Jennie and Wade - Thursday Night

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Jennie and Wade discover a mutual love of cheesy balls, beer, and bad television. It's the start of a beautiful friendship.



Wade had one of those massive plastic containers of puffed cheese balls sitting on the couch beside him and a marathon of Ice Road Truckers on the TV in the rec room. He kept his eyes on the screen as he methodically popped one cheese ball after another into his mouth. He tipped the container toward Jennie where she sat in the chair beside him and jiggled it a little so the cheese balls inside knocked together. "C'mon, they're delicious."

Jennie grabbed a handful, eyes never leaving the screen. "You know? They don't have these in England. I was shocked. I may have had withdrawals."

"For all their 'we're so prim and proper and the cradle of the civilized world,' the English are pretty backward," Wade said. "They don't have hot dogs, either. Just some weird jarred sausages that aren't really the same at all." He let silence fall for a moment before wincing. "Oooooh... that's not gonna be good for the trucking operation."

"Uuuugh," Jennie agreed sympathetically. "I mean, are they going to pull this off? They always do, but this one..." she trailed off as she licked cheese dust off her fingers. "And yeah, though I'd stab the shit out of someone for a proper morning roll. Best hangover cure ever."

"Wouldn't know," Wade said, tossing another cheese ball up in the air and moving to catch it in his mouth. "Can't get hangovers. Healing factor perk. Also means I can't get drunk and enjoy a buzz, but y'know." He paused again, head tilting to the side. "Yeah, they're gonna pull it out. Freaking ice roads, man."

"Ohmygod, that is like, the worst power ever. I mean, it's good, but not getting drunk sucks. Like, half the fun I had here when I was a kid was how blasted I could get without getting caught." Jennie reached for another round of cheese balls, eyes still not leaving the screen. She snorted. "That's what she said, dude."

"No, that's totally not what she said," Wade said, casting an amused look at Jennie. "And it could be worse - I mean, guess how old I am."

Jennie's eyes finally flicked to Wade. "Fifteen," she deadpanned.

"Ha - smartass," Wade said, crunching through a handful of cheese balls before continuing, "Fifty-four."

"So, this means you lived through Disco Duck. Tell me, did you buy the eight track for Disco Duck? You did, didn't you?" Jennie sat up, utterly delighted. "Captain and Tennille? I used to sing that at-- It was my karaoke jam."

"I was sixteen," Wade said, nodding considerably. "I wasn't allowed to buy the eight track, but man, did I get down in my bell bottoms at the last school dance I went to."

"Are there pictures, please, tell me there are pictures!" Jennie giggled. Then she took a swig of the beer that was sitting on the end table. "The last school dance I went to I forced Marius to be my date, and the doofus showed up in a dress because he always has to upstage me," Jennie rolled her eyes.

"I like him," Wade said, pausing to narrow his eyes at the screen as the ice road truckers tried (seemingly in vain) to pull a big rig out of an icy ditch. Then he continued, "He's my kinda cat. Were there frills on the dress? Or was he like. Totally classy? Also, no, there are no pictures of that, but Marie-Ange has hidden this pair of corduroy bell bottoms I bought when we all got mentally regressed to the age of sixteen - they were totally groovy. Maybe I'll be able to find them."

"Well, Marius sort of grows on you, like a fungus. We love each other too much to date each other, if that makes sense," Jennie said, taking another swig of beer. "It was some classy mandarin thing, all black and shit. It was back when the staff swapped genders for a week-- don't ask. Or do, but ask your lady friend. As for me I wore a sequined white number and had my hair all did up like some 30's glamour queen."

"My ladybird's mentioned it - there are pictures. She was a very attractive man, though she maintains her eyebrows were ridiculous before she got hold of tweezers," Wade said, leaning forward to grab his own bottle of beer. "Seriously hot, though. Was Marius turned into a woman while wearing the mandarin dress?"

"We students weren't affected, which was nice for us. It was kinda a week of shit for us, before prom," Jennie tossed her bangs out of her eyes. No one ever talked about what happened to her, Kyle and Marius in that April. It was nice for the boys, but sometimes it bothered her. Only one other person really knew what happened, and even seemed to understand.

"Y'know, it's not called 'prom' in Canada. It's called 'grad.' What does prom even mean?"

"Dunno. Promenade?"

"That makes me think of peacocks," Wade said, putting a cheese ball on the mouth of his beer, then trying to get it to stick to his tongue so he could eat it.

"I have no idea, teenage rituals are strange, man." Jennie helped herself to more cheese balls. "The absolute worst thing about being a ballerina was the diet, and the fact that I needed way more calories than they did thanks to my mutation. I'd have to eat in secret, and the director was convinced I had an eating disorder. It was the worst. That life was the worst."

"Yeah, mutation-related metabolisms are kind of a bitch. Sometimes it's like, fuck it, I don't even care what I'm putting in my mouth, I need calories or I will eat your face off," Wade said. "Got stuck on a yogurt-only diet after my intestines got microwaved last year. Like November. It sucked."

"I'd say you need to quit doing that, but I've found with dudes who can't get hurt easy they'll just go play in traffic because they can," Jennie rolled her eyes teasingly.

"I mean, I don't go looking for bullets and knives to stick in me," Wade said. "Or dudes to microwave my middle. That just kinda happens. I'd much rather chill and watch TV while eating some time of tasty treat." He gestured between the two of them. "Exhibit A."

"Right, but just because you can't get hurt easily doesn't mean you should rush headlong into things," Jennie quirked an eyebrow. "Aw, listen to me. You've been doing this since before I was conceived in a coat closet."

"It's so cute," Wade said, tipping his beer back for another long swallow. "You trying to be all instructive and like. Teach me valuable life lessons, though."

"It's a bad habit, I've been told I was a born teacher. I have no idea why, I was the worst when I was a teenager, couldn't ever get me to shut up or do what I've been told," She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "And now people pay me money to be in charge of their children. The irony, she is thick."

"Hey, there's worse things to get paid for," Wade said, reaching for a few more cheese balls. If they kept this up, they'd run out of puffed cheesy deliciousness - so it was good he had two other massive containers of cheese balls stashed in the kitchen. "C'mon, eat up. We've got eight hours of Ice Road Truckers left to go."

"Gotta make sure they make it before the road thaws," Jennie said, settling back into the couch. She gave Wade a smile and they clinked beers. "Cheers."