Jezebel Mallory Sloane
The day Jezebel found Jordan in the park, she couldn’t say that she knew what she was supposed to think, or say, because she really didn’t. What she did know, was that she couldn’t just stand by and let Jordan stay there the way he was. She sat down next to him, looking at his bruised face, and it wasn’t long before she stood up to take his hand. It was as if her actions were by instinct. There was no thought behind the decision, she just did it. She led Jordan to her home, knowing if her grandparents or mom found him there, they would flip out. It was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, especially knowing they would never say yes. Knowing how they would feel about the situation didn’t change a thing in Jezebel’s mind. Helping Jordan was the right thing to do, there was no question about it.
She didn’t need to know what happened to lead to her finding him in the park, but over time they became closer as he stayed in her attic, and eventually told her what happened. Something which made her more sure than ever that bringing him home with her was the right thing to do.
It was a Saturday morning, her grandparents had surgeries scheduled that morning, and her mom had left early, so how could Jezebel have expected for her mom to suddenly come back home looking for her phone? Normally, this wouldn’t have been too hard to manage, but Jordan was in the shower. Not only was he in the shower, but her mom was heading for that very same bathroom. Luckily, Jordan had left the bathroom door unlocked, but her mother would be right outside the door herself any second. That left the panicking Jezebel only one option. Fully dressed herself, holding Jordan’s clothes so her mother wouldn’t see them, she had to get in the shower with Jordan, with only the time to whisper a quick apology beforehand. Jezebel was still surprised by the situation herself, so she had to put her hand over Jordan’s mouth to keep him from saying anything from being caught completely off guard.
As expected, Jezebel’s mother came right into the bathroom, not even waiting for a response from Jezebel. “I know mom. I’m looking into it.”
“If you don’t do anything soon Jezebel, there won’t be any opportunities left. These internships don’t grow on trees, and won’t be around forever. You wouldn’t want to miss out, would you?”
Jezebel bit her lip as she listened to her mom’s words as she grabbed her phone. “No mom… I wouldn’t want to miss out on a connection to set me up for my future…” It didn’t matter what Jezebel wanted, if she even liked the internship her mother encouraged. Her mother wanted her to do it, and just maybe if she did a good job with it, her mother would be proud. “Now please mom, I’m in the shower. Can you get out and let me finish in here? Please.”
“Good, if you don’t think ahead and do everything you can to gain that influence, you won’t get anywhere, and I know you don’t want to set yourself up for failure. And alright I’ll go. I have to get going anyway.”
Jezebel let out a breath she had been holding as she heard her mother’s footsteps leaving the bathroom. Any moment, her mother would once again be out of the house, and hopefully wouldn’t make an unexpected return again.