The next morning, Jess woke feeling lighter, free of the nerves that had been bothering her over the last few days.  Opening her wardrobe, she looked at her new clothes with excitement before choosing what to wear.  Once she was dressed, she went down the back stairs to the kitchen carrying her large stack of books and a small purse with her pencils and erasers.

She greeted Annie with a huge smile and a happy, “Good morning!”

“Look at you!” Annie exclaimed, and Jess twirled, letting Annie get a good look at her circle skirt, short sleeve sweater, ankle socks, and loafers.  “You look so nice!”

“Thanks!”

“Set your things on the counter,” Annie said, and when she did, Annie handed her a pitcher of orange juice.  “Take this out to the dining room for me and I’ll get breakfast on the plates.”

“Okay,” Jess said, keeping the smile going while she wished she could stay in the warm kitchen. 

To keep the juice from spilling, she slowly backed through the swinging door and entered the dining room.  When she turned around, Uncle Jonathon looked up from a stack of documents and scrutinized her carefully.

“Good morning,” she said, trying to sound casual.  It suddenly occurred to her that he might not approve of her clothes and she watched his face.  Would he make her take them back if he didn’t like them?

“Morning,” he replied tersely, and returned his attention to his papers.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she went to her seat, just as Doug walked in.  She made sure she ate more quickly than the previous morning, and as soon as they were finished, they left through the kitchen to collect their lunches.  While they were sitting in Doug’s car, waiting for James so he could open the gate for them, Doug looked over at her. 

“Why’d you bring all your books home?” he asked, looking at the stack on her lap.  “Did you have homework or something?”

“Uh, no.  I had to bring them home.  I don’t have a locker yet.”

“Where’s your class list?” he asked impatiently with his hand out, and she opened her purse to find it.  When she handed the index card over to him, he glanced at it, then pointed to a series of numbers at the bottom.  “There’s your locker number, and the numbers after are your combination,” he said. 

“Oh, okay.  Thanks,” she said, taking it from him. 

“That Janet,” he muttered, shaking his head as he started driving behind the black car.

When they reached the school, Doug gave her a curt, “See you after school,” and got out of the car. 

He strode off towards a cluster of older students, leaving Jess and she began walking towards the entrance.  She looked around for Marty, but didn’t see him.  Then she spotted Janet and Patty with a group of girls.  Seeing Louise with them, she decided to join them, and Louise gave her a friendly ‘hello’. 

While they chatted, Jess was happy to find out they were in five of the seven class periods together. Grateful to have found at least one girl she enjoyed spending time with, they walked into the building after the bell rang together.  Louise helped her locate her locker and she managed to figure out the combination.  Finally rid of most of her books and lunch, she walked to homeroom, excited to see Marty.

As soon as she entered, she looked to the rear of the room but he wasn’t there.  After sitting next to Louise, she tried to carry on a conversation while sneaking glances at the door, and then he was there.  Like the day before, he had his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets, but then he lifted his head and their eyes met.  Jess beamed at him, and he looked momentarily startled before scowling at her and turning towards the back of the class. 

Shocked and hurt by his reaction, she faced forward.  While she tried to understand why he’d gotten angry at her, it suddenly made sense.  She shouldn’t have smiled at him like that.  If someone had seen it, they might figure out they knew each other.  She peeked at the other students to see if any of them had noticed, but no one seemed to be paying any particular attention to her. Taking a deep breath, she felt relieved.  She’d have to be a lot more careful in the future.

At the next class they had together, social studies, she couldn’t help looking for him, but he didn’t look up from his desk when she came in the room.  In math, he came after she was already seated, but didn’t look in her direction.  Even though she understood why he was avoiding her, it still hurt that he wouldn’t acknowledge she was there.  By the end of the day, she was glad to be going home.  During the entire drive home with Doug, all she thought about was going straight to the cabin and seeing Marty.

When she and Doug walked in the kitchen door, Annie greeted them happily.  After giving her a hug, Jess noticed the kitchen table was set for two with a large plate of sandwiches in the middle, and her heart sank. 

