Chapter #14Half a Mile and Runnin' by: rugal b.   Yeah, if you're quick you could hop that fence. But "if" is the word in that thought that really stands out. You're not the most agile person around nor are you the quickest and you've never actually been able to scramble fast up a fence. So you ignore the fence and take off in the same direction the girls are running. Though they've got a head start and though you're not the quickest you're still, maybe fueled by adrenaline, able to catch up to the trio quickly.
"Hey," you call out as you huff and puff and pull up alongside Alex, "go up that path over there! My truck's up that way!"
She looks over at you and without a word quickly cuts right darting in front of and past you causing you to stumble and nearly trip. But you're able to regain your balance and follow them. Now that it's darker -- you've never really noticed just how fast night comes once the sun starts setting -- the path back to your truck seems much more treacherous than it did coming here. You're right at the edge of the river and your head is spinning so fast that you worry you'll stumble and fall in.
Not that you'd be swept away as the river itself is pretty lazy but you'd have to explain to your parents why you've come home soaked to the bone and having just gotten out of the hole you sure as hell don't want to be tossed right back in.
So you work hard to keep steady. As you exit the mud path and start heading up the overgrown one you hear a loud yelp and watch Izzy begin to stumble as you run past her. Quickly you put on the brakes, turn and catch her before she falls completely on her face. You don't even get the chance to ask if she's alright before she quickly nods and takes off. You follow and though you have to dodge the odd shopping cart that's likely been commandeered by a hobo and taken from its store -- and you hope to god the new owners aren't hanging around -- you do eventually make it back to the path's entrance.
You spot your truck and reach into your pocket. You hit the button to unlock which, due to the lights coming on, also serves as an easy way of telling the girls that it's yours. You watch Alex and Izzy hop into the bed while Rae dashes to the passenger side door and jumps into the seat. You head around the front and into the driver side. Starting the truck you notice a figure, Alex from the look of it, standing right in front of the rear window.
"Hey, I'm getting out of here so you probably want to sit down!" you call out as you lower the window and stick your head out. But Alex seems to pay no mind to it and not really having the time to try to argue and get her to listen you put the truck in gear and head out.
The initial jolt seems to have knocked Alex over because you hear a thump and a loud cry. "Told you!" you call out through the still open window.
"Fuck you!" Alex calls back.
Out of the corner of your eye you think you see Rae snicker. A glance in the rearview and you see two hands pop up, middle fingers extended, though not pointing at you.
"And fuck you too you asshole cops!" Alex yells out. "Fuck the police comin' straight from the underground..." you hear her start to sing as you exit onto Farm Road and head north.
* * * * *
"So this is the fabled Westside High, huh?" Alex says as she leans against the side of your truck and looks at the main school building.
"What's your problem with Westside?" you ask.
"When did I ever say I had a problem with Westside?" she asks in return.
"Well that graffiti--"
"Look I already told you what that was," she cuts you off. "Just gettin' back at someone right? Little bit of friendly ribbing. The fuck would I hate Westside for anyway? School pride's some dumb fucking shit if you ask me. 'Sides I know people that go here."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, dickhead," she answers. "You know Jordana Trujillo? Nancy Trent? Sienna Goldman?"
"That last one," you reply. "Well I know of her. How do you know them?"
"It's not like the cheerleaders or the basketball douchebags or whatever," Alex opines. "You go to the Warehouse, you go to shows, you hold some parties out by the river, whatever. You're bound to run into people who go to other schools. You know Nadine plays in a band with Sienna?"
You can only shake your head at that as it's not like you're really up on all the different bands and such that play around town. Not that you're out around town enough to make it a reason to know about that.
"You really don't get out much do you?" Izzy chimes in and though it echoes your thoughts it's like a punch in the gut.
"It's why he's a blank canvas," says Rae as she takes a long drag on her cigarette.
