“Hey, JESS!” I yell over the bubbling broth of the classroom babble. Even from a mere two meters away, I know I have to yell to command her attention - and drown out the white noise that is currently plugged into her right ear. The chord is running close to her neck and hidden from the reliever’s prying eyes.
She looks up from the thick pad in her hands. “Huh?” she says while peering around the room in an oblivious manner. There are islands of student scattered around the classroom like it’s the Pacific Ocean, but she doesn’t lock onto any target without further cue.
I nod my head at the paper and say “Give us? I wanna start my final copy.”
She looks down at the second sheet of paper, lying on her desk with only minor wounds due to her red biro. “Yeah, well…” she starts while weighing each piece of paper in her hands like their importance is detectable. “I’m not done ‘Peer Assessing’” – paper flies through the air in a hurried crinkle as she throws up air quotes – “it.”
Then she reconsiders. “But I’ll do finish it without your book, because, because, because… I’ve got a good memory, so I’ll do it from that.” She spits out the words in a ditzy tone that would make her long caramel-blond hair proud. After throwing my short story through the air, she looks back down at what is supposed to be her work.
The reliever catches onto her voice and says in a mock-American-teenage-girl tone, “Like, totally? Are you sure?”
I smile and shake my head as I look down at my paper, starting to copy the story in an absent mind. The classroom is hot and its last spell on a Friday and we have one of the most sarcastic relievers at the school. Over the classroom bustle, I can hear her high pitched voice cutting through. “Well, like… Totally!” She starts to laugh that soon turns into loud snort.
Charlie, sitting opposite, giggles and says “What was that?”
In a low, normal tone of voice, Jess replies. “I don’t know?” And then, realising she had dropped her cheerleading façade, she adds hastily, “Like, right?” flicking her hair over her shoulder.
Perhaps someone in the class who didn’t know Jess would think that, three inches taller and half a world away, she would have made a popular American Cheer-Captain. But everyone here knew that she’s a Kiwi with a sense of humour.
“Hey, Jess?” I say, peering up at the clock and knowing that it’s nearly home-time. “You walking?”
Questions: What do you think of Jess as a person?
Would you like to be friends with her?
Did you think I described her personality, physical apearance and mental state well?
Thanks! I'm planning to do these on some more of my friends because I've got a character description internal coming up, so I want to practice!
