Chapter One
The Gang and the Body
"Sammy, its Rockin' Robin! Sing it!" Chris Chambers exclaimed as the radio squawked out, "Up the ladder with another platter, Bobby Day with Rockin' Robin!"
Samantha Chambers, Chris's twin sister, grinned self-consciously. "I don't know...I don't really know this one..." Teddy Duchamp snorted in disgust and disbelief. "You know them all! Sing it!"
As the song played, Sammy began, in tune, "She rocks in the treetop all the day long, hoppin' and a-boppin' and-a singin' this song. All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin goin' tweet tweet tweet-"
She broke off as the secret knock echoed. "Who knocks?" She asked playfully. It had to be Gordie since he was the only one who knew the secret knock who wasn't in the tree with us.
"Gordie, who else?" Gordie asked, pushing up the door after they had moved the make-shift card table.
Gordie's brother Dennis had died a few months back in April, and he had been different since then. Sammy hadn't exactly been herself Denny had been the closest thing to a father she ever had. but Gordie had fared the worst.
"Hey, how do you know a Frenchman's been in your backyard?" Sammy asked, smiling, breaking herself out of her own thoughts, over the top of her cards.
"Hey I'm French, okay?" Teddy Duchamp replied. Teddy was the stupidest, wildest guy I knew. He was always doing something stupid, something that'd get himself hurt. But he didn't care, he did it all for his dad, Sammy knew it.
Teddy's had basically fixed Teddy a career in Castle Rock, and maybe not even one here. He was never getting out of this town; everyone knew it was his dad who had nearly burnt Teddy's ear off. Teddy, Peckerwood Loony's son. It hurt him to hear that, I could see it in his eyes, even though he would never admit it.
Chris shot Gordie and Sammy a grin. "Your garbage cans are empty and your dog's pregnant." He laughed once, glanced at the three friends, and Sammy and Gordie laughed hard, even harder when they saw Teddy's indignant face.
"Didn't I just say I was French?" He asked, and Sammy replied, "Have you ever listened to us when we say we don't care?"
Teddy flipped her off and she stuck her tongue out at him. It was childish teasing, but what else was there to do?
"I knock!" Chris said, knocking once,
"Shit!" Teddy exclaimed, glancing at his cards.
"Twenty-nine," Chris gloated, laying his cards down.
"Twnety-two," Teddy echoed.
""Nineteen!" Sammy exclaimed with a frown, throwing the cards on the table to they scattered and fell to the boards, on floating down.
"Piss up a rope!" Gordie snapped, causing Chris and Sammy and even Teddy who was currently picking up the cards and glaring the one card that fell through.
"Gordie's out! Oh Gordie just bit the bag and stepped out the door!" Teddy shouted gleefully as he came up with the lone card, which had been stuck between two branches.
"Just deal, Teddy." Sammy said impatiently at the same time as Chris said "Come on man, deal."
Teddy dealt the cards, and knocked. "I knock."
"You four-eyed pile of shit!" Chris yelled, throwing his cards down in much the same fashion as Sammy.
"A pile of shit has a thousand eyes!" Teddy replied, and looked absolutely flabbergasted when Sammy and Chris burst into laughter.
"What? What's so funny? Come on, I've got thirty, what have you got?" He asked, his eyes wide with a type of confusion.
"Sixteen, same as Sammy." Chris replied.
Chris and Sammy, twins, four minutes apart, looked completely different. Sammy was average height but petite, fragile looking. Chris, two inches taller than Sammy, was tough, like nothing could touch him. The only thing that tied them together was their ratty, dirty clothes and that haunted look in there eyes, like they had seen too much too young.
Sammy and Teddy both screeched, "What?" But Teddy screeched because Vern and knocked extremely loudly for what could've been the sixth time for all of what the three could have known. Sammy had screeched because Chris had known what she had, which was weird but he had been doing that more lately.
"That's not the secret knock!" Gordie sing-songed, laughing silently with the other three when Vern whined, "I forget the secret knock, let me in!"
Chris, Teddy, Gordie, and Sammy all sighed, "Vern," at the same time. Sammy and Teddy moved the table over just enough to Vern could come through while he exclaimed "Oh man, you guys are not gonna believe this. This is so boss. Oh man, wait'll you hear this, wait'll you hear this. You won't believe it. It's unbelievable. Let me catch my breath. I ran all the way from my house."
Sammy began, "I ran all the way home..." And the boys chimed in "Just to say I'm sorry...sorry ohhh."
"Come on, guys, listen to me. Guys, come on! Okay, forget it. I'll tell you nothing."
"Alright, guys, alright. What is it, man?" Chris interjected, blowing smoke from in front of his face. Sammy coughed, for real at first then dramatically.
"Jesus, girl, you don't need to pretend you don't smoke! I see that butt in your hand!" Teddy cried, pulling the butt out of Sammy's hand and holding it up as evidence.
"I don't smoke as much as you do!" Sammy shot back, and Teddy replied, "Probably because there's not enough at your house and you run out!"
"Guys listen you won't believe this, sincerely." Vern said, having got his breath back. "I ran-"
Again, Sammy began, "I ran all the way home..." And the boys chimed in "Just to say I'm sorry...sorry ohhh."
"Screw you guys!" Vern exclaimed with a hurt look.
Sammy shushed the group with a swiping motion at her throat and Chris asked, "What is it?" With a quick drag on his cigarette.
"Can you guys camp out tonight? I mean if you tell your folks, we're gonna tent in my backfield?" Vern asked, and everyone's attention was peaked.
Lying about tenting out always meant something illegal or at least less then completely legal, and was admired by those who chose not to.
"Yeah." Teddy and Gordie replied, one right after the other.
"Well, dad's kind of on a meant streak..." Sammy trailed off and Chris added, "He's been drinking a lot lately..."
"You've got to guys, sincerely." Vern added beseechingly. "You can, right Gordie?"
"Yeah, probably." He replied absentmindedly, picking up the cards he had just been dealt.
"So what are you pissin' an' moanin' about Vern?" Teddy asked snidely, frowning slightly at his cards.
"I knock." Chris said, grinning at Sammy who returned it.
"What? What! You liar, you ain't got no pat-hand. You didn't deal yourself no pat-hand!" Teddy exclaimed, glaring at Chris when he said confidently, "Make your draw, shit-heap."
Vern chose this time to blurt out, "You guys wanna see a dead body?"
"Ray Brower?" Sammy asked, astounded.
"The kid who got ran over by the train?" Teddy asked.
"Where is he? How'd you find out?" Chris asked, being the sensible one.
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How was that? Okay? Fantastic? What can I do to make it better? Oh and I'm contemplating changing the POV to solely Sammy's, but what do you guys think I should do? Are they IC as much as possible?
Thank you for reading this far...and what's two more seconds to review? It'll make me feel warm and fuzzy inside...
