literature

Best Friend For Hire Reprise, Entry 5

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Published: Apr 16, 2014

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Music was playing on the other side of the door, so I was certain James was awake as I gently knocked. He didn’t reply for the second time, so I let him be. He was likely working hard on something for his new business, since the music started far earlier than he normally wakes. My wonderful boy could be quite tenacious when he set his mind to something, and he wouldn’t want to stop for breakfast. When his father suggested that James should get a bit of job experience before college, I wasn’t opposed, but neither of us expected our son to want his own business over a part-time job. Perhaps we should have. With his father owning a hotel chain and my freelance work as an artist, having a son that wanted to be self-employed only made sense. His business idea was odd to say the least, hiring himself out as a jack-of-all-trades to anyone who needed a “best friend”. Not surprisingly, James was managing to get numerous odd jobs. He was always quite the little charmer.

I would remember the day Regina showed up at my door for the rest of my life. After one night dancing with my son, she was so besotted with him that she couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing him again. As the years past, I loved her more and more, seeing her as an ideal match for my boy. She was just as talented as him, came from money ― so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed when James took over his father’s business ― and, most importantly, loved my boy with every fiber of her being. The only problem was getting my wonderful idiot of a son to realize the girl was right for him. James was every bit as hopeless with girls as he was brilliant at school, and he breezed through classes without even seeming to realize they were supposed to be a challenge. To make matters worse, any attempt to force him into doing something would have him fighting you to the bitter end, and his brilliant mind could be devastating when he was paying attention. I sighed and placed some breakfast bars and a bottle of water on the table for him.

James looked tired but presentable as he came into the kitchen. Even his father wouldn’t entirely disapprove of his state, and my husband was the stickler for always looking your best, always wanting to make sure his customers at the hotel were treated like royalty. Seeing my son’s apologetic face, I told him “I didn’t bother cooking for you when you didn’t answer your door the first two times.” as he noticed the food on the table.

He smiled sheepishly and said, “Sorry. I didn’t hear you. I actually got up early today, but I think I need to spread replying out a bit.”

I smiled in return and shook my head. I then said, “Just don’t overdo it, James. This is a good experience for you, but I expect your grades to stay up. You also need a social life, or your friends will feel neglected.” I knew his grades would stay perfect, but a mother should express some concern, even if being upset with my son was nearly impossible. Regina would be able to look after him well when he was too caught up with things to really notice what was happening around him.

He gave me an impish grin and said, “Oh, I will. I’m going on a date with a girl named Emma soon. Anyways, I better run!” With that, he was darting out of the door.

I almost called Regina immediately, but decided against it. The news would surely ruin her day, and the girl was always so very busy. Between having to attend her father’s gatherings and practically running her high school, she had more than enough to keep anyone stressed, but the girl managed well, always telling me how seeing James brightened her day. We didn’t have time to come up with a plan before school started for her even if she did have a moment. I would have to find out more about this supposed date from my son and then go from there. Hopefully, this would just turn out to be another strange job of his, rather than some new girl taking an interest in him. Most girls couldn’t be trusted around my son. They’d lose their heads to his smile, be wrapped around his finger, and be crushed when they realized he wasn’t actually interested, just being friendly. If they realized… some girls were easily lost in their own fantasies. I sighed and walked into my studio to paint. There was only so much a mother could do.

,,,^._.^,,,

When James walked into English class, looking distracted as he bumped into Elizabeth García, I couldn’t help wishing a girl would look at me the way she looked at him as he picked up the pen she dropped. James was the only guy I knew who wouldn’t even notice. He sat next to me and started animatedly explaining how his morning went. Our teacher, Mr. Traber, just gave him a stern stare, which earned a sincere apology from James. Anyone else would have gotten yelled at, but Mr. Traber was smiling again after the apology. Staying mad at the guy was far too much effort for anyone. On the way to Physics, I was completely shocked to hear James asking if I knew of any girls that were interested in him. Finding one that wasn’t would be far more difficult. Knowing he wouldn’t believe the truth, I downplayed it a little, saying, “My man! You’ve finally decided to wake up to the wonderful world of ladies. Half the girls in this school have been interested in you.”

He looked at me incredulously before asking “If that’s true, why haven’t I heard about it?”

Excluding the chapter’s lecture from Mr. Harrington, we continued talking throughout Physics as well. I felt a bit nervous when we got down to the meat of the problem: Regina. I wasn’t entirely certain how James felt about Regina. There were times he almost seemed to like her, but then he would run from her, sometimes literally, when she just wanted to give him a kiss. Perhaps, on some level, James realized she was evil, but I never really tried to prove it to him before. I took a breath and told him “Well, it’s like this. Remember in seventh grade when Emily Baker had that splotchy green hair? She had written you a note to see if you were interested in her.”

He looked surprised by the revelation, though half the school had known about the note. “I remember the hair, but she never gave me a note. She told me that her mother had spilled dye in it when I asked, and didn’t really say much to me after that.”

James really had a knack for being oblivious. “That’s because Regina found out about Emily’s scheme and convinced the girl that you weren’t available,” I said. How Regina managed to get Emily is still a mystery to me, but there were far too many “coincidences” that happened in a similar fashion. If Regina found out about a girl after James, the girl was doomed. End of story.

