The count-down to the Moffatt's departure dwindled to just about a week, sooner than the clique could imagine. On a rather sunny afternoon, Jeanine found her feet dragging her down the hall towards the place she loathed going to everyday since she found out the truth. She had math.
She found it harder and harder to look her teacher in the eye without a hint of anger, jealousy, and hate. He had used her. The feeling was so familiar, yet it hurt like the first time every time she looked into his lying brown eyes. And Denise... well, that was another story. She couldn't even stand the sight of her previous friend anymore.
It would still be another few minutes before the bell rung. Not wanting to be in that classroom full of horrid memories and the mysterious scent of evergreens any longer than she had to, Jeanine took to wandering a little ways past the door down the hallway to kill the moments she had to spare. She collided with Ben, not even having seen him before they ran into one another.
"Oh, sorry..." she mumbled, pulling back. "Hey Ben."
"Yo Jeanie, what's up?" he asked.
She half shrugged in response, reaching up and toying with her hair.
"You're just the person I want to see actually." Ben continued. "Dave paged me at lunch a few minutes ago---"
"Jeanine!" Carmen called, rushing up to her and trying to keep hold on her books at the same time. Her long black skirt hindered the giant leaps she would rather be taking. "Do you have a tampon?" she asked, hushing her voice at this query.
"Oh yeah, sure." Jeanine responded, handing her books to Ben to hold while she dug in her purse.
Ben wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You guys are sick." he commented.
Jeanine glanced up at him. "Oh grow up."
She extracted a long, cylinder-shaped package from the secret compartment in her purse, handing it to her friend.
"Thank you SO much!" Carmen exclaimed.
"Hey Carm... wait." Ben cut in. "You both are just the people I want to see." he corrected his previous statement. "Dave paged me at lunch. You guys wanna blow off the rest of the day and go hang with the Moffatts?" he asked.
Before any of the girls could reply, Ben moved on, spotting Timber and Kelly walking in the hall together. Kelly was wearing a navy-blue dress with a matching cardigan over it. Timber was clad in a pair of nicely pressed black pants, a black turtleneck, and a dark grey puff-vest from Bebe. Her hair was collected in a messy bun with two pens jabbed into it while Kelly's hair was nicely brushed at her cheeks. Both girls held their books to their chests, Timber biting on the end of her third pen.
"Hey! Guys!" Ben called, waving them over. "Let's go hang at the Moffatts' place."
"Now?" Kelly asked.
"Why not?" Ben shrugged, allowing Jeanine to take the books out of his hands. "Where's Angela? We have to catch her before the bell rings."
"She usually comes down this way at about this time." Timber replied, looking around for her.
"Well, are we going or not?" Carmen asked. "'Cause I have to get to the bathroom." she said, waving the tampon in the air.
"I'll go find Angela." Jeanine announced. "You guys meet me out front." She walked off in the direction of her best friend's fourth hour.
"Tim, will you come to the bathroom with me?" Carmen pleaded.
"Yeah, sure." Timber nodded. "We'll meet you guys out front." she announced.
Kelly looked on at her friend in envy. She had never thought something so loathed would be so missed when it was gone. Carmen wasn't pregnant. Carmen wasn't living with a secret that was inevitably going to come out. Carmen didn't possess the same stigma Kelly did. She was fifteen and nearly three months pregnant. It wasn't fair.
"You coming Kel?" Ben asked, touching her arm gently.
"Oh, um... yeah." Kelly muttered, yanking away from him. She pushed a piece of her hair behind her ears, trying to hide her face with her hand. "Let's go."
* * *
12:38- nuts
Bob was the one who opened the door when his best friends showed up. With a glass of grape Kool-aid in hand, he led them down to the basement where Scott and Dave were playing a heated game of Goldeneye on Nintendo sixty-four, and Clint was sitting on the back of the couch, watching and eating uncooked poptarts.
"So this is what you guys do all day." Jeanine smirked, yanking a piece of Clint's hair.
"Basically." Clint replied, too immersed in the game to look up.
"Ohhhhh!!!!" Scott exclaimed. "I won!!! I W-O-N won!!! How about dem apples Davey boy! I won! You lost!!! You can take these nuts and enjoy them along with your sour grapes!" he continued, jumping up and doing a little dance. "Put the nuts in your mouth!" he sung in a high pitched voice.
Dave, Bob, and Clint let out a collective sigh.
"Put these nuts in your mo-outh!!" Scott continued to sing.
