Chapter 3
“Jessibelle, wait!” I started as I ran down the boardwalk. Here we go….all I have to do is get Jessibelle to trust me, I thought. But how?
A dark cloud of smoke greeted me as I approached the end of the boardwalk. Jessibelle was frantically slapping at her dress, trying to put out the flame. Despite myself, I giggled.
“James, you little delinquent! Help me!” Jessibelle shouted. She twirled around on her heels, something I’d never thought possible until now.
“Okay, Jessibelle, just hang on,” I approached her, arms forward.
She looked at me worriedly. “James, what are-“ But it was too late. I placed my hands firmly on her chest and shoved hard. “YAAAAAH!!!!” she screamed before hitting the water with a splash.
Bubbles began to appear on the surface before Jessibelle struggled up. “James, wha…?” she seemed to be at a loss for words. She took a deep breath. “Why?”
“It solved your problem, didn’t it?” I grinned darkly.
“But James, that was totally improper!” Jessibelle broke down in tears. “You didn’t have to do that!”
“Then tell me, Jessibelle, what would you have done? Hitting yourself obviously wasn’t working.”
“I…I would’ve…” she trailed off, and slow realization crossed her face. “James…?”
“And to think what would’ve happened if I hadn’t pushed you into the water,” I tsked. “You would’ve been burnt to a crisp by now.”
Jessibelle opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out.
“You see…the proper way isn’t always the best way.”
Jesssibelle stared ahead, a blank look on her face. “James….I’m confused.”
“Come up and sit on the boardwalk,” I sat down and patted the spot beside me. “We need to have a long talk.” Jessibelle still wore the same dazed statement, but she complied.
“Now Jessibelle,” I began promptly, “We’ve already established the point that if I hadn’t pushed you into the water, you would have been burned. Right?”
She nodded. “But-“
“But what? It’s plain to see. You were slapping yourself, which is the proper way. But it wasn’t effective. Then, I came along and pushed you into the water, which is the improper way. This was what put out the flame. So as you can see, the proper way wasn’t the right way this time.”
Jessibelle looked at me in disbelief. “James…that is true, but I find it hard to believe that the proper way could be wrong. Why is it? Proper means right!”
“Because they want to hide the right way from you!” I threw up my arms to emphasize the point. “This isn’t the only case. Take holding a fork, for example. Isn’t holding it the improper way a much easier way to eat? Or running! The point is to go faster than walking, is it not? Running the proper way adds almost no speed, but the improper way has you going up to seven times as fast!” I looked at her in exasperation. “Upper-class society just created these rules so that they could say they did things the “proper” way, to prove they were better than everyone else. While in truth, it’s nothing more than a cover-up to hide the fact that they’re all of a bunch of idiots.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Do you see?”
Jessibelle gaped in astonishment. “James…I can’t believe I never realized that. You are so right.” She just kept staring. “Everything they have us do is silly.”
“Yeah…” now it was I who stared. Sure, I’d always thought Jessibelle was attractive, but I’d never been this close to her. Everything about her was absolutely beautiful. Her large, azure eyes, her delicately curled red hair, the gentle curve of her hips. She was downright positively GORGEOUS.
“James?” Jessibelle had a sly grin on her face. I’d never seen her wear that grin before.
“What?” I asked, just as slyly.
“I need to give you something.” She leaned towards me. “Close your eyes…” I was expecting it to be a kiss. But as soon as I felt the pressure on my chest, I knew exactly what it was.
My body hit the water with force. As I sunk deeper, I felt the liquid clog my ears, my mouth, my nose….MY LUNGS! I paddled frantically for the surface. With a grunt of effort, my body burst from the water.
“HAHAHAHA!”I could see Jessibelle still sitting on the boardwalk, laughing her head off. “Got you back!” She doubled over and closed her eyes, which would prove to be her mistake. “Why you-“ I said in mock rage, and yanked her burned dress tail into the water. She splashed down beside me, and I could see a steady stream of bubbles rising to the surface. They then slowed, and finally stopped. “Jessibelle?” I queried in confusion.
Suddenly, two delicate hands were placed on my shoulders, and I felt weight on my back. “Mrrmph!” with a cry of protest I was shoved underwater once again.
I quickly opened my eyes, and spotted two pale
legs dangling in the water. I smiled inwardly and grabbed one. “Aaah!” a shrill
cry was heard from above as Jessibelle was dragged under. Little by little, her
features appeared to me. She frowned and put her hands on her hips, cocking her
head to one side in a strange sort of underwater pantomime. Following the
trend, I pressed my knees against my chest and pointed my finger in a mocking
gesture. She swam toward me in a dog paddle, but I skillfully evaded her. She
scowled playfully and set after me again. I gave a forceful kick to escape, but
she caught my leg. Surprisingly, instead of boasting, her head merely drooped
to one side. At first I was confused, but I quickly realized the problem. My
chest was beginning to burn. In one swift motion I gathered Jessibelle in my
arms and kicked desperately for the surface. I could see the sun above, and it
seemed terribly far away. My vision began to darken. Hang on, James, for
Jessibelle…Then everything went black.
I woke to find Jessibelle kneeling over me. “Wha…what happened?” I gasped. “How….?”
Jessibelle giggled. “You don’t get to play macho-tough-man this time, James my boy,” she grinned wildly.
“But…you fainted! What happened?” I sat up. “How did you…?”
“When I “fainted” I was just playing around,” she explained. “I thought you’d carried me up, but nooooo. You had to go and black out on me.” She stared at me with that ‘look.’
“You mean to tell me you were just KIDDING?!” I shouted. “I was really worried about you!”
“Poor you,” she said simply, turning her head in disdain.
“Yeah, poor YOU.” I tackled her to the sand. “You won’t win this time!”
“Wanna bet?” She returned the shove. Within moments we were wrestling in the sand, shoving and kicking…and laughing….
“Pinned ya!” Jessibelle grinned in satisfaction. She had the most perfect white teeth. I could only look on in awe.
Gradually the statement on her face softened. She leaned down slowly, and placed her lips on mine….
I gently pushed her away. “Save it for the wedding!” I smiled happily.
“You really mean it, James?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, Jessibelle, I really mean it.” I stood up and brushed away the sand from my clothes, extending an arm towards Jessibelle. She took it, and I pulled her up while flashing a wide grin.
“James…there’s something I want to tell you,” she said seriously.
“What?” I asked, my face full of concern.
“No, not like that,” she replied. “It’s just…today I felt different than I’ve ever felt before,” her eyes met mine. “It’s like….I could catch the wind and fly.”
“Catch the wind and fly, huh?”
“Yeah,” her beautiful azure eyes sparkled.
“Well then…” I turned to the sea. “Here’s to the wedding!” I removed both of my clunky Team Rocket boots and held them out dramatically.
Jessibelle caught on to the idea. “Here’s to the wedding!” She unstrapped her red heels and held them out alongside my boots.
“On the count of three,” I instructed. “One……two……three!” Together we thrust our shoes into the ocean. With a soft splash, they landed on the water. We watched them drift away.
“Ohmigosh, I can’t believe I just did that!” Jessibelle exclaimed.
“Catch the wind and fly,” I winked.
Jessibelle clasped my hand in her own. “Come on, let’s go,” she said affectionately.
And with that, we strode off barefoot into the sunset.