C´MON EVERYBODY
Have you heard? LaTierri is holding a party at his place, on Friday...
I turned my head as I heard that, on my way to my Biology class. Obviously, the news about the party was a well spread rumour through the whole school. At first, it was going to be a small party only for us, but it seems these things are hard to be hidden. In no time, everyone was asking me if it was true, and even if I lied sometimes, saying there would be no such thing, I feared no one would believe me. Yeah, I knew how hard is it not to say a word, and besides, even walls can hear, but...Who knows, maybe someone had heard us in the boys' gym, or had heard the girls in their bathroom. It didn't matter now, anyway. It was settled...next weekend, my folks would be out of town and I couldn't miss the chance of having a party with my friends.
-Well, maybe it would be better if you cancel it...
-Oh, c'mon, Putz, don't be a spoil sport!
-No, he's right, I've thought of cancelling the whole thing...but, anyway, who cares? Let's do it! Just one thing, we'll need someone to watch outside, in case my folks arrive sooner than expected.
-What about Eugene?
-God, Doody, you're joking, right? I don't think he'd want to go, anyway. And your sis, Sonny, would she do it?
-Think so, though she'll ask me something in return...and last time, I had to wash the dishes for two weeks. Hey, it ain't funny!
-I'll tell Liz, that way she'll come too and we can trust her.
-Great, if your sis comes, Marcella would accept more easily...
-Settled then. Next thing, drinks. We'll have to buy a lot of beers...
-Hold on, hold on. Before that, we have to make sure they can't go upstairs. Bedrooms and all that is forbidden zone. And don't worry about the drinks, Marty and I will buy them. Dood, you and Frenchy take care of buying snacks, chips and all that. And you and Jan, you choose the music ok? And get some slow ones.
-Ha! We will, don't you worry...
Three days later...
-Ok kids, we're going. Please do behave, will you? We'll be back on Sunday, but if you need some...
-We won't, ma. Just go and have fun. And don't worry, we'll be fine..
-(Sure we will)
I gave Marcella a stern glance...luckily, my ma hadn't heard her. Finally, they left, and I phoned the guys to tell them they could come.
-The coast is clear, you can come around whenever you want. Yeah, I think people will come around eight or so. Right, see you! Marcella! Come here, let's protect the couches with some old sheets! And let's take the lamps upstairs.
-Sonny, I have invited some of my friends to the party...
-You...what? How many people have you...? God, I'm beginning to think this ain't a good idea...
-Nah...just Judy and Bobby Driscoll, and Marsha Simmons, and...Tiffany Wilkins.
-Tiffany? And did she accept to come? You're the best, sis!
-Ok ok, but watch out what you do...you know how jealous Marty is...
-I will, but I also want to dance a slow one with Tiffany.
This girl, Tiffany, was one of the junior beauties at school, and there was a sort of rivalry between she and Marty, about which of them was more beautiful. They were completely different. Tiffany was taller, and had a long, reddish hair and green eyes. Her family came from Ireland, and some guys at school said she looked like Maureen O' Hara in this movie, The Quiet Man. Most of us wanted to be John Wayne...
Not much later, the guys came by to arrange the last things for the party, and Liz and Scott, Putz and Frenchy's younger siblings, were there aswell. While the gals removed everything that could be in risk of breaking, we the guys took care of the drinks and the records. Most of them were rock and roll, or rockabilly, the kind of music we enjoyed, but there were some slow ones, too...
-Only you, good choice, Doody! I do know who to dance this with. Tiffany Thompson is coming, or so said Marcella.
-Really? I don't think Marty will be too glad of having her here...and you should dance that song with Marty...
-Could be, but I gotta dance a slow one with Tiffany. Let me see what you have...right, this one, Love me tender.
Dood and Putzie looked at me with a funny expression...I knew it could be a foolish thing to do, but I just couldn't help it...
-Hey Sonny, the first guests are coming!
Jan and Marcella were by the door, greeting the first ones in arriving. It was the Driscoll twins, and Tiffany.
-Hi, Marcella! Are we too early? Never mind...anyway, we'll have to go soon too. The curfew, you know. What a shame! I can't wait to be sixteen... God, what a nice house do you have!
I saw Marcella rolling her eyes, and just held a laughter. I went to greet Tiffany, who was staring at me.
-Glad you came, Tiffany. Want something to drink?
-Thanks! And a Coke will do!
-Sonny, I need you to...what is she doing here? Did you invite her?
Great, that was one of Marty's jealousy shows. I do love her, but that doesn't mean I can't talk...or dance...with other gals. Luckily, Frenchy and Jan came to smoothen the situation. They went with Tiffany to the living room, where the drinks were...
-So? Are you flirting with Tiffany?
-C'mon, Marty, let's have fun! Besides, Tiffany is Marcella's friend, and it's her party too. She can invite whoever she wants! Listen, they are playing Chuck Berry. Wanna dance?
-Ok, but promise me you won't dance with her...
-I promise. -and I kissed her.-You're my only one, know that?
-And this is the big party, right? Well, guess we can't miss it!
That was Tim Jeffries and his gang. They didn't go to our school, but we hung out with them from time to time. I hadn't told them, and nor had the guys, so we wondered how had they found out. Anyway, they were there and it could be worse telling them to leave. In fact, I could say there were more people from other schools than from ours. We all danced and had fun for the whole night long. I saw Marcella dancing with a guy I had never seen. Some people left and some more came.. Finally, Tiffany left too, and not much later, Putz and Jan told me they were going upstairs, to have their own private party, so I told them where the guestroom was...
One hour later ( Jan and Putzie's POV )
We had been there, in the guestoom, for maybe an hour...We were on the bed, hugged to each other, when I thought I had heard a car coming...
