Chapter Three

Very vulgar. If vulgarity offends you, upsets you, or makes you vomit puppies, this chapter is not for you. But this chapter is also funny and emotional too!!

            I look for Paavo after school ends. He isn't anywhere. I check the car and the front doors but he is nowhere to be found. How does he just disappear like this? The one time I actually want to see him, he hides. Awesome.

            "Where is that prat?" Rory puts his hand over his eyes as he looks around the parking lot.

            "Where the hell is he?" I glare at the front doors of the school. People walk out of them continuously but not a single one of them is Paavo.

            Mike and Jett start dancing around me and Rory joins in. They look like they are doing some strange Native American tribal dance. I try to ignore their presence, but they start yodeling. I feel weird with them dancing around. Not because they are drawing attention to themselves, but because I feel left out.

            "Let me join!" I try to jump into the circle but Mike picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I flail my arms around and end up punching Jett in the nose. He falls and Rory trips over him and smashes his head into my mouth. I jump, knocking Mike off balance and we all end up on the ground in pain.

            The taste of blood fills my mouth. I sigh heavily and look at the guys. Jett's nose is bleeding, Rory scraped his arm, and Mike's hand is cut up. "Oopsies..." I sit up and take my jacket off before I stain it.

            "You twat," Rory looks at his arm. "I'm injured! I might bleed out now!" He scoots over to Jett. "Am I going to die? I don't want to die!" He collapses on the ground and starts whimpering. We all stare at him wondering what the f**k his problem is.

            "Shut up, dumbass, my nose is bleeding." Jett laughs and kicks Rory in the side. Rory yelps and rolls away and into my legs.

            He looks up at me and grins. "Oh, weirdo girl from Finland, heal my wounds and grant me good luck with your magical Finnish powers of doomliness!"

            "What the f**k, man? Go away. I don't know you." I kick him towards Mike, who takes a few steps away.

            "No one loves me. My life really sucks." Rory stares at the sky. "I'm depressed now. Can I have a hug?"

            "No." Everyone answers.

            "D****t! I'm so unloved." Rory starts fake crying.

            Paavo walks up and just stares at us. I look up at him like a child trying to play innocent after trashing a house. Mike and Jett look at him in the same way and Rory squirms across the sidewalks and lies at Paavo's feet.

            "Pellervo, who are these guys and what are they doing?" Paavo looks extremely annoyed with me.

            "They are my new friends and they are recovering from getting the s**t kicked out of them." I grin.

            "Great. You make friends with a bunch of weirdos." Paavo sighs.

            "Well, I'm going to hang out with these weirdos." I wave. "Bye-bye."

 

            Paavo rolls his eyes and walks away. I assume this means I can go with Mike, Jett, and Rory. I am about to stand up, but Rory picks me up and throws me onto his back. I cling onto his shirt for dear life, praying he doesn't drop me. I don't want to fall six feet and smash my face into concrete. I've done that before (crowd surfing) and it isn't exactly fun.

            I try to twist my body to see where they are taking me, but the more I move the more it feels like I'm going to fall. Suddenly, Rory throws me into the back of a car. Mike and Jett jump in with me and Rory climbs to the front to drive. Before I can recover and sit properly he is already speeding away. Rory takes a turn to fast and I topple to the floor, landing in a pile of garbage.

            Mike pulls me off the ground and sits me up on a seat. He points at my shirt and starts laughing. I look down, wondering what's so funny. Blood and rotten Taco Bell stain my shirt.

            "Hitto." I sigh. "This is just my luck. I really liked this shirt too."

            "Don't worry, when we get to my place my mom can clean it for you!" Mike looks closer at the stains on my shirt. "She makes this weird solution and stains come right out."

            "That would be awesome." I laugh once, hoping it's true. This Radiohead shirt is old as hell and I wouldn't want it to get ruined.

            We sit in silence for the rest of the car ride. It's awkward and creepy. I try to find something to look at to occupy my time, but there isn't anything but garbage in the van. So I stare out a window the whole way. It's boring as hell, but it stops me from having to make a failure of a conversation.

