Fencing
Part One~Fencing
Get used to disappointment.
�It�s a heartbreaker.�
Joey walked into the small apartment and carefully avoided the haphazardly scattered books and videos. Her eyes rolled of their own accord. Her roommates were infamously messy. Keri sat amidst the mess, crosslegged, her eyes shut, her hand to her forehead dramatically. �A real heartbreaker,� she repeated.
Carly bit down on a carrot loudly. Frowning down at it, she tossed it behind her, nearly hitting Joey�s legs. Joey sighed and picked up the discarded vegetable with two fingers and sent it flying into the sink gracefully. �What�s the heartbreaker?�
Carly frowned solemnly. �Cory and Topanga broke up.� She gestured to the flickering screen of their beaten 13� television. Keri shook her head and sniffed sadly.
Joey set down her backpack and collapsed onto a red floor cushion. She turned her attention to the television. �Boy Meets World marathon?�
�This is the one where Cory kisses the other girl,� Keri whispered. She lifted her sheer t-shirt and fiddled with her belly ring. �Topanga kicks his ass to the curb.�
�Indeed.� That was Carly�s new favorite word. Joey and Keri exchanged an exasperated sigh. It was the way Carly ended every conversation now, regardless of whether or not it made any sense. Not that it mattered. The conversations Joey had with her roommates were usually of the pointless variety. Usually something about television or the weather or the newest pizza delivery guy. None of which was vaguely interesting to anyone involved in the conversation, it was just a way to keep time.
Joey wandered into her bedroom and smiled. Keri and Carly shared the other room, Joey�s room was actually nothing more than a converted study, barely big enough for the small twin bed she�d crammed into it. Her clothes were kept in a small dresser, she had no closet. She never had room to lose anything. Which made things easy. Especially now as she looked down at the hastily scrawled phone message taped to her headboard. �Bessie called. Says come home pronto. Whatever, C.�
She headed back into the main room, her light windbreaker half shrugged off already. �Carly?�
�Yeah?�
Joey waved the tiny post-it note in the air. �My sister called?�
�Indeed.� Keri clucked her tongue against her teeth, engrossed in the television screen.
�Did she say what�s wrong?�
�Indeed.� Joey took a deep breath and steeled herself.
�Why does she want me to come home?�
There was a long pause. No doubt Carly was thinking up a plausible reason to answer �Indeed� for this question too. �She...said...something...about...�
Joey headed over to the phone and began dialling. Her head would explode before she�d get an answer out of Carly. From behind her she heard Carly let out an indignant breath and an angrily muttered, �Indeed.� The ring of the phone echoed in Joey�s ears. One, two, three. Four. Joey tapped a beat along the kitchen counter nervously. She listened to Keri giggle along with the laugh track to Boy Meets World.
�Hello?� Her sister�s voice filled her ear.
�Bessie? It�s Jo.� The rustling of dishes could be heard in the background.
A giggle rang out on the receiver. �Joey! You�re coming, right? You have to come home!� Another giggle soon followed.
Joey chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. �What�s going on?�
�I�m getting married!�
In the background, Joey heard the sound of Bodie yelling at Alexander. He had become a handful since he�d turned six, from what Bessie had told her, and was now being referred to as the �Unholy Terror� by his mother and father. It sounded like Bodie was mad about an experiment involving the blender. All Joey could hear was �Crayolas and...blenders are for adults...magic marker ink all over the tile!� And Bessie�s booming, �To your room, Alexander.�
�Jo?�
�Hmmm?�
Bessie sounded so alive, Joey felt a small twinge of jealousy. �I want you to come home this summer.�
Joey paused, tangling the phone cord between her fingers. �I have a job here, Bessie.� She bit her lip, knowing it was a flimsy excuse at best.
�I�ll compensate you. I need you,� Bessie began earnestly, �I want you to be my maid of honor. And I need a favor.�
�Favor?� Her sister was starting to sound devious and Joey could picture the corners of her mouth turning up slyly.
�Bodie wants to go away for a honeymoon. For a month. You�ll take Alexander.�
�I�ll take Alexander?� Joey asked, struggling to keep the panic out of her voice.
Bessie smiled from her position at the counter of her kitchen. She looked over at her glowering son, his face splattered in various shades of magic marker. �Thanks, Joey! I knew I could count on you. Your plane ticket is in the mail, I�ll see you next week. Bye!� And with that she hung up.
Joey stared at the phone in shock, the dial tone loud in her ear. Slamming the phone down angrily, she let out a sharp breath. Joey knew there would be no more discussion. Bessie had put her foot down. And Joey was headed back to Capeside, ready or not.
Part 2~Fighting |