-Hey, Jan, listen...ain't that a car? -I got up from bed and went to the window-Yeah, it's them...Hurry up and get dressed, I hope it's not Sonny's folks. Go downstairs, I'll go in a while, and pretend I'm sleeping here ok? Good luck!
-Oh God! They were supposed to come back tomorrow! Ok, see you downstairs but don't take long. Why hasn't anyone told us? I'm gonna kill Sonny!
-Never mind that now...go!
After she left, I waited for five minutes before going down as well. All the guests had gone as quickly as they could, and only Doody, Jan, Liz and the gals were there. There was no trace of Sonny or Marcella, but we could hear their folks scolding them. Even if the door of the kitchen was closed, we heard their father's angry voice.
-What happened, why did they come earlier?
-No idea, I hope Sonny and Marcella aren't too grounded. And you'd better go, Putz, they don't know you're here, and...
-No, I'm not leaving...I have enjoyed the party as much as you all, and now I can't leave just like that...it won't be that terrible, anyway.
Just then, we saw Sonny and Marcella going out of the kitchen. We tried to ask them what had happened, but they had no chance of even stopping to talk to us...just went upstairs to their rooms. Then, their father looked at us, and he seemed to be terribly annoyed...
-Ok...I want to talk to your parents, so right now all of you will give me your phone numbers. You first -and he stopped in front of me, and I just had to give it to him. Then, all the others had to do the same...
Two days later, at school...
-Two weeks. I have been grounded for two weeks without watching tv, or going out on Friday, or...
It was lunch time, and we all were at the bleachers, along with Liz and Scott. We hadn't had seen each other the whole weekend, and hadn't even talked since last Friday
-Yeah, so have we all, what a mess! I think they all agreed to ground us the same way...and besides, we do have to do all the washing up for a month..
-What a shame, but it was worthwhile, don't you think? We enjoyed the party quite a lot!
-That's true...we'll have to plan another one!
-Oh c'mon Sonny, you're joking right? After being grounded for two damned weeks, you still think of having another party?
-Yep! But next time, we'll have to be more careful!
School days (Putzie)
Damn hell, how do I hate that alarm clock! Just now I was having such an exciting dream, about the cowboys movie I saw tonight. I was the sheriff in a small village, and...well, never mind now. I'd better get up, or I'll be late yo school, and I've already had one detention this week, I can't have another one! Anyway, what's the point in studying History or things like that? I do like and enjoy Maths or Chemistry, I don't mind admitting it, and besides they can be useful if I want to have my own garage...but History? I can't see why Doody likes it so much. Holy God, it's about people who lived hundreds of years before! And to make things worse, Bobby Taylor is in my History class, just behind me. I can't bear him! He pretends being funny, but he's as boring as a bunch of sheeps! And well, he was the one to be really blamed for my last detention. And I tried to convince Mr Lean that it hadn't been my fault, and so did Sonny, but he just didn't listen. I guess it was because of the fame we have, among the teachers... I can't see the day to end here, sure I won't miss it! No one of us will do, most probably. The only thing I will miss is not seeing the others every day, as we do now, but I know we will keep seeing each other.
Lunch time at last...I'm starving! I do hope they sell something fine today, no artichokes and hake like yesterday. Hake...if only it had been cod, it would have been fine, but hake...and without mayonnaise, to make things worse. And it will be like each day, there will be no way to get a free place. It would be much better to bring something from home, even if it's just a sandwich, and to eat it at the bleachers, as we use to do. It's not the most confortable place, but at least we don't have to bear all those queues. I'll tell the guys, to see what they think. And if the gals wanna come too, it would be great. It's a shame, Jan and me only see each other at lunch time... The only one who could refuse to eat at the bleachers would probably be Marty, but if all the others do agree, I hope she finally gives in. Well, let's see what do we have for lunch today...ribs and rice, not too bad. Oh, and I see over there Marty and Sonny, gotta sit with them and tell them my idea. Wonder where are Frenchy and Doody... Oh God, that's the bell calling us to class again. And now we have Literature. The subject is fine, but the teacher we have..oh God, she has no idea of teaching! Instead of talking about the books we have to read, she just tells us the writers' life...thank God I'm in the last row and I can sleep from time to time.
Another borin'school day is through! And today is Friday finally, we have a long weekend waiting for us. Man, I'm looking forward to have high school done and forget about all this, I'm fed up with their rules. And yet, I guess I'll have to think what to do when this is over, I mean, I know I'll have to get a job and all that, but...well, there's plenty of time to take a decision, we're just in January. Now I just intend to enjoy my weekend as much as I can...I talked to Jan before, during lunch break, and asked her to meet me at Mel's drive in, right after class. I don't want to go to Frosty's, not in this occasion at least. I...well, I'm rather fond of her, and want to ask her to go steady. To be true, I think she's fond of me too, or so say the guys, but I'm not completely sure, and just in case she says no, I prefer not to be at Frosty's when I talk to her. I only hope she'll say yes! I have to think where to take her, if she accepts. Somewhere to be on our own, where we can dance and talk, and...maybe Mel's will do, yeah. It can be our place, why not?
Doody B Goode
I will make it, I'm sure of that! I don't care a dime if everyone says I'm just being delusional and that I'd better find me a job. That's not what I want! Let's see what do they say when they have to pay for hearing me play my Les Paul. For the moment, I do have a gig tomorrow...it's just a high school dance, but it's fine for a start. Even Buddy Holly started this way. Buddy was great, sure, but I like better Eddie Cochran or Chuck Berry, they're just guitar gods! If I only got to be half as good as them...
Well, let's try Summertime Blues again...I have to do it perfect tomorrow night!
I do hope you have enjoyed enough these stories as to vote and comment on them...thanks in advance