“Uh, Annie.  I was really hoping I could take some food and go outside to do my homework,” she said as Doug sat and began helping himself to a sandwich.

“Oh?” Annie asked with surprise, and Jess immediately felt nervous.

“Yeah, it’s so nice out and – I’ve been inside all day,” she said hoping she sounded believable.

“I was planning on sewing your gym uniform today,” Annie replied, looking worried.  “Don’t you need it soon?” 

“Yes, ma’am.  Tomorrow,” Jess admitted quietly.  In the excitement about seeing Marty, she’d pushed it out of her mind.

“Well, I need to pin it first – and you have to be wearing it when I do.”

“Can we do it after dinner tonight?” Jess pleaded.

“That’s too late.  I don’t want to be up all night sewing,” Annie said, shaking her head, and Jess slumped with disappointment.  Why did it have to be today, she wondered desperately.  The minutes were ticking by, and she was losing precious time to hang out with Marty.  “How about this,” Annie suggested kindly.  “Why don’t you go in my room and change into the uniform while I pack you a basket of food.  As soon as we’re done, you can go right away.”

“Okay,” Jess said, turning to Annie’s closed door.  It was the best she was going to get.  She just needed to get it done as fast as possible.

When she was behind the closed door, looking around for the uniform, she realized this was the first time she’d been in Annie’s bedroom.  It was small, but not cramped, and distinctly feminine.  The antique oak furniture was more delicate than the furniture in the rest of the house, a brightly colored quilt was on the bed, and flowered wallpaper covered the walls.  It suited Annie’s warm feminine nature, Jess thought.  Spotting the gym uniform on a table next to a sewing machine, she quickly changed. 

Doug was gone when she came back into the kitchen, much to her relief.  She didn’t need Annie’s sour expression to tell her she looked hideous in the too large top and giant bloomers.  Annie worked quickly, pinning the cloth in different places, then sent Jess back to her room with strict instructions not to let any of the pins prick her or fall out while she took them off. 

Jess couldn’t change back into her skirt and short sleeve sweater fast enough.  Then she took her school books and basket, and practically ran to the front door.  After a quick check to make sure James wasn’t around, she was soon behind the garage and on her way down the path.  Reaching the clearing, she smiled when she saw the door to the cabin open and she ran, not wanting to waste another second.  Bounding into the little living room, she saw Marty seated at the table in the kitchen, drinking a mug of tea.

“Hi, Marty!” she said happily, walking to the kitchen.  She put her basket and books on the counter and turned just as he stood. 

“What are you doing here?” he muttered, as he went to the sink to wash his mug.

“Wha -?  I came to see you.” she asked with confusion, watching him pump the handle.    

“Shouldn’t you be with your new friends?” he said bitterly, finally turning to face her.  She was surprised at the anger in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You even look like them now,” he sneered, giving her a disgusted once over before turning back to the sink.  She watched him rinse his mug, feeling her face flush while pain, embarrassment, and anger coursed through her.   

“Why are you so mad?” she asked quietly, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Who says I’m mad?” he spat, shaking water out of his mug with hard jerks.  She couldn’t believe he was treating her like this.   Watching him turn to put it away in the cupboard, she felt all the emotions of the last two days overwhelm her.

“You told me to pretend not to know you!” she shouted, stamping her foot, and he flinched.

His back stiffened as he turned around, scowling with his head down.  He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter, his mouth set in a grim line, letting her know he wasn’t going to say anything. 

“Why are you mad at me for doing what you told me to do?” she demanded, but he didn’t move, making her even more upset.  “Do you know how hard it is to see you and not say anything?” she shouted with her voice breaking.  Swallowing hard, she quickly wiped her eyes.  She was not going to cry in front of him.  “I don’t even like most of those girls!” she continued angrily.  “The ones I want to be friends with, won’t talk to me!  The teachers either hate me or treat me like princess because of my name!  And now my best friend is mad at me!  I hate school!” she added with another stamp of her foot.

