This is unedited RAW, straight from whatever project I happen to be typing away on. Since its NANO month, I definitely have a goal in mind, and these will see the light of day this time next year.
Jimmy wiped his hands together, as if he could clear away the grease, and not just smear it around. A familiar happy tune wafted on the breeze. He looked up. Was that Rose? A cloud of thick golden tresses swirled around her in the freezing wind. She high-stepped and skipped her way over the ice and rocks on the side of the broken up road.
“Hey,” he called out.
Rose froze. She hadn’t noticed the hearse on the side of the road until the man called out to her; the tall good-looking one, the one who cheated off her tests in World History. James. James, what was his last name? If anything he had filled out even more. The white shirt he wore showed off his broad shoulders, the rolled up sleeves emphasized the unseasonal tan of his strong forearms. Rose had only let him cheat hoping he would at least talk to her, but nope. Boys didn’t talk to her in high school, and men didn’t talk to her now, seven years later.
“Oh hi. Did you get a flat? Need some help?” Not that Rose could do anything, but she had been well trained to at least offer assistance.
“No, I’m good, just finished. You aren’t walking home, are you? Where’s your ride?” Jimmy asked
Rose threw back her head and cackled. “You’re funny. Why would I have a ride? I’m pretty sure that damned bastard made sure that I would be stranded out here. Oh wait, that would mean he actually thought about me. No. No, I don’t have a ride, because my father made sure he was taken care of, without a thought for me.” Her voice was thick with knives and resentment.
“That would explain why I heard ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’?” Jimmy smirked.
“Yeah, busted.” Rose grinned sheepishly.
“Can I give you a lift home Rose?”
Rose’s heart sped up, her breathing caught in her throat. James-the-cheat knew her name. “Yeah, James right?”
Jimmy nodded, “Jimmy.”