11

You stopped in the driveway of your home, the remainder of the group playing catch up on the streets, Boo was nodding off, your other passenger still sound asleep in the trunk space. You sat with the engine off gathering yourself.

“Wake up, Boo, we’re home,” you shook your sister. “Did I fall asleep with my eyes open?” Boo
“I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Oh,” She yawned, stretching her arms, her double‐jointed elbows bending the wrong way and crackling. She looked at you sleepily, “I’m gonna go take a nap. Come by the room later.”

“K,” She stumbled out of the car across the grass and into the house. You opened your door, the smooth white undercoat of one of the B’s lay outside the door, tongue hanging from the side of his mouth. You looked down on the sight, he didn’t budge, you looked around for the rest of the pack for an ambush before stepping out of the car. You stood over the hyper white hound, this was a new trick. “What do you want dog? You know better than to solicit me for tummies.” He rolled over lazily onto his side before standing in front of you stretching, you walked around to the back of the car with him pacing at your heels. You ignored the white elephant, popping open the trunk to wake your sleeping beauty. You tugged at her ankle, she moaned and rolled in her place.

“Just don’t cum inside me okay? I was having a good dream.” Emmy

“We’re home Emmy,” you pulled at her heel again. She cracked an eyelid.

“Oh, haha, hi beautiful.” She sat up, a tinge of embarrassment across her face; she tossed her hair, slid forward and placed her feet on the ground. “I guess I can always get back to the ponderosa whenever. You know Stewart is supposed to preview some project tonight, I’m pretty sure its you, and the other girl, Ren. I want to host an intervention, call it your coming out party; you’re a debutant after all. F**k, this house is amazing.” She stumbled putting foot in front of foot, the dog sniffed around her heels, tail wagging and tongue, the other two appearing behind in a far corner of the yard, the scout trotted off to report the intruder. Jane, Kaite, and Ren arrived speakers vibrating the windows on Kaite’s convertible. The car turned off, and the three of them exited.

“Is this the actress,” Ren

“I’m actually a comedian, check it, woka woka.” Emmy

“And a f*****g ninja.”

“And she does hair on the side.” Kaite

“Yes, I style pubic hair on the weekends, it’s more of a hobby really than an actual practice, but what can I say I love what I do.”

“Let’s see something.” Jane

“What, do you want me to whip my dick out?” She pulled her swimsuit bottom to the side revealing an artfully rendition of a tiny moustache. “If you wanna get down, we can boogie.” She back flipped landing on one long leg, then stretching her off one high before slamming it down.

“I’ve seen you before?” Kaite took off her glasses and studied the figure in front of her. “You're the lead in Grim Stroke 2, that was such a great movie. Can you golf too, or was that just acting?”

“Actually its funny you mention that, I was the stunt double, but yeah, I actually haven’t done any features, but I do a lot of stuntin. I did some commercials in Chad, I’ve done some print work, I got scouted for this Fry film, but I don’t think I’m gonna take the role, too hokey, I’m saying who wants to play a princess turned mummy, or mummy princess, or whatever the f**k hackneyed bullshit that limp dick jackass is making up. I’m still drunk, Barty why’d you make me drink so munch”

“And the nominee’s for little miss train wreck are.” Jenny Kryss pranced into your sight sipping from a martini glass. She stopped next to Jane and shifted her weight, an off arm curling over her waist.

“No one likes her.”

“I like her plenty, where’s my crown?” Emmy

“And you are?” Jenny

“Can you just be accommodating for once!? I’ve got friends, they’re visiting, you got a compliment.” You. Jenny tuned and pounded off back inside of the house, Emmy followed for crowd control.

“Just another day at the office.” Ren.

The set followed you to your room, the ever‐present pups sat watching you into disappearance. Oreo lay in a heap curled into himself in a valley of the lawn black fur shimmering in the fading sunlight, you whistled and he perked an ear. You opened your doors, into you room and were almost knocked over by the bounds of your friends into your bed, Oreo plodding in as you stood shaking your head at the scene.

“I can’t even lay down for like five minutes this is ridiculous.”

