Chapter 4
Life Flashed Before my Eds
Puzzled, Ed sat leaning against the wall in his basement room. An unusually serious expression crossed his face, as he tried to figure out what was bothering him so much. He had thought about Jen almost constantly since he met her, except for his brief phase of worry that Eddy and Double-D no longer liked him. Now that he actually had the time to consider it, Ed had to admit to himself that there was something about her that gave him "that crawly feeling". He remembered back when he was younger, and Nazz made him feel that way. Now he could plainly see that this was a far stronger crawly feeling. This was love. Or, at least the closest thing to love that Ed knew of.
True, he had only known Jen for a day, but still, there was something about her that just jumped out at him, made him want her to be with him all the time. The only problem was, every time he considered that, a bad feeling came to him as well. A pulsing throb, stirring up his blood. Sarah seemed to come to mind with this feeling, and Ed could imagine her saying, "You've only known her a day! How could you possibly think you're in love?" He could even imagine hearing, "Why would anyone love you?" as well, but he tried to shut that thought out. Surely Eddy wasn't so ill at ease about this.
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The door creaked open, after having remained closed for years. Ed was right in thinking that Eddy was not anxious about the Jens; at least not at the moment. Later, after his mission to this forbidden threshold had ended, sure, he swould have his own self-debate. But now, Eddy had other things on his mind.
Eddy peeked into his brother's blackened room cautiously, as if he believed his brother would suddenly jump out of the shadows. Trying to reassure himself of this just wasn't enough. There was something menacing about his brother's room, and he wasn't quite sure what. Possibly the reason was the outcome of his last visit here years earlier. Eddy remembered that because Ed had found the treasure map in this room, he ended up in the Kankers' clutches. And if it involved the Kankers, it couldn't be a good thing.
When he turned on the light, Eddy discovered everything was just as he had left it the last time, except the room was darker and dirtier. A thick layer of dust had settled over things, but it didn't cover up the emptiness the room had about it now, with Eddy's brother gone. After taking it all in for a moment, Eddy started his search. Hopefully, his brother's guitar was still there. But where would it be?
Opening the trunk of the red car his brother left against the wall, Eddy scoured it for the familiar guitar case. It wasn't there. All that was there was some old clothes and Playboy magazines. Eddy laughed to himself. "I turned fourteen last year. I should have asked if we could take the car out last year. I'll get my permit soon, anyway. And of course, his little snake got out again." Shutting the trunk, dust flew up from the car and the rug, then settled again. Spitting out the dust that had landed in his mouth, Eddy kept looking.
The harp still stood over by the fake window, and Eddy ran a finger gently across the strings. It sounded nice, but not right for a garage band. And Eddy did not plan to play a harp in public anytime soon. Double-D probably would, but that was him. Under the bed was more of the same, magazines, clothes, and various other objects. Eddy squeezed as much of himself under the bed as would fit, and sifted through his finds. Eddy opened a magazine with "Whorgasm" written across the front in huge letters. After he was a few pages in, Eddy was not surprised his brother had kept this magazine for himself. Two naked girls touching each others' breasts was enough to get Eddy hooked.
By the time Eddy had flipped through nearly all of his brother's magazines, he had long since forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. He left all the magazines in a big pile, then sat on his brother's bed, trying to remember. The sight of the harp brought it all back. Guitar. That was it. But where else was there to look? There wasn't much in his brother's room! Without a closet, he only places he could hide things were under his bed and in the car or under the car. Eddy bounced off the bed and onto his feet, and dove down to look under the car.
Sure enough, the space there was cluttered with the same array of junk that filled the car and the space under the bed. "Damn, how many magazines does this guy need?" Eddy gasped in shock. And the discovery of several condoms, in varying degrees of use, was not a welcome one. "Hasn't he ever heard of garbage cans? Well, I guess this explains why he always turned up the fucking radio all the way when his girlfriends came over. It wasn't the only thing going all the way!" Eddy was more than irritated by now. But a large black thing pushed up against the wall lifted his hopes. Carefully reaching past all the *objects* that blocked it, Eddy grabbed the side of it, pulling it closer. As he did, he could see a handle. This had to be it!
Once he had retrieved it and blew the dust off, he could see the familiar stickers that his brother had plastered all over it. And opening it revealed a sleek black and red guitar. He remembered quite well how long it took his brother to be able to afford it. Silently stroking the glossy instrument, Eddy thanked him for every cent of it.