"Shut up Scott." Dave said. "You are the most annoying person this world has even known."
Scott just laughed, shagging Dave's hair. "Hey guys." he smiled.
"Isn't he a dick?" Dave asked the others.
"Pretty much." Ben nodded.
"So what's up?" Carmen asked, sliding her arm around Bob's waist as he kissed her forehead.
"Nothing." Clint supplied, allowing Timber a bite of his pop-tart.
"Oh, by the way..." Timber began. "I saw that Cory girl today at school."
"Ughhh...." Clint mumbled, dropping his head into his hands and getting crumbs of the delectable pastry in his hair. "I think I just lost my appetite. That chick was crazy. I'm so glad I dumped her ass! The best thing I've ever done in my life."
"And you said you're good at setting people up." Dave scoffed, shaking his head.
"I am!" Timber exclaimed, sliding her coat off her shoulders.
"Ooooh, prep-py." Scott teased, making a jest at her preference in attire.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Timber rolled her eyes. "Just as long as you don't start telling me to put your nuts in my mouth." she added.
"Nope. I already have someone to do that for me." Scott grinned, looking to Angela with a suggestive smirk.
"Not anymore." Angela responded, teasingly.
"Oooooh... burned!" Bob exclaimed.
Clint, upon finishing his breakfast, climbed off the couch and headed around. "You guys want something to drink? We've got so much pop and stuff leftover from Jeanine's birthday..." he trailed off.
The friends had thrown a surprise birthday party for Jeanine a few weekends back at the Moffatt home. As with all their parties, the cops had been called by a nearby neighbor, and the hootenanny had broken up by three in the morning.
"Cool." Carmen commented, very thirsty at the moment.
"I'll go with you." Kelly said quickly, smiling at him.
"Alright." Clint shrugged, tugging his navy-blue Abercrombie wind pants lower on his hips. "Come on." he motioned for her to follow.
* * *
12:47- just between friends
Clint opened the fridge, the cold air hitting his arms. He was wearing only a worn out tee-shirt with a large skateboarding logo across the front. He dragged a big container of pop-cans out.
Kelly paced lightly around the counter, one hand absently rested on her stomach. She found herself doing that a lot lately. It was as if she were feeling for life there. So far she had found none. Clint looked up at her, noticing this peculiar behavior.
"Do you... have a stomach ache or something?" he asked.
"Hmmm?" she asked, turning to him.
He pointed to her belly area. "You're like, holding your stomach." he commented. "I figured it kinda hurt or something... but nevermind..." he trailed off, shaking his head and returning to the pop he was lugging out of the refrigerator.
"Actually..." Kelly trailed off, realizing that her stomach did ache slightly.
But it wasn't a normal stomach ache. It was more of a rumbling, nauseating pain that she oddly enough, recognized. "It does kinda hurt..." she trailed off.
"Do you want some... uh... stomach-hurting stuff?" Clint asked, clunking another twelve pack of Coke on the counter.
"Ahh... no, that's okay." she replied. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."
"Okay..." he hummed, feeling her breeze past. "Just crack a window or something..." he grinned.
* * *
12:53- sweet relief
Kelly sniffled slightly, closing the door to the first floor bathroom behind her. She chewed slightly on her lip, suddenly feeling lazy in her actions as her steps brought her in front of the mirror. Her reflection looked the same as it always had, except there was something about it that was sad... maybe it was her eyes.
She shook her head, trying to get into the frame of mind where she was sure everything would be okay. But there was a part of her that didn't believe that. What was she going to do? How could she tell her parents?
* * *
1:01- Friday
"So what was the reason you guys requested our presence at such an odd hour?" Carmen asked, sitting on Bob's lap on the couch.
Dave shrugged at her question.
"Well, it's Friday..." Clint began. "We don't have school, and we don't have shit to do!" he exclaimed, cracking open a Mountain Dew. "So I figured, let's get high."
"Weed?" Jeanine asked.
"No, we were thinking of sniffing glue." Scott said sarcastically.
He sat on the floor, leaning back against Angela who sat behind him.
"Ughh... weed is so bad for you. That's so stupid." Jeanine said with disgust.
"And your point is?" Scott asked.
"Did you bring the stuff Ben?" Dave asked his best friend.
"Damn right." Ben grinned proudly. "I brought my whole stash." he snickered.
"You pot heads!" Jeanine accused. "I'm going to go watch TV upstairs." she announced, heading for the steps.
