Jhondie

Jhondie

Going into the hall where the dance was being held was like entering another world. They were the people I'd known for years, but now they were different somehow. There was almost a magical quality to the air tonight. Maybe it was being dressed up like this, maybe it was the ocean, or maybe it was having Justin there, but there was a sparkle to the atmosphere I never expected in a high school setting. Even Lisa shut up for a moment to take in the setting.

Everyone instinctively knew the proper timeline for Prom. First dinner. Then you went to the dance, staked out a table with your friends, all the girls went to the bathroom together, and then you did the pictures when the girls got back. Cheryl was already at a table with a couple of my friends. She spotted us, and waved at me to come over. I glanced at Justin and he smiled encouragingly. I needed that.

There was a main aisle in the center that went to the dance floor, and tables were on either side of it. Cheryl was a little over midway down. As we started to go down the aisle, there were Kyle and Haille. They were sitting at a table, and she was not looking happy. Oh, I could have done the Happy Dance right then and there. I nodded slightly towards them, and Justin caught it. His smile turned mischievous.

"Okay Jhondie my love," he said as we strolled slowly past them. "I'm glad you talked me into coming. Happy now?"

I smiled sweetly. "I told you we would have a good time," I replied. "And we'll have a better time later," I continued, my voice full of meaning. I didn't spare a glance at Haille as we went to the table.

We sat down, and then I looked over at them. Haille was getting up, part of her entourage with her, and heading off towards the bathrooms. Cheryl was grinning at me in triumph. "She's so angry about Kyle," Cheryl said. My other friends nodded.

"Yeah," Lisa said. "She never suspected for a minute Kyle was playing with her to make her come running like a whipped puppy." She grinned at me. "Looks like you traded up anyways."

I shrugged. "Cheerleaders aren't known for intelligence anyways," I said.

Cheryl jumped up. "The ladies need to freshen up for pictures," she announced.

"What is it with women going to the bathrooms in groups?" Tyler complained.

"It's all on the X chromosome," Justin replied. "It's right next to the three hundred pound purse gene." The other males laughed.

"Like any of you complain when we come back more beautiful," Lisa said. She grabbed me and Cheryl and we all trooped off to the bathroom, complimenting each other's dresses and hair. Lisa was in love with the butterflies on my dress. Tonight was going far better than I could have ever hoped, and I had a feeling it was going to get better and better. I was looking forward to the walk on the beach later tonight.

We went into the ladies room. There was a small entryway, with a sitting room off to one side, and the door to the bathroom on the other. Haille and her orbiting fellow bubbleheads were packed into the sitting room. They didn't see us come in.

"He's her cousin or brother or something," Michelle was saying. Haille sniffed. "There's no way he's really her date. He's way too hot for someone like her. I bet if you flirted with him, he'd be all over you."

The three of us gave each other looks of disgust over their words, and went into the bathroom. There were several other girls in there fixing their hair and makeup. My hair was still in good shape. It had enough hairspray in it to form a solid wall. It was going to take a bulldozer to move it. I needed to fix my eyeliner and lipstick though. My repairs weren't bad in comparison. Kate had nearly an entire beauty salon she was pulling out from her purse.

I was checking my teeth to make sure there wasn't any food stuck or lipstick on them when Haille came in. Our eyes met, and there was a sudden silence. It was like a gunfight in an old Western movie. Her nose went into the air and she strode to the mirror. Her eyeliner and mascara had run giving her raccoon eyes. I knew I should feel bad for her in some way. After all, it was Kyle who was the jerk, but she was the one who told him she wanted to go with him when she couldn't get another date. If she was miserable, she was going to make him just as miserable. That was fine by me.

I was walking past them when Michelle put out her foot to trip me. I saw that one coming. Pitiful really. Not to mention useless on someone like me. I let my foot skate past hers so that my shin hit her calf and then swept my leg up just a little. She had put her weight on that front foot, and was knocked off balance. She was wearing this extremely tight little black number, and there was no way she was going to regain her footing. She fell back, a loud ripping sound coming from the seam in the back of her dress.

