5. When It Raineth, It Poureth.
The doorbell rang at half past six and I pulled on a long raincoat over my attire. Ignoring the strange look I was getting from my dad, I yanked open the door.
"So you're here. Finally." I said, feeling a newfound excitement pulse through my veins. Johnson smiled tightly and lifted his hand in greeting.
I frowned. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he snapped, grabbing my elbow and pulling me out to the porch. "Let's just go, hmm?"
I rubbed my sore arm and walked with him through the front lawn, heading for the city bus.
I knew better than to press anything with Johnson. If something was bothering him, it would be better to let it rest until he didn't get over it himself. Then, he'd probably have a breakdown and I or someone else could fix him.
Until that time, it seemed better not to tempt fate, for I valued my ears.
Once we got to the bus, a slight drizzle had started up and the spikes in Johnson's hair were beginning to wilt. The overhang of the stop provided little comfort when the rain started angry slashes across the sky. It was cold and I could feel Johnson shaking with fury.
"Trouble with Juniper?" I ventured a guess. He clenched his jaw, warning me with his eyes not to say anything. The bus pulled to a stop in front of us and we got stuck behind a lady with a walker.
Twenty years later, or so it seemed, we were suctioned to the odorous, plastic seats of the bus.
Johnson was now staring at the window looking like he wished he had laser vision so he could explode something by just glaring at it.
The bus screeched to a halt two blocks away from our destination. Had the rain not been pelting down in a panicked frenzy this would have been fine. Had I been able to run two blocks, this also would have been fine.
But Johnson refused to make any effort and continued to stomp along, ignoring my various attempts to get him to hurry.
We arrived at the door of a cozy two-story apartment twenty minutes later looking
like wet dogs and probably smelling the same.
Johnson viciously punched the doorbell.
"Answer the damn door." He hissed on the second ring.
I was going to tell him to calm down when the door flew open and Bree's livid face came into view. Johnson ignored her and pushed past, leaving me to fend for myself.
"Where's the keg?" I heard him call as I watched his spiked hair bob up and down through the crowds of people.
"What. Is. That?" Bree asked, pronouncing every syllable clearly and precisely.
"Who, him? That's Johnson." I replied.
"Come here." she said, pulling my arm with her up the stairs and to a room down the hall.
I yanked my arm away casually, wondering why she'd brought me up here.
She glared at me fixedly, noticing my apparent lack of concern.
"Who said you could bring that..that.. nerd to this party?"
"Deal with it." I told her pointedly, then left her with a livid expression.
I wandered down the stairs, trying to blend into the wall. However, the powers that be had decided that there was to be no such thing as luck in my life, and Bree's arm slid around my waist in less than five seconds, trapping me beside her.
I looked around helplessly for Johnson, but I couldn't find him anywhere.
"Look," she whispered fiercely into my ear, "I don't know where you get off trying to embarrass me like that, but you will not be pulling stunts like that regularly, got it?"
I pushed her away, suddenly feeling very irritated.
"Can you leave me alone for a while, ditz brain?" I said with growing irritation, even as she pulled me back to herself.
"I can't deal with this!" she said shrilly. "Just, behave yourself alright? Please?"
That did it.
"You can't deal with this?" I thundered, becoming very aware of the silence spreading around us. Bree's eyes flashed and she attempted to open her mouth to retaliate, but it was already too late.
Hell hath no fury like me irritated.
"You can't deal with this!" I shouted again, pacing back and forth in front of her.
"You're not the one changing here! I have to do all the work! You're not doing a thing here except
telling me to 'behave myself'. Where do you get off, huh? Who told you that you could treat people like that?"
Looking around, I saw I had probably over-reacted a bit. Alright, maybe a lot.
Whispers now began circulated through the room behind me.
"Lee," Bree started in a cautious tone, looking nervously around the room. She then lowered her voice. "They're uh, not really supposed to know about the project, right?"
"My name. Is. Not. Lee." I replied fiercely, but she'd gotten her point across.
And the truth was that I did care. This was a huge grade and if I didn't keep up appearances long enough to even turn in a hypothesis, we were both dead.
"Blistering barnacles." I whispered, wondering how I was going to fix this slip-up.
Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, Johnson now stumbled in, and began singing a very off tune rendition of the star spangled banner. His plastic cup of beer was filled to the brim and occasionally some would slosh over the edge, making him slide across the floor.
