Corner Pocket III

Cora felt her heart speed up as soon as spotted Jean walking into the pub. His head was hung low as he shuffled to a booth. She could venture a guess at who had caused him to look so dejected. Cora had not met Jean’s girlfriend but she seemed only to cause him grief. Cora felt that she should go try to cheer him up but was not certain that it was her place.

“Earth to Cora,” Darcy said waving his hands in front of her face. Cora turned his attention to him.

“What?” she asked looking between Bryn and Darcy who seemed to be sharing a secret smile between themselves.

“Well, you have yet to answer Darcy question and have been staring at that table for a good five minutes,” Bryn stated. Cora felt a blush rise to cheeks; she had not meant to appear like a creeper.

“I...was, I mean,” Cora said, grasping for some type of reason for her behavior but she was quickly cut off by Bryn.

“Oh, don’t worry. He has been staring over most of the night,” Bryn inserted. Cora eyes instinctively went back to the table only to catch Jean looking straight at her. She gave him a small smile before returning her attention back to Darcy.

“So why are you staring a hole into that guy?” Darcy asked a hint of jealousy creeping into his voice. Cora was not quite sure how to answer. She sighed trying to come up with a coherent thought.

“He is my study partner,” Cora responded the best she could. Bryn could not help but raise her eyebrows at this.

“So that is what Jean looks like. No wonder you study so long,” Bryn said wickedly. Cora blanched, nearly spitting out her drink.

“Studying, is that what they are calling it these days?” Darcy added. Cora whipped her head around to glare at him.

“Darcy,” she said, “He has a girlfriend. I am not that type of girl”.

“Good, because he looks like a bit of a pussy. He is clearly not your type,” he said with a smile. Cora could only shake her head in disapproval, this was quickly getting ridiculous.

“What is my type?” Cora asked even though she felt like she already knew Darcy’s answer.

“Tall, dark and handsome with a wicked sense of humor,” he stated.

“So in other words,” Bryn said, “you”.

“Exactly,” Darcy answered.

“Why do you think he is such a wuss?” Cora asked not quite sure what to make of this whole exchange. Darcy was obviously being a flirt and was a bit jealous but she could not bring herself to be mean as so not to lead him on. She could not let herself fall for Darcy again. He would only leave her again.

“Look, I could beat him in a game of darts,” he said as if that was the answer.

“I just beat you in darts,” Bryn injected.

“Girls don’t count in losing. I am only being a gentleman and letting you win,” he stated as Bryn rolled her eyes.

“Look, just introduce me and I will show you why he is such a wimp,” Darcy begged. Cora sat sipping her drink weighing the options. She did not want to embarrass herself but she was sure Jean could knock Darcy’s ego by quite a bit. It might get Jean’s mind off of whatever his girlfriend had done. She stood placing her drink back on the table and ushered Darcy and Bryn with her. She walked straight up to the booth where Jean was sitting trying to seem as normal as possible.

“Are you here alone?” she exclaimed but did not allow him time to answer before introducing the two standing behind her. “These are my friends, Bryn and Darcy.”

Darcy immediately extended his hand for a handshake. “How about a game of darts?”

Corner Pocket II

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.

An eight ball in the corner pocket

Cora leaned over the green of the pool table trying to line up her shot. The Corner Pocket was a favorite haunt of her's and she had allowed Darcy and Bryn to drag her out tonight. The night was still fairly young so the bar was somewhat bare except for the usuals.

“Seven ball in the right corner pocket,” she called before hitting the ball into the pocket. She smirked. She up three balls on Darcy and more importantly was up two games out of ten overall on him. “It looks like the student is surpassing the teacher,” she said.

“Or the student is using dirty tricks,” Darcy shot back lining up his shot. Bryn laughed placing her drink down beside her to stand next to Cora.

“What kind of dirty tricks is Cora using?” Bryn asked taking Cora by arm.

“Yes, Darcy, what am I doing that is cheating? Am I moving the balls with my mind?” Cora further implored making wavy motions with her hands.

“You are wearing those jeans,” he said his grey eyes sweeping over the table, “You know the ones I always liked.”

“I don’t think that is cheating,” she retorted.

“Nine ball in the left middle pocket,” he called, hitting the ball for once into the pocket. “It is when you lean over the table like that.”

