Part 3- Did You See That?

Hello again! Welcome to part 3 of Everybody Loves Henry. I apologize for the bad quality of these screen shots, I'm still not that excellent at editing and cropping. Please read and comment. I appreciate it!


The last time you were here you had just seen Jessica's dad, Mr. Coons. Isn't he pleasant? Yea, not a good time for humor I suppose. Well, Jessica and I talked everyday at school after the day that we first met. She came to my house whenever she was allowed, which wasn't often.


On the days that she wasn't over, I sold lemonade at a stand I set up, hoping she would come by and get some. Jessica loves lemonade. And every afternoon that she's not at my house, she goes for a walk with her dog around the neighborhood. Everytime she would come by my stand, giggle, and say, "Selling lemonade again, Henry?" I would grin and hand her a cup of the lemonade. She would smile and thank me, then continue on her walk. By then her dog was way ahead of her, impatient little beagle that he is.


I came home from school and hurried through my homework. It was a day that Jessica couldn't come over, so I set up my lemonade stand and waited for her. I turned my head from left to right, looking for her beagle, the sign that she was coming. I glanced to the left again, and saw her small floppy-eared beagle come into view. I


But the girl that I saw wasn't Jessica. She had bright pink hair, and clothing that kind of scared me. Did she have a sister that I didn't know about? I stared at her with questioning eyes as she walked to my lemonade stand. I knew those eyes. It WAS Jessica. I gaped at her. Why was she like this? She didn't look like the Jessica I came to know. She stared at me, eyes full of anger, and pain. She dropped down a couple of coins and took a cup of lemonade. Then she started to walk away. I got up and ran after her.


"Jessica!" I yelled. She turned. I walked the rest of the way to stand directly in front of her. She avoided my gaze. "Jessica...."


Her head snapped up to meet my eyes for the first time. Her cup fell to the ground. "WHAT?" she yelled. I staggered backward. In all the time I'd known her, I have never heard her yell. I never even heard her talk at that volume. And now, she was someone totally different. "Jessica, what happened to you? You look so.....not yourself. Why are you like this?"

She crossed her arms and stared at the ground again. "It doesn't matter. And it's none of your business. Maybe I just wanted a change."


"This isn't the kind of change I would have thought that you wanted. And of course it matters. Everything --" My gaze drifted to her neckline. There were dark black and purple spots running from the bottom of her throat to underneath her shirt. Bruises. I gasped sharply. "Jessica, your neck....." My hand drifted up towards her neck, but I pulled back as she jumped from my reach.


"I fell. That's all." She said hastily. She put her arms around herself and gazed diagonally to the ground. She closed her eyes, and inhaled slowly. "My dad is probably wondering where I am. I should be going home now." She shivered. "Bye Henry." Jessica turned on her heel and walked away, head hanging. I just stood there watching her until she faded out of view. I knew I should have chased after her, but the sight of her neck is what glued my feet to the ground. Could someone really fall that hard? That much? Did anyone know? I kept asking myself a million questions as I cleaned up my lemonade stand and walked inside the house.


I had hardly opened the front door when I heard yelling and arguing from the kitchen.


"Jasmine, why are you putting your nose where it doesn't belong?" Dad yelled to Mum.


"Because Nate, I want to know why she looks like that! What happened to the sweet little girl that we had dinner with a couple weeks ago? And those bruises!" Mum yelled back. I heard someone pick the phone off the hook and start dialing numbers.

"Jasmine, DON'T! Nothing of what happens to her is any of mine or your business." The phone clattered to the floor.

"It IS my business if she's going to be around Henry! I don't want her new god knows what habits or looks to rub off on our son. His birthday isn't far away, and I don't want him to grow up badly."

My jaw tightened. How could they say that about her? How can they try to judge her when they have no idea why she's like that? My eyes welled with tears.


I ran into the kitchen and jumped on the table to stare face to face with Mum. "I can't believe you would say that about Jessica! You know her and you've met her! Just because she has new hair and clothes doesn't mean she's a bad influence now! Maybe it's not even her fault!" My lip quivered and I started to burst into tears. I didn't know why, but they just started coming out.


Mum stared gently at me. Then she put me down off the table and hugged me warmly. "You're right, Henry. I'm sorry. Her changes may not be her fault. But it was her choice to wear those clothes and dye her hair to look like that."

"But, why would she do that?"

"I wish I knew, hun."

Dad cut in with, "Jasmine, if you honestly want to know, try going to their house and talking with her mother or father."


Mum looked uncertain. She gazed at Dad and said, "Maybe you should go. Mr. Coons and I got off on the wrong foot the first time we met. I don't want to make it worse by asking what's wrong with their daughter."


Dad sighed and walked over to Mum. He slid his hands into hers and whispered, "I suppose I could. For you."


Mum smiled and kissed him gently. I cringed and walked into my room. At least I would be able to find out why Jessica had changed so dramatically. I hoped that Dad would be able to get an answer from Mr. and Mrs. Coons.