As the defiant girl reached the top, she nearly collided with Kelly who had tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Jeanine!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her cousin's shoulders.
Thinking it was just another mood swing, Jeanine embraced her friend, stroking her hair soothingly. She had been through this process so many times, it was so natural. "What's the matter sweetie? Shhhh... it's okay."
Kelly pulled back, her hazel eyes dancing. "Come with me!" she smiled, the tears still dampening her already florid cheeks.
Kelly lead her cousin down the hall to the bathroom, shutting the door behind the both of them. Quite to Jeanine's suprise, she friend her off-guard when she tugged down her underpants and showed her the blood that stained the light blue fabric.
"My period!" Kelly exclaimed. "MY PERIOD!!!"
"Ugh... Kelly..." Jeanine looked away.
"Don't you know what this means?" Kelly rhapsodized, dropping her dress back down to conceal the soiled undergarment. "I'm not pregnant!!!" she broke into tears again. "I'm not pregnant! Oh my GOD!!! I'm not pregnant!!!"
"Do you need a tampon?" Jeanine asked, still disgusted.
"I'm not pregnant!!!" Kelly shouted again, feeling suddenly empowered. She paused for a moment, looking up at the cieling as more warm tears of happiness burned her cheeks. She felt so empowered at that moment in time. She was free from worry. She was herself again. And now she was better than ever. Given this new strength, she now had the seek out her violator and get the revenge she knew she deserved. And boy, would she get revenge...
* * *
1:13- Mary Jane
"Get me something to roll this shit up with." Ben directed, smacking Bob on the arm and directing him to do the job.
"Kay." Bob hopped up off the floor where the group was seated in a circle.
Angela had also opted to leave, not interested in what her friends were about to do. This left Timber, Carmen, Ben, and the Moffatt boys alone with one rather large Ziplock of marijuana.
Bob returned with the top of a shoebox, thumping it down in front of his friend. "Here."
"Thanks man." Ben nodded, pouring a little of the oregano-looking substance out into the shallow cardboard container.
"Damn Ben! Were you going to smoke all that yourself if we didn't call you for a hook-up?" Scott asked in utter disbelief.
"Hey man." Ben cut in. "Weed is from the earth. It was left here by God for you and me! Who am I do refuse God's blessing? The way I look at it, it's just like..."
"The mannah God left for the Jews when traveling through the dessert for forty days and forty nights?" Timber asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Something like that." Ben shrugged. "I only have rolling papers, so we're going to have to roll this shit up ourselves."
"Weed is weed." Dave said with a grin.
Ben winked, taking the square piece of paper to his lips and licking the end. He then scooted a bit of the marijuana into the middle, rolling it up like a professional. He licked the end again to seal the joint.
"Let's spark it." he grinned, a tiny bit of the drug leaking out onto the front of his black tee-shirt which read: "I'm a lesbian" in big white letters.
"Let's spark it." Carmen agreed.
"You know?" Timber started to say. "We should play that Rick James song... the Mary Jane song? That's a good song." she mentioned.
"Never heard it." Scott admitted, watching impatiently as Ben took a long drag on the joint.
He passed it to his right where Carmen was sitting. Carmen took a hit, paused, then took another, passing it on to her boyfriend.
"Mmmm..." Bob grinned. "I've heard that song." he took a puff of the joint. "Mary Ja-ane..." he crooned, passing the joint on. "I'm in love with Mary Jane, she is my main thing... she makes me feel alright... she makes my heart sing!" he continued, closing his eyes in utter happiness as the joint continued to be passed.
"Dude... you're already fucked..." Timber commented, passing the white stick to Scott, who took a few hits then passed it on to Dave.
"Even when I'm feelin' low..." Bob continued. "She comes with no surprise. Turns me on with her love... takes me to Paradi-i-i-i-ise!!! Do you love me Mary Jane?" he moaned, becoming immersed in the soulful song. "Mary Jane!" he sang the backup part in a high-pitched voice.
"Dude, you're turn." Carmen announced, handing him the weed that had already made it's first round.
Bob put the smoke to his lips, taking a deep drag. He smiled in euphoria before taking another one. Then he burst out coughing.
"Damn Bob! Quit hitting it so hard!" Timber exclaimed, patting his back roughly. "Damn..." she muttered, snatching the joint. "It's puff-puff-give! Puff-puff-give! You're messing up the rotation... you're about to get your ass killed."
"Yeah, Bob really. You're lucky you're my boy and all. You'd get killed messing up the rotation with other people... they're more serious about their shit. You'd better watch out now..."
