5 The Next Level
The Next Level
I was wrapping up some homework when a videocall appeared on my screen.
Monty. Uh, thanks but no thanks , I thought.
I hadn’t exactly enjoyed our last conversation.
But I also didn’t want to be mean. So after a moment’s thought, I responded, and there I saw him, looking handsome with his innocent little smile, next to the lamp in his room.
He looked tired. I assumed he’d been at practice.
“Hey, Jenna,” he said.
“So you’re not in the mood to shout at me anymore?” I asked.
Monty was good-looking, with short blond hair, buzzed almost, and a little earring in one ear that I’d always found sexy. He peered at me with his narrow brown eyes.
“How are you?” he said, ignoring my comment.
“Fine,” I mumbled. But I wasn’t good at holding grudges, so I tried to actually start a conversation. “School sucks, though.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they want me to read all these books and I hate them.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, my training’s going great. The coach thinks we can really win this game on Saturday, but he’s been pushing us hard. We’ve had double sessions most days.”
“I wish I could go see you,” I said.
“I know.” He smiled. His smile was goofy; it didn’t quite suit him. “I’ll tell you how it goes, though.”
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I looked down at my fingernails and asked him whether he’d heard from Nelle. He seemed to find the question weird and said, “No, not really, why?”
“She won’t call me back or answer my messages. I’m starting to think she’s mad at me. I know she was sad when I left, but I don’t think that justifies her not talking to me. Thank God I’ve got Naya and her friends. Otherwise I’d feel all alone here.”
“You’ve got me,” he said. “You know you always do.”
Maybe. But I also knew that sweet as he was then, he could turn into a jerk at the drop of a hat. Why couldn’t he just be normal? “I wish I was there with you,” he added. Was he trying to make me feel worse?
“We won’t have to wait much longer,” I said with a sigh. “Just a few months.”
He complained that it felt like those months would never pass, and I smiled, feeling discouraged as he continued. “At least you’ve got some friends. That’s something. Right?” He seemed to want to add something, and when he just stared at me, I said, “What, Monty?”
“You’ve met someone, too. Someone. I can tell.”
“Monty, I’ve only been here a month. I haven’t even had time to meet anyone. Plus, you’re the one who was all about this open-relationship thing. Maybe you have something to tell me?”
“I mean…I’ve had my eye on this girl, but nothing’s really happened.”
I didn’t know what to say. So I asked what she was like.
“I thought we weren’t going to go into details…” he replied.
I guessed it was better that way. Just the idea of my boyfriend sleeping with some girl bothered me.
Putting a name and face to her would only make it worse.
So I tried to change the subject. I tried to put on a seductive voice.
Naya was gone, and I thought we could try some kind of cybersex …
Wasn’t that what it was called? But Monty didn’t get it, and it went nowhere.
“Just forget about it,” I said.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. Maybe if I was there, I’d understand you better.”
“Yeah, but we might as well stop talking about if I was there or you were here because you haven’t offered to drive up here and I don’t have any money to go home.
” I knew that for a fact because I’d seen a message from Mom that morning.
I didn’t want to read it, but I could already guess it would be bad financial news.
Monty didn’t seem to believe me and said I could go see him if I wanted to.
When I said I couldn’t and things got heated, he apologized and said he was tired and he was probably taking it out on me.
“I’m going to get some sleep, babe. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said.
“Sure.”
“Good night. I love you, Jenna.”
I told him good night, blew him a kiss, closed my laptop, and looked at my phone. On the small screen, I saw a message that said Call me NOW, Jennifer Michelle Brown . Just as I was typing, another one came through: If you don’t, there will be consequences .
What was she, a mafioso? It was better not to prolong the inevitable, so I dialed, stood, and looked out the window.
It was almost nine in the evening. She must have had her phone in her hand already, because she responded before the first ring was over, shrieking, “Jenna! I’ve been waiting the whole day for you to call! ”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t have time till now.”
That was a lie, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I just hadn’t wanted to hear what I knew she had to say. She began, “We need to talk…” and I finished her sentence for her: “About money.”
