Categories > Original > Drama > The Happiest Day
Chas strode confidently along the sidewalk of North Cicero Avenue, while Jasmine sulked along behind her, glaring at passersby through her hair, which she had allowed to hang down in her face. She flipped the hood up on her sweatshirt to better obscure her face. Secretly, Jasmine envied Chas’s sense of style. She wished she’d thought putting thumb holes in the cuffs of her sweatshirt, so that it hid the bandages better.
“I thought you were going to “school” me while we did the errands, Chas.”
“Sarah Hawthorne, do you remember her?”
“How could I forget? She got Jessica into my locker yesterday,” Jasmine snapped.
“You wanna see where she ended up, ten years later?”
Jasmine stared, as Chas walked through the automatic door of Whole Foods.
“You eat organic food?”
Jasmine jammed her hands further into her pockets as she asked this, and glanced around the store self-consciously. This wasn’t a place that her father would normally go for food. Chas had already chosen a cart, and was browsing through the fruits and vegetables.
“The food here is better for the body, all organic. Plus, I actually enjoy steak, as does the husband, and since I have an allergy to penicillin? I really don’t have a choice in eating organic food. And, after what you did to yourself yesterday, kiddo,” Chas replied, shooting Jasmine a sharp glare, “you need red meat to help your body recover the blood it lost.”
“You’re married?”
“Yep, sure am. Hey, relax, Jasmine,” Chas replied, catching the horrified look on Jasmine’s face. “He’s out of town right now, he travels a lot. Thus is the life of a musician. I get tons of space and me-time. It’s nice, and you’ll learn that later on. Now, where were we?”
“Sarah Hawthorne.”
“Right, Sarah. She works here, she’s a cashier. She’s in here today, but not for work,” Chas explained, carefully choosing two steaks from the meat counter, and dropping them into her cart, between the bananas and the celery. “Also, I hope you like fruit smoothies, because that’s usually what we have for breakfast.”
“You’re stalling and avoiding the subject. Stop it.”
“No, I’m multi-tasking—would you even know what that means? I can’t remember using that term in normal conversation in 2002.”
“Chas.”
Chas rolled her eyes, picking out a jar of peanut butter, before glancing towards the grape jam, studying it carefully.
“Look, there are some things in life that you can’t explain, Jasmine. Sometimes, seeing is believing, kiddo. I’ll explain more after you see what’s happening,” she sighed.
“Peanut butter and jam, let me guess, you enjoy snacking on PB&J sandwiches?”
Jasmine bit back a smile, remembering her childhood ritual with her father. Every night at midnight, without fail, they met in the kitchen for a PB&J sandwich and a glass of milk. She’d stopped eating a midnight snack years ago, but every so often, she’d wake up to the sound of the bread bag rattling in the kitchen at midnight.
“They make a great midnight snack, but you already know that, kiddo,” Chas grinned, picking out a loaf of whole wheat bread, and pulling a face.
“Not a whole wheat lady?”
“That’s more Reed’s thing than mine. I prefer white, but eh. Compromise, gotta love it.”
Jasmine’s ears perked; she recognized that name. Reed Saunders was the new guy at her school, and the star kicker for the SHS soccer team.
“Reed is your husband?”
“Hey, I think you’re forgetting who it is that’s learning a lesson. This little journey isn’t about me, kiddo, it’s about you. Speaking of, there’s what you’re supposed to be seeing. Look over there,” Chas instructed, leaning on the handle of the shopping cart, and nodding towards the ice cream cooler.
Jasmine’s eyes widened, and she would’ve blurted something out, had Chas’s hand not landed over her mouth. Sarah Hawthorne, looking way older than twenty five, stood next to a small boy who had to be at least eight years old.
“Shh, kiddo, you want to see and hear this.”
A moment passed, and Sarah was approached by someone who looked vaguely familiar to Jasmine. He had greasy black hair, pulled back into a low ponytail, and his jeans were ragged and dirty. The hoodie he wore looked like it had seen much better days, and drew attention to his bony frame. Cheap looking aviator glasses covered his eyes, but when he slid them up on top of his head, Jasmine recognized him. It was Trent Risika, only way older, and way thinner. He took the boy’s hand, not even bothering to speak to Sarah.
