Misfits, page 3
If anyone else had given him charity money, he would have told them exactly where to stick it. But he’d been friends with Vent since they were just out of diapers. No one knew the real story of what went on in Mick’s family but Vent, and he was going to keep it that way.
Mick took the envelope and shoved it in his back pocket. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
Vent looked at his leg. “Yeah, you do.”
“Did you take that math test?”
“I cut right after. It was easy.”
“Easy for you. You’re a math egghead.”
“Hey, I saw the video store just got a copy of The Hills Have Eyes. I asked them to put it on hold for me for Saturday. Wanna come over and watch it?”
“That sounds cool.”
“Bring a bar of soap and some clothes while you’re at it,” Vent said.
“You saying I smell?” Mick puffed up his chest.
Vent took a loud sniff in his direction. “Yeah. You stink, bro. I’d stink too if I was living in a trailer without running water.”
“That’s still fucked up, man.”
“I want my mother to leave us alone, not bug me to get you to leave so we can air the place out.” Vent smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. Mick was self-conscious about his hygiene lately and would have felt hurt, then exceedingly angry, with most people. Vent had a point and he was only trying to help, which earned him a pass.
“Look what else I got.” Vent pulled a CD of the Stone Temple Pilots album, Core, out of his well-worn jacket pocket. The jacket had been a thrift store find, like most of his clothes, and looked like it had been worn by someone who had subsequently been blown up wearing said jacket. Then he waved a dime bag in Mick’s face.
“I knew it,” Mick said.
“So, you wanna get high and listen to STP?”
Who was Mick to say no?
Chapter Three
Heidi Jennings frowned at her image in the mirror. She’d cheaped out and gone for a store-bought dye kit, hoping to add some green highlights to her auburn hair. It came out more like a light blue. “Well, that was a disaster.”
Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’ warbled from her bedroom.
“I think it looks cool,” Marnie said. She sat on the sink counter painting her toenails black.
“Blue is so boring. I wanted the green to match my eyes.”
“If you want to match, why not go retro metal and go all black?”
Heidi twirled the blue lock of hair in her fingers. She wished she’d started on dreads a few months back when she swore to Marnie and everyone that she would get them. Her father had promised that if he saw dreads in her hair, she was out of the house, good luck living on your own. Now she looked like a Smurf fairy. She hoped it pissed him off royally.
“Metal? Been there, done that. Remember when we went to that Firehouse concert and you puked on the guy in front of us?”
Marnie blanched. “He deserved it. What was he, like forty? Why the hell was he even there?”
They laughed, remembering how Marnie had then tried to apologize and burped in his face, the foul smell of beer, burritos and cigarettes making the old man gag.
“Hey, I’m sure we’ll be rocking the fuck out in our forties, too,” Heidi said.
“Damn right we will, sister,” Marnie said, tapping Heidi with her leg.
“You think Dustin will be at Benny’s tonight?”
“It’s dollar beer night. He’ll be there.”
Heidi considered the rack of clothes she’d hung on the shower rod. Almost everything had been purchased from thrift stores. It was the polar opposite of glamorous, but Dustin, like most of the guys in their town, was totally into grunge. Her mother had loved to tell her that if she wanted to succeed in life, she had to dress for success. Well, success at this time in her life meant getting Dustin to not only notice her, but want to take her in his remodeled Charger and fool around. Needless to say, her wardrobe was a source of constant bickering with her mother, with her old-fashioned beliefs about how ladies should dress and present themselves. What the hell did she know about being a teen now?
“So, should I go with the blue?” she asked Marnie, who was wearing baggy jeans with holes in the knees and a white T-shirt with a rip on one shoulder.
Marnie flicked a glance at the blue and black flannel shirt that was two sizes too big for Heidi’s slight frame, and shook her head. Heidi wished she had Marnie’s chest, but she made up for any shortcomings with long legs that she knew made boys stop in their tracks when they were at the public pool. It would be a long time until her legs saw the light of day again, though. “No, that one.” She pointed the end of her nail polish brush at a yellow and black flannel. “It’ll make you stand out.”
