Falls Street (11) “Why don’t we ask Renee to get us some beer?” I suggested. “No way,” Ray said. “They don’t drink swill up there. We need to bring a bottle of wine or some real good nachos or something.” “We should go to the grocery store,” I said. “But not the one in town. We can’t be seen buying stuff for the party. We need to make it look like we just have the stuff on hand all the time.” We were actually doing this. We were planning. “Right,” Ray said. “What about Tommy, though? How are we going to play it if he shows up?” “I guess we could leave,” I said. “Do you want me to score him a freebie?” Crash said. “I’d do that for you.” “No, thanks,” I said. “I don’t think you can mellow out this guy.” “Well, we’re not leaving,” Ray said. “I’ll leave,” I said. “No,” Ray said. “I told you, we’re not leaving.” “Okay,” I said. “Let’s just beat the shit out of him with a lead pipe,” Crash said. “It’ll be fun. We’ll bring wine, roses, nachos, and a lead pipe. And we’ll eat, drink, fight, and fuck. It’ll be great.” “We’re going to get separated in there,” Ray said. “It’s a big place, and probably a lot of people are going to be there.” “Do worry,” Crash said. “I’ll be right behind you guys. I wouldn’t miss the chance to see Jason in a real fight. I just hope he leaves me a piece of the action.” “All right,” Ray said. “Let’s not get too excited about fighting. There’s too much at stake.” “I just want to fall out a window,” Crash said. “That’s all I want to do. If I fall out a window in a fight one day, I’ll be happy. I’ll never have to fight again.” “Please don’t do that tomorrow, Crash,” I said. “We won’t be invited back.” “Crash?” He said. “Nobody calls me that anymore, you know?” “Yeah, most people just call him dick face,” Ray said. When they left, I set out some nice clothes. Ray said he’d go to the store, and we were going to meet Renee before the party to pick up a six-pack of good expensive beer. I told her six times over that Labatts is not good expensive beer. I told her that it didn’t matter what it was, it just had to sound cool and be exotic, I guess. I got caught up in the planning. I cleaned and clipped my nails. I showered and shaved up real good. That night I slept just fine, though. I wasn’t nervous at all, not about Tommy or Sarah, nothing was really on my mind. The alarm went off early in the morning, and I got my things together in a bag for the ride down to Green St. We were all supposed to meet there and then move back to Ray’s place as a base of operations. Normally, the cloak and dagger shit would just feel stupid to me, but nothing was really normal anymore. All I knew was that the strange shit that had happened had us somehow working together again. We were all on the same strange page, all anticipating something, all excited for each other like friends are supposed to be. And I thought about Starky’s not being there, and it didn’t make me uneasy at all. It felt kind of right, like this was the last hoorah for all we were together. We’d be as good as we had ever been, and if one of us got anywhere near getting laid, that would be a product of the night’s work. It would be the end of a mission, and Starky would be tagging along in the back of our minds the whole way. The thought of him wouldn’t really impact anything, but it was there all the same. I was never quite sure I wanted to remember him specifically for anything he had ever done or said, but he was there in my head, just showing up without an invitation. I didn’t complain. I didn’t feel any reason to say anything about it to anyone. *** Chapter 8 – Fun “Ice Tea flavored beer, Renee?” Ray asked. “What’s this shit?” It was light brown. It looked like someone bottled it from a mud puddle. “It was the cheapest expensive looking thing in the grocery store,” she said. “Jesus Christ,” Ray said. “What the hell do I care,” she said. “I’m not going to this stupid party.” “What’s the matter?” Crash asked. “We could get you in the door.” “I don’t want to hang around a bunch of underage losers who do nothing but smoke pot and act like dicks to each other,” she said. “I don’t know why you’re so excited. These guys never give anybody the time of day during school. Now, you’re acting like it’s a fucking Holiday.” “Yeah, well, we’ll see,” Ray said. “Oh my God,” she said. I really like the way she says that. Sort of like she can’t believe that the whole world, not just the person she’s talking to, can be that fucking stupid. “You guys aren’t thinking you’re actually going to get some at this party are you?” “You never know,” Ray said. “What’s in the bag?” she asked me. “It’s clothes,” I said. “You’re bringing a change of clothes?” she asked. Then, she laughed. When she laughs you can see a big set of white teeth on the top. When her lower lip curls in, her bottom teeth kind of disappear. She wears hot pink lipstick and blue-green eye shadow a lot. She’s dyed her hair more times than I can remember. “It’s a couple sets,” I said. “I was wondering if you’d help me out a little.” “Oooh,” she said. “You’ve come to right place after all, kiddo. Step into my office, and I’ll fix you up good. Normally I wouldn’t do this, but I just love dressing up other people.” “Christ Jason,” Crash said. “Do you realize whose hands you’re putting yourself in? Renee dresses like some kind cross between Prince and that Elvira chick with the boobs, only fatter.” She rolled her eyes back. Then, she hit him. “Ow, mother fucker,” she said. “If you make me break one of these nails. I’ll take everyone of those bottles of beer and shove ‘em straight up your ass.” “It wouldn’t be that bad,” Ray said. “At least you get five cents on the deposit every time you drop a load.” “All right,” Crash said. “Do you want to stay here with the Mistress of the Dark while she fucks with Jason’s hair or do you want to go to pick up some shit with me.” “I don’t know,” Ray said. “I don’t want that shit in my car.” “Well, it’s got to get to the party somehow,” he said. “All right,” Ray said. “But no smoking in the car.” “No problem,” Crash said. “I’ll be a good little boy scout.” And so they left, and I stayed at Renee’s house. She said she had always wanted to go to beauty school. She took some classes about cutting and styling hair, and I figured it would take my mind off the party to just let her do her thing. She didn’t shut up the whole time. And she was moving all over her room. That’s kind of a hard thing to do in there, since it’s just a large bed with audio tapes and video tapes spread in the remaining three feet of room surrounding her bed on three sides. On one wall, she had a large mirror. Below that was the countertop littered with curlers and pins and sprays and jells. She tore the drawers apart looking for more stuff, and she tossed picks and barrettes and bows of all kinds everywhere. It looked like a boutique exploded. “All right,” she said. “I know just what to do with you… wait, no, I have a better idea. Darn it, can’t there be more than one of you here? I’d love to do this to Ray, he has such nice hair if he’d take care of it.” She made me hang over the sink while she shampooed my head. She has these thick, short fingers. It actually felt really good, until the soap got in my eyes. “Quit whining,” she said. “You baby. My six year old niece doesn’t put up that much of a fuss.” “Why couldn’t I wash my hair myself?” I asked. “Yeah, right. With the dandruff you have?” she said. “I don’t think I trust you to rinse your own hair out all the way.” And then, she made me sit on this wooden stool she brought in from the kitchen while she rubbed her hands through my hair. “Oh dude,” she said. “I could totally make you look like Billy Idol.” “No,” I said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Oh, come on,” she said. “One of these days you have to come over, and we’ll make you look like Billy Idol.” “Okay,” I said. “But, not today. I just want to look normal.” “Uhg,” she said. “Normal. You people are so damn boring.”
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