She's skinny, small chested and pale but combined with her dark dress and dark boots that give her an extra bit of height there's a certain elegance to her, even in the way she smokes. On one hand you'd want to think she looks vaguely goth but on the other she looks nothing of the sort. You're also struck by the feeling you've seen her before but Saratoga Falls isn't the biggest town so you can only conclude that you probably have.
"There's nothing wrong with being a blank canvas though," replies Izzy as she pokes you in the side. "Don't let her get to you. Rae would die if she didn't hit her daily quota of smart assed remarks."
You can tell that she's definitely younger than you though you're not sure by how much; is she a junior? And her style seems like she just threw on the first things she grabbed and that she didn't have enough hair dye to actually complete the job. It's eccentric but there's something about the playful expression she wears and her attitude that makes it work and makes her cute you decide.
"Right, right like I said," Alex adds as she looks at you using her fingers to frame your face, "we can do whatever with you. Like think of it like this: some chucklefuck looks at a blank canvas and sees... what?"
"Nothing," says Izzy.
"Nada," adds Rae.
"But an artiste, she looks at it and she sees infinite possibility. Like the side of some old building that's just begging me, pleading at me, to tag it." Alex pulls back her hands and shoots you a smile that's both friendly and mischievous. "What'd you say your name was?"
"Will Prescott."
"Well you, Prescott, are like my new old building. I'm gonna come over there," she says as she walks towards you, "get myself good and ready," she mimes shaking an invisible can, "and leave my mark right on you." With that she traces her finger across your chest and it takes you a moment to realize what she's doing.
She's signing you.
And then she walks back over to your truck. Alex is a tiny little thing, barely coming up to your mid-chest when she was right there. But if she's small in height she's not small in other areas as you can see as you watch each cheek move and practically strain against her jeans. Or the chest that you couldn't help but glimpse at when she was in front of you.
"So you're a Mutie, huh?" you ask.
"Ex-Mutie," she replies.
"Sorry if that's kind of, I don't know, insulting," you add.
"Aristocrats who have probably been inbreeding for god knows how long," says Rae. "I'd say it's more accurate descriptor than insult."
"How'd you end up hooked up with Roxanne?" asks Izzy.
"Ah, well it wasn't hooked up per se..." you state and then go into the tale of trying to flirt with her when you were with your friends and the entire debacle with Mary that led to you getting roughed up and hauled back to your parents, the grounding and your desire to get back at Mary.
"Roxy's right, man," says Alex when you've finished. "Not worth it. You're just gonna get your ass beat again if you try anything and you sure as hell don't want to run into those beefy guys a second time. Even Gabe would've gotten his shots in and he's one of the cool ones."
"So what do I do?" you ask. "Just let her get away with embarrassing me like that?"
"It's your own fault for letting her turn you into her booze mule," Rae deadpans.
"Riiight," chimes in Izzy. "You seem like a pretty nice guy but you're just so..." she reaches over and pinches a cheek, "you're like a naive baby. I bet Mary didn't even have to think twice. Not wrong about your looks though even if she was sweet talking you."
You can't help but to feel your face turn red.
"Yeah, you're not hopeless or anything," states Alex. "You wanna get back at Mary? Then hang around us. We'll set ya straight."
"What, are you going to change my style up or something?"
"Pfft," Alex starts to laugh. "Nah, nah, nah, nothin' like that. You're a guy, you want girls. It's all confidence and not giving a fuck," she says with emphasis. "You gotta learn how to loosen up, have fun, just fuckin' enjoy things. You start carin' so much about status you turn into a Mutie. Or you turn into..."
"Nothing." One word from Rae but it cuts deep. You look to Izzy for another bout of reassurance but she just shrugs.
"You roll with us, we'll show you a good time. We'll show you how to be the best Prescott your scrawny ass can be. You in?"
Alex's doe eyes light up as she smiles, again friendly yet mischievous. These girls seem fun, they're being nice to you and your dick is practically screaming at you to accept. But this Alex girl... she's definitely trouble. Just like Mary. Are you sure you want to risk getting burned a second time?  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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