“So, I am supposed to not wear anything that attracts you? I wouldn’t have any clothes left,” she stated. “Eight ball in right lower corner pocket,” she said, easily hitting the last ball in.

“Well, not wearing anything would certainly attract me,” Darcy said with a laugh that Bryn joined in on. Cora could not help but let a small smile creep to her face. It felt good to be appreciated even if it was only by Darcy but she wasn’t going to show it. Lately, she felt like an almost asexual human. It seemed all she did was study. Being a nursing major was tough and had cut down on her social life. It did not matter anyways; the only guy she was interested in had a girlfriend. Cora was not the type to break up a happy couple.

“What happened to Ashley anyways?” Bryn asked. Cora was just waiting for the latest excuse for the most recent dump. Darcy had commitment issues.

“We parted ways, she wanted someone more athletic and I wanted someone that wanted me” he stated simply chalking the tip of the que stick. Cora merely rolled her eyes. Darcy would never admit that Ashley dumped him. She had to give Ashley some credit though; it might be the first time that Darcy had been dumped.

“Well, I am sorry to hear that,” Cora said and she was. It meant that Darcy would now be pursuing her and she knew she did not want to go down that path. She needed to focus on schoolwork but it was just so easy for her to get distracted. She felt shallow for worrying so much about it. She knew Darcy and her could be friends and just friends.

“I’m bored. Cora is beating you easily anyways, how about a game of darts, Darcy?” Bryn asked.

“Yeah, I am tired of playing anyways,” Cora said hoping that Darcy would not make her play another game.

“Alright,” Darcy said following Bryn over to the dart board. Cora watched the game for the moment but got bored. She decided to make her way over to the jukebox. She needed some country music and quick. She was tired of listening to loud rap music. She flipped through the selections letting her mind wander. It quickly found the well worn path of Jean. They had become study partners and she really enjoyed her time with him. She thought he did to but he had a girlfriend. He had not really opened up to her about his life; they tended to be strictly business or well schoolwork. She really needed not to focus on it. She finally found what she was looking for as she inserted her dollar. She knew all the guys would groan when Taylor Swift’s "You Belong with Me" came on but it was worth it to her.

“Cora, can you get me another beer? Put it on my tab,” Darcy called as Cora turned to the bar.

“A Blue moon, please, and long island ice tea,” Cora ordered. One drink would not kill her. She picked up the drinks, while Taylor Swift came over the system. She could only smile as she made her way over to the dartboard. The smile soon turned to a face of somewhat shock as Jean came walking through the door.

Sun-burn cream and a silly argument

Kit Odell stepped out of the shower, dripping wet onto the cold tiled floor. He dried himself off quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist. He stood in front of the steam-covered mirror and grabbed a small hand towel to wipe it clean. He stared at his reflection for a moment, scrutinizing his lean, muscular body, and his short 5’9 frame. The top of his shoulders were burnt slightly, having dulled after three days from a bright crimson red. His pale Irish skin burned easily no matter how strong or how much sunscreen he used. This particular burn came from running a 5K in a white shirt, which had obviously been too thin to shield him from the sun.

Taking a prescribed container of burn cream, he rubbed it gently onto his shoulders. Luckily it didn’t hurt as much as it had three days ago. He wiped his hands on the towel around his waist and searched the medicine cabinet for floss.

“Hey, Jean?”

“Yeah?” Jean’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Have you seen…never mind, found it.” He broke off a piece of string and began to floss his teeth. Jean appeared in the doorway.

“What’d you need? Oh, floss, yeah. So, you going somewhere?” he asked, eyeing him incredulously.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Kit scoffed, while picking at one of his teeth.

Jean shrugged, smirking. “Do you want me to answer that truthfully?”

Kit’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Shut it. Nick’s picking me up for some trivia at Barley’s Taproom. It looks like you’re going somewhere special.” Kit eyed Jean’s light grey, buttoned-up, long-sleeve designer shirt and dark grey slacks.

“Yeah, well, Natalie’s coming over. She’s going to try Corner Pocket out for the first time.”

“Oh, how noble of her…” Kit rolled his eyes. Jean sighed and turned his head. There was a knock at the door.

“It’s probably Natalie,” he said, disappearing from the doorway.