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Finally, the darkness that shrouded and hid the thoughts that were bothering Ed so much lifted. The light came on, and Ed could tell that Sarah did have a definite impact on his feelings. Not so much those for Jen, but those for love in general. What was it? It could have been that time Sarah pursued a love interest. And it wasn't Double-D
"Do you think he'll say yes?" Sarah asked Ed eagerly, clearly expecting a typical Ed-brand answer.
"Well I don't know. But I think you have to ask him first." Ed didn't know what else to say, as he couldn't see the future. And what could he tell her, anyway? That it was quite possible that he would refuse her? No, that would cause pain. Horrible pain.
Sarah was all decked out in her best, as it was Christmas Eve, and the entire cul-de-sac was going over to Nazz's house. Preening in front of the mirror, Sarah twirled gracefully in her green velvet dress. She was clearly thrilled with how she looked. Ed was unimpressed, but said nothing. It was just Sarah, after all. She always looked pretty much the same to him. Ed was wearing a suit, which made him hot and itchy. He hadn't wanted to wear it, but his mother insisted that he look "presentable." And his shoes felt like they were made of cement! They were almost too heavy to lift! Ed sighed deeply, fiddling with his tie. It was going to be a long night. And what would Eddy say when he saw him?
The snow was falling lightly, so unless Ed stood completely still, he couldn't even see it. He and Sarah carefully tramped through the few inches of snow on the ground. Nazz has a party for everything, Ed thought to himself. Not that he minded; he liked being around Nazz. Ed was having a difficult time keeping the snow from getting inside his large shoes. Too often, when he walked through snow in shoes, it melted, leaving his socks wet and uncomfortable. There was no way to prevent it, but it looked as though Sarah wasn't having much luck either. It wasn't far enough to need to drive, but it was farther than Ed wanted to walk. But the comforting glow of the light from Nazz's living room made him keep going
There was nothing particularly memorable about the evening, at least until Sarah's big moment. Mostly, Ed just hung around Eddy and Double-D, getting on Kevin's nerves and trying to chat up Nazz. Near the end of the party, though, Sarah was on a mission. The three Eds were sitting on the couch by the wall drinking punch, when Ed heard a noise behind him. Eddy and Double-D were talking about something else, so they weren't paying much attention to Ed. Looking over the back of the couch, Ed could see Sarah in the adjoining dining room. It was hard to make out what she was saying, but it was clear to Ed that she was acting on her plan. Ed crossed his fingers, hoping Jimmy would go along with it.
Jimmy looked cute, as he often did. What Sarah saw in him, Ed wasn't entirely sure. Maybe it was just because they had been friends so long. Ed held his breath, wanting to take in every word. Sarah smiled darkly, whispering something that Ed had to strain to catch a word of. "well, I would you" Every muscle in Ed's body went taut as he waited for a response from Jimmy. Jimmy's head moved, but he was shaking his head, saying no. Ed covered his eyes, not wanting to know what Sarah was going to do to Jimmy for that one.
Sarah had been telling Ed over and over all week about how she was going to ask Jimmy out at the party. She had even been reasonably nice, treating Ed with a certain amount of respect. No more than could be expected from her, but still, it was a big step. After all that poor Sarah! How would she react to Jimmy for saying no? And more importantly, Ed wondered to himself, what's she going to do to me?
He could see her face fall from a look of pride down into dejection. She turned away from Jimmy quickly, and Ed had to jump back so he was facing forward again. His abrupt, jerky movement alerted Eddy and Double-D. "Ed, what was that for? Were you thinking too hard again?" Ed was already wiping sweat from the back of his neck, and trying not to look too fazed by what he had seen. What if Sarah found out he had been spying? It was just innocent curiosity, Ed told himself. There was nothing else going on. What was I supposed to do?
Shaking his head, Ed shivered a little. But it was over. And Sarah would have to get over it. Eventually. The tapping of small shoes came echoing from the dark room behind, and Sarah appeared. Her head was raised, and she refused to look at anyone, especially Jimmy, now. Jimmy came through the door soon after, calling Sarah's name, pleading with her to return, but that wasn't about to happen. "Sarah!" his voice squeaked, but she was no longer in sight. Jimmy's shoulders slumped, and he trudged over to the other side of the room.
"What, may I ask, was that about?" Double-D asked, looking at Eddy, who shrugged. "Ed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
In agreement, Eddy looked at Ed as well. "Yeah, Lumpy. She's your sister. What's the deal?"
