what do you want to do, mister?" Jen moves away some hair on his face.
"I'm hungry, Jen."
"Well then, let's get something to eat." Jen says before picking him up. They head to the food stalls nearby.
"What do you want to eat, Dyl?" Nate asks the little boy.
"Hmm, I want corndogs."
"Okay, you Jen?"
"I'll have the same."
-----------------------------------------------------------
To be continued...........
Mod edit: Removed caps from the title
