Disclaimer: The Cobras, Castle Rock, etc. belong to Stephen King and Columbia Tristar. Katherine, her parents, Maggie, Sarah, and Jennifer belong to me.
Chapter 3
It was the next day when I knew that I might not be able to live up to my end of the bargain I'd made with my folks. It had started out fine enough. Sarah asked me to go to the Blue Point Diner with her for breakfast, since both of us had parents who were away for the weekend. Mama had called me at maybe two minutes after I got home from the docks to tell me that her and Daddy had to make a trip to Boston to close some business. I was relieved but a little disappointed. Guess I had stupidly thought that maybe us moving would not only give me another chance, but them too. Maybe that they would love me this time. Babyish, huh?
So, I walked to the diner in my newest green sundress, which I thought matched my eyes perfectly. Yeah, I do wear dresses and skirts, when I'm in the mood. Every girl should be pretty sometimes. When I got there I saw that Sarah was already there, and I joined her at a booth by the big window. "Mornin, Sarah," I said as I sat down.
"Hi, Kat. Everything good with you?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. How bout you?"
"Fine. I'm still thinking about what happened with the Cobras last night."
I furrowed my eyebrows for a second. "Why?"
The waitress interrupted us and we gave her our orders. "Well?" I asked.
"Oh, well, it's just...you, know. Me and Eyeball and everything." she admitted.
"Listen, what didja really think about him before?"
She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "I dunno, Kat. I guess I knew that he was an asshole. Maybe I just didn't want to think it, cause he was so sweet to me those times."
I knew how she felt. I'd had a couple of experiences like that before. It hurts something awful to admit to yourself that you knew all along that someone you like is bad news. "It doesn't necessarily mean he's a *total* bastard. He just does dumb-ass things."
"I guess," she replied softly.
Our food came then and we ate in silence for awhile. After about fifteen minutes the diner's door swung open and in walked the topic of our discussion, plus the object of some of my...pleasant dreams, if ya can dig it. I nudged Sarah with my foot and whispered "Ace and Eyeball" very softly. She frowned deeply and then went back to eating her eggs and toast. I went back to eating too, but I knew they'd spot us and try to maybe talk to us.
"Hey, girls," Ace said as they sauntered up to our table.
"Scoot over, Sarah," Eyeball demanded and Sarah put her fork down and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Come on, babe, I wanna sit."
I was totally bowled over when she did just that. She slid over, taking her plate with her. Eyeball grinned and plopped kinda haphazardly onto the seat. Ace was just standing there, and I knew that he wanted me to move without him even having to ask. "Do you wanna sit too, Ace?" I asked.
"What do you think?" he shot back.
"Fine, all ya had to do was ask...or not," I said and moved over.
"So, what are you two gonna do tonight?" Ace asked after he took a gulp of my water, which pissed me off even though I wasn't gonna drink it. "And where's the rest of your little gang?"
"What business of it is yours?" I asked him.
"Well, we got a proposition for ya. If you're up for it, that is," he added.
"All right, so what is it?"
"We just wanted ta know if ya wanted ta go to Erring Point and hang out with us, and the rest of the Cobras, of course. Ya know, ta make up for what we did the otha night." Eyeball told us.
Erring Point. Now there was a swell idea if I never heard one. Even I knew, and I'd only been in Castle Rock a week, that you only went to the Erring Point to get drunk or make-out or whatever.
"Erring Point? Are you serious?" asked Sarah in disbelief. "We know the rep that place has."
"What's ya point? You know our rep too, and yet ya still hang around us on occasion," replied Ace.
"I dunno if you know this, but I'm tryin to stay *out* of trouble," I said, but truthfully, I kinda wanted to go with them.
"Ah, come on Kitty-Kat. Where's your sense of adventure?" Ace asked and leaned back, putting his arm around me in a flirty way.
"First, *don't* call me Kitty-Kat. Second, I think I left it back in Boston," I answered sarcastically.
"That's too bad...," Eyeball began.
"Nah, it's not. They're comin," Ace said, interrupting him.
"What? We are? When did that happen?" Sarah asked, and she looked a little pissed, but also sorta happy.
"I know you wanna go with us, but you'd never say 'yeah' just like that. I'm just takin the choice away from ya. You can tell your friends that we insisted. They're comin too, by the way," Ace informed us.
"Really? Well thanks for tellin us, Ace. You're one swell guy," I said sardonically.
"Thanks, I know. We'll pick ya all up at eight at *your* house, Kat," Ace said, and then he got up and Eyeball followed him.
Me and Sarah jumped up when he said that. Who did he think he was, anyway? "Just wait a goddamn minute! I'll go to Erring Point with you guys, but we are not goin in *your* cars!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, like you'll really show up if you're doin the drivin. Get real, Reyes. Me and Vince're drivin," stated Ace.
"Ace, we'd show!" cried Sarah. "You're being unfair."
"No one said life was fair," Eyeball said, and then they were gone.
Sarah slumped back into the booth. "Kat, what're we gonna do?"
I sat down too, and took a sip of my orange juice. "I guess we gotta go to the Point with 'em. What other choice we got?"