Ed didn't want to tell them or anyone else what had been going on. Sarah was not the type who would tolerate people publicizing her misfortunes. And this would be no exception. "I dunno." Ed answered. Although he didn't sound at all convincing, the other two Eds let the matter drop. Ed tried to replay the scene, but could clearly tell that there were pieces missing. He had missed most of the incident, so even he wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Since it was Sarah, after all, Ed was fearful, but curious.
Later, when it was time for everyone to go home, Ed said goodbye to his friends, and headed for the door. Sarah was not far behind him, and followed him once he was beyond the door. They managed to slog through the drifts of snow and make it back to their house. Ed kicked his shoes off with some difficulty; they felt even heavier than when he had first put them on. Clumps of snow fell from them, hitting the floor and melting almost instantly, leaving the floor glistening with water. Ed carefully avoided the puddles in his already drenched socks, and crashed into a chair, struggling with his tie in an effort to remove it.
Coming into the living room, Sarah plunked herself down on the couch, her head resting on her hands. She stared blankly ahead, and a sigh escaped her throat, as she gave no effort to hold it back. Ed was puzzled. Sarah was usually either devastated or simply furious after any sort of thing that didn't go her way. This apathetic stare was new for her, and he was curious to find out what it meant. "Uh, Sarah?" he asked, nervously. Ed knew he had to go about this in just the right way if he wanted to know what happened without being beaten up for it.
"Mmm-hmmm?" Sarah's voice had no emotion in it. Usually, her speech was so lively and loud. Now, she wasn't even looking at Ed.
"So what happened?" All of Ed's muscles tightened in anticipation of her response. Would she be okay with it, or would she walk right up and pound him?
After a light sigh, Sarah looked over at Ed and answered. "I knew you were going to ask sometime. After I've been bitching about this all week. I was just so sure Jimmy would say yes. I don't even know what it is, me and him have been friends forever. But now, I just want him to be more than a friend, do you get what I'm saying?" Sarah asked the question because she didn't want to reach the end of her explanation to find that Ed had gotten completely lost halfway through. Still watching her intently, Ed nodded. He hung onto every word.
"But I didn't want anyone else to find out about it right then. I wanted Jimmy to tell them when we were"
"Together?" Ed finished the sentence for her.
"Yeah." Sarah agreed. She was surprised at Ed's seriousness; after all, she had never seen him act like this before. He did have a serious side after all; he just didn't show it often.
"So I took him into another room where we would be alone. I could tell he was wondering why, but I couldn't just tell him! We talked about the usual things, and it was as natural as anything else. Then, after we hadn't said anything for awhile, I had to ask." Ed's eyes widened. This was the controversial part, and the part that he deemed most important. "And he gave the answer I hoped I would never get, I like you, Sarah, but I don't like you that way. And I don't want to ruin our friendship.' I wanted to tell him to just forget it, but I couldn't stand to be around him."
Ed wanted to give her some good, solid advice, but he had none to give. This was practically a foreign language to him. He knew nothing about relationships and the transition from friend to boyfriend. Truly, he was old enough to be learning, but he hadn't yet. What could he do now?
Feel bad, certainly, and he did. Even though Sarah was never that nice to him, not by a long shot, she was still his sister, and he did want her to be happy. He got out of his chair and sat on the couch next to her. The look of devastated rejection was plain to see on her face, but still it was masked by a layer of indifference. "It is okay, Sarah," he began, trying his best to sound comforting. "He isn't good enough for you."
Sarah flashed a half-smile at Ed, but she could easily see through his attempt to make her feel better. "You don't understand," she said, gently. "You don't know what it's like to be in my place. Maybe someday a girl you like will refuse you. Until you've been through something like that, you can't know how I feel. Not that I really want you to."
Not that I really want you to. Those words were a shock to Ed, because they came from Sarah. He never would have guessed that she would care how he felt. This was only last Christmas, less than six months earlier, so the memory was still fairly fresh in his mind. Sarah and Jimmy had long since gotten over it, and were friends again, but Ed knew that Sarah was still a little bitter over it. Ed couldn't help but wonder about the things she said. "Until you've been through something like this" That part was what got to him the most. Does that mean that someday he would go through being rejected by a girl? Would it be Jen?
The thought of trying to turn Jen from friend to girlfriend now seemed far less appealing. Ed had no clue how to approach it, anyway. What would he say? Even Ed could tell that, "So, wanna go out with me?" wasn't going to cut it. He had to do something a little more inventive. And later. He had a whole summer, after all, so there was no rush. Besides, it had only been one day. Who knows, he might not care for her in a week. It was clear to Ed that there was no hope of tackling the obstacle anytime soon, but someday, someday he would have to. The only problem was that when Ed looked at his calendar, "someday" was not there.