Once he'd stumbled back out, everyone had forgotten about me and were now whispering about Johnson.
Bree smirked and opened her mouth but I pushed past her before she could start.
I couldn't find Johnson anywhere and I got pulled out to the dance floor more than once in my attempts to catch a hold of him.
One very feisty gal trapped me between the table and her ass, thrusting and swaying no matter how much I pushed her away. Bree caught my eye and I could tell she was ready to explode. It was my turn to smirk.
I played along, pretending to enjoy myself. Bree finally stomped over and yanked me away from her, putting her hand behind my back, clinging to me so close we kinda looked like conjoined twins of sorts.
She then moved her head so her mouth was pressed against my ear. "I hate you." she said.
I laughed. "Ditto." I said, draping my arms on her shoulders and moving with her.
Boys and girls were watching me. Me. The boys looked like they wanted to be me and the girls wanted to be Bree. Life truly was a series of quirks.
No one would have ever wanted to be me before this day. And although I'd deny it if ever asked in person, being in the spotlight for something other than being the quietest guy in class was not half bad.
A chair clattered behind me and someone pushed me closer to Bree. She stayed there for a second, face pressed against my shoulder, arms locked around my neck. My arms tightened around her for a second before we both realized who we were and stepped back, turning towards the commotion.
My breath caught in my throat. Dana was standing over the same chick I had been dancing with before. Johnson was beside Dana, looking utterly confused.
"What the fuck-?" the girl squealed, wiping the blood from her cut lip. I rushed forward to Johnson.
"What happened?" I asked, taking in Dana's tense form. Johnson literally crumpled into me and I almost doubled over from shock. He'd never showed weakness like this. I looked at Bree who'd now appeared at Dana's side.
The other girls were talking in hushed tones and I kept asking what had happened, but no one would tell me.
"God damn it! What the hell happened?" I shouted eventually, hearing a choking cry from Johnson. Bree looked over at me and blinked, as if suddenly remembering I was still there. She took my hand and guided Johnson and me out of the room and out onto the porch. Dana was close behind.
"Lee, take him home." Bree said to me nervously and Dana nodded impassively.
Johnson was still looking lost and clueless as I dumped him on to a nearby chair.
"Johnson, what happened?" I asked, trying to be soothing.
"I-she-she wouldn't let go! And- she- she wanted to- and I got scared- 'Come
on stud' she said. I tried to push her off but I got dizzy and then she grabbed me and I-"
He suddenly broke down completely. I breathed out deeply.
Nothing had happened then. That was a relief. This probably wouldn't have scared him that much, he was simply too wasted right now. I now regretted the decision to bring him along to this melodramatic farce of a party. I'd forgotten that he was still one of the solitary jigsaw pieces, never before brought to be a part of the broader puzzle of life.
Bree now took a step towards us, and Dana looked at me silently.
"Is he okay?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned. I nodded, ignoring Dana's glance.
It now occurred to me then that it was this girl from grade school who had protected Johnson.
I chuckled suddenly, remembering the stark contrast between the girl from my past and this girl in my present. The timid girl was now a tiger of sorts, hmm?
"How you've changed..." I commented drily, to no one in particular.
"Umm...you alright?" Bree asked, giving me a concerned look as well.
"Never been better." I replied, giving her an extra happy grin. She gawked at me with wide eyes.
"We'll be leaving now. Sorry about earlier. I over-reacted badly."
"Umm..it's..okay?" she now looked at me suspiciously, her expression a mixture of confusion, smugness and mild bewilderment, as if she suspected a retort or witty parting shot of some sort.
When I failed her expectations, she grinned at me with her trademark cheekiness.
"Well, if you feel that bad about it, you can make it up to me by being my personal valet-"
"Don't push it ditz." I said, still smiling. Better not to let her hopes up in such matters.
"Later then." I dragged Johnson, who was now half-asleep, to his feet and on our way home.
As I passed Dana on the way, she opened her mouth to say something. Our faces aligned, and I saw the familiarity with which she was looking at me, and felt that unmistakable feeling that could only exist between two people who have known each other for a long, long time.
I almost froze. Almost. Then I simply passed her, unable to meet her gaze.
It couldn't be. Did she really remember me just now? Or was this another of Life's great farces?
It had inevitably opened up a whole new can of worms though. Intriguing.