Bob let out another gagging cough.
"You okay there Bob?" Clint asked.
His identical brother sputtered another cough before looking up. "Mary Jane!!!" he crooned, closing his eyes and swerving his body to the tune. "Do you love me Mary Jane?"
"No. She doesn't." Scott supplied, taking a hit. "Roll up another Ben. This shit is going fast."
"Don't worry man." Ben assured him, already in a calm and subdued state. "I got a big ole fat sack of Mary Jane. This'll last us allllllll afternoon man." he grinned, taking out more rolling papers.
"It's like a whole weed-making factory." Carmen randomly stated.
"Eeeeeyes!" Timber grinned in a husky tone, taking a few hits. She had finally mastered the art of inhaling.
"Do you love me Mary Jane?" Bob continued.
"Shut the fuck up shit face!" Clint moaned, covering his ears. "Christ!!! A few hits and you're as high as an airplane!"
"Hey hey! I got a better song." Scott announced, scrambling to his feet and nearly falling in the process. He paused to pluck the joint from Timber's lips before going to the stereo. "The perfect song..."
A bass beat filled the air and the eldest Moffat bobbed his head to it, grinning widely as he took a long drag.
"This song beats the shit out of your dumb-ass Mary Jane shit." he commented to Bob, winking and rejoining the circle.
It's Friday morning, where the weed at? Let me dip into my pocket for my fat weed sack...
"A smoking song!!!" Timber exclaimed, breaking into giggles. "I think I know this one!"
Cause I wanna get high like a plane in the sky... with the Indo-cloud in my brain... where the fuck are my zig-zags and my lighters?
"Ahhhh..." Clint sighed, taking a hit. "Mmmm... I love this stuff."
"Don't start singing like Bob." Ben warned, barely affected yet.
So I can roll it up and set it on fire. Damn I wish I had scissors cause this shit is so sticky it's getting on my fingers.
"I got a buzz." Bob announced, taking the second joint Ben had already set in circulation.
"Me too." Timber added, shaking her head. “What the hell is this song?” she asked after a minute.
But it's smokable, double tokeable. I got the one hitter Bombay shit that's tokeable. I wanna do a joint venture. Let me make sure there ain't no lump in the Goddamned center. Impregnated looking joint... fuck it. I can smoke it and I still get faded...
"I'm hot." Clint announced.
"You are." Timber giggled, tucking her knees up and taking the joint from Bob.
"Dude, this is fucked." Scott announced. "Where the weed at Ben? Keep rollin!"
Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale...
"This song is the shit!" Ben exclaimed, rolling up the fifth joint while still having one in his mouth.
Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale...
"This is some good chronic." Scott nodded, making small talk.
Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale...
"Guys, I really am hot." Clint continued, suddenly yanking his shirt over his head.
Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale...
"This isn't as fun as last time." Timber suddenly announced.
"Last time?" Scott asked.
"Oh yeah, you weren't there." Dave said.
"It was the day after the dance." Ben said without thinking.
"Yeah, it was fun as hell." Carmen agreed.
"Wait..." Bob paused, dancing in the corner and still humming the Rick James song to himself. "Last time, didn't we all just end up falling asleep unitl like midnight?" he asked.
"Yeah... no!" Timber shook her head. "That was the time you peed all over the lamp."
"You still owe me for that!" Ben added, his voice muffled by the marijuana between his lips.
"I never peed on the lampshade!" Bob declined.
"Yeah you did!!!" Timber insisted. She paused. "Wait... maybe that was a dream."
"I think it was." Clint agreed. "I would have remembered that."
"Me too." Carmen nodded.
"Yeah... you know? Maybe that was your dream Timber." Ben agreed.
"I would never pee on a lampshade!" Bob chuckled, collapsing right in front of the couch.
The dim light in the basement cast across his smooth, tanned skin.
"I would!" Scott exclaimed, now having four joints in his mouth. "I totally would!"
"Yeah right!" Dave exclaimed. "I double dog dare you to pee on the lamp over there!"
"You're on!!!" Scott exclaimed, hopping up. He swayed on his feet for a moment before advancing towards the Tiffany lamp on the end table beside the big, black, leather sofa in the middle of the basement. The lamp belonged to Sheila, but in his altered state, he couldn't exactly comprehend the ramifications of his action.
"You totally won't do it!" Timber teased.
"Watch me!" Scott exclaimed, unfastening his khaki pants.