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Eddy's eyes slowly opened as the sun poured into his room. He had to squint from the brightness, and he could tell he slept way to long. The clock read 10:07, which wasn't bad for him, even now. Usually, he was lucky to wake up by noon. After a stretch, Eddy forced himself out of bed and wandered over in the direction of where he had left his guitar the night before. Stopping in his tracks, Eddy couldn't help but wonder where it had gone!!!
Too tired to get overly upset about it, Eddy looked all over his room. It was big, and it was messy. It would have to be somewhere, he remembered bringing it in and propping it up against the turntable before he went to bed. There wasn't time for anything to have happened to it, yet it was gone, case and all. Sure, Eddy would manage without it, but would his brother be able to take it that well?
As he stopped to think, Eddy could hear movement coming from the direction of the kitchen. Eddy bolted out through his door, screeching to a halt in the kitchen. Ed was sitting on the floor surrounded by a mountain of food, and he had smeared something all over his face. Double-D was sitting on a chair strumming Eddy's brother's guitar with a careful hand. "Double-D? Ed? What the hell are ya doing here?" The two intruders looked up in surprise, and Double-D turned pale. "And why did you take my brother's guitar?"
"Am I in trouble now?" Ed asked, nervously, wiping at his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket.
"No, no, Ed." Double-D assured him. "Allow me to explain."
"You better." Eddy snorted, still sounding tired.
Double-D gently laid the guitar back in its case, then folded his hands in his lap, facing Eddy. "Well, we wanted to see how the drum looked, but when we rang the doorbell, no one answered. We went around back to your room and came in through the door there. You weren't awake yet, so we didn't want to wake you up. But when I saw that guitar case Well, Ed was hungry, so we arrived here. I know it wasn't right to do this without asking permission, but" Double-D's speech got faster and more frantic as he neared the close of his explanation, then his voice just trailed away.
Still irritated, Eddy's expression did not change. But finding his guitar again was enough for him, and the fire in his face went out. "Okay. Just clean up Ed's plunder here." Eddy answered sarcastically, pointing at the food that surrounded Ed.
"Of course. It is your house after all. Ed, clean that up." Double-D answered, and looked at Ed's confused face. He must have shoved something large into his mouth, as his cheeks were stretched out, making him look like a chipmunk. "Ed," Double-D rested his hands on his hips, waiting for Ed to do what he was told. Reluctantly, Ed managed to stash most of what he hadn't eaten back where he found it, or in a pocket. He wanted to tell them all he had thought about the night before, but there was really no way to explain it. They would stare at him like he had three heads, not believing that he had actually given it so much consideration.
"So, wanna see the drum now?" Eddy asked, motioning toward the garage.
"Absolutely." Double-D nodded, following Eddy to the door, and Ed wandered out behind them.
The garage was cool and refreshing after being in Eddy's muggy house all that time. The oppressive grey of the walls and floor were unpleasant, but the absence of both cars told confirmed the fact that Eddy's parents were gone as well. No wonder no one had answered the doorbell. Over at the far wall, the drums sat together, one with the name "LikeHell" written in black letters, and flames around the edges. "Yes, I know it's awesome," Eddy sighed, contentedly. "But what else would you expect from me?"
"Cooool." Ed was bent down, so his face was only inches from the face of the drum. "I like it."
"I like it as well," Double-D added, pleased with Eddy's work. "Jenn's suggestion was exactly what this called for. Oh, speaking of Jenn"
"Us to Peach Creek Estates." Ed finished, eager to go.
"Hold on, I still gotta get dressed!" Eddy answered, hearing the impatience in their voices. It doesn't hurt to keep them waiting. They'll just want us more." Grinning, Eddy wanted to convince himself that it was true, but he couldn't be sure. Eddy dashed back into the house, more than ready to get off the freezing concrete of the garage. As he passed the kitchen, he closed the guitar case and carried it back to his room with him. "I'm going to put this somewhere only I will remember." Once he had reached his room, Eddy opened the doors at the front of the turntable, and managed to get the guitar inside. "I better not forget it's there," Eddy warned himself. "Well, the record player is up there, so that should make me remember."