“Or Nick, hopefully,” Kit muttered, rubbing some gel into his hair. He heard the high shrill of Natalie’s voice and slammed the bathroom door shut. He could already feel his blood boiling. If there was one person who annoyed him above all it was Natalie. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the one thing he disliked about her, probably because there were so many things he couldn’t stand. For instance, she nitpicked every little thing about Jean or even him. Jean’s hair was too messy. Kit’s eyebrows were too thick. She rarely complimented Jean on anything. Unfortunately, Jean thrived on making people happy. It upset him if Natalie wasn’t pleased with him. Natalie would always be unsatisfied. That was something Kit enduringly tried to make clear to Jean.

Kit left the bathroom and changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt he had bought from Goodwill. He grabbed his wallet and put it into his back pocket. Checking himself one last time in a mirror, he walked out into the hall. Jean and Natalie were still in the living room, discussing their night’s plans. He chose to avoid them by going into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and peered inside for a snack. Still in earshot of their conversation, he discreetly listened in.

“If I feel at all uncomfortable, we’ll leave immediately, right?” Natalie said in a high demanding voice.

“Of course,” Jean said. Kit imagined him bowing his head in compliance as if Natalie were the queen herself.

“Who usually goes there? They aren’t all going to be drunk are they?”

“Well, it’s a bar, Natalie. And it’s mostly college kids.”

Natalie sighed. “Great.” There was a pause. “Is she going to be there?”

“Who?” Jean asked, dumbfounded.

“Your study partner? The one you’ve been seeing for weeks now, under my nose?” There was a certain hint of jealousy in her voice that made Kit smile. He shut the fridge door quietly and listened.

Jean stuttered, obviously flustered. There was no use denying her now. “W-Well, she could be. A lot of sorority girls go there for the free drinks.”

Natalie scoffed disapprovingly. “So she drinks?”

“I don’t know,” Jean said softly.

“What’s her name?” Natalie said sharply. “I need to at least act like I’ve known you two were studying together.”

Jean was quiet for a moment as if trying to remember. Then he said quickly, “Her name’s Cora.”

Cora? Kit thought. There weren’t many Coras that he knew of and it couldn’t possibly be the one he was thinking of.

“Cora what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember,” Jean said sheepishly.

Natalie jeered. “Of course not. You never remember anything. Do you at least remember what she looks like?”

“Why does that matter?” Jean snapped, finally sounding annoyed. Kit wondered how the hell he dealt with this all the time.

“Because I want to be prepared if she’s there!” Natalie shrieked. “Just forget it. I’ll be in the car.” There was a rustling of keys and the front door opened and slammed shut. Kit peeked from the kitchen and noticed Jean still standing in the living room, his head hanging low.

“Hey, man…” Kit said, walking toward him.

Jean looked up, his eyes weary. “Oh, you heard all that? Sorry, man.”

Kit shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe she just attacked you with all those questions.”

Jean sighed, frowning. He opened his mouth to say something, but loud, obnoxious honking interrupted him.

Kit scoffed, rolling his eyes. “She beckons you. Wouldn’t want to upset the royal highness.”

There was a shimmer of a smile on Jean’s lips before he said goodbye and left. Kit walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. He could see Natalie’s scowling face halfway hidden behind the steering wheel. Her lips were moving quickly, most likely continuing her tirade, and Jean’s poor, haggard face was turned the other way.

Kit collapsed onto the couch, flipping on the TV. He checked the clock. Nick was late. But it didn’t matter. His mind was already racing with thoughts of his past, of the girl named Cora who ruined his life. God forbid she came back into his life. He hoped, even prayed, it was another girl named Cora. He wouldn’t allow her to ruin his best friend’s life. He would do anything to prevent that. Anything.

The Recital

The recital was more than twenty minutes in by the time Jean made it there. He quietly entered the auditorium once an usher allowed him in and searched for the nearest seat. Luckily he found one on the end of a row, but it was next to a large woman who was fanning herself with a program. He smiled kindly before sitting down and leaning on the opposite end of the chair. It was an uncomfortable position, but one he was forced to endure for the woman had completely occupied her chair and some of his. His eyes searched the program in his hands for Natalie’s parts. It looked as if he had missed most of them already. Wonderful. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed his absence, but he wasn’t holding his breath. She was a very observant person.

An hour later, the recital finally ended. Jean slowly rose out of his seat, the left side of his body sore and numb. He started heading toward the exit when somebody grabbed his arm. He turned to see his mother.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Jean asked, perplexed.

