Chapter 6. Shogo Plans to Rule the World
A sales department - oh, how boring - wants to make a 12 percent profit on its product. Kill me now. If the cost of the product is 87 dollars, what will the selling price of the product have to be achieve the desired profit? Wait, what?
I read over the passage again, perplexed at what it was asking.
"You look like you're 'bout to spontaneous combust." Shogo is speaking. I've already learned his speech patterns and broken English grammar from all of the times I've asked him for help.
I tear my tired eyes away from the textbook page. Shogo and some other skaters had just come back from skateboarding around town. It was an obsessive compulsion with them: If they weren't surfing, then they were skating. It was that simple. I, on the other hand, had to deal with school, work, which barely left me time to surf. Therefore I rarely skated, and I wasn't interested in doing so either.
"Don't you mean I look like I'm about to spontaneously combust?" I correct Shogo. He shrugs it off and sets his skateboard down on the counter that I was sitting on top of.
"Check out my board, man, T.A. put some Dogtown art on it."
I flip the board on its backside and see an intricately drawn cross, with the word 'Dog-town' spelled in graffiti.
"Gnarly, huh?" He basks in how sweet his board looks. "Hey do you want help with that?"
"I don't think I should," I shake my head. "I've already copied enough off of you. If I don't start doing my own work then I won't learn anything."
Sid, apparently overhearing me from his position behind the counter, snorts at me. "And they say I'm the dork around here? I don't compare to your standards." As Sid is walking by I reach over and shove his head.
"Alright, if you're sure," says Shogo. "If you change your mind I'll out back, uh, with milk and cookies." Around here, milk and cookies was code for something illegal or disgraceful. I give Shogo a look of disappointment.
"You have so much potential," I tell him. "Here you are just wasting it."
"I'm not wasting potential!" he claims, with a smile on that made him like slightly high. "I've plenty of plans for the future."
"Is that right? Like what?"
A blank expression creeps onto his face. For a moment he truly looks to be lost in his thoughts. Fortunately for him, Sid comes to the rescue.
"Shogo has the potential to rule the world, dude."
Shogo's face lights up in a smile again. "That's right! I use my crazy ultimate Chinese technique and math skills to takeover the world. How's that for a future?"
I purse my lips and shrug. "Not bad. Except I think you'll need to learn all of the components of the English language before you take over anything. That's just a given."
"Will you pecker-heads stop littering my shop?" A voice emerges from the back room. As Shogo disappears through the door, Skip comes out looking irritated. "Find a job, buy something, or get out!" He grabs a magazine off a shelf and begins swatting at some of the Z-boys lingering in the shop.
Half of them scatter, taking off on their skateboards, while the other half stays and pretends to be working.
"Get off the counter, Red," he instructs me, lighting up a new cigarette in his mouth. I close my textbook and slide off the counter.
"Is Stecyk here yet, Skip?"
"Yea, he's somewhere out back with Chino and Montoya. Probably taking pictures. Says he'll be out here in a few."
As if on cue, the bell door jangles, and in walks Lily with a backpack hanging over her shoulder. Several pairs of eyes fall onto her all at once. A sudden wave of guilt and regret hits me. Lily stuck out like a sore thumb. While most people in Dogtown wore ripped jeans, t-shirts, flip-flops and beach-washed hairstyles, Lily is dressed in what looked to be a catholic school uniform, complete with the white button shirt, skirt, and tie hanging from her collar. It was glaringly obviously that Lily was a Val, and the locals didn't take too kindly to Vals.
To top it off, Skip was in a mad mood, which only meant Lily was going to get it even worse than normal.
"What the hell does this look like to you, honey?" asks Skip, giving her a hard look. "A five star bed and breakfast? What are you doing here?"
Lily's mouth opens slightly as she flounders to answer him. She no doubt was surprised at Skip's harshly blunt words as soon as she walked in. "I, uh..." Her hazel eyes find mine in the group of onlookers.
"She's a friend, Skip," I say quickly to mend the situation. "I invited her."
Skip snorts, unconvinced. "Yea, well, that doesn't stop my policy. Locals only, sweetheart!" he tells Lily loudly. "Go find a kook shop down in kooksville."
"Skip! I didn't invite her all the way down here just so you can call her kook and kick her out."
"What makes you think you're the exception, huh?" Skip asks me quietly, even though that didn't stop all the guys from hearing his words. Speaking of which, most were amused with the scene unfolding in front of them, even Sid was intrigued.
"Please, Skip, just this once," I plead just as quietly. "I promise I won't ever ask you for anything else like this again."
