Page 18 of My Twin Sister's Ex

6

Jessilyn

Iarrived at the park about five minutes late. I hated that I was always late to stuff, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t seem to figure out how to be on time. Bennett’s Mustang was already in the parking lot. I pulled in next to it and climbed out of my car. I could see him sitting across the grass from me at a picnic table. A warm, gentle breeze was blowing, and flowers were blooming on the bushes scattered around the park. I loved this time of year.

I walked up to Bennett’s table and took a seat across from him. “Hey,” I said, sliding my backpack off my shoulder onto the bench beside me.

“How’s it going?” he said.

I unzipped my backpack and pulled out my script. Bennett already had his out in front of him. I was impressed. Maybe he really was serious about memorizing his lines this time. I sure hoped so. “I’m a little stressed about school, but other than that, I’m doing great.”

“I can understand that.”

“Our teachers always do this. Right at the end of the year, they pile on the homework and the projects. It’s about to drive me insane.” I didn’t know why I was venting to Bennett. He probably didn’t worry about stuff like homework. I wasn’t sure what he worried about, but he always seemed to walk around like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“It’s even worse when you put a job on top of all of that,” he said.

“Oh! I know! It’s been much harder to get all my schoolwork done now that I’m working at Shelley’s.”

“You’re a cashier over there, right?”

“Yep.” I was surprised Bennett knew that. I didn’t think he’d paid any attention to what went on in my life when he’d dated Jackilyn.

“Do you like it?”

“I do. It’s a lot of fun. I get to talk to a lot of people.”

“Would you consider yourself a people person then?” Bennett asked.

I smiled. “Definitely.” And a people pleaser. I was always trying to get people to approve of me in some way. Especially my teachers. I didn’t actually consider that one of my strengths. It made me weak because I cared too much about what other people thought of me. I wished I didn’t care so much, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t turn it off. Jacki called me a brownnoser. I hated it when she called me that.

“I don’t think I’d do well with a job like that,” Bennett said. “I prefer to be alone or with one or two other people.”

“I would get so lonely!” I said. “I love a good crowd.”

“That makes sense. It would make it much harder for you to act if you didn’t like crowds.”

“Lots of actors don’t like crowds. But you’re right. It probably is much harder for them. I’m lucky that I thrive in front of a big audience.”

“I bet that makes it fun for you,” Bennett said.

A dreamy feeling flowed through me just thinking about the rush I got onstage. It was my happy place. “I really love it.”

“I can tell. You smile when you talk about it.”

“What makes you smile like that?” I asked Bennett.

He grinned. “Cars. The faster, the better. And fixing broken things. I love to turn a pile of worthless junk into something useful.”

“I can see the appeal in that.” I’d never thought about Bennett that way, but it made sense, hearing him talk about it. “Are you still working at your uncle’s car repair shop?”

“Yep.”

“Is that what you plan on doing for the rest of your life, or are you doing the college thing?” I asked.

“My plan is to keep working for my uncle until I’m ready to start up my own shop.”

“That’s an awesome plan,” I said. “I’ve had it so pounded into my head that the only way to do things is to go to college. But that’s not always the case, is it?”

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