Chapter 2: …Never Completely Changes
It was nearly 9 o'clock at night, but the sky remained blackened as ever. Light from inside Jessica's home burst out into the street as Eddy opened the door to leave. He made his way down the porch but a hand grabbed him by his shirt collar back before he got the chance.
"Thanks for coming Eddy. I'm sorry I freaked out on you, I've been frustrated with other things lately," Jessica explained.
"It's cool, I should have come on time as we planned anyways, it's my fault."
"Don't lose any sleep over it," said Jessica with a sly wink.
Eddy smiled and kissed her, forgetting the door to the house was ajar.
"Jessica shut the damn door! Bugs are starting to appear now that it's spring time!" yelled a stickler of a mother. Jessica broke from Eddy and smiled as she turned to go inside. Her gracious body bounced into the house as she shut the door.
Eddy shuffled through the streets and stuck to the main roads as he went home. His mind once again slipped into itself and thought of how gorgeous Jessica was and how she was such a Godsend. His thoughts of love drifted into those of anxiety as he thought of how he would explain himself to his parents. They liked Jessica, no doubt, but they were very keen on communication. Since Eddy had left without notice and had been gone for so long, there was going to be hell to pay.
Ed roared the flaming van to a stop along the curb across from Eddy' residence. He put the van into park and set his smelly foot on the brake. After waiting several minutes he checked to see his watch, and he decided to give the horn a tap. Honk! The door to Eddy's house violently swung open a split second after the horn sounded, and a one-legged Eddy hopped outside, his shirt in his hands and his pants being recklessly put on as he hopped to the vehicle. Ed couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey it's not like I've ever had to wait for you, lumpy!" shouted Eddy as he lugged himself into the passenger seat. "I remember that me and Double D had to pry you out of your bed with a spatula back in seventh grade. Who knew a lump could get stuck to his bed with a piece of buttered toast!"
"But Eddy, the October Monster Movie Marathon premiered that night! I bet you weren't doing anything half as important last night than watching a monster movie marathon!" retorted Ed as he roared the engine to life once again. The van looped around the cul-de-sac and headed straight towards Edd's house.
"If you must know, Ed, I was up late helping Jessica with her math homework until 9 o'clock."
Ed had a smirk on his face. "Come on Eddy, you two lovebirds did more than that, right?" he asked as he stopped beside Edd's house.
Eddy sighed, "Unfortunately not, Ed. Jessica was ticked because I showed up late to her house. You saw how tired I was yesterday after school." Ed nodded and looked out the window to see Double D walking briskly up to his van.
"I'll have you know that according to my calculations we will be late to school if we do not make haste gentlemen, so I advise you step on it, Ed! But don't speed, for Pete's sake!" advised an annoyed Edd.
Ed stepped on the gas and zoomed out of the cul-de-sac and turned onto the street that headed out for the highway. They raced against the clock going 15 mph above the speed limit down the white-dashed black ribbon of road. Eddy sifted through the van to the back in order to get the full "van experience" as he squirmed in the waterbed placed in the rear of the van's interior. Double D would have told Ed to slow down if it weren't for his carsickness. In a record of 9 minutes and 47 seconds the van hummed into the parking lot and swerved into its designated spot. The "Eds" poured out of the doors and ran for the school building, hoping that they had not missed the first bell for homeroom.
Ed and Eddy strolled side-by-side through the hallways as they headed for the cafeteria. The two bickered about what the answer was to the final question on the math test they had just taken. Ed insisted that he had the correct answer, but Eddy knew better than to trust Ed's pea of a brain. Their argument over the right answer was turning into a heated altercation, but the conversation simmered down with the touch of a hand reaching both the "Ed's" shoulders. Ed and Eddy jerked their heads back to see the bright smile of Darrell Foyer gleaming upon them. Darrell's tan skin, light brown freckles, blonde hair and brown eyes made it hard for anyone to force a frown when looking upon him. His good looks matched his charismatic personality, as well as his usual dapper appearance. Today he approached Ed and Eddy wearing crisp, blue jeans and an orange polo shirt. "Hey Ed and Eddy, I was wondering if you two could join Jerry, Kevin, Chris and I at a meeting right now behind the school near where the doors to the gym are. Think you can come?"
The two friends looked at each other and exchanged glances, then Eddy turned back to Darrel and said with confidence, "Yeah, as long as shovel chin will keep his trap shut!"