Quickly, Eddy tore his pajamas off, tossing them onto his bed. Grabbing some clothes from the floor of his room, Eddy ran back out to the garage where Ed and Double-D waited. Ed was sitting behind the drums, beating on them rhythmically with the sticks. When Eddy appeared in the door of the garage, Ed stopped playing and twirled the sticks in his hands. Double-D was standing off to the side with an impressed look on his face. "That was very good, Ed!" he exclaimed, clapping.
Eddy had to agree. What he had heard was not bad for someone like Ed, who didn't seem to have much musical talent. "Whoa, Ringo. You should be our drummer!" The sticks fell from Ed's hands, and a disappointed look came to Ed's face.
"What's the matter? Eddy simply said that you"
"I want to play guitar." Double-D's compliments were not enough to deter Ed from wanting to be the guitar player he had dreamed he would be.
Not about to lose this opportunity, Eddy planned to make Ed the drummer whether he wanted to be or not. Plus, Double-D wasn't at all bad with a guitar. "Ed, you're way better than either of us. Isn't it good enough to be in a band?"
When Ed looked skeptical, Double-D could tell that Eddy was out of ideas. "Ed, if you agree to be our drummer, I'll give you a rubber band!"
"Oh no" Eddy muttered under his breath.
Ed's face brightened. "Okay. I'll add it to my collection."
Leaning against the wall, Eddy snickered. "Give him a rubber band from your braces. I bet he'd like that."
Double-D grinned, exposing the metal. "No, I'll search through my odds and ends. I'm sure I have some."
"You better or we won't have a drummer." Eddy walked over to Ed, punching him playfully in the shoulder.
A fuzzy feeling filtered through Ed's body; he enjoyed being talked about like this. "I can take them home later. And I won't lose them this time. It's all gravy."
"'It's all gravy?'" Eddy repeated, trying to understand what Ed meant.
"Yeah. Gravy."
"Are we going to Peach Creek Estates or not?" Eddy asked, becoming increasingly impatient.
"Of course." Double-D agreed.
"Gravy."
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Jenn brushed her dark hair slowly, carefully. She had a desire to look better than ever. Although she always made it a priority to keep up appearances, it was never this important. And she wasn't even sure why. "Jenn, hurry up. You've been sitting there brushing your hair since I got here. Can we go already?" Jenny was pacing around Jenn's small, tidy room, sounding bored.
"Please, be patient. We aren't going anyplace." Jenn turned her head as she spoke to Jenny, then turned back around, still brushing.
Jen was in the room as well, sprawled across Jenn's bed. She stared blankly up at the ceiling, like there was actually something up there to look at. Jenny backed up, planning to sit on the edge of the bed. Jen knew she wouldn't have had time to move, but her scream kept Jenny from sitting down. "Geez, Jen! Did you have to do that? What are you doing, anyway?"
Still staring intently at the ceiling, Jen sighed. "Pretending I'm Elvis."
Confused, Jenny looked to Jenn for an explanation. "Oh, she read somewhere that Elvis had a tv on his ceiling so he could watch it before he went to sleep. That did seem to fascinate her."
"Aww, another commercial!" Jen groaned, flipping over onto her stomach, a big grin on her face.
"I will never understand you." Jenny sighed, smiling back at Jen. "So do you think they'll come back?" she asked Jenn eagerly.
"Do I think who will come back?" Jenn wasn't really listening, and her absentminded response irritated Jenny.
"Ed, Eddy, and Double-D! How could you forget?"
"I didn't." Jenn answered. "But they're guys! What do you expect?"
Jen looked thoughtful, which was rare for her. "You know, she's right, Jenny. Do you think they'll come back?"
"What's the matter with you? Damn right they will! And if they don't, we'll just have to go over there and find them." Jen and Jenn admired Jenny's determination, but found it a little intimidating. "So let's go!" Reluctantly, Jenn put the brush down and followed Jen and Jenny as they raced down the stairs.
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The Eds filed through the path in the brush, one after the other reaching the other cul-de-sac. They tried to take it all in, remembering everything that had happened the day before. It was incredible; in less than one day, so much had changed for the three. Money and even jawbreakers were now a low priority, paling in the face of this new discovery. That reminded Eddy of the band, which had been for the most part forgotten.
"Let's see if we can find Jason. Maybe he's got a guitar for us." Eddy certainly hoped he would; then the band would be ready to go. And they could start on a first song. They passed through the gap between Jenny and Ashley's houses, and found the cul-de-sac bustling. Looking around carefully, they spotted Jason.