            After around twenty minutes of awful silence, I look out the window and see that we have stopped. Before I can even think to take off my seatbelt and get out, I'm being pulled out and thrown over someone's shoulder again. Are these fuckwits going to carry me everywhere? If they are, I'm going to f**k some people up.

            Mike kicks the door and a woman answers. "What the hell?" She shouts. This woman looks like a crazy hippie. She's got bleached dreads, a long skirt, and a t-shirt with a vegan slogan on it. I look at Mike and Jett and wonder how this woman even relates to them.

            "Sorry Mom." Mike smiles, obviously not sorry at all.

            "Can you get some stains out of Pellervo's shirt?" Mike points to me.

            Their mom gives me a strange look. Well, actually she gives my a*s a strange look because that's all of me that she can see, but she is still looking at me nonetheless. "I can get any stain out, you two know this." She laughs a kind and gentle laugh. I bite my lip, trying not to cry while forcing down memories. She sounds just like Aiti.

            Rory set me down before walking into the house. I follow the three of them in. Before I get three feet Mike and Jett's mom is pulling my shirt over my head. I try to fight, screaming and yelling as loud as I can. She kicks the door shut as she gets my shirt off.

            "What the f**k?!" I shout and try to cover myself with my arms.

            "I can't get the stains out if you are wearing the shirt! And I am sure that those three have seen a shirtless girl before. They won't be ogling you." She laughs and leaves with my shirt.

            "That crazy b***h..." I mutter and glance over my shoulder at the guys.

            Rory walks to me while unbuttoning his shirt. I start to run away, wondering what the hell he is doing, but I can't go very far because I get to a closed door and manners tell me not to open doors when you are a guest.

            "Don't worry," Rory laughs. "I'm just giving you my shirt so you don't run around half naked." He holds the old flannel out to me.

            "Oh... Thank you!" I scramble to put it on and button it up. The bottom of it goes halfway to my knees and there is about six inches of excess sleeve. I hold up my arms and flail the ends of the sleeves around, giggling like a dumbass.

            "I'm glad you like my shirt..." Rory rubs the back of his neck and watches me like I'm a mental patient.

            I stop and look up at him, realizing how stupid I must look. Rory chuckles and reaches into the pocket of my shirt. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "I can't let you go running off with these." He pulls a cigarette out and puts it in his lips.

            I remember how long it has been since I have had a smoke. Three months, I think. Would it be rude to ask him for one? I don't care. "Got one to spare?"

            "Sure, mate." Rory holds the pack out to me. I pull one out and place it in my lips. He lights mine then his. We stand there for a few seconds.

            "Take that s**t outside; you know my mom's rules!"  Jett shouts at us.

            "Piss off!" Rory calls back, laughing. "Let's go outside before Danika gets mad."

            Both of us go out and sit on the front step. For a little while we just remain silent, but eventually Rory speaks. "Why did you move here?" The sudden noise startles me, but I quickly recover.

            "I was living in England with my Grandmother, but she died several months ago and left Paavo and I a house near here. So we packed up and moved with the money she left." I shrug.

            "That's pretty normal. But why did you live in England? You are obviously Finnish, and lived in Finland most of your life. So what happened?" Rory looks at me.

            "That's a tough one." I laugh once, hoping to make myself feel less tense. "It's not something I have really talked about..." I take a drag from my cigarette and Rory gets the hint.

            "I'm sorry for asking." He looks at his shoes.

            "No, it's fine. It isn't like you knew." I pat his shoulder.

            He nods before asking another question. "Why do you and Paavo live without parents?"

            "The same reason we left Finland." I answer.

            "Are your parents dead?" He looks at me, hoping it isn't a bad thing to ask.

            I just nod. There isn't anything to say. I take one last drag and throw the cigarette on the ground before covering my face with my hands. I don't want Rory to see me cry. He shouldn't have to feel bad because I'm emotionally unstable. I wish I could be as emotionless as Paavo so I wouldn't have to hide tears.

            Arms wrap around me and pull me into a hug. It seems creepy at first, but I don't care after a few seconds. A hug is all I have really needed lately. Paavo doesn't show any emotion, so I can't go to him. All I want is someone to understand that I still miss Aiti and Isa after all these years, but all Paavo does is tell me to grow up. I don't want to grow up if that means forgetting about my vanhempi.

