Fiction  
 

Tomorrow's Light
Written by Drew Clements
Conceptualized by Drew Clements and Bryan Hester
(Part Five - II)

Tomorrow entered the lunchroom and tossed her backpack down onto a seat.
“To’!” a girl motioned from the back of the waiting line that led to the food serving area.
It was Jenny Benton, a straight-A student gifted with the looks of a goddess. Her long, blonde hair had perfect curls surrounding her perfect complexion; bright blue eyes glistened from under her dark eyebrows. Jenny was a runner, so she had a lean, fit physique that she liked to show off, just as she was today. Her well-toned legs extended from the bottom of a short blue jean skirt into sporty tennis shoes; it was a neat yet laid-back look that many of the guys in school found irresistibly attractive. Tomorrow hated it.
“Hi Jenny,” Tomorrow joined her in line.
“I heard that Joey Garner asked you out and you turned him down! Tell me that’s not true!” Jenny’s eyes were wide.
“Have you noticed that no one actually calls him “Joey?” It’s always “Joey Garner” as if it were some royal title? “Joey” always has to be followed up by “Garner,” no matter what!” Tomorrow avoided the question.
“You’re not going to put me off that easily,” Jenny sidestepped the response and returned to her question. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Yes. While Joey, notice I’m not following that up with his last name, does have nice eyes, I do not find him attractive. He’s not my type,” Tomorrow smiled as they both shuffled slowly up the line.
“Not your type?” Jenny was baffled.
Tomorrow rolled her eyes in anticipation of the statement that was bound to come.
“What exactly is your type?” Jenny proved her right.
“I like smart guys who aren’t out to prove something,” She decided to expand her answer from earlier, “I also don’t like playing games, how ‘bout that?”
“But that’s what dating is! A big game! Make them read your mind!” Jenny smiled.
“Right,” Tomorrow sighed.
“Who are you dating right now?” Jenny asked.
“No one,” Tomorrow responded, not knowing exactly where her sometimes-friend was going with this.
“Exactly. I think you’re looking for that perfect guy to meet all of your expectations. Well, To’, that guy doesn’t exist. You’re just going to have to settle for someone with a few of those qualities.” Jenny looked as if she’d just let an intellectually deep thought rain down upon the denizens of Stupid Town.
“Jenny, Joey does not possess any of the qualities I’m looking for in a guy!” Tomorrow frowned, “Besides, just because I’m not dating someone does not mean that I can’t find anyone here. Sure, the student population at Ellefson is a bit lacking in the guy department, as far as my wants go, but that doesn’t mean that someone here doesn’t fit into my realm of attraction.” Tomorrow attempted to explain.
“So, you have your eye on someone?” Jenny perked up.
“No, I do not. Is it so hard to believe that I’m just not interested in a high school relationship that will undoubtedly end in some immature break-up that will cast more irritation on me in the dating world than, say, hope?” She shrugged as they got to the drink area.
“Wow, talk about dooming things. If you had a different outlook on this, you might be a happier person. You know, some people do find that special person in high school,” Jenny grabbed a can of soda.
“That is true, but I feel that I need to be interested in an actual relationship before I go looking to get into one,” Tomorrow grabbed a soda and picked up a tray.
“Wow, it’s really sad that after all the dialogue between us that my main point is that maybe you should give Joey a shot. You just never know. He may be deeper than you think.”
“No thanks. I’m not interested. Just because you would date someone does not mean that I would,” Tomorrow placed her tray on the counter in front of her.
“Oh, I wouldn’t date Joey either,” Jenny smiled and spoke to the woman behind the counter.
Tomorrow sighed.


By fourth block, Earth Science, Tomorrow had been hounded by four other girls as to why she would not go out on a date with Joey Garner. Despite all of this attention today, it did little to take her mind away from the situation at hand.
She stared at the white dry erase board as Mr. McCoy lectured and wrote out the day’s notes. After this morning’s incidents, things had been fairly normal. Okay, normal as far as physical weirdness. The Joey thing, that wasn’t at all normal, but it’s not exactly what she was worried about. Besides, how could she go out on a date with him when she has a date with a person that could sneak into her room and kill her? No competition there, huh?
She’s well aware that her mother keeps a gun in her room, so she’ll be relatively safe. Of course, her mother doesn’t know that she knows about it, but that’s the type of thing a girl finds when she’s looking for her Christmas presents. Sure, she doesn’t have a clue how to use it, but the presence is what it’s all about, right? Just aim and the person will freak, right?
Tomorrow shrugged off the nervous feeling that began to return.
“Tomorrow,” A voice whispered from behind.
Turning around, she was greeted by the face of John Dickey. From what she could tell, he was always a nice guy, but she’d never actually done much socializing with him.
“Yeah?”
“I was told to give this to you,” John extended his hand.
Tomorrow grabbed the piece of paper that she found in it and, upon unfolding it, let out a loud sigh.

Tomorrow,
Please reconsider.

She liked the fact that he signed it “Joey Garner” as if she were going to confuse him with the other Joey who had given her something to consider.
Tomorrow gave the guy one thing: he was persistent. That’s probably because he lacked the intelligence to understand what “NO” meant.
She considered that thought for a minute, then crumpled the note and dropped it on the floor. With a swift kick it was sent under a bookshelf.


 

 

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