“Trent, you still owe me for last month’s child support.”
“I’ll pay you when I find a job, Sarah.”
“What happened to the one you had?”
“It’s not a big deal—”
“Did you fail the drug test again?”
The two began to argue, and Jasmine felt her heart tearing in two.
“They were secretly dating, Jasmine. Sarah got pregnant not long after Valentine’s Day, and gave birth to little Tommy halfway through sophomore year,” Chas explained, gently steering Jasmine away from the sight.
“So he knew that she—”
“Why do you think he asked for your help on the Civics homework when he caught you after lunch? He knew you’d have the answers right off the top of your head, and he was stalling for her.”
“He used me? For her?”
Jasmine swiped away tears, wondering once again why she’d lived.
Damn Andrea for finding me in time. Damn the paramedics for bandaging me up and stabilizing me. Damn Chas for making watch this.
“As you can see, he too gets his just desserts. His life doesn’t turn out much better. Jackass has a raging pill problem, and an inability to support his child because of it. Not that he’s even that fond of the kid, anyway. Dumps Tommy off at his mom’s for the entire week he’s supposed to have him,” Chas continued, as she approached the cash register.
“Why did you make me watch that?”
“Because, Jasmine, you need to get a good look at the people around you through a fresh perspective. You’re really lucky that wasn’t you in Sarah’s shoes.”
“You’re calling me lucky because he knocked her up?!”
“Yeah, I am,” Chas sighed, as she bagged up her groceries, flashing a smile to the cashier. “Because you got the chance to see that idiot for what he really is, before he screws you over. She didn’t. He never loved her, and to be honest, I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone, except himself.”
Jasmine glared at her furiously, not even bothering to swipe away her tears this time.
“You call me lucky because you shattered my heart back there by making me watch that?”
Chas sighed heavily, and dropped her groceries at the door of the apartment building, before turning to Jasmine, and cupping her face.
“Honey, you need to realize something; your life is worth way more than his opinion, or the opinions of anyone else at Savant High. And it’s a real shame that you didn’t see that when you had the chance to.”
“I thought you were going to “school” me while we did the errands, Chas.”
“Sarah Hawthorne, do you remember her?”
“How could I forget? She got Jessica into my locker yesterday,” Jasmine snapped.
“You wanna see where she ended up, ten years later?”
Jasmine stared, as Chas walked through the automatic door of Whole Foods.
“You eat organic food?”
Jasmine jammed her hands further into her pockets as she asked this, and glanced around the store self-consciously. This wasn’t a place that her father would normally go for food. Chas had already chosen a cart, and was browsing through the fruits and vegetables.
“The food here is better for the body, all organic. Plus, I actually enjoy steak, as does the husband, and since I have an allergy to penicillin? I really don’t have a choice in eating organic food. And, after what you did to yourself yesterday, kiddo,” Chas replied, shooting Jasmine a sharp glare, “you need red meat to help your body recover the blood it lost.”
“You’re married?”
“Yep, sure am. Hey, relax, Jasmine,” Chas replied, catching the horrified look on Jasmine’s face. “He’s out of town right now, he travels a lot. Thus is the life of a musician. I get tons of space and me-time. It’s nice, and you’ll learn that later on. Now, where were we?”
“Sarah Hawthorne.”
“Right, Sarah. She works here, she’s a cashier. She’s in here today, but not for work,” Chas explained, carefully choosing two steaks from the meat counter, and dropping them into her cart, between the bananas and the celery. “Also, I hope you like fruit smoothies, because that’s usually what we have for breakfast.”
“You’re stalling and avoiding the subject. Stop it.”
“No, I’m multi-tasking—would you even know what that means? I can’t remember using that term in normal conversation in 2002.”
“Chas.”
Chas rolled her eyes, picking out a jar of peanut butter, before glancing towards the grape jam, studying it carefully.