            But I don't get why Rory would hug me. We barely know each other. I hardly know any of the guys, yet they immediately accepted me. It already feels like I have been in this little town for years. It makes no sense to me, but I'm glad that they took me in. If they hadn't I would be sitting on my bed crying all alone while Paavo does something productive with his time like the good little child he is.

            I despise Paavo sometimes. He has always been better than me. Aiti and Isa always rewarded him for his good grades and forgot about me. I started acting up to try to find some attention. While he was out studying at the library I was skating with friends. When I turned fourteen, alcohol and cigarettes started coming in and I began staying out all night partying. Aiti and Isa would get so angry at me and refuse to talk to me. Then they died and I had to go live with Grandma. It tore me apart that they died after not speaking to me for a whole week. I never got to say goodbye. I would give anything to be able to say goodbye to them, to be able to apologize for everything I did, and let them know that I won't f**k my life up any more. I want Aiti and Isa to know that I want to be successful in life and I would make them proud if they were still here.

            But I will never be able to tell them anything. And they died thinking I was a f**k up of a child.

            I cry for a little longer. When I stop I don't move. Something in my mind doesn't want me to end the hug and yells at me for even considering it. "Rory thanks." I mutter into his arm.

            "It's nothing. I know what it's like to be sad and I know that sometimes a simple hug can make a huge difference." He speaks quietly. "Just don't tell Mike and Jett, they will give me s**t forever."

            I laugh softly. "I won't."

            "Well, we should get inside before they start Mario without us." Rory loosens his arms.

            "Alright, let's go." I stand up. Rory kicks the butts into the bushes and stands also.

            Rory opens the door for me and we go inside. It smells like clean laundry and good food inside. The sound of The Cure fills the house along with laughter and voices. I hesitate to go in. I don't want my bad mood to intrude on their happiness. But Rory's hand pushes me forward and he mutters something that I don't really catch.

            Jett, Mike, and their mom look over at us from the floor. Mike is wrapped up in an old, baby blue, crocheted blanket; Jett is lying on his stomach; and their mom is leaning against the wall working on a hemp bracelet. They all fall silent when we enter. I feel awful for ruining their conversation.

            Their mom stands and walks too me. "Pellervo, right?" She holds out her hand. "I'm Danika."

            "Nice to meet you." I smile and shake her hand.

            "Your shirt is in the wash right now, so you shouldn't have to wear Rory's dingy clothes for too long." Danika laughs and for a moment I see Aiti's face in my mind.

            Black, shiny hair, like a raven. That's why she was called Korppi. Her lips were a soft pink. Her eyes chocolate brown and full of wisdom and kindness. She was tall for a woman. And she always wore knee length dresses that were simple yet beautiful. I was always told that I was a mirror image of my aiti, that's why I was called Pikkukorppi.

            "Thank you Danika." I smile kindly, realizing that I was staring blankly for a moment or two.

            "It's no problem. I'm always cleaning up after the twins anyway. They can be such slobs." Danika teases Mike and Jett.

            "Hey!" They yell in unison.

            "Did you guys start Mario without us?" Rory asks over my head.

            "Nope, we were waiting for you lazy asses!" Mike yells at us.

            "Sorry, I can't help having better things to do than waste my time talking to fuckwits like you." I pinch Mike as I walk by to sit on the couch. Rory sits next to me and puts his feet up on Jett's shoulders.

            "That is disgusting." Jett frowns. "Why can't you use the ottoman that is right over there?"

            "I'm to God damn lazy to go get it." Rory says.

            "I'll get it for you if it means you will get your nasty feet away from me." Jett gets up and Rory grins triumphantly.

            Mike hands me an NES controller. "You have played Mario before, right?"

            "Duh." I roll my eyes. "You would have to be an idiot to have never played a single NES game."

            "Well, geeze!" Mike sneers. "But anyway, since you are new you get to go first."

            "I hope none of you want to play anytime soon, because I am quite the badass when it comes to Mario." I tease them as I start the first level.