As they approached him, the other kids in the cul-de-sac looked up to see who had appeared, but seeing that it was only them again, they went back to what they were doing before. Not one of them had been terribly impressed with the Eds at their time of their arrival the day before, so their return was no more important. The Jens had been more than pleased with them, though, and Chelsea and Angie were willing to give just about anyone a chance. So was Jason, but being a guy, of course he would welcome them. Joshua was the only other boy in the cul-de-sac, and the two didn't often mix.
"Hey Jason!" Eddy called to him, catching his attention instantly. Looking up from the game he held in his hands, Jason grinned at them. Jason looked so airbrushed and clean cut, like he had walked off the page of a magazine. It intimidated all three Eds, Eddy in particular, to be around him.
"Hey guys! I talked to my mom last night, and she said she's got a guitar you can use. It's kinda old, but it still sounds good."
Double-D grinned. "Thank you very much, but are you sure your mother doesn't need it?"
"Nah, she just got some new ones. It's cool." Jason answered him. All three Eds were thrilled at the news. The band was ready! Now all they needed was a song
"Thanks, Jas. Can we take it home when we go later?"
"Sure. It's in my garage. You can come get it when you're ready."
Ed was looking around Peach Creek Estates absentmindedly as his friends talked to Jason, not really paying much attention to anything. Finding out about the guitar was great, but Ed still wanted to just look all around the cul-de-sac, and take everything in. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some shapes of people coming right in his direction. He tried to look right at them, but the sun was coming from behind them, forcing Ed to shut his eyes quickly. Watching them with squinted eyes, he could see that these were three outlines of girls. And although the idea of three girls together instantly made him think of the Kankers, and want to hide, he was sure that these were not the Kankers.
He was right. They were the Jens. Eddy and Double-D noticed Ed's stare off into space, and following the blank stare, they also shielded their eyes, then took in the shapes of the three Jens. Eddy waved, and saw a wave in return. Jenny eyed Jason up and down. Jason was already on his way to somewhere else, and disappeared into a house. Ignoring him, Jenny turned her attention to Eddy. "Hey, Eddy. Whatsup?"
Eddy blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and hoping he didn't look as awkward as he felt. "Jenny uh not much. Uh Ed's got three nipples like that bad guy in James Bond!" he blurted out, the slapped a hand over his mouth. Eddy wanted to dive into a hole and figure out why he always said Ed had a third nipple when he was nervous. It was the most idiotic thing he could imagine, but
Jenny burst out laughing, and Jenn put a hand to her mouth, as she erupted in a fit of giggles as well. Jen laughed for a minute, then stopped. "Can I see?" she asked Ed. Ed had been laughing as well, but he stopped as quickly as he had started. His face went pink, and he didn't know whether to be happy or very scared. Somehow, the memory of Sarah didn't seem to apply here. This wasn't Sarah and Jimmy, this was Ed and Jen. Still, the thought of Sarah's anguish over Jimmy's refusal made Ed think twice before saying anything of the sort to Jen. And of course, he had to admit to himself that Jen was still new to him. In a few weeks, maybe, but not now.
Shrugging, he smiled and folded his hands. Jen's eyes brightened as she leaned over and whispered to Jenny. "Jenny, aren't you gonna"
Although she knew no one else could hear Jen's words, or was even listening, Jenny rolled her eyes and interrupted Jen. "Blah blah blah." She spoke slowly, using a hand as a puppet to mouth the words.
Jenn glanced briefly at her watch. "It's almost noon. Do you guys want to come over to my house to eat?"
The other two Jens quickly nodded, and Jen broke into a chant. "Food food food food food food food!"
"Hey Ed, isn't that what you do when you're hungry?" Eddy whispered in Ed's ear and elbowing him in the side. "You got a lot in common with Blondie here." Double-D seemed to be too absorbed in shock to say a word, as he had hardly spoken at all since he arrived in Peach Creek Estates. But from where he stood, he could hear Eddy's words.
"I concur. But you and Jenny"
Not sure he wanted to hear the rest, Eddy cut Double-D off. "Blah blah blah."
"do that." Double-D finished. It was true. Eddy hadn't been paying attention, and he had certainly walked into that. Staring at the pavement, Eddy had to admit to himself that Jenny was more than just another girl he fell for. He hadn't even noticed it until just now. She had just seemed so plain and ordinary, but she was so colorful. Unlike Nazz, who kept herself hidden with a false personality and left you guessing at her real one, Jenny was open. What you see was what you got. That was appealing.
