The Double-Tap Accident

Chapter Thirty-Six: High-Security Door Lock with Chains.

Chapter Thirty-Six: High-Security Door Lock with Chains.

"I DON'T WANT to do this anymore," I mumbled into my pillow.

Yasmeen, the best public speaker I knew, jostled me. A hard look settled in her eyes as she pushed my flashcards into my chest and started the presentation on my laptop once again. "You're doing it."

Her demand took place well into the New Year during the beginning of the second week of January. The return to Jasper Bay, hell the return to Herringway after being at home for three weeks was overwhelming but it didn't take long for me to get into the momentum of work again.

With my biomethods presentation in a few days, Yasmeen has been helping me prepare as best as she could with the anxiety public speaking gave me. At random times from Sunday to Tuesday, she had come into my room and me present it all in front of our friends and herself numerous times before going back to her own work. She even tossed random questions my way in hopes to catch me off guard.

She, Mariam and Larine helped me get it together. All of us knew that the smoother this presentation went, the more likely none of them would ever have to hear about Ashton, Tweedledee 1 and 2 ever again. 

"Do I have to?" I rolled over in my bed with my flashcards in my hands. She'd already been in my room twice on that Tuesday—once in the morning and again in the afternoon. I moved my head up from the pillow to give her an exaggerated pout.

Yasmeen made a face at my expression. "What are you doing?"

"I'm pouting."

"Why?"

"This is me trying to get out of this."

"Jay, you're adorable but please, stop." 

"Can we watch Days of Our Lives instead?" I suggested, keeping the pout as I batted my eyes. The first few weeks of a new semester were easy before a load of assignments and exams hit us wiyth full force. I was going to take every advantage of it while I could.

She ignored me. "I think we need a new show."

After over five months of watching it together? For a moment, we stared at each other. before I shook my head, in disbelief that those words had come out of her mouth. "Okay, we're going to go watch an episode right now. C'mon."

"But—"

"No buts! We made a promise to finish the show until we both got tired of it and we're going to do it together."

"We can finish the show when we're sixty years old and waving to each other from our front porches." She muttered. "It will probably still be going on by then."

I didn't acknowledge her dig at how long the show had run on, amping up my dramatic pout and batting eyes, "We're going to live across the street from each other?"

She rolled her eyes but played along, "And our kids will be best friends."

"And Mari and Larine will live on the same street and we're going to be the annoying people in the neighbourhood," I gave her a real pout this time. "A dream come true." 

"Okay, now let's wake up from that dream after we watch one episode--"

"Two."

"Jay."

"Fine. One." I sighed but smiled.

"And then we can practice."

"We can't dream and practice at the same ti--"

"Jaime."

"Fine," I promised.

As for the return back to Herringway, I had taken my mom's advice as the days passed by. Although my grades from last semester were right where I liked them to be with all the effort I had put in, I attempted to balance my schedule as best as I could.