Benny’s Tavern was dark and smoky. The owner was a cheap bastard. Heidi doubted he bought any light bulbs over forty watts. It was a haven for underage drinking without the need for fake IDs, quickies in the unisex bathroom and rock music from local bands who hated the place but loved the insane sound system that Heidi had heard had been stolen from a much nicer club in New Haven. It was easy to get lost in the sea of muted colors there. Yellow would definitely catch Dustin’s eye…and hopefully more.
She tugged the shirt off the hanger and slipped it on, leaving the top three buttons undone so the upper crest of her black bra could be seen. She adjusted her bra straps, plumping her small chest. “How’s this?”
Marnie fanned her hands so the polish could dry. “I’d do you.”
“You’d do anyone.”
“Not true. If you ever see me making out with Ralpie Viger, shoot me.”
Heidi went into her bedroom to find her good jeans, which would be most people’s bad jeans considering their beaten-down condition. “I won’t have to shoot you. The cooties will take care of everything.”
Marnie popped her head out of the bathroom, waggling her eyebrows. “Cooties? Really? Maybe you can teach me how to give myself a cootie shot.”
Heidi grabbed Marnie’s wrist and twirled her finger on the inside of her wrist. “Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you’ve got the cootie shot.”
“You’re such a dork.”
“I am. It’s part of what makes me adorable.” Heidi then felt the need to add, “Now, what if I caught you making out with Mick?”
She instantly worried she’d taken it too far. Marnie and Mick hung out a lot, especially lately. Of their group of friends, they were the most similar to one another, which used to be the reason behind their squabbles. Heidi suspected something was brewing between the two, but she didn’t want to bring it up. Marnie would only deny it.
“I’d probably puke,” Marnie curtly replied.
“Mmm-hmmm.”
“What? I would. He’s my friend, not someone I want to stick their tongue down my throat.”
“Gotcha,” Heidi said, grinning. Marnie started to smile and quickly turned away. She closed the bathroom door. “You think you can get your adorable ass downstairs and steal me a beer?” The sound of her pee hitting the water echoed in the tiny bathroom. Heidi turned up the music, which had shifted to Soundgarden, to block the noise.
Heidi went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and stared at the sea of green Heineken bottles on the bottom shelf. Her father loved his Heineken, more so now that he’d been out of work this past year. He and her mom were at the Post right now, probably drinking their stress away on the cheap. Vietnam vets and their wives could get totally blitzed at the Post for under ten bucks. He wouldn’t notice if she took one beer from the back.
She popped the top off, and, not wanting to leave any evidence behind, stepped into the yard and flicked the cap over the fence into their neighbor’s yard. Sipping from the cold bottle as she made her way back to the bedroom, she couldn’t stop thinking about Dustin. He’d changed dramatically over the summer, his muscles filling out, hair growing past his shoulders, mustache and goatee making him look five years older. She’d been obsessing over him since he came back from the summer break at his father’s place in Kentucky. That’s what she did with boys. She’d moon over them for weeks, if not months, until the next one entered her orbit. Of all her crushes, she’d only made it to first base with Bobby Trainer.
Other girls in school assumed she had screwed a ton of guys because of the way she looked and the people she hung out with. It didn’t bother her, most times. They didn’t need to know she was a virgin. It wasn’t as if she was waiting for the perfect guy. The opportunity had just never presented itself, which bludgeoned her ego way more than some preppie bitches calling her slut when she walked down the halls in school.
“Hey, don’t drink all of it,” Marnie said.
“I should chug it just to spite you,” Heidi said, smiling. “It’s all yours.”
“Can you hold it for me? I don’t want to mess up my nails.”
Heidi rolled her eyes, put the bottle to Marnie’s lips and tilted it back so she could draw from it. When Marnie waved her hands, she angled it down. Marnie burped, sending them into a fit of giggles. It took three more assists for Marnie to drink it all. Heidi jammed the empty in her purse so her father wouldn’t find it in the garbage. They locked up the house and jumped into Heidi’s dented but serviceable Cougar.