But he isn't given the opportunity to answer, because the back door opens once again. Stecyk walks out with a cloud of smoke following him and an antique camera strapped around his neck. I walk over to Lily, who had stood there the entire time looking like a deer caught in the headlights. I bring her over to Stecyk without another word to Skip.
"This is the guy who I was telling you about," I say. Everything seems to go normal again, as the chatter of the shop returns and Skip starts fiddling with his cash register out of boredom. "Craig Stecyk? Lily Bruinn."
Lily shakes his hand and shakily proceeds to tell Stecyk how she broke her camera. She reaches into her bag and pulls out the lens, and other various disjointed camera parts.
"Aw, piece of cake!" bristles Stecyk. "This can be fixed within the hour, sweetie," says Stecyk, taking some of the camera parts into his own hands.
As Lily and Stecyk fade into a conversation about camera mechanics, I feel a hand latch onto my arm and somebody pulls me to the side of the shop. Jay pulls me farther away so that neither Lily or Stecyk can hear. He and Tony back me into a corner for trap.
"What is this?" asks Tony.
"What is what?" I reply, playing dumb.
"That," snaps Jay, pointing at Lily. "What did you bring her here for?"
"She's a friend who needed help with her camera! Why is everyone freaking out about this!"
"Because she's not one of us," explains Jay in a harsh tone of voice that he's never used on me before. "She's a Val, Eden. Her parents own ferarri's and lawyers while she lives in a trophy house on the nicer side of town."
"Oh, and what?" I say in a high-pitched, defensive voice. "Sid doesn't live on the corner of Pleasantville and Marigold? Who cares if she's rich?"
"That's different," says Tony. "Sid is like a brother to us. We've known him since we were kids."
"And she's just some outsider looking to find her Beatles to Yoko with."
Tony nods in agreement. "That's true, dude. Girls are always trouble with us."
Unconsciously, my hand retracts to my hip as I glare them down. "Oh really? Is that what you guys thought of me when I first moved here? That I was going to be your Yoko?"
"No," says Jay quickly. "All I cared about was how hot you were."
On instinct, both Tony and I hit Jay. I sock him in the gut while Tony slaps him in the head with his hand.
Tony, rolling his eyes in irritation, continues over Jay's moans, "Look, we knew you weren't that big of a deal, because you weren't interested in dating us. No one flirted with you, you flirted with nobody else, and that's how it should've stayed. Her on the other hand, we can't be sure of. She'll probably fall for someone lame like Stacy, then some other dude will end up jealous and all the sudden the gang is broken up over a chick. A spoiled rich white one, at that. That's how it works."
"You guys are such pigs," I give each of them a dirty scowl. "I can be friends with whoever I want! And if Lily happens to attend the same social functions as me, then that's too bad for you. On the plus side, you won't be seeing much of her because I try to avoid you morons anyway, on the account of I hate you all!"
"Don't be a bitch," says Tony, with another roll of his eyes.
"News flash, I am a bitch!" I say louder than I intended. "And you'll just have to deal with it. Oh, and by the way? You can forget that I ever offered my help for Stacy's surprise party. I can't stand working with either of you."
I try to shove past their blockade of shirtless bodies, but I'm stopped when Tony roughly grabs my wrist and spins me back around.
"What are you talking about?" yells Tony, his eyes flashing in anger. "You said you'd help!"
"I've already gotten my present for Stacy, so why should I take it further and help you guys? You treat me like crap, and frankly I've had enough of it. You're on your own. Have fun explaining to Stacy why he has such shitty friends."
With that, I reclaim my wrist from Tony's grip and walk back towards Lily. I glimpse over at Tony and Jay one last time, to see them glaring at me and whispering about what to do about Stacy's birthday.
"Ok, ok, hold the pose!" shouts Lily, adjusting the knobs on her camera to get it in focus. Stacy is using his arms to hold his body facing upward, while his feet stayed glued to the skateboard on the ground. It was like a push-up being done backwards. As Lily takes her time adjusting the knob, Stacy's arms begin to shake from the weight of his body.
"Uh, Lily? I don't know how much longer I can take it..."
"Sorry," grins Lily. She takes a quick snap of the photo and stands up. Stacy collapses onto the ground. We were all at Paul Revere Middle School. Most of the boys were skating up and down, enjoying the playground's smooth cement turns and shoulders.
"Oh man, I'm already out of film!" says Lily, noticing the 0 on her number reel. "Forty something pictures already. You guys make for some interesting art."
Stacy laughs and takes a seat on top of a picnic table. Lily joins him. I grin knowingly, wondering how long it would take for them to become betrothed. The pair had immediately hit it off from the first moments they met each other, unlike the reactions Lily got from Jay and Tony. Jay had given her a wet willy when she wasn't watching, and Tony "accidentally" slammed his skateboard into her heel on the way over to the school.