As he unleashed his man-hood to his brothers and friends, Carmen's jaw dropped. "Oh my GOD!!!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my God?" Timber asked. "Oh my GYNECOLOGIST!!!"
"Give me a countdown boys!" Scott exclaimed, ashes flying off the end of each rapidly dissolving joints.
"Five!!! Four!!! Three!!! Two!!!"
"Too late." Scott said, not waiting for them to finish. He began to spray urine at the lamp, wagging his hips slightly as he guided his penis in swirling motions to make sure he got the whole entire device.
"ARGHHH!!!!" TImber laughed. "Pinch me! I'm dreaming! He's peeing on a lamp!!!"
"I'm peeing on a lamp!" Scott exclaimed.
"Wait! Scott! Don't get the chord---!" Dave started to warn him.
Scott's spray of urine hit the chord of the appliance, sending an electric noise into the ears of the others and a flash of blue light before the lamp switched off, along with the power in the basement.
* * *
2:31- oh damn
"Oh damn."
Scott's voice was the first to ring through the silent air.
"Awwww, shiiiit." Dave giggled. "Now I can't see what I'm toking on."
Scott began to laugh like a maniac, collapsing onto the floor. Two of the four joints fell out of his mouth.
"You peed!" Timber pointed at him, falling backwards and cracking up. "You peed!!! And the..." she couldn't continue, she was laughing so hard. "... the... the pee knocked all the power out!!!"
"I don't know about y'all, but I'm going to get some more Kool-aid." Bob announced, getting up from in the corner.
"You guys???" Jeanine called from the top of the steps. "The power went out!"
"No shiiiiiit!!!" Dave guffawed.
"Eeeew." Jeanine rolled her eyes, beginning to descend the steps. "You guys are as high as hell."
"Hell's low." Carmen corrected.
"Where's the fuse box?" Jeanine asked. "Sick, it reeks of piss down here..." she muttered.
"He peed!" Timber exclaimed, pointing at Scott. "He peed on the..." her laughter hindered her speech.
"You guys are gay." Jeanine commented, going over to the big silver box on the wall in the corner.
"Inspector Gadget!" Dave exclaimed, pointing at her. As the lights flicked back on, she could see just how glazed over his eyes were.
"I'm gonna go get some Kool-aid." Bob announced again. "Do you guys want some Kool-aid?" he asked, staggering to his feet.
"Man, of course I want some Kool-aid!" Timber exclaimed as if he should have already known.
"Me too." Bob said, nodding in a dazed sort of agreement. He soon sat back down, forgetting what he had been talking about in the first place.
"Put that shit away Ben, you know the cops come around here regularly, what with all the wild parties you guys have..." Jeanine muttered.
"I peed on the lamp." Scott snickered, putting the other two joints to his lips. "Look, I'm a chimney!"
Bob hopped up from the floor suddenly, looking around in a paranoid fashion.
"Dude, whatthefuck?" Jeanine demanded, watching as Clint crawled to the couch, hoisting himself upon it. He began to slither out of his pants while closing his eyes. He suddenly felt sleepy, though he had woken up only a few hours before.
Bob rushed to the telephone with the coordination of a blind-folded monkey, snatching the receiver up off the base. "Hello?!?! Hello?!?!?!" he shouted urgently. "Hello?!?!"
"What. The. FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!" Scott demanded, trying to inhale on all four joints at once.
"Didn't you hear the phone ring?" Bob asked, setting it back down.
"No...." Scott trailed off.
"See Bob? I told you you hit that shit too hard." Ben shook his head in pity. "You went and fucked yourself up. You need to chill out and stop acting like a spazz."
"You're the only hype around here!" Timber accused. "You're the one who's been rolling dubs all afternoon! Look at you! You friggin' pot head!"
"Hey! I take pride in what I do so kiss my ass." Ben stated, placing the ninth joint he had rolled in a nice pile with the others.
"You all are crazy." Jeanine shook her head, still hanging around to survey the scene. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion with her friends.
Bob leapt up again, running to the phone.
"Dude! You'd better chill the fuck out!" Ben exclaimed. "Acting like you just did angel dust... freak."
"Ugh... I feel so high." Carmen sighed happily.
"Are you and Timber gonna make out again?" Dave asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Shut up! NO!!!" Carmen cried. "You guys are perverted."
"I have to pee again." Scott commented.
"Stay the fuck away!" Timber exclaimed, crawling to him to get a hit off of one of his joints.
