JR
By: Rio
My name is Jinger Rose Calaway and I’m 16
years old. Though, people call me ‘Jinny’, ‘Jin’, ‘Jing’, ‘JinJin’ (Tony calls
me that), ‘Jin Rummy’ (My dad calls me that). Jeff and Shan refer to me and
Amber as “Jin and Vodka”. I have long
blond, wavy hair, and blue green eyes. Oh, did I mention that I’m totally and
completely in love with Bruce Banner? Ever since I was little, I was able to
calm down Hulk whenever he lost control. As my uncle Tony would call it,
“Raging Green Monster”. I’m a sophomore in high school and I’m a total band
geek. I can play the flute, saxophone, guitar, piano (and keyboard), and the
drums. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to become a surgeon.
What kind, you ask? Well, I want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. I love
helping people. I volunteer at the local hospital, too. I’m taking AP courses
in school right now, and I’m looking at the different medical schools. It’s
going to be tough, but I can live with it.
Now that I’m 16, Bruce and I can
finally act on our bond. We’ve waited long enough for this. Rowen and Donny
moved out when they graduated high school. Ro lives with Steve now and is going
to college for photography and graphic design. Donny’s going to school in Australia.
Degas…he bought a really nice house in North Carolina. He and Sif got married and
seeing as the farm is doing really well, they’re going to try for a baby (Even
though Sif is 5 months pregnant, so I guess trying is out of the question,
haha!)
High school is okay; been
keeping myself busy. My best friend, Amber is also taking all AP classes. We
have all the same classes, just at different times (Except for 1st
period). Amber and I have been best friends since we were two. Never got into
an argument or a fight. Amber and I spend all of our time together. Our parents
don’t even ask if one of us could come over anymore.
We’re not one for high school
drama or drama in general. Hell, Amber and I are so close, we finish each other’s
sentences! Amber doesn’t have many friends either. She wants to become a
lawyer, so she’s going to law school when she graduates.
Anya and Nik have grown up now.
They’re in middle school. Anya inherited Clint’s love of archery and wants to
become an agent of SHIELD. While Nik had inherited Tasha’s love for guns. Piper
had another baby girl and they named her Kristal.
I can’t wait until I graduate
high school and go into medical school. My mom said a lot of all-nighters,
coffee, and energy drinks. Also, A
LOT of memorization; I’ve been sleeping in Bruce’s room or he’s
been sleeping in mine.
The silence was broken by the
shrill annoyance that is my alarm clock. I didn’t wanna move because I was
snugged deep into Bruce’s side and I was all nice and warm and cozy. I felt him
move and reach over and turn my alarm off.
“C’mon, Jin…Time to wake up.” He
whispered. His voice was deep from sleep and still husky. I whined.
“You wore me out last night!” I
exclaimed, feeling him smirk against my naked shoulder.
Last night… Good God. It was
late and I was working on my homework, fuming over what my teacher had said to
me and Bruce came into my room, pants tented all to hell. He locked my door,
turned the sound proof on and had his way with me. But God was it ever fun!
“Gotta shower, baby.” He
informed me, suckling on the spot behind my ear as I moaned.
“Keep doing that and I won’t go
to school at all” I warned as he stopped.
I got up and padded over to the
shower, yawning. After going through my morning routine, I was ready to go. I
picked up Amber from her house as we went to school. My first class flew by and
now I’m in my second. Today I’m wearing jeans and jeans over my ugg boots.
Amber and I carpool (seeing as she doesn’t have a car yet). Seeing as I know
how to work on vehicles (Thanks to my parents), so for my 16th
birthday, my parents picked up a run down truck and I fixed her up. Now she
runs perfectly.
Soon enough, lunch came around.
I met Amber by our lockers as we left the school. Open Campus. We got into my
truck and left. She turned the radio on, “What about Now” by Lonestar played as
we smile.d
“You look tired” She commented
as I came to a red light.