* * *
Benny’s was packed, which was not unusual for a Thursday night. Marnie scanned the room, seeing mostly familiar faces, some she’d rather forget, others she’d endeavor to avoid. That went especially for Joe McMurray, who bragged to everyone that he’d banged her when all she’d ever given him was a two-minute make-out session down by Strathmore Beach. Total asshole.
Heidi clutched her arm as they wove their way through the crowd, everyone drinking brightly colored, sugary-sweet booze from cheap plastic cups. Marnie looked for any signs of the stuck-up bitches from school. They mostly stayed away from Benny’s because it catered to what was considered a lower class of teens. Even though none were around and the music was ear-blasting, she could still hear their hurled insults of ‘double dyke’ and ‘the lezzie twins’ in her head. Marnie and Heidi had grappled with rumors that they were lesbians since last year. It made them oddly more attractive to the boys and pariahs to the girls (who had started the rumor to destroy them in the first place). To combat their nonsense, neither Heidi nor Marnie had said anything to dispel the notion, going so far as to hold hands every now and then when they walked the halls. If calling them lesbians was the worst those bitches could do, they were a sad gaggle of pukes. Sometimes Marnie wished they’d come to Benny’s and say something. This would be the perfect place to give one of them a hair ride without the threat of being suspended.
The floor was littered with sawdust to sop up the puke and spilled drinks. Marnie figured maybe seven out of the sixty people in the place were actually of legal drinking age.
She pushed her way to the bar. Lance was tending bar tonight. He had a face like a bloodhound and a sagging belly to match. He didn’t give a shit about anything and was always happy to reiterate that point to anyone who asked him to do something.
“The toilet is overflowing!”
“Ask someone who gives a shit.”
“Lance, there’s a fight outside and someone needs to call the cops.”
“Not my fucking problem.”
He didn’t say much, and when he spoke, it was usually a choice between either of those phrases.
Marnie caught his rheumy eye. “Two Woo-Woos.”
He turned away as if he hadn’t heard her. She was about to yell to get his attention again when she saw him amble over to the well and extract the makings for a Woo-Woo.
“You see Dustin?” she shouted at Heidi to be heard over the music. Screaming Trees blared from the suspended speakers affixed to every corner of the room.
Heidi chewed her pinky nail and looked around, going on tiptoe to see over everyone’s heads.
“I don’t think he’s here, unless he’s in the bathroom.”
Lance pushed the half-filled cups to Marnie and she slid a ten-dollar bill his way. He looked through her, plucking the bill with his thumb and forefinger and opening the register.
“He’ll be here,” Marnie said, handing Heidi her drink. They sipped at the same time. The Woo-Woo was sweeter than candy but had enough alcohol to pack a punch. Neither of them had much money to spend tonight, so they would have to nurse their drinks. She pocketed the change Lance had dropped on the bar, leaving a dollar for his efforts.
Heidi tugged at her sleeve. “Look over there.”
Marnie followed her friend’s head nod. “What the heck is he doing here?”
“Weird, right?”
“You think he’s stalking you for Chad?”
“Stop. You’re gonna freak me out.”
Marnie had broken up with Chad Dunwoody a few months back after an ill-conceived and short-lived run as a kinda couple. Chad was broke as a joke, didn’t have a driver’s license, had dropped out sophomore year and used her like his personal piggy bank. He was also an abusive alcoholic in the making who slapped her one night during a drunken rage. That had done it. Marnie told him to take a hike and promised she would have Mick cut his balls off if he ever so much as looked at her again. He’d steered clear of her since then. She heard he had conned a girl from another town to be his newest enabler. Marnie wished she knew the girl so she could warn her to get the hell out now.
