Free Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, Book 1) by JL Bryan

his car, then stopped and leaned over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath and his balance.
    “ You look wrecked,” Jenny said.  She was thinking of her dad trying to walk when he was plastered.  He would get belligerent and insistent on driving somewhere, and she usually ending up driving him there so he didn’t crash and die.  She’d been doing that since she was thirteen. “Should I drive your car for you?  I’ll take you wherever you want.  I can walk home from anywhere.”
    “ Oh, no.   I don’t need Ashleigh asking why I’ve got Jenny Mittens driving my car.”
    Jenny had been immune to that nickname for years, but for some reason it stung when Seth said it now.  He noticed the look on her face.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s what everyone calls you.  It just kind of slipped out.” He glanced at her hands. “Hey, where are your gloves?”
    Jenny shook her head and smiled at him.  She avoided his question. “You save my dog’s life, you can call me anything you want.  Call me stupid redneck skank if you want.”
    “I wouldn’t call you that!” he said.
    “ Ashleigh would.  I think she has.  It’s so hard to keep track of everything she calls me.”
    “ Ashleigh…” Seth stood up, stretched, and lifted the car keys from his pocket. “I gotta go get weed for the reservoir.”
    “ The what?”
    “ For…Barrett Pond.  I don’t usually call it that.  The whole Barrett thing gets old around here.  Barrett Avenue.  You know.”
    “ Everyone calls it Barrett Pond.”
    Seth looked at her for minute.  He was getting his color back.
    “You can come if you want,” he said. “Beer and swimming.  Good times.”
    “ Uh, no…” Jenny tried to imagine Ashleigh’s face if Jenny actually showed up with Seth.  It would be an ugly night. “No, I should probably stay with my dog, make sure he’s okay.  You know.”
    “ I understand.” Seth tossed his keys in the air, caught them.  “Okay, then.  I’ll see you later, Jenny.”
    Jenny smiled.  He smiled back, holding her gaze for a long moment. 
    “Keep that dog off the road,” he said.  He staggered across the road.
    “ Thank you, Seth!” she called after him.
    “ Forget it happened,” he replied. “I’m not kidding.”
    Jenny watched him climb into his car, close the door, start the engine.  She waved as he pulled onto the road, until he was out of sight.
    She followed the foot path back into the woods, where Rocky lolled in the shade.
    “ Hey, Rocky, want to go home?”
    Rocky sprang up on all fours with his tail wagging.  He turned and ran up the trail, eager to race her home.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    On the last Thursday in September, Ashleigh called a special girls-only meeting of the Cool Crusaders.  About forty girls from the middle and high school showed up in Activity Room B in the church basement.  They ate cookies, chips and sodas provided by the Crusader girls on the Hospitality Committee, while a Jars of Clay CD played over the sound system, until Ashleigh announced it was time to start.
    Ashleigh stood at the whiteboard at the front of the room, purple marker in hand. She’d already written “Cool Crusader Girls Rock!!!” in her big, flowery handwriting, all across the top of the board.  She smiled as the group sat down in the rows of plastic chairs pulled together by the Hospitality Committee.
    “Hey, what’s up, y’all?” Ashleigh asked. “Are we having some fun tonight?” The younger girls cheered.  Ashleigh encouraged the older girls to carpool the younger ones to meetings, since it made them feel special to be picked up by juniors and seniors at home, rather than dropped off at church by their parents.  Parents seemed to like it, too, since it made things easy on them.
    “ Ladies, we’ve accomplished so much in this town, and I want to thank you all for being part of this group.  We’ve worked against witchcraft, we’ve encouraged kids to be more religious, we’ve