Sid joins me at the separate picnic table I was working at.
"Still working on that math homework?" he asks with a smirk.
"Yes," I say miserably, reminded that I still had a page and a half of questions to finish. "By the time I'm done, I'm thinking of writing a five-page essay on the evils of Algebra homework and how it's poisoning the student mindset."
"Sounds fun," agreed Sid. "I myself would be working on a similar project of a ten-page complaint letter to the faculty about the evils of Physical Education, except I can't." I stare at Sid in curiosity, waiting for him to explain why he couldn't. "You see, I'm too busy worrying about what we're doing about Stacy's b-day. I mean, his so-called step sister was supposed to aid me in my quest of redemption, but her ego got in the way, so now she's abandoned me."
I frown at Sid. "I'm sorry I had to leave you, Sid, but you can't blame me. Alva and Jay have acted like totally assholes toward me since day 1. Do you really expect me to give them a break? Especially since they're hating on Lily now? I actually have a real shot at making a friend out of her. My first real friend since I moved here."
"I'm sorry if they're trying to blow it for you," says Sid, although without a hint of apologetic tone. "But this isn't about T.A. or Jay. It's about Stacy, about making him happy."
"I'm not going to swallow my pride for it, Sid. I won't just sit and let them push me around. I wasn't programmed to take that."
Sid shrugs. "Just don't forget that you can always reprogram yourself to think differently." He stands up and stretches his limbs.
"Hey." A voice behind me interrupts my reverie of thought. Lily sits next to me, I notice the other picnic table is now empty and Stacy is skating around the playground like the rest.
"You and Stacy seem to be hitting it off," I smirk. "So when's the wedding reception? Tell me I get to be bridesmaid!"
She blushes heavily before giving me playful shove in the shoulder. "Shut up. Anyway, I'm not sure. I like Stacy and all, but he seems a tad naive."
"Naive how?"
"When I tried asking him out, he took it as a friends thing and said the guys would love to come along."
"Oh... Well, hate to break it to you, but I think he's still recovering from the last crush on a girl. You heard of Kathy Alva?"
"Tony's sister? Yep, I've heard that she's been around the block a few times."
"Stacy has been infatuated with her since they were kids, or so he tells me. He's still pretty hung up on her."
Lily sighs. "I hate competition. You saw me cave under pressure the day of our interviews."
I laugh. "Yea, that was pretty pathetic. If you want to spend time with Stacy, though, maybe ask him to teach you how to surf."
"I've already learned, though. Well, at least a little bit."
"Then pretend that you don't."
She smiles. "That's not a bad idea. I mean, I'll be able to ask him by next weekend, since my parents will be out of town--"
"Your parents are out of town?" says Sid loudly, seemingly materializing out of nowhere. His speed on his skateboard slows down considerably and he stares at Lily with hopeful eyes.
"Yea, they'll be in the Bahamas," answers Lily. "Why?"
"Oh," shrugs Sid. "Just curious. Lily, right? I think you're in my Lit class."
"I think so. Sid, is it?"
She holds out her hand for him to shake. Sid steps forward off his board, takes her wrist and instead of a handshake, he delivers an over-the-top kiss on her knuckle tips. I roll my eyes at the cheesiness of it all, but Lily is thrilled, because she gets into a fit of giggles and does a mock curtsy.
"I'll leave you two love birds to your business," I tease, packing my textbooks into my backpack and taking off.
I climb through the crack of the fence surrounding the middle school, when suddenly I hear, "Do you need me to walk you home?"
The last person I expect to ask, besides Tony, is Jay Adams. But there Jay was, on the other side of the fence staring at me dubiously. "I mean, there's that rapist on the loose, right? Wouldn't want your pretty little redhead to be warped by him."
"I think Ill be fine," I tell him stiffly. "I've got mace. And if you think that by being nice to me, I'll change my mind about the party, then forget it. My decision is final."
I stomp down the street, my head whirling over Jay's antics. I was glad that Stacy had agreed to walk Lily home for me, as I had to leave home early for homework. If I had stayed there any longer, I probably would have exploded.
"Where the hell is Stacy?"
I stare at my step-dad in mild surprise. He wasn't always so on edge about things, but today he was full-out anxious. Of course, it was understandable, seeing as today was Stacy's birthday.
Aaron, my mom, and I had baked him a lemon cake (his favorite), which he had gladly eaten for breakfast this morning. Both Aaron and my mom had given him fair gifts, while I had thrown together a crappy hand-made card which Stacy had believed was "heartfelt". What he didn't know was that my real present for him was chipping in for his new car. Every check that I was going to get from the Venice Noodle Company would be sent to Rob to pay off the debt.