His mother was a petite woman, only 5’4”, but the annoyed look on her face made Jean’s nearly six foot figure suddenly feel like three.

Her lips pursed and she pulled him to the side, out of the path of the large crowd of people leaving. “Well, it’s nice to see you, too. I saved a seat for you, but I assume you came in late?”

“Well, I, I—” Jean stammered, clearing his throat. He had to stop stammering, because his mother hated it so much. “Something came up at the last minute. I would’ve looked for you had I known you were here.”

“You should be more careful,” she said, her brows narrowing. “You know how Natalie hates when you’re late.” She gave him one last stern look before turning toward the door. “I believe we should go into the hall and wait for her.”
Jean followed his mother through the doors and into the crowded hall. His mother didn’t say another word to him until Natalie showed up. Whenever she was quiet, she was upset about something at home. He wasn’t going to press her any further, because it would only lead to him getting into more trouble than he was already in.

A few minutes passed before the performers started to come out. Natalie, being one of the leads, was one of the first to head into the crowd. It took awhile for her to get through the crowd, smiling brightly as everyone stopped her to give her praise and congratulations. Some even gave her flowers.

Once she came up to them, the beautiful smile that was once on her face disappeared. “You were late,” Natalie said, frowning.

Jean bit his lip. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Save it. I want to enjoy this moment, and I’m afraid you’ll ruin it for me.”

Jean clenched his jaw, his cheeks reddening slightly. He could feel himself shrinking another inch.

Natalie turned to his mother, smiling again. “Anne, I’m so glad you made it.” She leaned in and gave Anne a tender hug.

“Oh, it was my pleasure,” Anne beamed. “You were magnificent. Truly a marvel. A talent like no other, don’t you think, Jean?” Both women turned their scrutinizing gazes on him.

Jean straightened his posture, suddenly tense. He managed to smile, despite feeling like he had been slapped several times, and said, “Truly like no other.”

Natalie pursed her lips, still visibly upset. She turned and smiled at Anne, then turned back to him. Unexpectedly, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. Jean held back a grimace.

Soon his mother left them, carrying on about how she had to “put her tired bones to rest,” which gave Natalie the opportunity to finally speak her mind. But before she could, Jean spoke up.

“Look, Natalie, I’m sorry I was late,” Jean said, offering his best apologetic expression. “It wasn’t intentional, believe me. I lost track of time studying and –”

Natalie interrupted, “Lost track of time studying? Since when does that happen? You hate studying.” They started to walk down the hall, hand-in-hand, towards the doors.

“Well, yes,” Jean agreed. “But my partner was very helpful.”

“Your partner?” Natalie cocked a brow.

“Um, yes, she’s from my Forensic Science class.”

“She?” Natalie snapped, stopping mid-step. “Your partner is a girl?”

Jean could tell where this was leading. Natalie tended to be very jealous, and if he didn’t settle this quickly enough, he’d be in for some more quarrelling.

“It’s nothing to worry about, really,” Jean began, his voice soft and calm. “Her study partner bailed on her and she needed someone to help her. I just happened to be there at the same time. It’s not like we have to study together again.” Jean watched her carefully to see if she was satisfied with his response. She didn’t say anything at first, but started walking again. The displeased expression on her face dissolved into something between calm and tired.

“I guess that’s fine,” she said wearily. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m exhausted.”

Jean couldn’t agree more. Fighting with her always drained the little energy he had left. They exited the building and headed to the parking lot. Jean spotted Natalie’s blue Saturn parked two rows down from his and led her over to it. Once there, she lifted her head and stared at him for a moment. A sad smile formed on her lips and she leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. He kissed her back. All seemed to be forgiven. For now, at least.

Jean helped her into the car. “I’ll see you later,” he said, shutting her door. She waved, backed up, and drove off. After a few moments of standing there replaying the day’s events in his mind, he finally walked to his car and left.

Studious Sunday II

Jean looked up from his textbook and met the eyes of the girl from his Forensic Science class. She was sitting across from him and asking him if he wanted to study. She was very pretty this girl…this…oh God, what was her name? Think! You know she said her name before, but damn if you’ll ever remember it. No use now. You can probably get through this whole thing without having to say it. Now he had to give her an answer. Did he want to study with her? It was a loaded question. First, he was much better at studying by himself. The reason was he got distracted too easily, and she was a pretty girl and girls made him nervous. Second, if his girlfriend ever caught him sitting with another girl he’d have hell to pay. And it wouldn’t just be from her, his mother would somehow get herself involved.

