‡ Promise 16: Of Stability & Maturity ‡

-As told by Tommy-

ody convinced me to leave my car at home today and she carpooled Lily and me to school. She said that she wanted all three of us to hang out more, to repair the friendship between us, and the extra hour in the car may help. I went along with it, knowing full well this was a bunch of crap. It was obvious that Jody was now afraid, when picking up and a dropping off Lily, being so close to the creature's house. I don't blame her. And it's out of guilt, that I play along with this silly idea.
I had got carried away. I had turned my back on my best-friend, that night in the woods, and threw her away for the new girl. Lily may believe me and she may be cooler with things of the unknown, but I've been friends with Jody forever. And she's always been a good friend to me. I often wonder how she must of felt, standing in those woods, as I yelled those mean things to her. I wasn't too surprised when Jody wouldn't take my call, the night after that situation, I had been a real wad.
"Are you okay, Tommy?" Jody asks, as we sat at our usual table in the cafeteria, "You're turning red." Lily gives me a concerned look. "Oh," I wave, "It's nothing. I was just thinking... about stuff." "Okay..." frowns Jody, rolling her eyes. "I think I aced my test." nods Lily, changing the subject, "Must be from all of that studying." "Yeah." says Jody, her mind elsewhere. "But," says Lily, a unasked favor in her tone, "I do have a science test coming up." "Me too." I nod, "But I'm not worried, I always pass it." "Really?" asks Lily, her greedy eyes turning towards me.
"Yes," says Jody, "For some unknown alien reason, Tommy is a whiz, when it comes to science." "Hey." I frown, "You don't have to say it, like that." "Then," says Lily, clasping her hands together, "You'll help me study? Please?" I've never been asked for a study-buddy before, that's usually Jody's deal. It felt weird. "And you can come too, Jody." says Lily, as if reading my mind, "Then I'm sure to pass the test." "What?" hops Jody, startled, "Why me? Tommy is great at science, you don't need me too. And besides, why are you suddenly interested in passing tests. No offense, but you don't seem like the type who'd care about these things."
Lily turns beet-red and starts to sputter, "O-of course I care! I-I may want to go to college someday, you know?" Both of us now gave her a suspicious look. "Okay," she sighs, "My parents made a deal with me. If I pass five tests at school, with top scores, dad will let me try for a license and buy me a car." "Really?" grins Jody, no doubt thinking of the possibility of not having to drive to Lily's anymore. "Cool." I nod, taking a bite of macaroni casserole.
"Not cool." she frowns, "I'm perfectly fine with my B - C average. I hate trying to get A's all the time, it's cramping my style, but not having a car is worse. My parents are diabolical!" "But a new car," prompts Jody, "That's got to be nice. You can pick out the color and the make... Hey, have you thought about what kind of car you wanted, yet?" "A black pickup truck." Jody nods, "With purple flames shooting down the sides." Jody drops her jaw and her fork. I laugh, "That sounds pretty cool! Very 'biker'." Lily shrugs, "I was going for something along those lines."
After school, Jody drove us to Lily's place, but from the slow speed of her driving and nervous glaces I could tell that she was not happy being so close to him. Mr. Rolmir's driveway is empty, so most likely he isn't home. But still Jody turned pale, as Lily waved to someone, despite the fact it was in the direction opposite of Rolmir's house. A very pretty red-head waved from the neighboring porch and headed inside her home. "Who was that?" I ask, very interested.
"Oh," shrugs Lily, "That's Ms. Julia. She's house-sitting for her aunt. She's also from New York, so we've been chatting." "Oh, I see." says Jody, looking relieved. "Hmm." I say, nonchalant, "So, is she single?" Both Jody and Lily give me an odd look. "What?" I frown. "She's twenty-seven." says Lily, as if it's so obvious. "So?" I shrug, "I like older women." Jody gives me a elbow in the ribs. "Ow!" I frown. "Forget about her." waves Lily, "She's the sophisticated type. So, a school-boy doesn't stand a chance." Jody giggles, while I sulk.
We enter the warm house, that smells of Lilac and lemons, only to be greeted by a shout from a small room past the living room. "Lily," calls her mother, "Welcome home! There's cookies on the counter!" Lily peeks her head into her mom's small workroom. "Thanks," she says, "I have friends over to study. We'll be in my room." "'Kay," her mother responds, "Hello, Jody and Tommy!" "Hi, Mrs. Harris!" we both say. Lily shuts the door to the room and rolls her eyes. "Kitchen is this way." she says, leading the way. In the middle of the counter, there sits a bowl of freshly made lemon cookies.
"What?" says Lily, confused, "She baked!?" "Hmm?" asks Jody, confused by Lily's reaction. "My mother hasn't baked in years!" says Lily, grabbing one cookie, "Something must have happened." We all take a bite of cookie and Lily's jaw drops open. "These are good." she gasps, "Something definitely happened!" "Let's grab something to drink and start studying." shrugs Jody, heading for the fridge and leaving a dazed Lily sitting at the counter. After grabbing a carton of juice and some glasses, we head up the two flights of stairs, and into Lily's attic room.