“Join the club,” he muttered bitterly to the floor.  He continued to scowl, but as he took a deep breath and let it out, his shoulders relaxed.  He didn’t say anything else, but as Jess waited, she could tell something had changed.  The tension in the room was easing along with his expression.

“Are you really going to stay mad at me?” she asked after several minutes.

“Maybe,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, but the corners of his mouth twitched.  He was teasing her.

“Stop it, Marty,” she said giving him a little push.

“Ow,” he said loudly, and laughed as shrank from her, rubbing the place she’d pushed as if he’d been injured.  She couldn’t help smiling.  She still didn’t know what was going on with him, but it was good to see him act like the familiar Marty again. 

“I’m hungry.  Do you want to eat?” she asked, deciding they needed a change of topic.

“Let’s go to the pond.  We can go fishing after,” he replied, still smiling.

“I – thought we’d do homework,” she said with surprise.

“Homework!”

“Well, yeah.  We have stuff that’s due tomorrow, you know?”

“I don’t do homework,” he stated confidently. 

“Why not?” she asked with shock.

“There’s no point to it.”

“What about your grades?” 

He scoffed.  “I don’t care about grades.” 

“But, Marty – how do you pass your classes?”

“I dunno.  I just do,” he said easily with a shrug.

“Well, I’m doing homework,” she declared decisively. 

“No!  Come on, Jess,” he said with exasperation.  “That’s no fun!  Let’s go to the pond,” he pleaded.

“Nope, I’m doing homework.”

“Well, I’m going fishing!” he said stubbornly.

“I hope you have fun!” she replied just as stubbornly, scooping up her books and basket.

“I will!” he said angrily, turning for the living room.

Placing her things on the table, she pulled out the stool.  When she sat, she noticed Marty standing in the center of the living room.  He was holding the fishing pole and watching her.  She got the distinct impression, he was waiting to see if she would change her mind.  Acting like she didn’t care, she started arranging the books on the table and then opened the dish cloth lining the basket. Just as she was reaching inside to start taking out food, he turned and walked out the front door.

She slumped in her seat.  She didn’t want to stay at the cabin while he was at the pond, she thought sadly as she removed food from the basket.  She’d missed him terribly for two whole days.  But when she thought about joining him, she remembered the reactions of her teachers on the first day of school.  She had to do well in her classes.  Not only did she want to prove to her teachers she was a good student who didn’t need special favors, she needed to make sure Uncle Jonathon didn’t get involved.  Who knew what kind of grades he was expecting her to achieve?  She could only imagine what he would do if he wasn’t happy with her report card. 

With everything laid out, she looked at the front door with longing, and then Marty appeared, surprising her.  Opening her social studies book, she pretended she was studying while he set down the pole and came into the kitchen.  

“What are you doing?” she asked hopefully. 

“Need worms,” he muttered on his way to the sink.

“Oh,” she replied, feeling disappointed. 

When he knelt down to get the bucket, she had an idea.  Quickly unwrapping wax paper, she had Annie’s chocolate chip cookies in full view by time he stood.  She saw his eyes linger on them before he turned and headed out the back door.  Keeping her ears open, she paged through the social studies book to find the assigned chapter.  It wasn’t long before she heard his footsteps and just as he walked in, she picked up a cookie.

“What are you doing now?” she asked, stopping him as he walked past her.  When she had his full attention, she took a bite.

“I’m getting my pole,” he said testily, watching her chew for a moment, and then continued to the living room where he snatched up the pole and stalked out. 

She set down the cookie with a sigh.  It hadn’t worked.  Looking at her open book, she tried to read, but all she could think about was Marty going to the pond.  Trying to push the thought away, she concentrated hard on the words, and then heard him step into the living room again.  Keeping her head down while he walked towards her, she held her breath.  He stood by the table for a minute, and then let out an exasperated sigh.

“Awe, heck Jess!” he complained loudly.  “Won’t you come?”

“No,” she said to her book, and he collapsed on his stool with a huff.

“Why don’t you have a cookie,” she offered, pushing the wax paper closer to him, and after a hesitation, he took one.

