A short story of how I think Tina Gray's first encounter with the Cat in the Hat himself, Freddy Krueger would go... (Please note, dream sequences begin AND end in bold)
I don't know Tina's Mom's name, or her boyfriend's name, though I know her Mom's is mentioned after Tina's nightmare in NOES 1 when her boyfriend shouts on her?
***ALL CHARACTERS/RECOGNISED SETTINGS BELONG TO WES CRAVEN AND NEW LINE CINEMA. THERE IS ALSO A LITTLE DIALOGUE CONCERNING TOM CRUISE TAKEN FROM ANOTHER WES CRAVEN FILM, NOT MY LINE! I LIKE TO PRETEND THEY ARE MY RENTED TEENY TINY PUPPETS, HEH HEH***
***STORY TITLE 'HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE' BY BLONDIE (ALBUM 'PARALELL LINES')*'ALL THE RIGHT MOVES' (1983) BY M. CHAPMAN*BEVERLY HILLS COP' (1984) BY M. BREST*CONTAINS TEEN ANGSTY LANGUAGE!***
Hanging on the Telephone
Elm Street, 1984
Nancy sighed as she moaned loudly into her hands, "Jeez, just call the him already!"
"No, I won't. Waitin' for that stubborn dickbrain to call here for a change. Probably too busy playin' with his joystick."
Tina and Nancy sat in Tina's bubble gum pink room, the former filing her matching coloured nails. They were discussing the recent events of the saga that was the Tina and Rod show. Joanie and Chachie they weren't. A recent argument had sent Tina fleeing to her room to call her best friend, begging her to come over cos bitching over the telephone just wouldn't do. Being the wholesome best friend she was, Nancy came straight over with a carton of rocky road and a shitload of patience.
At first Tina had wailed, then she got real angry. It was when she was angry that she ripped into Rod, slating everything and anything about him. His mother was a drunk skank, his dick was tiny and the sex was shit. His car was a wreck, his music collection was hellacious and his house was a rat trap. Nancy was patient during Tina's ranting, as she knew it was only a matter of time before they played the waiting game of who-would-ring-who.
After deciding Tina was going to stay true to her word and wait for Rod to call, she got up and slid 'All the Right Moves' into the VCR. Flopping back down on the pink bedspread, she looked slyly over at Tina, who was still lost in filing her nails.
"Hey, you know if you hit pause just right you can see Tom Cruises-"
"Penis. Yeah, I know Nancy, where the hell have you been?"
"Yeah I figured you would already know, though I thought you were already occupied with Rods," Nancy could barley get her words out as the cushion missile Tina fired hit her directly in the face.
"Oh yeah, his joint is my new pet," Tina giggled wickedly, "and speaking of new pets, how's Glen's joystick these days?"
"Tina!" Nancy blushed a deep shade of scarlet.
"Well, I just thought you guys may have passed the awkward mumbling after we left you at the cinema? Surely you dazzled him with those baby blues of yours honey? And his abs, oh my gaaawd!" Tina made a performance of swooning, sliding to the floor like an old hollywood diva.
Nancy composed herself, tucking a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear, her nervous tick. "Wellll, we have a date Wednesday night. Me, Glen and Eddie Murphy hauling ass round Beverly Hills."
"Gee honey, take the back seat at least, you're not graduatin' a virgin! The way that boy looks at you is makin' it likely you won't be either."
Satisfied, Tina lay back next to her best friend and took in a bit of good old high school football.
Rod hadn't been sent fleeing to his room by the argument, no. He had been thrown in the direction of his mothers liquor cabinate and was now getting happily toasted whilst watching 'Rocky' on the VCR. Rod liked to think he looked a bit like Rocky Balboa, hell they were both Italian Stalions after all! That blonde piece of ass should realise how lucky she was. The amazing sex made up for the constant arguing, and the make up sex was even more mind-blowing.
Though Christ, when she was pissed her voice took on a pitch that only the fucking dogs could here. He has slapped her around once or twice, only when she got out of control. Made him look like a goddamn fool flirting with other guys right in front of him. Poor guys had almost pissed their pants having Tina Gray come onto them. It was just for show, but how were they to know. Rod sniggered at the thought, poor bastards had masturbation material to last them through graduation and on into college. Fuck'n A.
He watched as Rocky began to train for the rematch with the cocky son-of-a-bitch and decided he would give it til the end of the film then call Tina. He would shmooze a bit and make her laugh. Then they could go up to the old underpass and get their minds blown.