“Nah. Figment of your
imagination!” I teased, going when the green light shone.
“Burger King?” She suggested
“Schwarma!” I grinned.
I drove to the place as we got
out. We found Bruce, Justin, Tony, and Steve inside.
“JinJin!” Tony exclaimed,
motioning us over as I waved. After we ordered, we joined them.
“Cuttin’ school?” Tony asked,
eyes twinkling as we laughe.d
“You know it. My next class is
AP Bio” I stated, sipping my Pepsi.
After the girls night, I had
gone back home and stayed up until 2 am to finish my homework. Did I tell you
that I’m addicted to the blueberry/pomegranate vitamin water and Lifesavers
gummies? No? Well, mom had bought the vitamin water and it looked kind of good
so I had a taste and I was hooked. Now mom has a few cases stocked up in the
pantry. I’m on the hockey (That’s right: Hockey) team for school (Boys, not
girls. I’m the only girl on the team) and I love it. I’m good at hockey (thanks
to my older brothers!)
Now I’m sitting in front of
Amber’s house as I honked the horn for the 2nd time. The door was
yanked open as Amber ran out, toast in her mouth. She got in as I took off
after waving to Kat.
“Took y’long enough!”
“Shut up. I haven’t been to bed
yet” She informed me, buckling up.
“Why not?” I asked, taking a
bite out of her toast.
“Homework”
“And?” I prodded
“And? No, Justin did not come
over nor did I go over to Justin’s!” She exclaimed as I laughed.
We got to school (I have my name
on the parking spot) as we went inside. All the Calaway and two Orton kids have
gone to this school. (Gabe, Lulu, Liam, Ayva, Rowen, Donny, Degas, Piper
(Before taking the High School Equivalency test), Val, Frost, etc.); I’m a
Calaway kid!
We went to our lockers and guess
what I found on mine? Papers with words on them: Fag, Whore, bitch, etc.
Stella. That bitch. Amber took them all off and glared. Amber has Kat’s temper—baaaaaaad!
I got my mom’s temper (Worse than Kat’s. My mom is downright scary when she’s
pissed off!) I just found all of this amusing. Stella makes empty threats;
“Relax, Ammy” I told her, using
her childhood nickname as she smiled. When we were kids (About 2 or 3), she
told me there wasn’t any nicknames for Amber and I said there was. So I came up
with “Ammy” (Pronounced: Am-mi). Only I get to call her that. Like I said
before, I have a lot of nicknames.
We have first period together.
Today, Amber wore my jersey (Says “CALAWAY” with the number 13 and in school
colors) and jeans with her sneakers. Her hair was braided. Me? I’m wearing my
ripped jeans (in the knees), my sneakers, and a LolItA shirt. My hair was in a
messy bun, bangs in my face. I also wear glasses (When I’m reading only). I get
hellacious migraines if I try to read for long periods of time without them (I
told my parents this and it was happening since I was 13. I kept getting really
bad migraines/headaches, so they took me to see the eye doctor and he told me
that I needed reading glasses. They have black frames and are pretty cool
looking).
We sat at our desks as I took
out the packet that was due today.
“Was the entire thing due?”
Amber asked as I nodded.
“Mhm. He said the more detailed
you were, the better chance of getting a good grade on it you have.” She
groaned, head thunking on her desk. The teacher walked in after the bell,
grinning.
“Surprise quiz!” He informed us
as we groaned. He collected our homework and passed out the two page quiz. This
was AP Biology and I was not prepared for this quiz at all.
Once everybody had turned in their
quizzes, we had lab for the rest of the period—dissecting a baby shark. He
talked for a while as we got with our lab partners.
“This is gross” Amber muttered,
pulling her gloves on.
“Deal with it” Was all I said.
Half way through class, he
handed back our quiz. He handed mine back.
“Very good, Jinger.” And on the
top I saw a big fat A. That surprised me; I looked over when Amber sighed.
“I got a B-“
“That’s good!”