"Awwww FUCK!!!" Dave exclaimed. "What are we gonna do wit dat lamp?"
"Dude!!!!" Scott exclaimed, as if he had an idea. The moment quickly passed. "I dunno."
"You could pee on it again!" Timber suggested, sitting against the recliner and smoking with authority.
"What?" Dave and Scott asked in unison.
"Well, you know how when you turn on a light? You flick the switch to make it go on! Then you flick it again to make it go off!!! So if he pees on it from a different side, it might get fixed!!!"
"That sounds crazy Timber..." Scott began. "But it just might work!"
He scuddled to his feet, observing the destroyed lamp for a moment. Going to the opposite side of it, which included twisting the lamp slightly so he didn't have to climb onto the couch, he yanked down his pants again.
"Scott, keep your pants on!" Jeanine whimpered, but did not stop looking.
"Countdown please." he requested.
"Twelve! Four! Nine!" Timber started to cry out, clapping her hand with each number.
"Zero!" Ben cut in.
"Blast off!" Scott smirked, once again spraying urine at the Tiffany lamp that was so treasured by his stepmother.
However, this time, his yellow spray of bodily fluids got out of hand, splaying across a soundly sleeping Clint's cheek.
"Ugh..." Clint muttered, swiping at his face with his hand. "What the fuck..." he muttered, going back to sleep. Jeanine cringed as a bit of the urine ran down the corner of his mouth. The others erupted in laughter.
"My bad..." Scott grinned. "DAMN IT!!!" he cried. "Now I have to wait another few minutes before I can save the lamp!!!"
Bob hopped up again, reaching out and snatching Scott's third joint, toking it as if tomorrow didn't exist in his world. "Kool-aid time." he grinned, having shed his paranoia. "Come on Timber." he directed, heading for the steps, but stumbling into the wall beside them. "Whoa, damn wall... came outta nowhere..." he muttered, feeling past it and heading upstairs with blurry vision.
Timber got up the recliner, sailing in the same direction. "Goodbye my people!" she said dramatically, waving goodbye to them on her way. Unknowingly, her clunky platform got caught on the leg of the other end table and she ended up on the floor behind the couch. Looking up at Jeanine with alarm, she asked her friend if she was okay, as if she was the one still standing and Jeanine had actually fallen.
Jeanine shook her head. "You guys are on crack."
"Bud Jeanine." Ben corrected, the all-time druggie. He wasn't yet as high as his potential. His buzz was wearing thick. "It's bud."
"Whatever." Jeanine rolled her eyes. For that moment, she couldn't believe she had actually dated Ben Steiner. She shook her head with pity, heading for the steps.
"Ugh..." Timber moaned from the floor. She slowly picked herself up. "I'm gonna vomit..." she murmured.
"Just don't hit Clint!" Dave giggled, laying back on the carpet and wagging his feet in the air.
"Have some more weed Tim. It's good for you." Ben advised.
"No it's not!" Carmen exclaimed.
"Yeah it is!" Ben argued. "It helps with nausea!"
"Roll it up, light it up, smoke it up, inhale, exhale..." Scott sang, getting his fingers around both stick of marijuana at the same time to give his mouth a rest and blow out all the smoke that had accumulated. He bobbed his head lethargically to the invisible beat that was no longer coming from the stereo. "That song is the shizzznit." he smirked.
"Ugh... I really am gonna puke..." Timber moaned.
"I told you to get some more weed in your system." Ben shrugged.
"TIMBER!!!!!!" Bob called from upstairs.
"WHAT?!?!?!" she shouted back.
"What? Nothing! A kitchen chair just fell." Bob explained, appearing at the top of the steps. "It's wood, so I thought maybe it would be fitting to call 'timber'... ya know?" he asked. "Like the lumberjacks do..."
"Ughhh..." Timber moaned.
Ben rolled his eyes, lighting another joint. "Here." he advised, passing it to her.
She took it and took another drag. "Fuck, Ben! I'm already so fucking high... just leave me alone! Quite trying to pump more marijuana into me."
"Hey, smokin' ain't easy..." Ben shrugged, taking the joint for himself and going back to pre-rolling others for a later time.
"But it sure is fun!!!" Scott exclaimed, resuming his smoking of both joints at the same time.
* * *
5:54- later that day...