"Ready when you are," Double-D assured Jenn, and the Jens and the Eds left the cul-de-sac in the direction of Jenn's house. This was a welcome move, as the sun was moving higher in the sky. For early June, it was humid, and the air almost seemed too thick to walk through. Upon reaching the air-conditioned threshold of Jenn's house, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The Eds scanned the house, wide-eyed. This was the first house in Peach Creek Estates they had actually been inside, so they were instantly intrigued by it. Right away, they could see that it was far grander than anything in their cul-de-sac. It made sense, as Peach Creek Estates was an expensive development. Ed and Eddy didn't seem at all bothered, but Double-D's neck heated up. That didn't matter to Double-D. Compared to this, Double-D saw homes in his own cul-de-sac as nothing short of trash heaps with windows. That wasn't the case in the least, but being exposed to this grandeur was intimidating.
Jenn had already left for the kitchen, but Jen and Jenny remained, and marveled at the Eds' fascination with Jenn's house. They boys stood with their mouths agape, and turned slowly to see everything. Jenny finally spoke. "So, uh, want to eat now?" That quickly, the Eds came back to reality. The mention of food was enough to do it.
"Take me to your refrigerator." Ed looked around, trying to figure out where the kitchen would be.
"Ed, manners." Double-D cautioned him with a warning tone. "We are guests, remember."
"Awww, Double-D" Ed began, but Jen and Jenny were already on their way. They led the three Eds into a large room with a glass table in the center. Alabaster columns stood at the edge of the room, and the walls were painted with a delicate bamboo print. This came as a shock to all three Eds. Everything was so glamorous and grand. More accustomed to something simple and homey, the Eds could tell that this cul-de-sac, although right next to theirs, was drastically different. But this was the least of their worries in Peach Creek Estates. It was just one more thing to get used to.
The biggest problem was the fact that these were girls who were introducing them to the world of Peach Creek Estates. But they hardly seemed like the girls they were accustomed to. The Eds typical idea of a girl consisted of a creature with long, flowing hair, beautiful eyes, and a thin body encased in trendy clothes. Not that these girls weren't in their own way attractive; they were simply a new brand of girl. A refreshing change for the Eds. These girls were attainable.
Piling into the kitchen, the Eds watched Jenn dig through the refrigerator. "So, do you guys want hot dogs or Spaghetti-os?" Jenn asked, holding up a package of hot dog buns. Jenn standing in the middle of this fancy kitchen holding the hot dog buns was just an amusing sight. The Eds nodded, glad of this small comfort. In a kitchen like this, they expected to be offered caviar and finger sandwiches.
Jenn placed the hot dog after hot dog into the microwave, and put each on a plate. "We'll have to go outside with these. I'm actually not allowed to eat in here unless we have company over. Plus, I'm not allowed to have anyone over when mother and father aren't home." Jen and Jenny rolled their eyes. This was the usual speech they heard from Jenn.
"And especially boys." Jenny added, emphasizing the last word. The Eds went pink and grabbed their hot dogs and hurried out the door.
Jenn scowled at Jenny. "You didn't have to say that, you know."
"Sor-ry! It's true, though. You'd end up grounded for — " Jenny tried to get Jenn to forget it, but Jenn was not about to let it go. Although Jenn was happy in her structured home, she didn't like any hints at her being sheltered.
Jenn and Jenny noticed that Jen and all three Eds had already gone outside with their hot dogs, so the girls put their discussion to rest for the moment and went out onto the deck to find them again. Jen, Ed, Eddy, and Double-D were each sitting on a padded deck chair, looking out into the trees beyond Jenn's house. Jenn and Jenny sat on the wooden floor of the deck facing the other four visitors. "So, how's the band?" Jenn asked as she sat down.
"Like Hell!" Ed answered proudly, nodding his head.
Double-D was less excited. "Well, we have all our instruments, but we don't have amplifiers or microphones. We haven't written any songs yet, either." As he continued speaking, Double-D sounded increasingly disappointed with the group's progress.
"Hey, you've only been working, what, two days now? You'll get there." Jenn sounded far more confident of that than Double-D felt, but he was willing to take her word for it.
"Yeah, Double-D. We haven't had enough time for that yet. We'll just have to save enough money to buy microphones and shit. And we'll do songs sometime."
A cool breeze blew through, relaxing the group. It was a nice change from the blazing hot sun of the past few days. A bird chirped squeaky notes from a tree, squawking the same song over and over again. Finally, Eddy scowled in the direction of the noise. "Shut the fuck up already! That thing is pissing me off."