“Look, there are some things in life that you can’t explain, Jasmine. Sometimes, seeing is believing, kiddo. I’ll explain more after you see what’s happening,” she sighed.
“Peanut butter and jam, let me guess, you enjoy snacking on PB&J sandwiches?”
Jasmine bit back a smile, remembering her childhood ritual with her father. Every night at midnight, without fail, they met in the kitchen for a PB&J sandwich and a glass of milk. She’d stopped eating a midnight snack years ago, but every so often, she’d wake up to the sound of the bread bag rattling in the kitchen at midnight.
“They make a great midnight snack, but you already know that, kiddo,” Chas grinned, picking out a loaf of whole wheat bread, and pulling a face.
“Not a whole wheat lady?”
“That’s more Reed’s thing than mine. I prefer white, but eh. Compromise, gotta love it.”
Jasmine’s ears perked; she recognized that name. Reed Saunders was the new guy at her school, and the star kicker for the SHS soccer team.
“Reed is your husband?”
“Hey, I think you’re forgetting who it is that’s learning a lesson. This little journey isn’t about me, kiddo, it’s about you. Speaking of, there’s what you’re supposed to be seeing. Look over there,” Chas instructed, leaning on the handle of the shopping cart, and nodding towards the ice cream cooler.
Jasmine’s eyes widened, and she would’ve blurted something out, had Chas’s hand not landed over her mouth. Sarah Hawthorne, looking way older than twenty five, stood next to a small boy who had to be at least eight years old.
“Shh, kiddo, you want to see and hear this.”
A moment passed, and Sarah was approached by someone who looked vaguely familiar to Jasmine. He had greasy black hair, pulled back into a low ponytail, and his jeans were ragged and dirty. The hoodie he wore looked like it had seen much better days, and drew attention to his bony frame. Cheap looking aviator glasses covered his eyes, but when he slid them up on top of his head, Jasmine recognized him. It was Trent Risika, only way older, and way thinner. He took the boy’s hand, not even bothering to speak to Sarah.
“Trent, you still owe me for last month’s child support.”
“I’ll pay you when I find a job, Sarah.”
“What happened to the one you had?”
“It’s not a big deal—”
“Did you fail the drug test again?”
The two began to argue, and Jasmine felt her heart tearing in two.
“They were secretly dating, Jasmine. Sarah got pregnant not long after Valentine’s Day, and gave birth to little Tommy halfway through sophomore year,” Chas explained, gently steering Jasmine away from the sight.
“So he knew that she—”
“Why do you think he asked for your help on the Civics homework when he caught you after lunch? He knew you’d have the answers right off the top of your head, and he was stalling for her.”
“He used me? For her?”
Jasmine swiped away tears, wondering once again why she’d lived.
Damn Andrea for finding me in time. Damn the paramedics for bandaging me up and stabilizing me. Damn Chas for making watch this.
“As you can see, he too gets his just desserts. His life doesn’t turn out much better. Jackass has a raging pill problem, and an inability to support his child because of it. Not that he’s even that fond of the kid, anyway. Dumps Tommy off at his mom’s for the entire week he’s supposed to have him,” Chas continued, as she approached the cash register.
“Why did you make me watch that?”
“Because, Jasmine, you need to get a good look at the people around you through a fresh perspective. You’re really lucky that wasn’t you in Sarah’s shoes.”
“You’re calling me lucky because he knocked her up?!”
“Yeah, I am,” Chas sighed, as she bagged up her groceries, flashing a smile to the cashier. “Because you got the chance to see that idiot for what he really is, before he screws you over. She didn’t. He never loved her, and to be honest, I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone, except himself.”
Jasmine glared at her furiously, not even bothering to swipe away her tears this time.
“You call me lucky because you shattered my heart back there by making me watch that?”
Chas sighed heavily, and dropped her groceries at the door of the apartment building, before turning to Jasmine, and cupping her face.
“Honey, you need to realize something; your life is worth way more than his opinion, or the opinions of anyone else at Savant High. And it’s a real shame that you didn’t see that when you had the chance to.”
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