Looking for Alibrandi

On Monday night, John calls and invites Josie to see Macbeth with him. Josie meets him at the theater on Tuesday and is relieved that he doesn’t seem depressed. John assures her that he was just stressed about exams. They laugh and talk in the lobby, and Josie discovers that they have the same interests. Josie isn’t compatible with Jacob this way, so it’s a relief to talk to someone who’s familiar with the same books. They discuss one boy in John’s class who had a nervous breakdown about the HSC and dropped out, but John suggests they don’t talk about school.

As Josie and John head for concessions, Josie’s heart stops when she sees Jacob across the lobby. Josie goes to him. He’s furious that Josie is seeing a movie with John, though Josie assures Jacob that John is just a friend. Josie is mortified as Jacob asks if she’s been messing with him the entire time. John walks over and suggests that Josie and Jacob talk about this later. The boys start to shove each other, so Josie firmly tells John to go wait for her by the doors.

Jacob says that he’s embarrassed. He points to a tall girl who looks like a model; her name is Arianne. He says he’s friends with her, but asks Josie what Josie would’ve thought if he’d taken Arianne to the movie. Quietly, Josie says she’d be angry and agrees that she’d be concerned that Jacob was cheating on her. But then, Josie says she didn’t think Jacob would want to see Macbeth with her. Jacob spits that he’s studying Macbeth in school and is here to see it. He stalks off. Josie heads back to John, who insists that Jacob isn’t Josie’s type—barristers don’t marry mechanics.

Josie is too miserable to concentrate on Macbeth. She feels like she’s constantly making mistakes and she resents John for looking down on “future tradesmen” like Jacob. Josie realizes that no matter what other people think, she’d happily date a person of any profession if they’re like Jacob. After the movie, John tells Josie he loves spending time with her and leaves. Josie waits to approach Jacob until his friends all leave. She apologizes, but he doesn’t accept it. She asks why no one accepts her apologies, and Jacob insists she’s not sincere. He accuses her of whining about how people treat her, while never acknowledging that other people can get hurt, too.

Josie walks to the bus stop alone and cries. A lady gives her a “Jesus Loves You” sticker, but Josie sobs that Jesus doesn’t love her. After a few minutes, Jacob comes up behind her and gives her his hanky. As she sobs that she’d never hurt him on purpose, Jacob leads her to his motorcycle and straps her helmet on. Josie assures Jacob that John is just a friend. She’s liked him forever, but she appreciates his passion and his openness.

Jacob sighs that Josie just wants to be “one of the beautiful people,” like John. But Josie says that Jacob’s life is different. He’s happy with his lot in life, and so he thinks everyone who’s looking for something more is pretentious. With a sigh, Jacob gets on the bike and tells Josie they have a lot to teach each other. Then, he asks her to see Macbeth with him on Saturday night.