“Yeah…you know your father and I haven’t been doing so well, honey. And Shannon needed money for Owen’s school things. And your brothers… Well, their garage is a money pit, and I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”
“You can’t pay for my dorm.”
I tried not to sound angry. I couldn’t imagine why there was always money for my bumbling brothers but no money for my education. But I would never tell her that. She tried to make everyone happy. She failed at it, but she tried. And I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, sounding sincere. “I’ve tried to square the accounts, but the money just isn’t there. If you like it there, maybe we can try again next semester.”
“It’s fine, Mom.”
“You’re so sweet. We’re on a payment plan, you know, and the next installment was due yesterday, and…”
I cut her off, telling her I’d try to figure out something. But when I thought the call was over, she stayed on the line, and finally I asked, “What?”
“You know you could always just come back home, Jenna. You’ve had your little month away, but you could come stay with us again. We love you more than anyone in the world. Where would you be happier than here?”
“Mom,” I said, “we’ve already talked about this a million times.
I’ve got friends here. People who care about me.
And I want an education. I don’t want to just live forever in the town I grew up in and work some dumb job.
I knew you were going to be this way, and I told you to leave me alone until December.
And it’s October. The beginning of October.
I said I wanted to be independent and grow here without having you bothering me.
You need to get used to the idea that I’m grown up now. ”
“I’m just saying, the offer’s there. And I don’t want you to have to get a job. It’s so hard, working and studying at the same time.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s not like I’m studying nuclear physics.”
“Still, I’ll try to come up with something. We should be in better shape next month and we’ll be able to send you a little cash.”
“It’s fine, Mom.”
But it wasn’t, not for her, and she started back in on how maybe it would be best if I just went home, maybe we hadn’t put enough thought into this whole college question.
I started to suspect she was fine with money and had just cooked up this lie about the dorm payments to make me come back.
Angrily, I told her I’d rather sleep on the street, and she told me not to get angry, and I swore I wasn’t.
“Don’t lie to me, honey.”
“I’m not lying, Mom. I’ve got to go. Good night.”
As I rang off, she was still blathering about how much she loved me and how I needed to bundle up and not forget to take my vitamins.
I had already predicted something like this, I thought as I looked out my window.
But I’d never imagined it would happen so soon.
Regardless of whether my mother wanted me there and how that affected her attitude about paying for school, it was a fact that we were poor.
We always had been. My parents had never had a cent to spare.
So maybe it was time for me to get a job.
Nothing major, just enough to pay for my lodging and take some stress off their backs.
And maybe if I did so, they’d stop thinking about me so much and I could actually live my life.
But for now, I needed to figure out what to do for the next four weeks.
I wondered: Would they evict me? Send the police up to kick me out?
I didn’t know, but I wasn’t as excited about living on the sidewalk as I might have pretended with my mother.
Scrolling through my contacts to see if there was anyone who could help me, I saw Ross’s name and decided to call him.
I was nervous. More nervous than I should have been over a mere phone call. He picked up right away.
“Hey, Ross,” I said.
“To what do I owe this surprise?”
“Nothing, really.” But I imagined him smiling as he heard my voice, and it warmed my heart.
“Jen, I can’t believe you called just to hear my voice. You’re turning awfully romantic on me.”
“You wish.” I started to blush. “Are you busy right now?”
“Why? Do you want me to come over?”
“I mean, I don’t want you to have to…”
“I’ll be right over,” he said. Before I tried to tell him not to put himself out, he’d hung up.
I shook my head and tucked my phone in my pocket.
That had put me in a better mood, at least. I changed out of my pajamas and into some comfortable clothes.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I kept trying to fix my bangs, which were pulling stubbornly to one side.
Why did I care, though? I was just going to hang out with friends. Right?
Downstairs, Chris was playing with his phone. “Jenna,” he said when I greeted him, “I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.”
“I already know,” I told him. “My payment’s late. I’m trying to figure out what to do about it. Just give me two days, please. If I can’t find the money, I’ll go somewhere else.”
“Like where?”
“I don’t know.”