Tina could hardly contain herself after Nancy had told her they were moving to 1428. Tina herself lived at 1317 and this opened up all sorts of opportunities to be doing things they wanted, mostly things they shouldn't. Tina was good at doing things she shouldn't be and the list was endless.
Hanging out at the underpass was one of these things, and being in the company of Rod Lane was another.
All the kids came up here to make out, get laid, and take drugs. It was here that Tina and Rod had done the first two and were now settling nicely into number three. It had happened exactly as Rod had predicted, he had grovelled, she giggled and now they were on the back seat, a tangle of limbs, sweat slicked skin and breathing heavy.
"Baby, I hate it when we fight," Tina pouted as she snuggled into the soft leather of Rod's jacket, "let's not get each other all riled up anymore, huh?"
Taking a deep drag on the poorly rolled joint he was holding, Rod inhaled deeply and sighed. When he didn't answer, Tina got up and straddled him, a tanned leg on each side of his lap. "Baby? Did you hear me?"
"Yeah I heard you Teen, but you know we will end up fighting anyways. It's just somethin' me and you do. Doesn't mean we don't like each other or some shit."
Tina was happy, for the moment. She hated to admit it, but Rod was her world, her everything. Ever since her dad had walked out all those years ago, Tina had been looking for a man to give her approval, even put her in her place when she did wrong. God had given her Rod Lane, with his olive skin and chocolate eyes, and hot temper. His mother hated Tina, saying she was damaged goods with her loose reputation and mouthy attitude. Tina wished his mother could see that this was all show, that deep down she was a good hearted young woman looking to fit in. Though if her own mother couldn't see this she'd be damned if she was going to grovel to some uptight old bitch. Let her think what she wanted, she was probably just pissed Tina was taking her 'little boy' away.
"Earth to Tina, come in Tina!" Rod was clicking his fingers in her face.
"Sorry Baby, got lost for a minute."
"I got something to keep you with me," Rod grinned as he pushed Tina further onto his lap, grinding his hips into her crotch.
"Again? Jeez Rod, do you ever stop?"
His answer was his hot mouth pressed onto hers.
That night when she got home, Tina's senses were assaulted by the ammonia wafting from the downstairs bathroom. Her mother was bleaching her hair in preparation for her trip away with Phil, her latest walking bank account. Not that Tina got to see any of this cash, it all went on booze, smokes and more booze. Tina couldn't get her head round why most of the parents on Elm Street liked to have a good drink every night without fail. The ones who didn't where so high strung they needed a goddamn drink. Probably just some bad shit from the sixties, Tina thought.
If only she knew. Though she would, soon enough.
In the shower she did her best to scrub the smell of Rod, blow and sex from her skin. She slept with his t-shirt, which was stashed under her mattress. She couldn't get enough of his smell. Like car oil, leather and, well, sex. It was late at night as she inhaled his scent that her hands would start to wander south as she thought of all their best x-rated throw downs.
After she had toweled of and slipped into her light blue nightgown, she sat by her dresser to call Nancy with the run down of the nights activities.
"You know, I think if you do that with Glen there's no way he's going to be able to keep his pants zipped, you just slip your-"
"Tina, I get it! I just don't think I'd have the guts to pull it off, y'know? We're not all Madonna y'know."
"Hey, its just pointers honey. You don't wanna be singin' 'Like a Virgin' forever, huh? Look, I gotta go. Gotta do that math work for Peterson tomorrow or it's my ass in detention again. So I'll see you on the bus, yeah?"
"Ok, goodnight you."
"Goodnight you, sweet dreams."
After a good hour of math, Tina decided to call it a night. Sinking to her knees, she said a quick prayer before crossing herself and opening her eyes. She looked at her father's old cross above her bed. She wasn't really into religion, but it was one thing her father had practised faithfully, so Tina went through the motions. It made her feel closer to him.
Tina lifted her mattress slightly, sliding her hand under and feeling around for Rod's t-shirt. Lifting the mattress further she realised with horror that it wasn't there.
"Lookin' for this?"
Tina whipped round with a start to see her mother dangling the white t-shirt from her forefinger, reeking of alcohol with a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth.
"Mom?" Tina flushed, jumping to her feet, both angry and embarrassed.
"Y'know if you kept your legs shut and your mind on school you wouldn't be such a dumb slut, y'know?" Her mother slurred, "Runnin' round with that no good son-of-a-bitch Lane, you're gonna end up another white trash drop out with his kid hangin' off your hip while he's out fuckin' left, right and centre!"