Chad’s father, Harold Dunwoody, sat by a raised bar top on the other side of the room. He was drinking alone, a pitcher of beer and a sweaty mug before him. Everyone else in Benny’s was in full grunge mode, whereas Harold was wearing a suit, the jacket slung over the back of his chair, his collar open and tie pulled down to half-mast. There were plenty of older-guy bars in town. Why was he even here?
“You should go say hi to him,” Heidi said playfully.
“Yeah, right. I should kick him in the nuts for raising such a piece of garbage son.”
Heidi pulled Marnie down so they were hidden by the people crowding the bar. “I think he saw us.” She couldn’t stop laughing.
“Oh god, the last thing I need is him asking me why Chad and I aren’t dating anymore.”
Marnie had only seen Harold a few times when she’d been by Chad’s house, a two-bedroom ranch over on Vladmere Street. Harold had always been nice enough to say hi and just move on with whatever he was doing instead of leering at her like other fathers. He seemed like the quiet, sensitive type, the kind of dad who would ask his son’s ex what went wrong.
“I’m going out for a smoke,” Marnie said.
Heidi was looking over her shoulder and her eyes lit up. Marnie didn’t have to turn around to know that Dustin had just walked into the bar.
“I’ll come with you,” Heidi said, not taking her eyes off Dustin.
“No you don’t. You’re going to do whatever you can to get his attention when he comes here for a drink.”
“Stay with me.”
Marnie grinned. “There are some things you need to do alone. Getting the guy is top of the list.”
“You don’t want to be my wingman?”
“Guys need wingmen. We just need to be our dead-sexy selves.” She saw Dustin heading their way. She gave Heidi a quick peck on the cheek. “Good luck. I’ll be back in a few.” Heidi tried to stop her, but Marnie was too quick, slipping between two beefy guys wearing brown leather jackets. A bit of her Woo-Woo sloshed onto her wrist.
As she passed by Dustin, she intentionally bumped hips. “Hey, Dustin.”
“Oh, hey. What’s up?”
“A lot if you go buy Heidi a drink.”
He looked over her shoulder. “I think she ditched you.”
Marnie rolled her eyes. “No, she’s at the bar. Now, go be a big boy.”
He fingered his long hair, his eyes latching onto Heidi’s bright yellow shirt. “You think she’d be cool with that?”
“You have to try it to find out.”
The little bit of mystery was enough to send him Heidi’s way. Marnie watched him roll up beside her, Heidi taking some visible deep breaths and doing her version of playing it cool.
“Nobody beats this wing chick,” Marnie said to herself before heading outside. She caught the attention of a few guys she knew but kept her head down. She wasn’t in the mood to be pawed at tonight.
The cooler, fresh air felt like a slice of heaven. The only way to make it better was by filling it with smoke from her freshly lit Newport. She took a long and hard first drag, savoring the slight burn in her throat and lungs. Marnie leaned against the wall, one foot raised and flat against it. She stared at the flickering streetlight across the way.
I wonder if I can get hypnotized if I just keep looking at it.
Regardless, it was oddly relaxing. The past week had been stressful at home, what with her mother losing her job and her stepfather about to run out of unemployment checks. She fell asleep each night listening to them argue about how they were going to pay the bills. Bickering was a way of life for them, but this time around they had sounded not just angry, but desperate. She didn’t have the heart to tell them she’d lost her job as a cashier at Caldor. Not that her crappy paycheck paid the bills, but she just knew they’d blow their stack, especially if they found out she’d been canned for being late.
School sucked even harder than home. All she wanted to do was graduate next year and get the hell out. She’d need to find some other low-paying job between now and then so she had enough cash to leave Milbury behind for good.
She flicked the butt of her Newport into the street, just missing a guy and girl she’d never seen before. It was too early to check on Heidi. She wanted to give them time to talk. Plenty of time for another cigarette.
“Need a light?”
“Oh, hey, Mr. Dunwoody. Sure.”
He lit her cigarette with a dime store Bic. Up close, he looked tired and smelled like he’d been swimming in a vat of beer. Harold Dunwoody lit his own cigarette and craned his head back to look at the half moon.