“Well maybe you should get a bigger bed, you know they’re having a sale on cal kings at Good Sleeps.” Jane

“Why do you know that?”

“I clip coupons.” Jane

“No, I mean, never mind. Are we gonna go to this thing at the Fry’s tonight. I mean I could just as well sleep, homicide takes a lot out of a lady.”

“Wait, what thing at the Fry’s.” Kaite.

“Oh yeah, so there’s a video, of course, I don’t know whats on it but apparently there’s a screening tonight at La Maison Fuckoff according to Emmy.”

“What’s on the video?” Jane

“Why do I even talk?” You lay out on the couch and ran your fingers through your dog’s coat.

“We’re on the video.” Ren “We’re on the video.”

“Yeah, we’re going,” Ren, “We’re gonna burn down the f*****g house if it comes down to it, but I’m not going to, goddamnit, son of a motherfucking, f****t, cooze, cocksucker!”

“Ditto,” Kaite. “What’s the theme?”

“I don’t know yet, and we’re not burning anything down either you pyro.” Ren threw a pillow at you and you caught it out of the air. “Its not going to show, he’ll keep people there till the very end of the night before they play the clips. I wonder if the little piggy knows his brothers are dead?”

“Probably, but does he know we you did it, probably not, there were so many people out there, turn on the news, there has to be some coverage by now.” Jane.

“Good answer, Doe.” You gave a golf clap, “The remote is over there somewhere.” Your busted ankles elevated over the armrest, you let your hands sit on your forehead, the deep ache of torqued tendons dull against your bones. You closed your eyes and tuned out the coverage roaring from the television, hearing the description of burn victims and the list of missing and confirmed dead wasn’t on your radar right now. You wanted to sleep even if it was only for five minutes. The words meshed together into a solid note as you pulled yourself down into slumber. They would wake you when Emmy came in. Light flickered through your lids into the darkness, the flashes forging your subconscious into images rippling out of one another. You wanted to swim, you sank to the depths of the ocean, fish eyes bubbled their lenses, their bodies going belly up, back stroking to vanishing point. You landed on the sea floor. You groped the sediment with your toes tossing clouds into the current. A carcass lay on the bottom, human but so many sizes too big. You ran your hands along the grooves in the bottom of his foot scattering the schools sticking close to it for shelter. The giant stirred from his slumber. You propelled yourself backwards out of his path. The massive foot retracted past your vision, a rush of sea life and soot replacing it. A bass drum beat knocking you from your footing, you swam upwards, the vibrations from the unseen behemoth on the verge of concussion, and in the blackness you looked up catching the glowing pale light of those abyssal creatures looking back at you.

“Barty, wake up.”

“What.”

“It’s a matador theme.” Emmy

“Au lait.” Jane

“Nothin but steers and queers.” Ren

“Can’t milk a bull by the horns.” Kaite

“Bullshit.” Emmy, “I can make that mothersucker sing soprano.” “M**********r!” Kaite

“Ole.” Jane. Ren turned on the stereo; rhythm guitar building behind you then drums crashing in. This old groove hitting hard into electric guitar rift, the Emmy and Kaite dancing around hair wiping into each other’s faces, Ren and Jane rummaging through your wardrobe. Your costume already laid out across your bed, the black matador costume with gold trim you picked up from Spain via Japan. You shook off the sleep, the tender feelings through your foot subsided over the rest; you joined in the dance cha‐chaing into the step off. Emmy flung herself across your costume rolling over the bedspread.

“Is this an Onda Gotan?! Om, I’m stealing your clothes tonight, can we date?” Emmy lay prone with chin propped on her folded hands. You frog splashed into the bed next to her sending Emmy bouncing up and down.

“Emmy, you’ve got it, you’re my date tonight,” You rolled over onto her back mounting her. You pulled your jacket from underneath the two of you, “I’ve got to tell you though, I’m pretty high maintenance, my last boyfriend killed himself, so you’ve got that to compete with.”