The doorbell rang at half past six and I pulled on a long raincoat over my attire. Ignoring the strange look I was getting from my dad, I yanked open the door.
"So you're here. Finally." I said, feeling a newfound excitement pulse through my veins. Johnson smiled tightly and lifted his hand in greeting.
I frowned. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he snapped, grabbing my elbow and pulling me out to the porch. "Let's just go, hmm?"
I rubbed my sore arm and walked with him through the front lawn, heading for the city bus.
I knew better than to press anything with Johnson. If something was bothering him, it would be better to let it rest until he didn't get over it himself. Then, he'd probably have a breakdown and I or someone else could fix him.
Until that time, it seemed better not to tempt fate, for I valued my ears.
Once we got to the bus, a slight drizzle had started up and the spikes in Johnson's hair were beginning to wilt. The overhang of the stop provided little comfort when the rain started angry slashes across the sky. It was cold and I could feel Johnson shaking with fury.
"Trouble with Juniper?" I ventured a guess. He clenched his jaw, warning me with his eyes not to say anything. The bus pulled to a stop in front of us and we got stuck behind a lady with a walker.
Twenty years later, or so it seemed, we were suctioned to the odorous, plastic seats of the bus.
Johnson was now staring at the window looking like he wished he had laser vision so he could explode something by just glaring at it.
The bus screeched to a halt two blocks away from our destination. Had the rain not been pelting down in a panicked frenzy this would have been fine. Had I been able to run two blocks, this also would have been fine.
But Johnson refused to make any effort and continued to stomp along, ignoring my various attempts to get him to hurry.
We arrived at the door of a cozy two-story apartment twenty minutes later looking
like wet dogs and probably smelling the same.
Johnson viciously punched the doorbell.
"Answer the damn door." He hissed on the second ring.
I was going to tell him to calm down when the door flew open and Bree's livid face came into view. Johnson ignored her and pushed past, leaving me to fend for myself.
"Where's the keg?" I heard him call as I watched his spiked hair bob up and down through the crowds of people.
"What. Is. That?" Bree asked, pronouncing every syllable clearly and precisely.
"Who, him? That's Johnson." I replied.
"Come here." she said, pulling my arm with her up the stairs and to a room down the hall.
I yanked my arm away casually, wondering why she'd brought me up here.
She glared at me fixedly, noticing my apparent lack of concern.
"Who said you could bring that..that.. nerd to this party?"
"Deal with it." I told her pointedly, then left her with a livid expression.
I wandered down the stairs, trying to blend into the wall. However, the powers that be had decided that there was to be no such thing as luck in my life, and Bree's arm slid around my waist in less than five seconds, trapping me beside her.
I looked around helplessly for Johnson, but I couldn't find him anywhere.
"Look," she whispered fiercely into my ear, "I don't know where you get off trying to embarrass me like that, but you will not be pulling stunts like that regularly, got it?"
I pushed her away, suddenly feeling very irritated.
"Can you leave me alone for a while, ditz brain?" I said with growing irritation, even as she pulled me back to herself.
"I can't deal with this!" she said shrilly. "Just, behave yourself alright? Please?"
That did it.
"You can't deal with this?" I thundered, becoming very aware of the silence spreading around us. Bree's eyes flashed and she attempted to open her mouth to retaliate, but it was already too late.
Hell hath no fury like me irritated.
"You can't deal with this!" I shouted again, pacing back and forth in front of her.
"You're not the one changing here! I have to do all the work! You're not doing a thing here except
telling me to 'behave myself'. Where do you get off, huh? Who told you that you could treat people like that?"
Looking around, I saw I had probably over-reacted a bit. Alright, maybe a lot.
Whispers now began circulated through the room behind me.
"Lee," Bree started in a cautious tone, looking nervously around the room. She then lowered her voice. "They're uh, not really supposed to know about the project, right?"
"My name. Is. Not. Lee." I replied fiercely, but she'd gotten her point across.
And the truth was that I did care. This was a huge grade and if I didn't keep up appearances long enough to even turn in a hypothesis, we were both dead.
"Blistering barnacles." I whispered, wondering how I was going to fix this slip-up.
Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, Johnson now stumbled in, and began singing a very off tune rendition of the star spangled banner. His plastic cup of beer was filled to the brim and occasionally some would slosh over the edge, making him slide across the floor.
