The Adventures of Josie

After class Josie ran to the dorms to grab her disc man and another pack of cigarettes before running out in the middle of the daily dorm meeting. Normally, this would get her in trouble but she’d been excused because she had to go to the cafeteria and grab dinner before heading off to take the GED test.
The cafeteria was only open to the students taking the GED test so it was pretty deserted compared to normal dinner. Josie said hello to Jefferson, thanked him for wishing her good luck with the test and took a tray with spaghetti and a piece of bread. “Brain food.” Jefferson had said. She smiled and thanked him again before getting a glass of milk and joining Brian in the same booth they’d shared earlier that morning.

“Not afraid to be seen with me?” he asked.

“Would you like me to move?”

“You can sit wherever you want.” He said, taking a pat of butter from her tray. Josie dug into her spaghetti while Brian fiddled with the butter.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?” she asked.

“Its not my food, its yours and I’m not sure butter itself [I]is[/I] food. Besides, I’m not really playing with it.” he answered, peeling a piece of paper off one side.

“If you aren’t going to eat it then you’re playing with it.”

“You want me to play with it?” he asked. He waited a second for an answer before throwing it at her. It stuck to her cheek.

“Brian you asshole!” she exclaimed pulling it off her face. She wiped her cheek with a napkin while he laughed.

“Its for good luck.”

“Who said that?”

“I did.”

“Well, we’ll know if it worked if I pass.” she said. “Should I do it to you so you can pass too?”

“We’ll make it an experiment. If I fail I’ll be sure to let you hit me with butter next time-” he got cut off as Josie’s bread hit him square in the forehead. Of course, it was like being hit with a dry sponge.

“You couldn’t expect me not to retaliate.” she said. He smiled and they finished eating without anymore food flying across the table. When they were done they went outside for a cigarette and then boarded the bluebird; an old prison bus job corps had gotten either for free or cheap. Josie took a seat in the middle of the bus and Brian sat beside her. “I hope you’re not expecting conversation.” Josie said, pulling her disc man out of her bag.

“How often do I try having a real, adult conversation with you?” he asked.

“Ouch.” Josie said putting her headphones on. She hit play and turned the volume up before leaning back into the corner of the seat. Once the bus started moving se leaned her head against the window to watch the scenery pass. Somewhere along the trip Brian had taking hold of her hand and he didn’t let go until they reached their destination; a local community college. Once off the buss they were able to smoke another cigarette before being brought into a classroom where they were lectured for 15 minutes about the rules. Four hours of testing, starting at six on the dot. Two hours for each of the subjects, if they finished before the other subject was started they were allowed to go outside, get a drink, or go to the bathroom until eight when the other subject was started. They were handed answer sheets and blank paper and at 5:58 they started passing out the test books. At exactly six they were told to open their books and begin. Math was Josie’s first subject. She was done by 7:28 so she quickly flipped through the book again to double check her answers. By 7:34 Josie decided it was useless since she had redo the math in her head, choose the answer from the ones given and then check the dot on her answer sheet. She gathered everything together and brought it to the desk up front and was told to be back in the room by 7:59. She nodded and went outside.
Much like job corps they had a designated smoking area, only they had a lot more benches. Josie lit a cigarette before sitting down and putting her headphones back on. She closed her eyes and told herself it was just a test. If she failed, she could take it again; if she passed, she was nervous about nothing. Besides, she told herself, you’re already a quarter of the way through. Her eyes snapped open when she felt someone lick her cheek and Brian pulled her headphones off.

“Anyone ever tell you you taste like butter?” he asked before kissing her.

“Funny.” she said when he pulled back.

“How do you think you did?” he asked.

“Honestly, I think I did okay. Math was always one best subjects. How about you?”

“I had reading. If I don’t pass that then I don’t deserve to get my GED.”

“I’m sure you both did fine.” Ms. Costa said, joining them in the smoking area. “They have a nice smoking section here, don’t they?” she said, eying all the benches. The main smoking area at job corps only had two benches and two ashtrays. Here, there were ashtrays next to every bench and there were small plants and trees that were well maintained.

“Did your future ever depend on a test?” Brian asked her and she nodded.

“I went to job corps myself a few years before I got hired.” she said. “I was in your exact position once, only then they didn’t have this smoking area. And I think I was tested in a different room.”

“Do they hire a lot of old students?” Josie asked.

“A few at least. When I started there was five of us in all but now its only down to me and Mr. Blake.”

“Mr. Blake was a student?” Josie asked incredulously. Mr. Blake had been an R.A. in the boys dorm who had worked his way up to become a counselor for HBI students.

“He sure was. He was actually a student at the same time I was. If you had asked me then who I thought would go on to work at job corps, he wouldn’t be on the list. Neither would I, actually.”

“You learn something new everyday.” Brian said, lighting another cigarette. Josie looked at her watch and did the same. They had to be back in in a few minutes.