When Timber opened her eyes, the stench of urine assaulted her nostrils. She moaned irritatingly at the splitting headache which racked her brain, trying to sit up, and doing so very slowly to prevent the nausea from returning. She recognized Dave's snoring from the other side of the couch. Finally finding the stomach to get to her feet, she peered over the back of the sofa to see Clint still sleeping soundly, a tiny string of drool in the corner of his mouth. He was laying on his back. Scott was still by the lamp, one of the marijuana sticks stuck on his bottom lip while the other was on the floor by his hand. Neither were lit. Ben was laying across the floor in front of the sofa asleep, his neath pile of joints lined up in the shoe-box top. Dave had his head near his best friend's, snoring softly with his hands rested comfortably on his stomach. Carmen was on the floor where she had been by the recliner, sleeping just as quietly as the others.
Timber nudged Clint, him being the nearest to her. "Hey! Clint!" she hissed. "Wake up!"
He moaned lightly, mumbling something about oversized worms before swatting her hand away.
"Wake up!!!" Timber said, a bit louder this time.
"Go away!" Clint whined in a high pitched tone before rolling off the edge of the couch and smacking right on top of Ben.
"Ughh... What the fuck?" Ben demanded, waking instantly.
"What the fuck?" Clint moaned, rolling off of his friend and attempting to sit up. "Where am I?" he demanded, rubbing his eyes.
"In your basement, idiot." Timber replied.
"Shut up you guys!" Carmen complained.
Clint ran his fingers through his scraggly hair, still in the garbled state of post-sleep incoherence. "Ugh... GOD, what reeks of piss down here?" he whined, cracking one eye open. He paused for a moment, suddenly wiping at his cheek and feeling the dry and sticky fluid on his skin. "Ewww, it's me!" he moaned.
"You have Scott to thank." Timber shrugged, trying to get her hair into a relatively presentable state.
"Dude! What the fuck!!!" Clint exclaimed, taking one of Ben's lighters, the closest thing in reach, and chucking it at his eldest brother.
The joint dropped from Scott's lips as he stirred to wakefulness mumbling a few incoherent words of choice.
"Mmmm, what?!" Scott demanded, oddly refreshed.
"Did you fucking piss in my mouth?" Clint demanded, spitting in utter disgust. His saliva landed on Ben's hand.
"Gross! I don't know where your mouth has been!" Ben complained, wiping his hand on his jeans.
"I think I did piss on you." Scott said with an apathetic shrug. "Oooops."
"OOOPS?!?!?!" Clint demanded. "Dude, that's sick as fuck!" He got up off the carpet and headed for the steps. "Now I have to go shower!"
"That's twice this week Clint! You're on a roll!" Scott joked.
Clint peeked his head back around the wall that ran along the staircase. "I shower EVERYDAY thankyouverymuch!" he growled.
Scott held his hands up in surrender, winking playfully at his next brother in the line of age.
"Where's Bob?" Timber asked, scratching her leg.
"Damned if I know." Ben replied, already beginning to collect his marijuana into his plastic bag. "But I'm hungry as hell. Do you guys have anything to eat around here?" he asked.
"No, we actually live off of the wallpaper." Scott replied sarcastically, stretching his arms above his head and starting for the steps. "It's high in fiber." he added.
"Ooooh, funny guy." Ben said dryly.
"I'm kinda hungry too." Timber accorded, following Scott.
"Now THAT'S a surprise." Ben jested.
"Up yours Steiner. Go somewhere and grow."
"Just because I'm not an Amazon..." Ben trailed off.
"Maybe in comparison to you I'm an Amizon..." Timber continued.
"Yeah, your mamma." Ben snickered, following after her. He shoved her for good measure and she attempted to kick him.
* * *
6:00- Bob
As the argumentative group arrived in the kitchen, they found Bob sprawled across the kitchen table, an overturned Kool-aid pitcher beside him. His lips were died a dark purplish color and there was a streak of powder down his shirt.
"Awww... the poor guy tuckered himself out." Scott chuckled, heading straight for the refrigerator.
Carmen was last to arrive in the kitchen behind Ben, leaving Dave alone in the basement.
"Hey, where'd you come from?" Ben asked.
"Long story." Carmen replied.
"Sick.... I didn't mean like that." Ben wrinkled his nose.
Timber giggled to herself, pinching Bob's nose shut. He instantly began to shift, subconsciously pushing her hand away. After a string of what sounded like gibberish, he awakened looking up into her eyes.
"Honey... you're home..." he breathed, reaching out to touch her face.