“You did better” She whined as I
rolled my eyes
“I didn’t study. This quiz
caught me by surprise”
After Bio, we didn’t have any
other classes together. She had AP European history and I had AP Stats. I
grabbed my Stats binder, book, and pencil case and went to class. The bell rang
a few minutes later as the teacher came in.
“I’m going to hand back your
test you took last week. The material is hard people. That’s why this is an
Advanced Placement class; you can’t miss this class!” He exclaimed, going
around the class passing back the test. It was a 4 page test and I had struggled
with this section a little so I wouldn’t be surprised if I either got a low C
or an F. Taking out my homework, I wrote my name on the top. I’m ambidextrous (meaning
I can write with both my right and left hand, but I prefer my left). I looked
up when my test hit my notebook. Turning it over, I found a big red A on it.
This…surprised me greatly. The teacher talked about the test and then started
his lecture and writing notes on the board. When the bell rang, he called me up
to his desk.
“You did very well on this test.
Very well.” He complemented
“Thank you. I’m surprised I got
an A” I confessed
“I struggled some with this
section and I did study. I kept going over the problems and doing review”
“Well, you ask questions during
class. You come during office hours and before school starts, so you’re on a
good track, Jinger. Keep up the good work” I thanked him and left.
Lunch time; I met Amber in line,
music playing in the cafeteria. I got a chicken patty, fries, and milk. Amber
got pizza, tots, and milk. We sat at our usual table as I dug in. I was
starving for some reason.
“I went in this morning and
talked with Mr. Branson” She told me. Mr. Branson is our AP Stats teacher.
“Oh yeah?”
“I got a C- on the test. I went
in to get help on a problem and he showed me” She told me as she sighed.
“I got an A and I struggled like
hell. You saw me”
“Did you study?”
“Yeah. I study for a few hours
and do my homework. I also ask for help, too”
She sighed again and bite
into her pizza. I opened my milk and downed it.
“Mom said the only way I’ll get
my car is if I pull out grades higher than a C” She stated as I tilted my head.
“What’re your grades right now?”
I asked
“A’s, B’s, and C’s” I raised an
eyebrow
“Lemme guess: The C is in math?”
She nodded as we polished off our food.
“Well, he’s not gonna bite,
Ammy. Ask Justin for help or somebody. You know I’ll help you!”
“I know…I’ve got a lot on my
mind” She confessed as I tilted my head again, waiting for her to continue.
“I’ve been…depressed lately.
Maybe it’s because dad hasn’t been taking me on tour or something.”
“Are you late?” I asked as her
eyes widened
“No! Justin and I use protection
and I’m on the pill! Besides, my period just started” I nodded. Mine also just
started. Being as close as we are, our periods always start at the same time
and end at the same time.
“Wanna go shopping downtown
after school?” I asked as she grinned
“You mean smarty pants is gonna
be a normal teenager?!” She exclaimed, teasing
“Shut the hell up, bitch!” I
said as we both laughed.
“I’m your bitch” She grinned
“Damn right” I confirmed
We shared another laugh as we
left the cafeteria. The rest of the day went by in a blur as school got over. I
had a ton of homework that I need to do tonight, plus I have work and hockey
practice.
“What time do you have practice
tonight?” She asked as we pulled out of the parking lot
“5. Coach moved it up because he
has a sick kid at home”
I drove us to Cherry’s
shop and managed to find a parking spot in front. We ran into Stella on the way
in.
“What are you two doing here?
You’re not going into Midnight, are you?” She sneered, hands on her hips.
Stella Stevenson. Her dad is the
CEO of one of the banks here in town and her mom is a professor at one of the
universities here in town. They live on Dallas Ave.
“My aunt owns the shop, you
bitch. Of course we are” With that said, Amber and I walked in. Stella not far
behind.
“Girls!” Cherry squealed,
hugging us. Stella gapped, eyes wide. Cherry is a very famous designer and she
has stores all over the country. Nobody has a bad thing to say about her or her
clothes.
