Jade peered at her cell phone, then tapped her foot impatiently as she looked around, searching for that person. He said he wanted to see me one last time, she thought. Nothing dirty or anything like that, just talk. I figured I’d at least be polite enough to see what he wants to talk about. Nothing wrong with that, right? She checked the time again, as though hoping time was moving faster. It’s been an hour and a half, and not a word from that jerk. No text or call to explain why he’s not here. And this isn’t the first time he’s pulled something like this; it’s always the car or work. Probably is busy with Tacita right now.

Angry at this, she stormed out of the coffee shop and went around to where the garbage cans were kept. She glared at the trash cans for several seconds before giving one of them a sharp kick that sent it to the ground with a loud bang. She kicked it a few more times for good measure. Good, she thought. Take my anger out on an inanimate object, instead of a person. Safer for everyone that way. She carefully set the garbage can back into an upright position and, feeling somewhat better, walked back around to the front of the coffee shop. So, what now? she asked herself.


“Hey,” she heard someone greet her.

Without turning around, she said, “Hey, Graham.”

“What’s up?” Graham asked. “Why were you over in the alley over there?”

“I was beating up a trash can.”

“Well, that’s kind of weird. Why did you do that?”

Jade turned and made a face. “I got stood up. Figured it would be better if I kicked the trash can a few times, instead of breaking the stuff in Z’s.”

“Good point. So, who was this unworthy jerk who did this?”


Jade lowered her head, embarrassed. “Mark. Look, we were just going to talk, that’s all.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself. But I just don’t understand why you let him do this kind of thing to you.”

“What?”

“Well,” Graham said, “you put your life on hold as soon as he wants to touch base with you. And even when you know what he’s like, you still give in to what he wants. That’s not healthy. I’m saying that because I’m worried about you, Jade. You shouldn’t let him control any aspect of your life.”

“I’m not letting him control my life,” Jade replied, looking away.

“I bet you had plans for this evening, even if it was something like sitting around and watching TV. And you dropped them to spend time with him. Jade, why are you doing this to yourself?”

“Why?” Jade repeated. “Because I’m sick of being all alone in that apartment, just staring at the walls and ceiling. It’s too quiet, too still. I need some excitement.”

“Look, if you needed to get out of the apartment, you could have called me, and we could go bowling or hit a movie or whatever. You don’t need to let that man back into your life.”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life just giving in to whatever this guy demands of you?” Graham asked. Jade shook her head. “Now, there’s going to have to be a point where you say ‘I am not going to put up with this anymore. I’m going to live my own life, instead of giving in to that jerk.’”

“You’re right,” Jade admitted. “But it’s not that simple.”

“Ending any bad habit is difficult,” Graham stated. “But I know you can do it. You owe it to yourself.”

“Yeah, I guess.”



Emily stormed into AJ’s room, slamming the door against his wall. AJ jumped up from his bed and stared in astonishment at his sister.

“What?” AJ asked.

“They’re still fighting, and now the rumors are being spread,” Emily said angrily. “Did I or did I not make it clear that I wanted you to end things before it got this bad or worse?”

“No, you made it pretty clear.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Chicks will fight. It’s part of life.”

“And, let me guess, if it was me involved in all this, I’d be counted as a ‘chick.’”

“No, you’re my sister. It’s just different.”

“Look, AJ,” Emily said impatiently. “Girls and guys don’t operate differently. Girls can’t just beat each other up and then be friends the next day. Every little thing just causes more and more problems until they’re at an all-out war with each other, drawing everyone else in as recruits to take their side. Why aren’t you doing anything to stop any of this?”

“Why should I? Maybe they should just get it out of their systems.”

“Weren’t you listening to me just now? It’s not going to get better. It’ll just get worse. Since you’re the cause of all of this, the least you could do is step in and try to end things.”

“Yeah? And if I refuse?”

“I’ll go after your magazines with a pair of nice, sharp scissors. And you know which magazines I mean.”

“How did you find those? I thought I’d hidden them pretty well.”

“Under your mattress is so old school.”

“What were you doing, looking under there?”

“I was making your bed so Mom wouldn’t chew you out for it.”