            I completely zone out and ignore all of their talking. I wonder if I have a ridiculous concentration face as I play through the level. A few people have told me that when I play games I stick my tongue out and furrow my eyebrows and it looks a little funny. Hopefully I'm not doing that now.

            The little Mario jumps for the flag and the level ends. I pass the remote to Jett and sit back and watch until it is my turn again. Every time someone dies or finishes a level it goes to the next person. We go on like this all night. Some conversations start, but they usually get interrupted by a switch in turns and a loss of focus.

            My phone rings and I step out for a bit. It's Paavo and he is probably calling to yell at me. "Hello?" I answer.

            "Where the hell are you?" Paavo is furious.

            "I'm with Mike, Jett, Danika, and Rory. You told me I could go with them." I pinch the bridge of my nose.

            "But it is one in the morning!" Paavo shouts.

            "It's Friday, I don't have anywhere to go tomorrow." I explain. "And I would say I will be home right away but I don't think Rory wants to drive right now. He is in the middle of playing Mario."
            "Whatever. You are such an idiot. All you do is stay out all night and party instead of actually caring. That's why Aiti, Isa, and Grandma barely talked to you." Paavo hangs up before I can scream at him.

            "Tama on perseesta! Se jatka on ihan perseesta! Vitun vitun vitun vittu! Vittujen kevat!" I start cussing as much as I can to cancel out the pain of Paavo reminding me once again that my vanhempi hated me. "Vit­tu­jen kevät ja kyr­pien taka­talvi! Vittumainen jatka!"

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rory walks up right as I'm about to throw my phone onto the stone floor and takes it away from me. "Is everything okay? I have no idea what any of that means but you sound pissed."

            "Weren't you playing Mario?" I ask pretending that I wasn't just swearing a ton.

            "I died." Rory chuckles. "But tell me, what is wrong?"

            "Nothing. It's just that Paavo is a vittupaa." I sigh. "He just sucks. In Finnish he tama on perseesta." I laugh.

            "Tama on perseesta?" Rory tries to say it. "What does that mean?"

            "It literally means something emerges from the a*s. If something sucks you say tama on perseesta or if someone sucks you say se jatka on ihan perseesta." I explain it to him.

            "Finnish people seem to have interesting swearing. What about vittupaa, what does that one mean?" Rory pronounces that one perfectly which makes me laugh a little.

            "Vittupaa means c**t head." I laugh at the startled face Rory makes. "A lot of Finnish swearing is based off the word c**t and many other variants all meaning female genitalia!"

            "That's really weird. You are definitely going to have to teach me some of them."

            "I might, it depends."

            "On what?"

            "If you go and get me a coffee." I grin.

            "But there isn't any here." Rory looks confused.

            "I know. So get your a*s in the van and drive me to a gas station!" I push him out the door.

            "But you are wearing my shirt! No shirt, no shoes, no service!" He yells.

            "Would you rather I go shirtless?" I realize right after I say it that it is going to end badly.

            "Well... actually...." Rory looks at me with a small smirk.

            "Haista vittu!" I slap him.

            "Sorry." He laughs.

            "Ime munaa, runkkari." I roll my eyes and laugh as I climb into the van.

Aiti=Mom Isa=Dad Vanhempi=parents Korppi=Raven Pikkukorppi=Little Raven Tama on perseesta=From the a*s (this sucks) Se jatka on ihan perseesta=he is from the a*s (he sucks) vitun vitun vitun vittu= f*****g f*****g f*****g f**k Vittujen kevat ja kyrpien takatalvi=The spring of C**ts and a cold spell of c***s (oh f*****g s**t!) vittupaa=c**t head vittumainen jatka=vagina-like guy (I have no idea how that would relate, but Pellervo was pissed)

Author's Note

The Finnish translations are never ending, so they are the end of the chapter. Sorry about all the unnecessary (but very necessary if you are me) cussing. I just enjoy being creative with my characters' swearing.

Reviews

[GrandDystopia]

Swearing is fun, but only if you know how to do it without it grating, way back you told me that i use the word "f**k" like a pro, heh. And i must say that you have become a pro yourself, likeing the rewrite, keep em coming