"What?" Timber asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bob coughed, turning onto his stomach and somehow getting into a sitting position on the table. His navy-blue Campus Crew shirt was streaked with purple Kool-aid. "What the..." he breathed, yawning. "What the fuck happened? I have to piss like a motherfucker..."
"Knock yourself out." Timber shrugged, following Scott to the refrigerator.
"Mmmm, what did happen?" Ben asked, his same wit returning, as if it ever left. He picked up the pitcher and turned it over in his hands. Looks like some juggernaut came in here and attacked the poor glass pitcher guy with his facial features traced in the condensation on his outside.
"I'm gonna go pee... and change." Bob announced.
"You do that." Scott shrugged, already starting on the chocolate ice cream.
* * *
6:25- sweet memories
It was quite sometime before the teens in the kitchen became aware of the presence of others in the house. Clint returned from his shower, still pissed off and very disgusted with his eldest brother, and Bob returned from his recuperation in the bathroom. Even Dave got a clue and emerged from his deep sleep in the basement. The group successfully polished off an entire half gallon box of chocolate ice cream. That was about the time when laughter drifted in from the living room. Scott lead the way into the entertainment section of the house to see Kelly, Jeanine, and Angela immersed in a movie on the large television screen.
"What are yo guys watching?" he asked, squeezing between Kelly and Angela. He slid his arm around Angela's shoulders.
"Yeah, what is this?" Timber asked, taking a seat on the floor.
Bob crawled in next to her, Carmen sitting on his other side. Clint opted for the recliner, while Dave and Ben situated themselves on the loveseat.
Bob instantly recognized the video. "Hey! This is us!" he exclaimed. "We're like... two here!"
"Smile for the camera Bobby... that's it honey!" Darlana cooed, obviously the one behind the camcorder.
A tiny boy Bob grinned widely, displaying his tiny row of teeth.
"You're about four there Bob." Scott corrected.
The camera panned across the living room of one of their old houses showing a large, elaborate Christmas tree with shredded wrapping paper and boxes strewn all about.
"We've been watching these all afternoon." Kelly said, smiling.
"What's that you have there?" Darlana asked, pointing her hand out towards what was in one of the triplet's hands. The child was instantly recognized to be Dave.
"Truck!" the little boy giggled holding his shiny, red fire truck up for his mother to see clearly.
"I gosta car!!!" Clint giggled, suddenly jumping into the picture. He held up his blue toy car. "And Bobby gots one too! He has a bear too mommy!" he continued.
The camera shifted to where Bob was seated on his father's lap with a brown stuffed bear in his lap. Frank bounced his son on his lap for a minute before he looked somewhere off camera and held his arms out. Bob climbed down from his fathers grasp and ran over to where Clint and Dave were seated with their new toys.
"I still have that bear!" Bob exclaimed happily.
Frank smiled proudly, his arms still open as an avid Scott ran into them, embracing his father dearly. Frank kissed Scott on the forehead.
"Merry Christmas little buddy!" he smiled.
"Merry Christmas Daddy!" Scott exclaimed, giving his father another hug.
Scott felt an odd pain in his heart, seeing how wonderful things used to be. He and his father were so close back then, he wondered where things went wrong. He screwed up. That's where things went wrong. He started to be a disappointment. Feeling a sudden build up of emotion, he shook his head gently, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Why did things have to change? Why couldn't they always be the way they were? No more fighting; Scott didn't want to fight anymore. He was so tired of being the antagonist of the family...
"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Carmen whined, resting her head on Bob's shoulder. "It's going to be hell... I mean... even if you are coming back... I'll miss the times we spent just hanging out and... making cracks at each other. I mean, I'll miss..."
"All the idiosyncrasies of our cohorts?" Timber asked.
"I'll certainly miss Tim, the walking, talking dictionary." Dave snickered.
"Well, we're going to have a huge party next weekend." Bob stated.
"We are?" Scott asked.
"Hell yes!" Bob grinned, toying with short pieces of his girlfriend's auburn hair. "I mean, we're missing Carmen's, Kelly's and Timber's birthdays! And we won't be spending ours with our friends! So next Friday, we should have a huge bash. We leave Sunday morning! That's literally our only chance."
"True." Clint nodded.
"You guys, I don't want to say goodbye." Kelly pouted.
"It's not goodbye... it's just... see ya later... you know?" Bob reasoned.
"I suppose..." Kelly mumbled, looking down at her hands.
"And besides," Scott piped up. " Next Friday will be a night to remember..."
* * *