“I wanted to be something.” she went on. “ I went to job corps to get my GED so I could go to college and make something of my life. Instead, right after I left I met a guy, fell in love, got pregnant and here I am years later. It didn’t turn out bad and I love my son more than anything but most times I wish I’d been more responsible; so I could better provide for him and myself. I don’t regret having my son at all but I just wish I’d been a bit older and wiser. I got pregnant when I was 18 and back then I didn’t really have a clue how the world worked.”

“Some people like having kids young though. Like Josie here. I could picture her with a kid in a year or two. I think she’d enjoy being an unwed teenage mother.” Brian said.

“I haven’t even had sex yet and you’re saying I’ll have kids sooner than later?” Josie asked.

“It only takes once.” Brian said, throwing his butt in the ashtray.

“Yes,” Josie said “they told me that in sex ed.”

“And you think you’ll remember a condom every time like they say?” Brian asked.

“There’s always abstinence.” Josie said, standing.

“Easy to say when you’re a virgin. Try saying that after you’ve had sex.”

“You don’t think I could abstain?” Josie asked.

“No.” Brian said immediately.

“I’ve said no before. What makes you think I couldn’t after I’ve had sex?”

“Come on you two. You can’t be late or they’ll kick you out and you’ll have to wait until the next time around to take the test.” Ms. Costa said, ushering them back inside.

“You have a lot to learn, Josie. Someday, you’ll understand.”

“I hope so.” she said entering the classroom. 7:58. She went back to her seat and waited. The other students were told to put their pencils down and hand their tests forward while someone went around the room handing out the next test book and answer sheet. At 8 on the dot they were told to begin and Josie opened her book. Writing. She had to put periods and commas and such in their proper spots, correct run on sentences, and finally, write a five paragraph essay. It was exactly what they’d told her to expect in class but she’d gotten the worst possible subject; the most responsible thing you’ve done and what makes it such a big responsibility. Josie had never really had responsibility. Sure, she’d baby sat a couple times but that was nothing big. She’d never had a job and she’d dropped out of school so it wasn’t like she could use either of those. Josie slapped her forehead and smiled at the horror of it. All night she’d felt she’d done good but now she wasn’t so sure. If I fail, she thought, I can always take the test over. Its not life or death. Intro paragraph, 3 supporting paragraphs and the closing paragraph. Josie could do this. She thought a minute about how to start then picked up her pencil and started writing. Once she got through the first paragraph the rest just kept coming until she finally decided it was as good as it was going to get and wrapped it up. 9:45. She checked over her work once more before bringing it to the front and leaving the room. Brian was in the hall and he walked with her outside.

“So?”

“So what?” she asked.

“What test did you get and how do you think you did?”

“Writing and I think I did okay until the essay. If I fail writing, I’m pretty sure that will be why.”

“You have a problem with spelling? Punctuation? What?”

“Sure.” she said, not wanting to say why she thought she’d fail.

“Well, after vacation we’ll find out if the butter helped or not I guess.” he said.

“What about you?”

“Math. I think I did alright.”

“Good.” Josie said. She looked at her watch and stretched. “I think I’ll make it through Thursday but I’m not sure I could do this again. If I don’t pass I just might give up.”

“Why wouldn’t you pass? You seem intelligent enough.”

“Well on Thursday after you have the writing test we’ll see how you feel.”

“Its different for everyone you know. So there’s no cheating or plagiarism.”

“Still, your writing subject should be just as bad as mine.”

“Why, what was yours?”

“I had to write an essay about responsibility.”

“And you think that would make you fail writing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve never had a job or anything. I didn’t know what to write about.”

“So you wrote nothing?”

“Oh no, I wrote something.”

“What?”

“I don’t really want to go into details, but I wrote about what was on my mind.” Brian didn’t pressure her to talk and she was glad for that. How could she explain it? She didn’t even want to think about what he would say if she did tell him. Probably, he would tell her she was right, if she failed it would be because of the essay.
Soon, it was 10 and the test was over, well, half over. The other students left the room and were able to smoke before getting on the bus. The test hadn’t been easy for most of them, Josie realized. Half didn’t finish the first in time to get a break and so they had to wait until they were done with the second part to get a drink or a cigarette or use the bathroom. They were the type of people that froze up when being tested, Josie figured. The ones that got paralyzed with nervousness. Josie had never had that problem and she thanked god for that. Sure, she’d been a little nervous going in, but it hadn’t gotten out of control. She didn’t have sweaty palms and wasn’t having problems breathing. On the way there a few on the bus had seemed really on edge. Josie hoped they all passed, so they wouldn’t have to go through it again.




Okay so I added like 8 chapters tonight and theres still more but my ass is asleep so this is it until I feel like adding the rest. After I get the rest up I'll either edit and add to make the characters seem more like people and give Josie more of a back story or I'll continue it right away and go back to editing after. I don't know yet but as always read and review please.