Darrell chuckled at Eddy's humorous reference to Kevin, and with a laugh said, "Nice, we'll start discussion in five minutes! Um… Double D isn't with you today, is he?"
"Nah, sock-head is occupied during lunch with his buddies in his Physics class."
Darrell nodded and bid the boys farewell, turning to walk towards the back of the school. "Hey Ed, what do you think is going on with this meeting? Pretty boy never said anything about a club."
The lump scratched his head, dandruff snowing down with every stoke of his fingers. He configured his thoughts with great effort and said, "I have no idea, Eddy."
"Typical."
Within five short minutes, the boys had gathered around the in the back of the school. The sun shined down on the school at an angle, with the school's shadow encompassing its rear, hiding the boys from the light of day. Chris, Jerry, Kevin, Ed and Eddy sat in plastic classroom chairs, centered upon Darrell, who stood at the center of the circle of boys. Eddy glanced around to survey who he was dealing with. Chris' long, dark hair shadowed his eyes from sight, and his slouched figure added to his aura of carelessness. Even though the boys were in the shade, Chris' several earrings adorned on his lips, nose and eyebrow shined. Jerry's black, curly afro hung neatly over his head, and his ebony skin complemented the white N.W.A. shirt he was wearing. Kevin wore his red hat as usual, with his red hair sticking out from his forehead. Darrell now carried a small, blue backpack with him. He slung it from his back and plopped it on the dark concrete he was standing on, and did not bother to open it.
"What I have gathered us here today for is very important, and it can greatly benefit every single one of you by increasing the size of your wallets." Eddy paid more attention to what Darrell was saying after he heard that. "You may wonder why I have selected each of you. Kevin," said Darrell, pointing right at Kevin, "You're a stupid jock that has no other aspirations than to bang Nazz and get wasted with your buddies every Friday night, no? And you, Chris, you just wanna smoke weed in the Walmart parking lot with your gang right? Must I need to point anyone else out?"
Ed was poised to raise his hand but Eddy slapped it down without drawing too much attention.
"You all have something of common interest though. Money. You see, I've got some connections down in Chestnut township where I got several people that have started a business of sorts. I invested my own money into their business and it has worked out for me, because right here," Darrell whipped out a roll of cash, $100 bills to be exact. "…five, six, seven big ones! Seven big ones! And only two weeks time!"
The boys dropped their jaws on the floor in pure astonishment, especially Eddy. The crisp, green dollar bills folded so neatly in Darrell's soft hands, and fluttered in the April breeze. "I'm gonna save you boys the trouble of asking me, 'Darrell, how the hell did you get so much cash in such a short amount of time?' Well here it is…" Darrell picked up the small blue backpack and zipped it open. He stuck his hand far into the bag, and after a few seconds he took out a wrinkly Zip lock bag of white and orange pills.
"Shit no way, that's the-"
"New drug around town?" Darrell said, interrupting Chris. "They call it Creamsicle 'C'. It's stronger than anything any of you have ever experimented with. Hell, they say it's stronger than crystal meth or heroine!"
A sinking feeling was deep seeded within Eddy's stomach, and he couldn't help but feel Ed felt the same way, judging by his facial expression.
Darrell continued. "Now I'm not asking you to try this or to even carry it or sell it. Shit is so crazy I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole if I didn't have to show it to you. So here's what you can do boys: You each give me $100 by this week and invest that into the business I have connections with in Chestnut, or you say you're not interested right here and now. Don't be wishy-washy with me, because I need to give my friends in Chestnut a call to tell them how much to expect this week. If you swear to have the money in time, then you better have it, or else there will be severe consequences. Do you understand?" They all nodded. "Now whoever is in raise their hand in the air where I can see!"
Chris raised his immediately.
So did Jerry.
Kevin did with slight hesitation.
Ed and Eddy looked quickly at each other, but Eddy could not help himself. He raised his hand.
And Ed followed.
Darrell nodded in approval of their decisions. "Good. $600 and I can count on no one ratting me out. Speaking of, you would not be wise to tell anyone about this, for obvious reasons." Not even Ed pondered for a second on what Darrell had just told them. "Have my money boys, I don't give a shit how you get it, just have it in my hands by Friday during lunch. It's Tuesday now. Get to it!"
The bell pierced their ears, being perched right above the gym doors. All the boys discarded their chairs and headed for their classes without a word.
