The Adventures of Josie

"GOOD MORNING LADIES!"



The day started like any other but Josie knew better. Jackie had pulled some strings with the residential advisers the night before so she could sleep in Lisa's room. After Lisa and Jackie had stormed out the night before Josie quickly realized what Lisa had thought when she saw her wearing Mike's sweatshirt. She supposed she should have gone after her, should have explained what happened and assured her that nothing would happen. But the way Lisa had just jumped to conclusions made her rethink telling her. Josie couldn't believe Lisa would so easily think Josie would go after Mike; that she was that sort of person. Josie figured she'd just ignore it; Lisa would realize she was wrong eventually and everything would turn out okay. She took a shower and got dressed before sitting down on the edge of the tub to smoke a cigarette. She didn't want to go out yet since only Brian, Jeremy and maybe Jerome would be there and she didn't really want to see any of them. Sure, Jeremy wasn't bad but she didn't want to see Jerome or Brian. When she was done with her cigarette she put on her make up and put her hair up and grabbed her coat before going into the wing living room and turning on the TV. She flipped through the channels for a few minutes before becoming bored. Her choices were either news or morning talk shows so she gave up and turned off the TV. She ended up back in her room painting her toe nails neon green since she had so much time till class and so little to do. When she was done with her toes she did her fingers and had just finished putting on the last coat when she heard a distant yelling. not the usual "good morning ladies" but something else, and it as getting closer.





"MALE ON FLOOR!" she heard Mr. K's voice bellow as he entered her wing. She was only somewhat surprised when she heard a knock on her door seconds later.



"COME IN!" she said in a sing-song voice. Sure, she'd screwed up with Brian but she could still have fun with Mr. K.



"Ms. Reynolds you know very well I can't do that." he said through the door.



"You're just going to have to come back later then. My nails are wet."



"Are you fully dressed?" he asked.



"Not entirely." she said. It was true, she was still sock less.



"Will my job be in danger if I open this door?" he asked.



"Do you have a foot fetish?" she heard a chuckle and a key sliding into the lock before the door was pushed open.



"Ms. Reynolds its after seven."



"Mr. K, I am fully aware of the time." she said. if he was going to keep calling her Ms. Reynolds, then she'd use his name as well.



"You're still in your room. Wheres Ms. Montgomery?"



"You're very perceptive, yes, I am still in my room and Ms. Montgomery roomed with Lisa last night."



"I thought the three of you were friends, why didn't Lisa stay in here?"



"If you must know, there was a misunderstanding last night and both of them seem to have turned against me." she said, pulling on her socks.



"A misunderstanding? You didn't clear it up?" Mr. K asked.



"I thought about it but decided not to. Jackie kind of got on my nerves last night and I left the room in a huff and forgot my coat. Mr. Mitchell was kind enough to lend me his sweatshirt." she explained.



"And you returned wearing it?" he guessed. Josie nodded. "Why did you decide not to clear up that misunderstanding?"



"Because Lisa just jumped to the conclusion that me wearing his sweatshirt meant more than it did, and she actually believed herself. She should know I'd never do that to a friend, and I shouldn't have to tell her that."



"Makes sense. I suppose I should get to the reason behind my visit. Are you planning on going to breakfast or are you going to stay here and hide from Brian until class starts?"



"I'm not hiding from Brian." Josie said unconvincingly. "Also, I am not thrilled at the thought of standing in the cold until class starts."



"Ms. Reynolds, you're going to be spending a few hours with Brian tonight. I don't think a few minutes before class is going to hurt."



"Oh my god the GED!" Josie exclaimed.



"You forgot?" he asked.



"Well, I have had one or two other things on my mind." she said, stepping into her shoes.



"I would have thought the GED test would be most important." he said as she grabbed her coat. He held the door open for her and pulled it shut when she stepped through.



"To be perfectly honest Mr. K, I think I'm going to fail anyways and it felt good; those few days with Brian, I felt wanted. Its a feeling I haven't ever really experienced before and I enjoyed it." she said, holding the wing door open for Mr. K.



"Ms. Reynolds, things happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. You get past them and I think this little mess will be cleared up in a few days. You and Brian are mature and from what I've heard from both of you, you're misreading each other and not communicating enough. Once you jump those hurdles, you'll be fine."



"Misreading? Communication? Whats his side of it?" She asked, stepping outside.



"Its exactly that, Ms. Reynolds. His side. I'm not going to tell you because its not my place. I've told you that before. Talk to him about it, tell him your thoughts and feelings and ask him to tell you his. And like I said, one problem is the communication and it wouldn't help either of you to talk through me."



"Fine. Why are you still here?" she asked suddenly.



"I'm escorting you to breakfast."



"No, I meant why are you still on center?"



"Staying late to cover for Mr. Jacobs until his replacement arrives."



"You don't have to escort me to breakfast you know."



"I know but if I wasn't then I'd have to do something else."



"I see. Make yourself look busy so you don't have to actually do anything. Slacker."



"I've been here all night, I think I deserve to take it easy a few minutes." he said, holding the cafeteria door open. Josie stepped in and went straight for the coffee. Mr. K followed her and poured himself a cup. Josie turned to go to her table and froze. Jackie was giving her a look like she wanted to kill her, Jay and Chris were avoiding eye contact, Nick had a stupid smirk on his face and Lisa was staring at Mike who was sitting in a booth trying to ignore her. Josie sighed. "Maybe you should clear up that misunderstanding." Mr. K said.



"Its not worth it. Think about it Mr. K, if you thought one of your friends were pursuing a girl you liked, if he said he wasn't, would you believe him?"



"Depends on how good a friend he was."



"Lisa just got here a few weeks ago, she wouldn't believe me. Even Jackie's on her side and she knows me better."



"Well, I'll leave you to figure it out." Mr. K said.



"Sure, use me to get out of doing actual work but when I encounter a problem you abandon me." she said as he walked away. Josie took a deep breath and joined Mike in the booth.



"What the fuck is wrong with everyone today?" he asked immediately when she sat down.



"Lisa likes you and when I went in the dorms last night wearing your sweatshirt she took it the wrong way."



"So thats why Jackie hit me."



"She hit you?"



"Yeah, when I tried sitting down, she whacked me and told me to sit somewhere else."



"Girls tend to stick together."



"I've noticed."