When Eddy was done speaking, everything went silent, even the bird. Jenn and Double-D seemed shocked at the stream of profanity that had flown so easily from Eddy's mouth. Eddy laughed, and Ed announced, "The curse has passed! Eddy has overpowered it!"
"That's what I always hear when I come over here. The bird, I mean." Jenny continued. "I am so sick of it."
"I quite enjoyed it," Double-D protested meekly. "I love the birds."
"The Birds?" Jen's attention was caught. "I love that movie."
"Me too. Peck peck peck peck!" Ed mimicked bird beaks pecking into flesh as he spoke. Jen laughed, also pecking the air.
Eddy sank into his chair. "I'll bet they'll be pecking each other in a minute." He muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Double-D asked him, as Jenn and Jenny were too busy laughing at Ed and Jen to hear it.
"Nothing."
"Eddy"
"C'mon, Sockhead! Don't you think it's a little strange? How everything is the same here, but different? We should get Ashley hooked up with Kevin."
"You're right." Jenny was looking up at them from where she was sitting on the deck. Eddy and Double-D looked down at her, startled at the discovery that she had been listening in. "I remember seeing him when we were on your street. I think they would make a good match."
"But Eddy, Nazz and Kevin are a couple. I think Aren't they, now?" Double-D asked, with a finger to his chin.
Rubbing his hands together, Eddy grinned. "Who cares? This is too good!" Ed and Jen had long since stopped pretending to be birds. "And not just Kevin and Ashley! Sarah and Joshua, Johnny and Chelsea, and Plank and Board!"
"Well, it would certainly be recreational," Double-D was beginning to show an interest in the idea as well.
"I'm up for it," Jenny was clearly in agreement, and had been from the start.
"At the very worst it will give us something ridiculous to obsess over." Jenn had become increasingly curious. And after all this discussion, she was enthusiastic, but wasn't sure whether the kids in the cul-de-sac would cooperate. "But Eddy, what if they don't want to meet each other?"
Eddy looked proud, ready for anything. "They won't have a choice."
Double-D raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What do you mean, they won't have a choice.' I'm not sure I like where this is headed."
"I've figured out how to solve all our problems. We're gonna throw a party, and everyone in our cul-de-sac is gonna be there. And we'll charge a token fee, duh. Jenny, could you get all the Peach Creek Estates people to come?"
"Yeah, maybe." Jenny answered, hopefully.
Jen sat slouched in her chair with her arms folded over her stomach. "I hate using party' as a verb, but we are gonna party!" Jen was generally quiet. She figured that there wasn't much for her to say. But when she did speak, she spoke with enthusiasm.
"Wait just one minute." Double-D was suddenly nervous. "Where exactly are we going to have this party?" Eddy's answering gaze made Double-D wished he hadn't said a word. "No, no, Eddy, I can't"
"Look, next Saturday your parents are going to that movie, right?"
"No, they're going to see an opera. La Boheme."
"You told me they'll be gone all evening"
"Eddy, I can't have anyone over when they're not home!" Ed and the Jens were amusing themselves, watching Eddy and Double-D argue back and forth. This was better than tv.
"All right!" Double-D finally bent to Eddy's will. "We can have it at my house. Just make sure everyone is gone by nine." Double-D waved a warning finger at Eddy, and Eddy held up a hand.
"Peace. All right. They'll be gone by nine," he answered Double-D dutifully. "Maybe!" he whispered to Ed.
"If we're going to make this work," Jenn declared, heading in the direction of the door, "we better exchange phone numbers."
"But I just learned mine!" Ed whined after her.
Jenn returned from the house with some paper and a pen. Each Ed wrote his number on the Jen's papers, and the Jens wrote their numbers down for the Eds. "Okay." Jenny was eager to begin. "What do we do first?"
"Start planning to destroy my home, I assume." Double-D suggested, still irritated with Eddy for volunteering his home for the party.
"Quit whining, it'll be worth it." Eddy punched Double-D in the shoulder.
A noise from the house startled the six kids, who sat bolt upright. "Oh shit, my parents are home!" Jenn looked through the kitchen window. "You guys gotta get out of here!"
"We'll call you later!" Eddy and Double-D called over their shoulders as they dashed off into the yard.
"Carrots can dial a tone!" Ed yelled.
The Jens laughed as they watched the Eds go. "Do you want us to go, too, Jenn?" Jen asked her, preparing to leave.
"No, you guys are probably okay. And if we get busted, we'll just say it's my fault."
"It is your fault." Jenny had no problem with that. The girls chuckled at that, ready and waiting for the party on Saturday. Ready and waiting