1: Aftermath of the Parade
They were out of beer, or any form of beverage. So he had to go out and buy some more. Janey was off with Tom somewhere. Probably at the parade.
He had always tried avoiding the horrible parade. When he was fourteen, he was in the marching band. He had had to walk down those streets wearing a silly helmet and playing loud songs. He didn't want to remember those things. He had erased that person.
But he was damn thirsty. Sure, he wouldn't get up if the house was on fire, but this was different. This involved more important needs.
He put on a shirt he had around the room, took his car keys though he wouldn't need them and left the house. As he approached the town centre, he could hear the brash noise coming from the carts.
And all of a sudden he saw this huge crowd in front of him. Everyone had turned up to see the parade, young and old. There were many high schoolers and teachers, many of those bohemian artists that threw paint everywhere, there were creepy mascots and cheerleaders.
It all came back to him in painful memories. But he told himself he had chosen to come.
He passed by a couple of shops without going in. He just walked with his head in the ground, thinking about his band and their gig tonight. Maybe he'd just sleep it over. It was becoming a drag, a common routine. Even singing was a common routine. What was there left? He was twenty-three and he hadn't seen the world.
He looked up and saw something that caught his eye. He knew that green jacket from somewhere.
Daria!
What was she doing at a homecoming parade? Had she got lost? She would never come here willingly, he thought.
He was going to go say hi when suddenly he saw who she was with. Tom was at her side, smiling. They were walking together, talking. And they seemed to have fun.
He stared at them confused. If they were here…where was Janey? Maybe she was looking for them, maybe they were going together.
But it didn't look like that at all. It didn't look as if Daria was the third person. It seemed she was the first to Tom. Or second. In any case, they seemed close.
He watched his expression. He genuinely seemed to like her. He seemed to like her presence. He even made her smile.
Trent felt some worry for Janey in the back of his mind, but he felt worried for Daria just as much. Maybe it was the "my little sister's best friend" syndrome.
He didn't know why but there was a strange feeling taking over him. Like Daria was in danger, or something as strange as that. Like she was very far away from him, even though she was some feet away.
He knew it was stupid; she was just hanging out with Tom. Tom was no threat. Well, not when he went out with Janey. For some reason, he was okay with him and Janey being intimate. But he wasn't okay with this. He wasn't okay with Tom being overly friendly with Daria.
Maybe he was just being friendly though…maybe Trent was exaggerating. However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that this wasn't okay. Even if they were just walking and talking.
Someone took a photo of them. He chuckled and turned away bitterly.
Would he tell Janey? What would she say?
The very next day, Daria came by Jane's house. Trent watched her climb up the stairs from the kitchen. He knew Tom was supposed to show up soon. They would probably go for pizza.
Maybe he should watch them carefully. But then again, he had better things to do. He couldn't decide if he should care about this or not.
His instinct said yes. His current state said no. It wasn't his business, he had no share in it.
He waited for an hour or so in his room, playing his guitar half-heartedly, thinking up a new song that sounded more like a Blink 182 cover and then he got up to check if they had left.
They had. The house was empty and quiet.
So he went to the pizza place himself, not knowing exactly what he was doing.
He was maybe a little bit curious. I mean, would they talk about their rendezvous yesterday? He had heard Janey had found them eventually in the crowd, but then only Tom and Janey came back to her house later that day.
So what had happened exactly?
His assumption had been correct; they were at their favourite pizza place. He went straight to their table. Jane's eyes widened.
'Trent, what are you doing up so early? Did the wind breeze wake you?'
'Nah, I just felt hungry,' he muttered. 'I figured you guys would be here.'
Tom was sitting casually beside Jane and Daria sat on the opposite seat, chewing on her slice of pizza. She only nodded towards Trent, her mouth full.
'Well, do join us, we don't mind,' Tom said pointing at the spot next to Daria.
He sat down next to her, looking at Tom intently.
A couple of awkward minutes passed in which no one said anything.
'So, did you guys watch last night's Sick Sad World special: NFL stands for Nocturnal Furry Ladybirds?' Daria asked.
'Oh, didn't manage to catch that,' Jane said.
'I think I did,' Tom answered quickly. 'I couldn't find anything better to do, what with Elsie throwing a tantrum about her ruined Prada shoes. I swear she sometimes reminds me of Quinn though to be fair, with more brains. Anyway, it was a bit disturbing when they got to "the dissection of a footballer's brain – the real anatomy".
'Oh, that was my favourite part. Though I hope none of those hamsters were harmed in the process.'
Tom laughed. 'Yeah, those cute fur balls. Who knew that most of them were working double shift in those guys' brains?'
'I've been preaching this since the beginning of time, but has anyone listened?' Daria countered.
'Next time we'll ask Kevin if he can hear a rodent in his mind,' Jane added rather bored.
'Oh that's just Brittany,' Daria answered. And on cue Tom laughed again.
Trent coughed in his peculiar way, hiding his chuckle.
He was watching their interaction as if he was watching an interesting soap on TV. It was obvious to the biggest of idiots that Tom and Daria didn't hate each other anymore. They didn't even have the slightest dislike for each other. They liked each other, alright.
So probably Tom hadn't minded walking with Daria at the parade.
'So, did you guys have fun at the parade?' he suddenly asked.
'I didn't so much. Someone threw paint on me and I looked like a psychedelic rainbow,' Daria answered quickly.
'Yeah, but there were some key moments, you have to admit,' Tom added.
Janey threw him a weird look and folded her arms.
'Yeah, I had some key moments looking for you, you big nincompoop.'
'Hey, can I help that your directions are ambiguous?' Tom defended himself.
'I'll show you ambiguous,' she said and punched him playfully.
'You just enjoy hitting me, don't you? I wonder how Daria survived all these years.'
There he goes again, bringing it back to Daria, Trent thought amused.
'I can punch a mean fist myself, you know,' Daria quipped.
'You? I'll believe that when I see it,' he replied. But Daria just looked down, a bit embarrassed by his reply.
This scene seemed to clash in his mind terribly. He had a feeling for these things.
'So, uh, Tom did you have fun with Daria yesterday?'
He had no idea where that had come from, but it did get out. It came out as one of those imminent sentences given to criminals. And Janey, Tom and Daria stared at him confused.
Why had he said it? He had to get out of there.
'Yeah, I'd better go now. Band practice, you know. I'm probably late,' he said excusing himself and putting a five dollar bill on the table, though he hadn't taken a single bite.
As he walked away from the pizza place he wondered what was going through Daria's mind right now.