“Whatcha got, Cher?” I asked as
she took us over to the newest clothes.
“I made this for you, Jinny!”
She exclaimed, taking out an outfit. It was a red skirt with black print tights
(end at the knee), a pair of black slouch buckle boots (end a little before the
knee) and a red tank top with black shiny cross that goes up the side. It came
with some shiny bracelets and a chocker and studded earrings.
“Oh my god!” I grinned and
hugged her.
“Pick what you two want off the
racks and bring it up.” She told us, going off to help a customer. We went and
started browsing. Stella had an armful of outfits as we had our back to her,
checking out some racks. We turned when he heard Stella gasp. We looked at what
she was gasping at as I groaned. There, on the wall was a picture of me wearing
some of the new fall outfits that I had modeled for a few weeks ago.
“Damn, you’re a sexy beast!”
Amber whistled, nudging me as I laughed.
“You too!” With that, I pointed
to the opposite wall where Amber was. We were at the same rack as Stella, arms
full of oufits.
“How can you afford all those?
This is a high price shop” She sneered.
“Unlike you, we earn our money, Barbie.
I’ve heard that you’re a huge fan of Toby keith. That’s my dad. So back off!”
Amber yelled as Stella looked surprised.
With that, we went to the front.
“Problem?” Cherry asked as we
shrugged
“That’s Stella” Amber growled
“Oh yeah. That bitch who’s ben
givin’ you shit, right?” She asked as we nodded.
“Hoity Toity” I expressed in a
high pitched voice as we laughed.
“How often is she in here?” I
asked
“Every other week” cherry made a
face
“Bitch” Amber and I expressed in
unison.
We got our outfits and left.
Smirking at a gapping Stella.
We went to the bookshop across
the street and separated (We dropped the bags off in the car). There, in the
corner, was Frost.
“FROST!” I squealed as she got
up, grinned and hugged me tightly.
Frost is one of my many older
sisters. She’s a famous artist (Drawing) and jewelry maker and she works for
and married Alex Sinclair. Frost is well known for her Interior Design and owns
her own business here in town. Her jewelry has been in fashion run ways and
almost everybody in the school wears her stuff.
“How have you been?” She asked
after we pulled back.
“Good. You?”
“Excellent! I’m on my lunch
break”
After talking with Frost for a
while, Amber and I went to the bakery. JoHannah works here while she goes to
school.
“Hey Hanny!” We greeted as she
laughed.
“Hey, you two!” Hanny is a year
or two older than we are. I looked at my phone.
Another rule at the ranch is
when a child reaches the age 16 they can have their own cell phone. If you’re
younger than that, you use a pay phone.
“I’ve gotta go” I informed them.
“My mom is across the street”
Amber stated as we left the bakery.
Amber got her stuff as I left. I
had practice until 6pm and then I work at 6.45 until 10pm. I work at Buffalo
Wild Wings as a waitress and it’s a really fun job. I love it and my coworkers
are just awesome. After hockey practice, I was exhausted. Coach ran us hard for
our game on Friday. I showered and changed into my work clothes and drove off
to Buffalo Wild Wings.
Once I arrived home at 10:15, I
showered again and sat and did my homework. I took out math first and I picked
up the piece of paper that fell to the floor. It was my schedule. I looked at
it.
1st: AP Biology
2nd: AP Human Anatomy and
Physiology
3rd: AP European History
LUNCH
4th: Band
5th: AP Statistics
6th: AP Graphic Design
I put it away in the top drawer
of my desk and got to work on my homework. My laptop was booted up, my phone
laying on my bed. When I was 10, Bruce got me a cat. I named her ‘Hulk’.
It was 4 in the
morning when I finished my homework. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, grabbing
another energy drink. God, I’m exhausted…
Maybe an hour of sleep…I thought as I laid down, my alarm on.
I woke up again an hour later
and more tired than I was when I went to bed. It only seemed like five minutes.