"Mom, give it-"
Grace slapped Tina across the face with such a force it knocked her back onto her bed. She threw the t-shirt at her daughter and slammed the bedroom door.
Tina lay where she had fallen, twisting the t-shirt in her hands with hot tears rolling down the sides of her head. Her eyes were fixed on the cross abouve the bed. She was getting out of here. After graduation, after packing what she could carry, she and Rod where going somewhere, anywhere.
Anywhere but Elm Street.
When she had finished crying, she opened her eyes. What she seen made her sit up with a loud gasp. All across her room walls, someone had scrawled the words 'SLUT' and 'WHORE' in an uneven, jagged hand. Had her mother lost her fucking mind? Pushing herself off the bed, she saw that the words hadn't been inked there, they had been burnt into the pink paper. She reached up to touch the paper and pulled her hand back instantly when she realised it was still burning hot.
"Well Teen, it ain't your Mom who's lost her mind, it's you." She muttered shakily to herself.
Opening her bedroom door, she stepped out into the hallway, instantly falling hard onto the metal floor of what looked like an abandoned boiler room. Was it a boiler room? Tina had never seen one in her life. Pipes, lots of metal and heat seemed to add up to a boiler room in her mind. She padded softly around in her bare feel, reaching out to touch the iron railings surrounding the catwalk she was now standing on. Suddenly a horrific, soul splitting screech of metal on metal filled the air. To Tina it signaled one thing only.
Run.
Sprinting she made her way to the end of the catwalk and down the steel staircase. Turning the corner she collided with something. No, with someone. Looking up she took in the horrendous figure which stood above her. He was horribly burned and wore a filthy red and green striped sweater, a brown fedora sat tilted on his bald, scarred head and on his lower body he work dark brown trousers and black work boots. But that wasn't all.
What dropped her heart into the pit of her stomach was the glove he wore on his right hand. Attached to this glove on each finger were long, steel blades.
"Hello Tina," the figure chuckled, "long time no see."
Tina got up to run and, as she did, telephone wires twisted and shot out to snake round her wrists and ankles, pinning her to the boiler room floor. At the end of each wire was mouthpiece, the voice coming from all four was her Fathers. Screaming at her, yelling she was a no-good whore and a cheap lay. Daddy's little girl is a big fucking disappointment, huh Christina? You fucking piece of white trash!
Her nightdress rode up her thighs as she struggled to pull it down. The man lowered himself on top of her and flicked his tongue out to lick up the side of her face. Tina whimpered and began to cry softly. The steam from the open furnace had slicked her hair into her head, the heat causing her skin to flush as she shook with fear.
"Oh come on Tina, I thought you were a good at this?" He chuckled again, his laugh deep and bone chilling. Tracing a gloved finger down her neck he nicked her collar bone, causing a small pool of blood to well up and run down her shoulder.
Tina screamed out, lifting her knee to connect with his groin, hard. The man grunted and fell to the side, the metal binds loosening giving Tina the chance to escape. Turning she collided with the red hot mass of pipes behind her and yelled out once again.
Tina sat up like a shot, breathing hard and holding her chest. Her mother banged on the wall, yelling at her to keep the fuckin' noise down.
Laying back in the darkned room she sighed to herself, "Fucking blow, wonder who Rod got that shit from?" When she looked down she jumped when she seen the small trickle of blood drying on her skin. Shrugging, she passed it off as her scratching herself while struggling in her sleep.
As casual as she tried to be, Tina didn't sleep again that night. Instead she opted for several cups of coffee, Blondies 'Parallel Lines' album and the remainder of her school work. She kept this up til the first signs od daylight began to creep in and then she hit the shower to try and wake herself up.
For the first time since third grade, Tina Grey got her homework finished on time.
Hopping on the bus, Tina scanned for Nancy and spotted her sitting up back. With Glen. Tina gave Nancy a mental high five a went to join the new couple, who scooted apart slightly as Tina approached.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Bimbette, you don't look so good. You sleep ok?"
"Well you don't look so shit hot yourself Lantz, you been up all night thinking about baby blue eyes there?" Tina bristled.
"Woah, take it easy. I was just askin'. Jeez..." Glen shifted lower in his seat. Tina thought it was real cute both he and Nancy had turned identical shades of red.
As the bus set off, the brakes squealed causing a ear splitting 'screee!' to jolt through the bus. Both Tina and Glen turned white, as if reminded of a horrible memory.
Or a nightmare.
Tina shook it off and began gently teasing the two new star crossed lovers in the seats behind her. After all, nightmares weren't real, right?
Right.
END