Once he'd stumbled back out, everyone had forgotten about me and were now whispering about Johnson.
Bree smirked and opened her mouth but I pushed past her before she could start.
I couldn't find Johnson anywhere and I got pulled out to the dance floor more than once in my attempts to catch a hold of him.
One very feisty gal trapped me between the table and her ass, thrusting and swaying no matter how much I pushed her away. Bree caught my eye and I could tell she was ready to explode. It was my turn to smirk.
I played along, pretending to enjoy myself. Bree finally stomped over and yanked me away from her, putting her hand behind my back, clinging to me so close we kinda looked like conjoined twins of sorts.
She then moved her head so her mouth was pressed against my ear. "I hate you." she said.
I laughed. "Ditto." I said, draping my arms on her shoulders and moving with her.
Boys and girls were watching me. Me. The boys looked like they wanted to be me and the girls wanted to be Bree. Life truly was a series of quirks.
No one would have ever wanted to be me before this day. And although I'd deny it if ever asked in person, being in the spotlight for something other than being the quietest guy in class was not half bad.
A chair clattered behind me and someone pushed me closer to Bree. She stayed there for a second, face pressed against my shoulder, arms locked around my neck. My arms tightened around her for a second before we both realized who we were and stepped back, turning towards the commotion.
My breath caught in my throat. Dana was standing over the same chick I had been dancing with before. Johnson was beside Dana, looking utterly confused.
"What the fuck-?" the girl squealed, wiping the blood from her cut lip. I rushed forward to Johnson.
"What happened?" I asked, taking in Dana's tense form. Johnson literally crumpled into me and I almost doubled over from shock. He'd never showed weakness like this. I looked at Bree who'd now appeared at Dana's side.
The other girls were talking in hushed tones and I kept asking what had happened, but no one would tell me.
"God damn it! What the hell happened?" I shouted eventually, hearing a choking cry from Johnson. Bree looked over at me and blinked, as if suddenly remembering I was still there. She took my hand and guided Johnson and me out of the room and out onto the porch. Dana was close behind.
"Lee, take him home." Bree said to me nervously and Dana nodded impassively.
Johnson was still looking lost and clueless as I dumped him on to a nearby chair.
"Johnson, what happened?" I asked, trying to be soothing.
"I-she-she wouldn't let go! And- she- she wanted to- and I got scared- 'Come
on stud' she said. I tried to push her off but I got dizzy and then she grabbed me and I-"
He suddenly broke down completely. I breathed out deeply.
Nothing had happened then. That was a relief. This probably wouldn't have scared him that much, he was simply too wasted right now. I now regretted the decision to bring him along to this melodramatic farce of a party. I'd forgotten that he was still one of the solitary jigsaw pieces, never before brought to be a part of the broader puzzle of life.
Bree now took a step towards us, and Dana looked at me silently.
"Is he okay?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned. I nodded, ignoring Dana's glance.
It now occurred to me then that it was this girl from grade school who had protected Johnson.
I chuckled suddenly, remembering the stark contrast between the girl from my past and this girl in my present. The timid girl was now a tiger of sorts, hmm?
"How you've changed..." I commented drily, to no one in particular.
"Umm...you alright?" Bree asked, giving me a concerned look as well.
"Never been better." I replied, giving her an extra happy grin. She gawked at me with wide eyes.
"We'll be leaving now. Sorry about earlier. I over-reacted badly."
"Umm..it's..okay?" she now looked at me suspiciously, her expression a mixture of confusion, smugness and mild bewilderment, as if she suspected a retort or witty parting shot of some sort.
When I failed her expectations, she grinned at me with her trademark cheekiness.
"Well, if you feel that bad about it, you can make it up to me by being my personal valet-"
"Don't push it ditz." I said, still smiling. Better not to let her hopes up in such matters.
"Later then." I dragged Johnson, who was now half-asleep, to his feet and on our way home.
As I passed Dana on the way, she opened her mouth to say something. Our faces aligned, and I saw the familiarity with which she was looking at me, and felt that unmistakable feeling that could only exist between two people who have known each other for a long, long time.
I almost froze. Almost. Then I simply passed her, unable to meet her gaze.
It couldn't be. Did she really remember me just now? Or was this another of Life's great farces?
It had inevitably opened up a whole new can of worms though. Intriguing.
Hmmmmm....worms.....
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