So what to say? It really seemed like it could be a harmless situation. They were just going to go over some chapter questions and discuss. That was it. He really hoped Natalie wouldn’t be making a surprise visit that day like she usually does. Checking the doors and looking around, he decided to give her an answer.

“Yeah, that’d be fine,” Jean said nonchalantly, though his insides were twisting uncomfortably. Nerves. It was all nerves. “So, where do you want to start first?”

The girl flipped open her book. Jean’s eyes darted to the piece of paper tucked inside, hoping to see a name scribbled somewhere. Nothing.

“How about we start on section three? There’s something I had some trouble understanding…” she said softly. A little frown formed on her soft lips.

Jean’s eyes rested on them for a second before he answered. “Um, yeah, I think I can help you with that. I’ve probably read this chapter twice, which probably means I have too much time on my hands,” he laughed nervously. Turning to the correct page, he listened as she asked her question.

Nearly two hours later, Jean finally checked his phone. “Oh, wow, I can’t believe it’s already six-thirty.”

“Really?” she said, gaping at the clock on the wall. “I can’t believe how fast that went.”

“Crap!”

“What is it?”

Jean sighed gruffly, gathering his things. “I forgot I’m supposed to be somewhere at seven.” He stood up, slinging his book bag over his shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to take up your time,” she said, a concerned look on her face. Her blue eyes saddened.

Jean shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault. I should’ve paid more attention. But I’m glad we did this. We should meet up again.”

She smiled. “Definitely.”

Jean smiled back, his heart fluttering once. “See you around!” he said, leaving the library in a sprint. He couldn’t believe he was going to be late for the second time to another one of Natalie’s recitals.

Studious Sunday

Cora watched the library’s clock slowly tick away. Alex was officially ten minutes late and had not sent word yet where he was. Cora always thought that in today’s world that if you are running late anywhere you can send notice; cell phones had made it that. She checked her phone again and yet no sign. She sighed trying to busy herself. She despised sitting in at a library alone at a table looking like the last kid picked for kickball. She took out the list of questions she had written down from the chapter; the ones she had hoped that Alex could help her with. She began to look through the chapter but could not get involved with the text when she was constantly checking her phone or looking at the entrance. Then of course, Jean was sitting across the library and Cora could not help but seek a glances. This study session was going so very well, she thought.

Finally, her phone went off. Cora picked up the phone and quickly scanned the text message. Of course it was some lame excuse that really meant he was out playing ultimate Frisbee and was not going to bother to study. Cora took in a deep breath trying to not get angry. She really should have known that she could not count on Alex; he was just way too much of a free spirit. She had really only agreed to study with him because his girlfriend Stephanie had begged her too. You could not really force someone to do something they did not want to do, even if they needed to pass a class to graduate. Without Alex there, Cora felt like an idiot showing up to the library and she still needed someone to talk through the chapter with. She stole one more glance at Jean and tried to take a peek at what book he was reading. It appeared that he too was studying for their class on Monday.

Cora weighed her options. She could attempt to study by herself either here or in her dorm room. She knew she would not accomplish much. Or she could get up the nerve to approach Jean and force a study session upon him. She figured that he might be able to help. Since she had introduced herself, he had been rather cool towards her. He wasn’t mean but rather just nice and nothing more. He had not taken her up on the offer to study together. She had not wanted to seem too forward and ask for a friends request on facebook. She did not want to seem like a creepy stalker. She really should just try to do this on her own, she thought. Yet, she was just so hopeless. She closed her book deciding that she was going to ask for his help despite the nervous feeling she was getting in her gut. Jean just made her nervous but in a good way. She stood taking her bag and book with her.

Jean did not look up until she sat across from him. She braced herself; this was going to be an awkward conversation at first.

“I need help, and I don’t mean like mental” she already began to ramble. “My study partner bailed on me for Frisbee golf or something. I really need a bit of help with this chapter before the quiz tomorrow. I know you are at least reading through the chapter and I was wondering if you would mind helping me with this” she finished sounding like the blonde she was. She really was not this stupid as she sounded, she thought.