After doing my morning routine, I dragged myself downstairs for breakfast. I padded
over to the fridge, grabbed an energy drink and a cookie before heading out to
my truck.
“Have a good day, baby” Bruce’s
voice came from behind me as I turned, smiling. We kissed as I left for my
truck. He followed.
“Tony wanted me to give this to
you” He said, handing me a CD. Thanking him, I climbed into my truck, started
and put the heater on full blast. I left the ranch, playing the CD as “Shoot to
Thrill” came out of the stereo.
After arriving at Amber’s house,
I had finished my 2nd energy drink. I honked the horn as she came
out. Today she wore black sweatpants with a pair of red and black Nike shoes
and a Rock Star sweater. I was wearing the same thing, only my shoes were green
and I wore a long sleeved Fox racing shirt with a zip up sweater. Both our hair
was in a side pony. Once she got in, I drove off.
“I thought Friday was dress like
a slob day” She asked, buckling up as I laughed.
“Haven’t you heard? Thursday is
the new Friday. Besides, Friday is pajama day!”
When we got to school, it was
buzzing more than usual. We parked, got our stuff and headed inside. We saw
staff out in the halls, kids talking loudly…
“Keith!” I hollered as I caught
his attention. He walked over;
“What happened?” I asked
“A kid committed suicide last
night.” He answered
“Name?” Amber asked
“Alyssa Jones”
“Freshy?” I asked as he shook
his head
“Sophomore. Stella and her crew
picked on her a lot”
Oh. That’s why she sounded
familiar. I had stopped Stella and her gang a few times.
“Jin Rummy?” Keith asked, waving
his hand in front of my face.
“I’m fine”
With that said, I walked to my
locker, unloaded my stuff and went to AP Biology. We were going to finish our
shark thing and do labs report on it. One of Stella’s friends was in this
class. She didn’t say much, just kept to herself. Which didn’t name any sense?
Once the final bell had rang, we
put our books in the little cubby things under the lab tables (We didn’t have
desks). I went over and grabbed mine and Ambers as everybody else grabbed
theirs. I headed back over to our table (that we share with 3 other people).
“You alright? You have circles
under your eyes” She stated, concern in her voice.
“Tired”
“What’s up?” She asked
“Had practice ‘til 6, got to
work at 6.45, worked ‘til 10, stayed up ‘til 4 working on homework.” Was my
robotic reply.
“There’s a game tomorrow, too.
Your coach gonna run you hard?” She asked
“Always does”
Mr. Johnson walked around our
tables, answering questions we might have.”
“Just a reminder that the study
guides are due Monday. Test on Tuesday”
“What study guides?” A kid asked
“The ones I’m going to be
passing out here shortly.
“You have questions in your book
that you need to answer also”
With that said, he started
passing around the thick study guide, along with a 3 page packet. I started to
wake up more, to start getting hyper.
“Ah. Catching your second wind,
huh?” Amber chuckled as I nodded.
AP Bio got over as I’m now in my
AP Human Anat and Physiology class. First thing the teacher says when she walks
into the class is:
“Test!”
The class groaned as we put away
our notes and books. It was a 5 page test— we've covered a lot in this class so
far—she said there would be questions on last week’s dissection. The test took
the entire class period; as soon as everybody was done, the bell rang. No
homework except reading and taking notes.
Soon enough, lunch came as I put
my stuff into my locker. Amber joined me a few minutes later.
“Chinese buffet for lunch?” She
asked as I nodded. We left the building as Stella stopped us. I was SO not in the mood for this.
“Stay away from Keith. He’s mine”
She sneered
“Have him” Was all I said
“Tell your slutty friend to stay
away. I don’t wanna catch anything” she snarked, laughing as I snapped.
