Chapter
9
“Jessica!”
her mother called from downstairs. “It’s
time for supper.”
Jessica had
been lost in her thoughts, but her mother’s call had broken the spell. “Coming, mother,” she called out. Jessica got up from her bed, walked down the
short hallway, and down the fifteen stairs to the downstairs of their house. Jessica counted the stairs as she walked down
them. It was just a little thing that
she liked to do. When she was almost to
the bottom, she smelled the pizza that had just come out of the oven. It smelled wonderful. She had been so busy cleaning that she had
forgotten how hungry she was. “Where is
James?” she asked.
“Oh, who
knows!” her mother mumbled. “I can’t
keep up with that boy.”
Jessica
walked out onto the back porch and yelled for James. She looked down the road toward the
playground. There were several kids
playing, but they were too far away for Jessica to make them out. One of them looked kind of like James, but
Jessica didn’t remember what James was wearing that day. But the kid in question had a t-shirt on that
looked like the favorite one that James wore almost every day. She called again, this time adding that it
was time for supper. The kid paused and
then started to run towards her. “So it
was James,” Jessica thought. As the
figure came closer Jessica could make out James. Jessica yelled again, “Hurry James, the pizza
is hot.” At the word, pizza, James picked
up his pace. Within a few moments James
was up onto the back porch and flying past Jessica into the house. When Jessica came into the kitchen, James was
already slumped onto a dining room chair completely out of breath.
As she
came nearer, she saw James was sweating.
And then the smell hit her. James
smelled like a wet puppy dog. “Ooh! James you stink! Get into the bathroom and wash your face and
hands!” Jessica could barely stand it!
James
rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, but he got up and dragged himself
into the bathroom. He knew he stank, so
he didn’t offer too much resistance. He
grabbed a wash cloth as the sink filled with water. As he was swishing his washcloth around in
the sink, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His face was streaked with grime and sweat
and his hair was sticking up all over.
Sweat was running down the back of his neck. He hated to admit it, but Jessica was
right. The smell of pizza made him work
faster. He washed his face and neck, and
then rinsed his washcloth. It made the lavatory
water muddy. He washed his hair and the
back of his neck. James needed a complete
bath, but his stomach was demanding pizza.
He rinsed his washcloth again and wiped a second time over his
face. He was done. At least he was a little cleaner than when he
had come in. He made an excuse as he
came in to the table. “I’ll get a bath
later tonight,” he offered. He wasn’t
speaking to anyone in particular, but to everyone in general. He wasn’t concerned with cleanliness; he was concerned with pizza!
“Where’s
Dad?” James asked as he sat down at the table.
“Oh I don’t
know.” replied his mother. “He’ll be
along later.”
“James,
you need to clean up real good tonight,” Jessica said as James began stuffing
pizza into his mouth. “Remember, we’re
going to church tomorrow morning.”
How could
James forget that? Jessica had only
reminded him a gazillion times a day. He
gave a disgusted look, but kept on eating.
He didn’t want to fight. He only wanted
Pizza.
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