Jean walked alone into the pub. The car ride over had been absolutely excruciating, as Natalie berated him the entire trip. How he survived the onslaught of angry words, he’ll never understand, unless it was purely God’s protection. An entire army of angels must have surrounded him, because her words were as piercing as daggers. The fact that she was so upset about his study partner didn’t make sense to Jean, which only angered her more. He did his best to argue with her, but anything he said was quickly shot down as void. So, he sat quietly until she dropped him off in front of the pub. He slammed the door shut and watched her speed away quickly down the road. He’d have hell to pay later, especially if his mother found out, but he would just have to deal with it when it happened. No use worrying over the inevitable.
With a weary expression, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. His eyes swept the room and immediately landed on a familiar face. Cora was standing at the bar with two drinks in her hands. She gave him a much appreciated smile and walked toward the back of the room where a redheaded girl and dark-haired guy were playing darts. He could feel his heart beating sporadically as his eyes followed her retreating figure. There was something about her that felt so liberating. He had only known her for a month or so, and he couldn’t explain why he was so drawn to her, but he could tell that she was so much different from Natalie.
Jean sat down in a booth, sitting on a bench facing Cora’s direction. A waitress with short, spiky brown hair came up to his table and took his drink order, a coke. The waitress seemed a little annoyed at the lack of alcohol but gave him a fake smile and left. Jean scanned over the menu, and having already chosen his dinner — his favorite dish “Oysters Rockefeller”— his eyes traveled over to Cora again. It looked like she was flirting with the dark-haired guy, giggling and sipping her drink seductively in his direction. But Jean didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. What he didn’t realize at the moment was that he had become flush with jealousy. Just a little warmth in the neck and ears. Jean’s eyes caught Cora’s for a split second, enough to see her smiling at him, and he looked away with a tiny smirk on his lips.
The waitress set his drink down, and Jean told her his order. Looking as bored as ever, she nodded, saying absolutely nothing to him and left again. Just then, Cora’s group cheered loudly. Someone must have won the game.
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