Jeri stopped counting the money and glanced at the man as he raised his glass to her and took a drink. She studied his face for a trace of sarcasm or humor before realizing he was offering an honest compliment. “Oh, well, thanks,” she replied, surprised by the remark. “Do you need change?”
“No, we’re good. Thanks Jeri.” The man gave her a lingering stare before joining his friends as Jeri turned and headed back towards the bar. A dull, unsettling feeling began to take weight in her stomach as she slipped through the dense crowd. Along the way, Jeri noticed with growing alarm that the conversations around her would suddenly pause as she passed, and she could feel the eyes she’d spent years getting used to now staring at her with renewed interest. As much as she wanted to pretend otherwise, the vibe in the saloon was very different, and it had something to do with her. For some reason beyond her understanding, Jeri was now the center of interest, and the idea was making her sick.
Jeri was just beginning to imagine the reason for this sudden interest when a thin, pasty-faced man that looked closer to puberty than drinking age abruptly stepped in front of her.
“Hi Jeri, I’m Josh!” the man exclaimed excitedly as he held out a gaunt hand. “It’s great to finally meet you!”
Jeri instinctively stepped away from the young man, unsure whether his enthusiasm was drunkenness or a slight social handicap. “Hi Josh,” she replied warily, clenching the tray with both hands to avoid shaking his hand. “How can I help you?”
“I just wanted to introduce myself,” the young man said, smiling back at her with large, dark brown eyes that darted nervously under a flat crop of shapeless black hair. His pale, waxy skin seemed to glow in the dull light of the bar. To Jeri, he looked exactly like the type of smart, nerdy kid that provided comic relief on a TV sitcom.
“Okay… well, nice to meet you, Josh,” Jeri replied, pointing at the bar behind him. “Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to get back to work.”
“Oh…yeah sure,” Josh replied vacantly, still standing in her way. Jeri was about to push past him when he suddenly raised his hand and smiled eagerly. “Hey, I just wanted to ask… did you like my story?”
“What story?”
The young man gave her a dumbfounded smile before laughing awkwardly.
“Oh c’mon, you… you know,” he stammered. “The story I wrote in the ‘Jack about you and your, uh… pen pal. It came out this morning.”
Jeri shook her head in confusion. It was odd enough that the nerdy kid standing in front of her was old enough to be in college, let alone allowed in a bar. He was also apparently writing stories about her in the University paper. She dimly noticed that the noise of the crowd seemed to be rising with her impatience.
“Do you know me, Josh?” she asked irritably.
“Know you? Well um, no… not really. That’s why I–”
“Then how did you manage to write a story about me if we haven’t even met?”
“Oh that,” Josh replied, swallowing uncomfortably. “Yeah, well… you see, I was in here drinking with some buddies one night and we were reading the letters and staring at the photos and I… you know, I thought ‘man, I should totally write a story about these’ and yeah… so, I did.”
Jeri stared at him silently.
“I was, like, really hoping we’d get a chance to talk before I submitted it,” he continued, his dark eyes watching her apologetically. “But you know how it goes with deadlines and stuff. Luckily, Joe the bar owner was nice enough to give me a quote when I called him.”
“Do you have a copy of the story on you?” Jeri asked flatly.
“Oh... yeah sure!” Josh replied excitedly as he reached into his laptop satchel and pulled out a copy of the paper. “Here you go. You can have that one!”
Jeri glanced briefly at the paper before grabbing it and leveling an angry stare at the young man. “Are you even old enough to be in here, Josh?”
Josh smiled and nodded his pale head. “Oh yeah… totally! I know I look young, but I’m actually twenty-two.”
Jeri nodded back at him. “Good, that also means you’re old enough for me to sue you if I find anything libelous in your story. Now step aside.”
A frightened stare was plastered on the young man’s face as Jeri brushed past him and headed towards the bar. Through the crowd she could see her male co-worker – a tall, heavyset college senior named Owen – frantically trying to keep up with the drink orders. Owen normally only worked weekends, but Jeri had called him in to help with the unexpected mob. He gave her an obvious look of relief as she slipped back behind the counter.