“Whoa, those are pretty big shoes to fill. What was the ark like?” She rolled onto her back underneath you, belly to belly; she combed her fingers through your hair. You wound your arms around Emmy’s neck and let your headrest next to hers, your friends lined in front of the two of you; you struggled bringing the words to your throat.

“Well, we met four or five years ago I think. It was the summer and I was really lost, I mean, I think I was having a crisis of desire or whatever. I don’t know, I was alone; all my family had taken off for a while. It was the fall. Actually these kids had disappeared too. It was one of those empty times. I was just starting college, still swimming everyday, and really hating it at that point. I mean I won nationals and I got a lot of ink on my credit, OLU sucked but I wasn’t about to do much with it after this. So I was toad hunting out in the dunes, there was supposed to be a party out there and I didn’t have anything else to do until then. The party was pretty cool actually, I was having an identity crisis and where better than to flex your s**t than on a bunch of impressionable m***********s. So I was outside, well the whole thing was outside but particularly out of it, they had a big plexiglass dance floor that ended up shattering.
So I was over in this set of concrete couches and it was pretty dark even with the floodlights. Most of the people were still floating around one of the bars that they installed, when I see a guy walking towards me. I couldn’t really see much of anything, I was sinking into the sofa and trying to tell if he noticed me over there and he paused and crumpled onto one of the further lounges. Have you ever just seen someone and thought, ‘this person will,’ never mind that’s an off sentiment but you know the feeling. So, I was plotting my escape and a note landed right on my face, right between my f*****g eyes. I opened it up and it said, ‘I’ve seen you before, I don’t know if you’re up for any mischief but, I mean it’s a Monday night and its right for starting a few fires.’” You relaxed your grip on Emmy, your hands tight on your forearms around her neck, you looked to the pressure marks pressed into your skin and continued with the story. “ I asked him where he’d seen me and he couldn’t remember, I kind of took it as a line honestly, but I mean those are the things that bite us just right sometimes. It was gods’ medicine, unequivocally, so I brought him around to the goons. I don’t know, Kaite who do you think he liked the best?”

“I’d say Ren. Yeah, Ren definitely. The line goes Ren, Jane, and then myself.”

“That’s because you were a hold out.” Ren

“You were definitely number 1, Kaite don’t kid yourself. You had that boy rollin. Check this,” Jane flipped scrolled through her cell phone videoconferences. “F**k, I don’t know if I still have it, whoops not those.” You rolled side by side with Emmy and waited on the picture show.

“Do I really have to wear the hat?” The voice was low and pouty, strained behind a snicker, he was really enjoying himself. She had him half‐bound in heather grey gauze from the look of it, normal black clothes shown in stripes underneath.

“Read your message to Ipsy, Lipsy, and Dipsi, and if you’re very good you don’t have to wear the hat.” Kaite out of the frame but you could tell she was a little sad in the conceit. The light adjusted in the corner of the frame, she jostled the camera from direct center, but it was quickly back on level. “Speak.”

“Barty, help, Kaite is taking me to, gasp, where were you taking me again?”

“That’s not even on the cue card,” Kaite came around the camera into the shot. “You’ve got to do it with some more feeling,” She sat on his lap and leaned forward adjusting the lens. “I have your,” pause, she leaned down out of the picture and was back up in seconds scarf and glasses concealing her features, “We have your man. He will be returned to you at the end of the week. Do not try and contact us, we cannot be reached. Our organization is a terrorist organization, we will kill you 100%, for sure.” The screen blanked.

“See, he would have never done that with me or Jane.” Ren “That because you two don’t like to play.” Kaite
“We play plenty, just not your games,” Jane

“We’d never win anyway,” You blew a length of your hair back from your face; it fell back to its resting place on your forehead. “So, you see, Emmy, its gonna take a little bit before we’re going steady, but we can date this time.”

“I’m ready, willing, and so able bodied.” Emmy “Well let’s get this show on the road.” Kaite “I’m going stag.” Ren pouted
“Baby, please be our Butch.” Kaite and Jane

“Sure thing sundancers.” She threw herself into the heap of J and K. Emmy kissed you on the cheek and leaned her head into yours.