We sit on our front porch, pondering where Stacy went and waiting for Rob to arrive any minute with the Le Baron. The plan had been to have Rob come with the car and surprise Stacy with it at the end of the day.
"He's probably at his surprise party," I inform Aaron.
"Surprise party?" Aaron repeats, his mouth falling open in anger.
"His friends had different plans from us. They're throwing him a party, separate from our familial celebration. I guess they stole our thunder."
I rethink my disappointment. Stacy doesn't like parties in the first place, especially the ones Z-boys throw. He'll probably end up shyly retreating to the backyard porch all night, watching his friends throw a drunken parade for him. When he gets here, the car will definitely take the cake.
"Well, do you know where the party is at?" says Aaron with an irritated glance at his wrist watch. "I don't have all night. There's a Bears game on in twelve minutes!"
"They kept it a secret," I say. "This is exactly what they do, especially when it comes to me. But I think I know where it is anyway."
The sound of a revving engine is heard in the distance. A black coated car pulls into our driveway. An insipid version of Aaron pops out of the car door.
"Hey hello!" he cheerily greets. "Where's our birthday boy?"
"Out," I say simply.
"I don't know what to do, Rob," sighs Aaron. "The game starts in ten minutes--I don't feel like running around town looking for Stacy."
"I can find him," I interrupt. "I already know where the party is probably at. I can just drive by and show Stacy his new car, he'll be so stoked that he'll just take off from the party."
"I don't know," says Aaron doubtfully. "What are you, fourteen? I don't think you should drive."
"I've got a permit, Aaron."
He considers me for a moment in silence.
"C'mon, Aaron, let the kid go!" interjects Rob. "She looks like she can take care of herself. We'll miss the game!"
"Right," I agree. "I wouldn't be asking if I didn't know how to drive really well. You know me by now, I'm not stupid."
Aaron sighs, caving into the peer pressure. "Alright knock yourself out." He shrugs at Rob, who reaches into his pocket and produces a set of car keys to the Le Baron. "But I want you home in two hours. No less. No boys, no booze, and no toking. Are we clear?"
"Yea," I say, grinning at Aaron's usage of "toking". I grab the keys from Rob's hand and climb into the driver's seat. The middle-aged brothers meander into the house for their beloved football game. Too bad for them, they'd have to explain to my mom how they let her fourteen-year-old daughter drive without supervision.
The engine come to life with the turn of my wrist and I slowly reverse into the street.
I figure the party is either at Tony Alva's place or at Lily's. Nearly every Dogtown party is an Alva party, because his dad has a night shift until six in the morning. Which meant no parental supervision, which was perfect for them. Apparently, Tony's mom left when he was a kid, but I don't claim to know the entire story.
The Le Baron cruises down Tony's street. I glance at the shabby house, which badly needed a new paint job. But there was no loud music emanating from the house or any kind of aura that there was a party. All of the lights were out. I turn the steering wheel and begin driving toward the nicer part of town.
Lily's house was my second suspect. The poor girl had been looking for reasons to impress the guys all week, and letting them host a party at her house was the perfect loophole for her. Also, Sid had seemed all too happy about her parents visiting the Bahamas a week before.
The neighborhood I pull into has picture-perfect lawns and estates. All of the hedges are trimmed green evenly and even the mailboxes match. I try to remember which number Lily's house was at. Was it Vaser Road Number Six or Number Seven?
I give up trying to remember, instead searching for the house that looked like there was a party inside of it. At the end of the block I find a three-story white house with rock music 'I Just Want to Make Love to You' blaring out of the windows. The front door was wide open with smoke billowing out. This was without question where the party was at. I parallel park the Le Baron into the nearest empty spot on the curb.
When I step out, there's a dizzy teen on his hands and knees, vomiting into a bushel of roses. When he hears my footsteps, he looks up from his drunken stupor and shouts, "Hey man, party of the century right at this place! Join the fun!" He proceeds to blow chunks into the bush.
I carefully move past him, a grimace of disgust etched on my face, and walk through the front door. The party was at full blast. Empty plastic cups and peanuts littered the floor, a crowd of teenagers were drunkenly swaying to the Foghat song, and the kitchen had a strong aroma of marijuana flowing from it. At the top of the marble staircase, a group of rowdy teens were ready to sled down the stairs into a pyramid of empty beer cans.
The house was a huge mansion inside, including a tall ceiling and numerous glass cases of professional photography. Lily's parents seemed to share the same love of photography. The house would have been nice, without the presence of party-goers invading the luscious space.
I sigh at the state of Lily's house. This is what happens when you let the Z-boys take over a nice get-together.