MY FIRECRAKER

You know when you’re six years old and there’s that one girl you like but you won’t say anything to so, of course, you two fight like cats and dogs. You call her ‘cootie face’ then she pulls out the ‘A’ material and calls you ‘stupid head’ and puts sand down your shorts. That’s how Jubilation Lee makes me feel…you know, without the sand and all.

I first saw her at the airport when I first got to Bayville; it was ‘like’ at first sight. For me anyways. The first interaction between us involved me making fun of her obvious infatuation with the color yellow and her making fun of my stupid jokes about her obvious infatuation with the color yellow, isn’t that just beautiful.

When we first arrived at the institute, I was worried, I wasn’t expecting there to be all those guys. Jubes, as we began to call her, I’m sure had to think at least one of them was cute. I was jealous. At that time I should have said something to her but, being the idiot that I am, I just made fun of her some more. Strike one.

Over the next few weeks we grew closer to one and other, she began calling me Bobby instead of ‘Ice for brains’ and I stopped making fun of her…as much. We spent almost all of our spare time together, talking and messing with Logan. I admit she was better than me at most things but the one thing that I could never reach her level of greatness in was her ability to get into trouble and get out just as quickly, if not quicker. Now, I’ve been known all my life as the practical jokester. You know, that kid that spends more time playing jokes and messing with people than doing anything constructive; well I thought I was good but Jubes…Jubes was amazing.

Jubes consisted of both the brains and beauty of our little two-person operation. First, she would come up with these awesome ideas and schemes then we carried them out, no doubt, we got caught but she always got the least if any punishment for our little misadventures. She could have talked her way out of anything, she wasn’t only the best girl jokester I had ever met, she was a master manipulator. She got into the adults heads, if I didn’t know any better I’d say she had some psychic in her. She could have pulled the wickedest prank ever and get me blamed for it, that was true until some of us New Recruits decided to go on these little joyrides. Looking back, that was one of the single most stupid things any of us could have done. We paid for that one night out with the Blackbird…and man did we pay for it.

The punishment lasted up until The Holidays. We all had individual plans for our winter vacations, most of us were going back home to be with family so the Professor chose a day where we all could celebrate together. I had this plan to kiss Jubes and not just a normal plan of mine, a good one. I had it all planed out and running through my mind; I was going to trick her into standing under the mistletoe. We both would look into each other’s eyes, confess our true feelings for each other, our faces would grow closer, our lips would come together, everything would be perfect, and we’d live happily ever after. I guess that old song was true, we are poisoned by those fairy tales, and I know…I wound up getting kiss by the fuzzy dude for Christmas. Strike two.

As everyone returned to the institute, it seemed like no time had past at all. Most things anyways. I felt differently about Jubes now, when I saw her I felt as if I would do anything and everything for her. I should have opened my big mouth and said it, but I was scared. Ask anyone who knows me if I’m shy, they’d laugh in your face. That truly shows how little people actually know about me. I have a fear of rejection; I have always had it. Jubes and me went out a few times, just as friends, and I thought of kissing her but then though about how awkward it would be if she didn’t have feelings for me. I knew she did, I just couldn’t get over the fear. I thought about writing her a letter or note or something to explain it to her but then it happened…

Defcon4 sent the mansion into a panic; Sam was trying to ‘cannonball’ through every door in the mansion. Jubes ran into the room, unaware that the mansion had targeted her. The sound of the blast charging got my heart pumping, I had to save her. I didn’t care if I had to give my mortal life, all I knew was that I couldn’t stand just around watching her get hurt. I ran and tackled her to the ground, I wanted to kiss her then, but I also wanted the both of us to live so we ran. Finding out that the institute was going to self-destruct in one minute and fifteen seconds didn’t help to ease any of our tension either. I tried fiddling with the computer a bit, but who was I kidding? I could barely make out all of the flashing words and letters on the screen. The clock wound down to twenty-one seconds, Scott was now working with it, to no avail however. He instructed us to run, ten seconds until detonation.

I don’t know maybe it was the fear of never seeing Jubes again or maybe just the adrenaline, but I had to tell her now. I would have to say that I picked the absolute worst time possible. I yelled to her as we were running, “Jubes, I love you!” She said she couldn’t hear me and told me to tell her later…if there was a later. We escaped the explosion for the most part unscathed, when we knew we were safe she asked me about what I said earlier. I was going to tell her then Police arrived. We scattered into several groups of mutants, Jubes and me were separated. That entire night I couldn’t think about anything else beside her. Was she okay? Did she get caught? Is she scared? Stuff like that riddled my thoughts. It turned out she was fine, the group she was with had evaded Police by ducking into the Morlock tunnels. The next thing I knew I saw her getting into a car with all of her bags packed, I was across the huge mansions property when I saw this. I ran faster than I’ve ever ran before, even faster than when the mansion was going to blow.

I caught up to the car just about as they were about to pass through the gates, I banged on the window begging them to stop. They did. Jubes stepped out of the car with tears collecting under her puffy eyes, she must have been crying for hours. I couldn’t say a word as hard as I tried I couldn’t. I put my hand gently on her face and placed a kiss on her beautiful lips. She looked at me as our lips separated, she covered her face, started to cry, and without another look got into the car and they drove away from me. Strike three. It was over.

Over the next few days, everything reminded me of her. Every song I heard I would relate it to us. The places we had hung out. Every person with gum would make me think of her. God I missed the sound that she made when she popped the gum between her lips, I was so use to it, it became almost melodic in my ears. Sometimes I would walk around the institute and somehow wind up outside her old room; it still had the smell of her perfume. I missed her so much, it was unbearable. The thought of the kiss I had given her ran through my mind, I though that she didn’t feel the same way I did. I though that I would never know…she call last week.

Before she could get another word in, besides ‘hello,’ I told her everything. I told her the things I thought I would never say and I apologized for everything that I did. She yelled, “It’s about time!” at me, we laughed. After that was out of the way, I asked ‘The Question.’ The question that had been plaguing my mind ever since that kiss. I asked her…if she felt the same. I told her I loved her, she said that she loved too. I almost fainted.