I stopped, pretending to be horrified. "Michelle!" I cried. "Oh dear, there went that lovely dress. Next time get it the right size okay sweetie?" Several other girls laughed. Haille glared at me, and then her hand flashed up.

I caught her hand an inch from my cheek. She had a ring on it that would have cut me, and she knew it too. I jerked her forward so that we were almost within kissing distance. "Try that again, and you'll spend the rest of your life minus one hand," I growled, and then pushed her back. She hit the counter. There was some water on it, and wet the rear of her light pink dress. She jumped up with a squeal. It looked like she had an accident.

I strode out of the bathroom like a triumphant general. The night was getting better and better.

Justin

Jhondie had this feline look to her when she came back. I knew what that meant all to well. She only looked like that when she really messed someone up who deserved it. I didn't want to ask, but that stupid little reporter in my head was going to want to know. She sat back down, and the other two girls were giggling wildly.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Me?" she said with mock innocence. "Why would you think I did anything?"

"Because I know you far too well," I replied.

"Haille got over-excited about Michelle's trip," Lisa said, and the girls laughed. I told the reporter I was going to strangle him if he asked another question. I didn't want to know what happened in the women's bathroom. That was a place of mystery that decent men should just pretend doesn't exist.

We did the picture thing. I had told Dad that if he displayed my Prom picture with Denise I would burn it. I wouldn't mind seeing this one of Jhondie and me together. We left where the pictures were being done. A slow song had started playing. I knew I had promised Jhondie only one dance, but that would be a bad boyfriend to sit for the rest of the night. I was about to ask her if she'd like to dance when my pager went off. I checked the number. Dink. Timing was just so not good tonight for us.

"I really need to call him back," I said to Jhondie apologetically. "There's a phone right outside; I'll be back in just a minute, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a smile. "But you're not weaseling out of a dance that easily." I laughed and went to the phone.

Dink answered on the first ring. "This better be good," I said. I knew he was probably jealous that I was with Jhondie and not him, but such was life.

"My stuff is always good," he replied. "Okay, The Till Man is a ship with a very erratic cruise route. Most ships have to come and go from the same dock, but this guy is all over the place." The bribe, I thought. The bribe was so that the ship could dock wherever it wanted. "So here's the deal," Dink continued. "I know where it is tonight, but I'm not going to know where it's going to be tomorrow. There's no log, and I have to be real careful not to break into Coastal too often. They get wind someone's there, and they'll lock up too tight for me to do other business."

"So where is it now?" I asked. Maybe we could stay just a little longer, and then check it out. No, that wasn't going to work. It was probably miles from here, and Jhondie deserved to have a night not messed up by Eye's Only.

"The Santa Monica Pier," he replied. So, it was like five minutes from here. The Pier had been a hotspot before the Pulse. It was like a carnival there year round. Now it was mostly locked off, but there was a place for boats. One building had been left open for some unspecified (translated nice bribe somewhere) purpose. There was a large gate blocking people from going up on it from the beach, but Jhondie could get around that. It wouldn't be an hour. She was going to kill me, but I had to ask.

"Thanks man," I said. "I need to get Jhondie and check it out." I hung up and went back into the ballroom. She saw me come in and smiled. Got to go look at the ship. Death. Destruction. Mayhem. Stop thinking about how she would feel in your arms when you danced with her. Bad guys. Lots of bad guys. She was so beautiful. If she even looked the slightest bit upset, there was no way I was going to go.

I took Jhondie to the side and told her what was going on. She didn't look upset. That was strange. "We'd be back in like half an hour, an hour at the latest," she said thoughtfully. I guess I looked pretty shocked. "Hey," she said, "I've been doing a lot of work trying to figure this out too you know."

"So you don't mind?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

She shrugged. "I got what I was after here," she replied. Her eyes met mine. "But you still owe me a dance, and I am getting that tonight."

"We get something good, and I might even give you two," I teased. Before she could change her mind, I grabbed her hand and we took off.