Finally able to relax now that he was with her, she picked up a dill pickle and began to read.  After the cookie, he unwrapped and ate a sandwich.  When he’d finished the sandwich, he sighed loudly a few more times while she ignored him.

“Are you just going to sit there and read?” he complained.

“How ‘bout I share my book with you?  We can read together,” she offered with a smile.

“Never mind,” he grumbled.  “I got my own book.” 

Getting up with a sigh, he went to the living room and retrieved a stack of text books from the table between the two wooden chairs.  Dropping them loudly on the kitchen table, he collapsed on the stool with another sigh.  When he found the right book, he smacked it on the table in front of him.  She tried to ignore his loud flipping through pages, but he soon settled down and it was quiet while the two of them read. 

When she’d finished, she got out pencils and paper to answer the questions at the end of the chapter and without saying anything, she placed a pencil and sheet of paper in front of Marty.  After a few minutes, he took them and began writing while she hid her smile.  They’d been working silently for a while when she began paging back and forth through the chapter, trying to find one of the answers. 

“What number you on?” he asked, looking up.

“Fifteen,” she said, continuing to flip back and forth.

“Hah!  I’m ahead of you!” he exclaimed triumphantly. 

“Well, if you’re so smart, where’d you find the answer to number fifteen?” she snapped.  He turned to a page and held up the book. 

“Page twenty-three,” he said proudly, tapping the paragraph with his finger.

When they moved on to math, she began working through the assigned problems quickly, but after a few minutes, Marty threw his pencil on the table, making her look up with surprise.

“This is stupid!” he seethed, shoving the math book away from him.   Seeing the anger in his eyes, she became alarmed.  She knew she had to act fast or she’d lose him.

“Wait, Marty!” she said quickly, getting his attention.  “My old teacher explained it a different way.  I can show you.  It’s easier than the way Mr. Taylor did it.” 

“Mr. Taylor is dumb,” he muttered angrily.

Grateful she’d already learned the material the year before, she patiently showed Marty the steps to solve the first algebraic equation, making sure he understood each one before she moved on to the next.  He grumbled and complained at first, but by time they’d reached the solution, he was in a much better mood and began working out the next one on his own. 

Feeling relieved, she went back to her own work, but kept an eye on him to be sure he wasn’t losing his temper again.  By time they'd finished with everything, it was time for her to go home.  While she gathered her books and papers, Marty stood.

“I’ll walk you back,” he said while stretching.

“Oh, okay,” she said, hiding her surprise.

Unlike when he’d walked home with her the night before school started, he was relaxed, walking with an easy stride.  But as she got closer to home, she started to feel the nerves starting up again.  There was one unanswered question nagging at the back of her mind. At the spot where the garage was almost in sight, she stopped and turned to him. 

“Tomorrow – you’re – you’re not going to get mad at me again, are you?” she asked hesitantly, and he dropped his head.

“No,” he said, digging the toe of his boot in the dirt.

“Do you want me to talk to –?”

“No,” he said quickly, cutting her off as he looked up, and then he hung his head again.  “Look.  Just forget I said that stuff, okay?” he said, concentrating on his digging. “It was stupid,” he muttered quietly.

 “Okay,” she said, and smiled.  She knew he'd just apologized to her.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Marty.”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya,” he replied. 

When he lifted his head, he gave her a rare, genuine smile, making her heart skip a beat, before turning to walk back to the cabin.  She watched him for a moment, and then headed to the garage, feeling happier than she had in a long time, remembering his smile. 

 ****

I hope your heart melted a little at the end of this chapter.  I know mine sure did  Why do you think Marty was acting the way did in this chapter?  Do you think things are going to change, between him and Jess?  And do you think it will be for the better, or are problems ahead for them?  Please let me know.  I'm dying to know what you think! 

The video is Frankie Avalon's 1959 version of Why.  Thank you so much for reading!  I really hope you enjoyed this Marty-heavy chapter and if you did, please consider giving him a vote!  The support that all of you have shown so far has been amazing and I'm humbled by all your love for Marty and Jess's story.