Page 23 of Loving Justice

“What do you think, Justice? Should I have to take a dumb daily living class?” Ilene asked.

“Well, I don’t know the entire situation, but I don’t think it’s ever productive to force a child to take something they’re not interested in.”

“See…bruh,” Ilene elbowed Jinx.

“However,” Justice gained Ilene’s attention. “We all need to be self-reliant, which means learning daily skills.” Justice hoped the answer was diplomatic enough.

“I agree,” Ness piped in. “I don’t think learning how to make a damn good pan of brownies is a bad thing.”

“Ilene, I’d like to show you something. Are you finished eating?” Justice asked.

The teen crumpled her napkin and tossed it onto her plate. She shoved her chair back so fast that the legs scraped the floor. “I’m done.”

“Hey, what do you do with your plate?” Jinx said.

With a rolling of her eyes, which seemed like a habit, she grabbed her plate and looked at Justice. “Where would you like me to put this?”

“How about you set it on the counter.”

Ilene placed the plate near the sink and Justice motioned for her to follow her down the hallway. The house was quiet, almost eerily so, as the two made their way to the last room. She opened the door and stepped aside so Ilene could come inside.

The teen’s eyes widened as she spun in a circle looking at the finished paintings. “Did you do these?”

Justice nodded. “I did. I started when I was about your age. I found that I needed a constructive outlet, and I took an art class. I was hooked.”

Ilene slowly walked around the room, stopping at each painting and examining it with innocent wonder. Then she stayed a little longer at one painting of a woman sitting near the water. “I like this one most.”

“That’s one of my favorites too. It’s my mother. She’s been my muse in many of my paintings.”

Ilene swiveled on her tennis shoes and faced Justice. “Do you think I could do something like this?”

“Paint? Of course. There’s not a right or wrong way of painting. What do you enjoy doing?” Justice lovingly touched the painting of her mother.

After a moment of silence, Ilene blurted, “I like writing stories. The ones with sci-fi characters that save the world.” Her eyes lit.

“That sounds exciting. So, then write what makes you happy.”

The frown returned and she flexed the toe of her shoe over the floor like she was kicking an invisible rock. “We’re not allowed to write what we want at my stupid school.”

“There are some rules you must abide by at school, but when you’re writing for yourself there are no subjects off limits. We should have a fine balance between doing the things that are our responsibilities and doing the fun things that make us love ourselves.”

“I think my brother likes you.”

Justice blinked at the left-field statement. “Why do you think that?”

“Because he never has any fun and you got him to swim. He’s all about work. And he kept looking at you. Yeah, I’m certain he likes you.”

“I like your brother too.” Justice realized the statement was true. She enjoyed spending time with him.

*****

“Skinny dipping, huh?” Ness teased Jinx after Justice and Ilene left the room.

“Relax. We were just hanging out,” Jinx said.

“Yeah, there were a few things hanging out.” She wagged her brows.

He needed to steer the direction of the conversation before it veered even more off track. “Driving all the way out here to find me? Really?”

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