“What!? No way,” he said, “I’ve never seen Regina hurt a fly. She’s just… well… her eyes. She’s always planning something.”

I was somewhat surprised he had noticed that much. I laughed and replied “Yeah. She’s planning on how to get you to ask her out and how to punish any other girl that tries. If she weren’t evil, I’d think you were nuts for not dating her.” I then did my best to explain how all the little mishaps seemed to fit together, revolving around girls getting in Regina’s way. There were countless times girls had been interested in James only to give up on their feelings after some mishap worked against them. Every last mishap happened after Regina found out about the other girl’s feelings for James.

“But I can’t really see Regina being openly cruel to someone.” he insisted.

Nodding, I said, “I never said she lifted a finger. If I had some way to prove any of it, I would’ve stuck it in your face long ago. It’s all just too convenient, y’know?” That was the most intriguing part. There wasn’t any hard evidence of supernatural events that I could find, but when every last girl who showed interest in James was conveniently dissuaded from pursuing him right after Regina learned of it, she had to be involved somehow. I just hoped I could figure out what precisely before she got her claws deeper into James.

,,,^._.^,,,

James was looking at me off and on throughout third period, and I couldn’t help smiling to myself. Usually, I was the one who couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Without having done anything particularly exceptional today, I couldn’t pinpoint what was drawing him in for once. Whatever worked in my favor was appreciated. He even stopped me after class and asked for a ride, to which I responded “Sure, James. You know I’ll always help you in any way I can.” with, perhaps, a little too much enthusiasm. His blush was too perfect though, like having a fairytale prince act bashful after saving me from a dragon.

Still blushing, he said, “Well, I’ll see you after track.”

He always ran. Why did he have to run while off the track as well? “I’ll be the one in the bleachers.” I told him with a smile, even though he was already leaving me. I stared after him for a moment and sighed. Why couldn’t he just kiss me and stay by my side? I forcefully tried to clear my thoughts and remember where I was supposed to be heading. Though most people knew not to cause trouble, letting my guard down here wasn’t a good idea. Too many girls were after James, my James.

After school, I hurried to finish up a bit of student council business, so I could watch James on the track. Though he was extremely fast compared to most of the runners, I could tell he wasn’t at his best today. Hopefully, he wasn’t feeling ill. Between runs, he just seemed distracted, at least more so than normal. Maybe his father wasn’t pleased with how James’ new business was going. I needed to cheer him up, so as he approached the stands, I smiled and said, “Hey, handsome. Need something to put a little more perk in your step?” His face flushed, but only a little this time. Something was plainly on his mind as he gazed up at me, and I felt like a knot was forming in my stomach.

“Regina, we need to talk about some things,” he said.

Oh no. I gazed intently into his eyes, trying to divine what was on his mind to no avail. “Is something wrong, James?” I asked, uneasy about the answer. He started walking toward my car, so I hurriedly stepped up to keep pace.

“Well, I know that you like me and have for quite some time,” he said, causing more knots to form in my stomach. “You wouldn’t hurt someone else interested in me, would you?” he asked, causing me to cringe inside, but I tried not to let it show.

Taking a moment first to organize my thoughts, I told him “I thought you knew me better than that. I don’t want to hurt people, James.”

He hardly looked convinced and asked me “Do you remember Amy Wright having that accident in Chemistry two years ago shortly before homecoming?”

I nodded, but felt the movement was robotic. I remembered all too well. I shared the class with her and happened to walk by as she was talking about asking my James to the dance. I felt so worried that he might accept, jealousy rearing its ugly head. What if I lost my prince to a silly girl that asked him out on a whim? Then, as often the case, something inexplicable happened. I never knew why or how, but bad things always happened to people that hurt me. One of the test tubes at their table was knocked over. Luckily, there was nothing caustic in it, but her skin was dyed. Without thinking my words over, I told him “Her skin wasn’t purple for that long really.”

James frowned and said, “She was apparently going to ask me to the dance that day. Weren’t you in her class?”

I nodded and told him “Yes, I was at the other side of the room working on the lab when we all heard her scream.” I really didn’t mean for that to happen, James, but how would I explain to you without knowing why these things happen? I then asked him “So why are you bringing that up, James?”

“Well, I am going on a date with someone, and thought you should know,” he said.

I let out the breath I was holding, rolled my eyes, and told him “Your mother already told me about Michelle, James. I think it’s nice of you to be helping the girl like that.” Not really, but there was no way I could stop him. Why couldn’t he just understand that we should be dating? I did my best to give him a smile, but I knew it wasn’t working well by his expression.

“Actually, I’m planning on a date with a girl named Emma. Her grandfather wants us to hangout.” he said.

My chest hurt. I glared at him, wondering if he was doing this on purpose, but the anger fled as I watched him. James never wanted to hurt anyone. He just didn’t understand, and now I might be too late making him. I held back the tears that wanted to escape my eyes and told him “I see.” Then I drove him to his house in silence, not knowing what to say to the prince who was crushing me. Why was this happening? Rachel must not have known, or she would have told me, right? As I drove home, I was fighting not to call her immediately. She would call. She would call. Rachel cared. When the phone finally rang, I was crying. “Please, tell me you have good news.” I begged her, not wanting to accept that my prince might choose someone else.