“You’re the reason Alyssa killed
herself. You’re nothing but a stuck up snobby bitch. You pick on others because
it’s amusement for you. You control people because you know what it’s like to
be bullied and controlled. Didn’t your older sister bully you around? You’re
nothing but a damn loser and you pick and bully others because you need to feel
better about yourself! You’re no better than the rest of us, Stella. I’m sick
of your bullying. Do us all a favor and kill yourself. Maybe the world would be
better off without you around. If you ever call my best friend a slut again, I
won’t stop her from attacking you.” I yelled, finishing my rant. By this time,
a crowd had formed. Stella looked at me, eyes wide and red in the face. She
just put her nose in the air and stormed off, friends following. The crowd
vanished, but a few people came up and told it was about time and a long time
coming.
Amber and I got to my truck as I
leaned against the door, my glasses still on. I sometimes forget that they’re
on my face.
“You good to drive?” I asked as
she nodded. We got our driver’s license at the same time. She’s a good driver
and I trust her.
“Let’s just have Subway” I
murmured as she pulled into subway.
God, I was tired. We got out as
she locked it, both going inside and ordering and sitting down, eating.
“How do you think you did on the
Human A and P test?” I asked after swallowing my bite.
“I think I did okay. I studied
and stuff. You?” She asked
“Well that’s good. I think I got
an A”
“That was amazing what you said
to Stella. I thought you were gonna attack her!” Amber told me as I shrugged.
“I was. I’m so sick of her hist!”
I snapped, sighing
“Sorry. I’m super tired. These
energy drinks aren’t doing anything.”
She shrugged as we finished
eating. After throwing away our garbage, we headed back to school.
“Hello?” I asked, answering my
phone.
“Where are you?” Keith’s voice
sounded
“On my way back to school. Why?”
I asked
“After your rant—which I
congratulate you on—Stella called her dad and he called a meeting in the conference
room. Your mom is here, waiting.” He explained.
“This is bullshit!” I growled as
we hung up.
I told Amber what happened as we
arrived back at school. She went to class as I went into the conference room. I
found Stella, her dad, Michael, my mom, and Brian (principal. Old school buddy
of mom’s from college). I sat next to my mother.
“Did you threaten my daughter?”
Michael asked me
“No”
“You said I should kill myself!”
she wailed
“That’s not a threat. If I
threatened you, it would've been, ‘I’m going to kill you’. There IS a difference” I informed
her.
“You embarrassed my daughter” he
informed me.
“Your kids’ been harassing mine
and my niece! She and her friends put harassing notes on my kids locker!” My
mother snapped. Uh oh. She was getting pissed. Looked like she was getting
ready to leave for tour, too. Run away…Run away…
“Alyssa Jones killed herself
because of you, Stella!” I yelled, everybody looking at her.
“Did not!” She defended
“Oh please! You think you’re so
high and mighty. We all know it was you who put the laxatives in her milk at
lunch a few weeks ago. How you spread rumors about her because you need to be
in control. Oh? Didn’t daddy know?” I sneered, looking at Michael's shocked face
as I continued.
“Oh yeah. It’s tragic. Alyssa
was a sophomore. Her parents found her hanging in her closet by her belt. She
had been cutting herself…” I gripped my sweat pants, struggling against the
tears as I looked back up at them.
“Her little brother had just
died of cancer a few days ago and now they have to bury another child.” I
finished. Stella looked…Ashamed
“You’re a monster, Stella. You’re
self-absorbed and need to bully others to feel good about yourself”
“I’ll take her home and deal
with her.” He said in a controlled voice.
We all stood as Stella and Michael
left.
“Go back to class, Jinger” Brian
said as I left.
I made it through the rest of
the day without any problems. I had practice from 3 until 5, work at 6 until
10. I had Friday and the weekend off. Which I was grateful for. After coming
home from work, I went upstairs and did my homework. It was 3 in the morning
before I passed out after realizing tomorrow is payday. Which means, times to
pay bills. I have insurance, cell phone bill, and I’m paying mom back for
buying my flute and I’m paying dad back for the parts I needed for my truck. Oh
well. It’s totally worth it!