We studied for an hour, before my questions about the mystery lady started. "So," I said, "About Ms. Julia, what's she about?" Jody groans and Lily rolls her eyes. "Come on," I frown, "Tell me! Does she like pizza?" "I don't think there's a New Yorker who doesn't." Lily shrugs, "But, I thought I told you to forget it." "I'm not listening." I wave, "So, what kind of music does she like?" "I don't know!" frowns Lily, annoyed, "We're suppose to be studying. I want my damn truck!" "Really, Tommy." grins Jody, "Stop asking and just focus on our work." "No," I said, folding my arms, "There's a hot chick located just one house away and I want to know about her."
"But she doesn't want to know about you." says Lily and Jody snickers. "Hey," I said, "That's not true! I saw how she was looking at me... She wants some Tommy." "Yeah, right!" yells Jody. "She barely even glanced your way." Lily sighs. "Yeah," I nod, "That's how they play it. They want to check me out, but they don't want me to know that they're checking me out." "Who's 'they'?" mumbles Jody. "Dork." sighs Lily. "Come on," I say, grabbing Lily's arm, "Give me details!" Lily sighs and gives Jody a strange look. "Go ahead," she shrugs, "He won't let us study, until you do."
I pull myself closer to Lily, ready to hear her every word, and to take mental notes. "Well," she shrugs, "I don't know what to say. She does like music, but the old rock stuff. And she has a large collection of books. She did mentioned she has a favorite grandmother and that she loves living in the city. She's not a big fan of this quiet town, but she promised her aunt that she would look after the house. When her aunt gets better, she plans to visit Paris. Oh, and she use to hang out in some of the old spots I use to, back in the city." "Really?" asks Jody, interested in the details, "Like where?" They chatted for a while, about different hangouts in New York, stuff that bored me.
"Anything else?" I groan, "Anything I can work with?" "No, sorry." says Lily, facetious, "The topic of what kind of high-school guys she likes didn't come up." "Heh-heh." I say, sarcastically. "But there was something weird..." says Lily, a faraway glance on her face. She then snaps to and gives Jody a nervous look. "Does it have something to do with you-know-who?" Jody frowns. "Kinda." Lily blushes, "Forget it, though." But my face was riddled with questions now. What was the connection between Rolmir and Ms. Julia? Jody let out a long sigh, obviously settling on something.
"Go ahead." she shudders, "Say it now. If not, you two are just going to say it behind my back." Both Lily and I was hit with a sudden wave a guilt, staring at the floor instantly. "It's nothing," waves Lily, "Forget it." "No," Jody insists, "Go ahead and say it." "It's just that..." hesitates Lily, "It seems like Ms. Julia knows about that place, in the woods." Both Jody and I give her wild looks. "I know!" Lily nods, "It's weird. We were in the kitchen the first time, when Ms. Julia looks out towards the woods and mentions that there's evil out there."
"That doesn't mean she knows." I say, "Maybe it's just a weird feeling to her." "No," says Lily, "For the past three days she's been saying things like that. And when she saw... him , for the first time, she gave him a icy stare. She knows what's going on, somehow." "Freaky." I say, slumping against a wall. "I hope she doesn't try to go in there." says Jody, worried, "Into the woods, I mean." "Yeah," nods Lily, "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll keep an eye out. If I see her sneaking, I'll try to stop her and talk some sense." Jody gives Lily a grateful, yet puzzled, look.
"Let's just say," shrugs Lily, "Demons are overrated." "Demons?" I ask, now confused. "It's nothing." waves Jody, obviously in a better mood, "Let's stop talking about it now and get back to work." It seems that Lily and Jody came to a mutual agreement on something. Whatever it was, it made Jody a little comfortable within the room. We studied for a couple of hours and then made a date to study again the next day. Jody hops into the car, quickly, doing her best to not notice that Rolmir's car was back in his driveway. I wave goodbye to Lily, looking for signs of Ms. Julia, but she was hidden away inside her house.
Jody pulls off and doesn't slow down her speed, until we reach a few streets from our neighborhood. "Hey, Jody." I say, trying to find the words, "I'm... I mean... I didn't..." "You're an okay guy." she waves, "It's just that most older women don't go for guys your age. They want stability and maturity, which your age doesn't have yet." "What?" I frown, "That's not what I was- Hey! I'm mature and stable!" "Fine." she says, not believing it. "I was trying to apologize!" I growl. "Apologize?" she asks, confused, "For what?" "For that night," I said, as she shifted in her chair uncomfortably, "In the woods."
"Let's not talk about that." she says, lightly. "But," I sigh, "I want to say I'm sorry... for things that I said. They were mean and... You've been my friend forever! And I didn't mean to be such a jerk. And if you want to, you can punch me in the face." "Right..." she laughs, "You're mature, all right." "Come on," I frown, "I'm serious." "I know you are." she grins, "But it's not necessary. I forgave you days ago, so lets drop it." "Okay." I said, solemnly. She pulls into her driveway, across the street from my house.