Sarah shook her head. "I guess so. Hey, you wanna break the news to Maggie and Jen, or should I?"
"I'll tell Maggie, you tell Jen," I answered.
"Hey, why do I have to tell Miss. Priss? She's gonna flip!"
---------------------------------------------------
I stopped at Maggie's place on the way home and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Everson answered. "Well, hello Katherine. You're looking lovely today," she said.
"Oh thank you, Mrs. Everson. Is Maggie home?" I asked, slightly taken aback by her compliment.
"Yes she is. Go on up. Second door to the left," she answered and stepped aside to let me in.
I walked up the stairs a bit self-consciously, hoping that she wasn't watching me or anything. When I got to Maggie's door I lightly knocked. "Come in," her cheerful voice greeted me.
I opened the door and Maggie looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Hey Kat, what're you doing here?"
"We gotta talk," I said and then took in her room. It was plastered with pictures of different movie stars and singers. Her record player was in the far corner and a stack of records was piled next to it. Her desk was just plain white and piled with books and papers. A couple of shelves of porcelain dolls lined the walls on either side of her window and on a shelf above her bed sat teddy bears of different colors and sizes. A family portrait sat on her night table, along with an alarm clock. Nothing really unusual.
"About what?" she asked with concern and sat up (she had been lying on her stomach, facing the door).
"Can I close the door?" I asked.
"Sure," she answered.
I closed the door and she moved over so I could sit next to her. "Well, it's like this. Me and Sarah were at the diner this mornin, when Ace and Eyeball walked in. Before we knew it we'd been roped into goin with 'em to Erring Point."
"Erring Point?"
"Yeah, I know. We tried to get out of it, but they wouldn't let us say no," I explained apologetically.
"So we have to go?" asked Maggie in disbelief.
"Seems that way. Hey, you know I wouldn't take this from 'em, normally. But what could've we said, ya know? They're comin to my house at eight to pick us up."
"Damn, Kat, this is bad," Maggie said softly and stood up and began to pace.
"Don't be mad, Maggie. You know I don't wanna be in trouble. I'm real scared," I admitted.
Maggie stopped abruptly and stared at me. "You're scared? Why?"
I hadn't exactly told the girls why I didn't want to get in trouble. "Ya know how I don't wanna mess up? Well, it's on account of the fact that if I do mess up, I'll be thrown outta my house."
"Man, sincerely?" she asked and I nodded. "Well, we've just got to make sure nothing bad happens, right?"
I let out the breath I guess I'd been holding. "Yeah, for sure. I just don't know how we'll do that."
"First, I'll tell my mom that I'm sleeping over at your place. I'm guessing the other girls will too. You can tell your parents you're sleeping over here."
"That doesn't matter. They're in Boston," I said softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Maggie exclaimed in embarrassment.
"It's okay, Mags. Anyway, you guys really can sleep over after we get home. If anyone's parents ask, we can tell 'em we went to the dance that's goin on in Harlow tonight, right?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that thing! Everybody's going to be there. Except us, I guess."
"Guess so."
We walked down the stairs together and stopped at the door. "So, what time you gonna be over?" I asked.
"Will seven be okay?"
Mrs. Everson walked up to us then. "Where are you going at seven o'clock, Margaret?"
"Mom, is it okay if I sleep over Kat's tonight? We might go to the dance with Sarah and Jen if we get bored," Maggie answered without batting an eyelash. She was a pretty good liar when she had to be.
Maggie's mother seemed to be thinking it over and the two of us squirmed a little. If she said no we'd be in deep shit.
"Well, all right. But no funny business, got it?" Mrs. Everson said and we both relaxed.
"Got it, Mom," Maggie answered.
"Thanks, Mrs. Everson. I'm not sure what you've heard, but I'm really trying to change," I said in my sincerest and best English.
"That's good to hear, Katherine. I've always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt," she told me. I felt like such a shitty bitch right then.
"Well, I'd better be goin. I'll see you later, Maggie. Bye, Mrs. Everson," I said and beat it before anything else could be said. Damn that Ace Merrill!
------------------------------
Later, Sarah had told me that this is what happened when she went to talk to Jen.
-------------------------------
Jen's house is only across the street from Sarah's, so she was able to stop there right after we went our separate ways. Jen's house is medium size, pretty nice, with a large field in the back of it. When Sarah rang the doorbell, inside you could hear a crash, and some yelling. Jen has two young brothers and a baby sister. It happened to be her younger brother, Bennie, who answered the door. "Bennie, is Jen home?" she asked him.
"Sure. JEN!!!" Bennie yelled up the stairs.
"What do you want, you brat?" Jen asked as she came down the stairs.
"Yer friend's here," answered Bennie simply.
"Oh, hey Sarah. Let's go outside," said Jen and she rushed Sarah out the door and slammed it behind them.
"What's that all about?" Sarah asked as the two sat on the front steps.
"Well, Dad won't be home until four o'clock, so I have to watch the rug-rats," Jen explained. Jen's mother had died three years ago, when she gave birth to Jen's sister April.
"Oh, well, I have to tell you something," started Sarah.
"Is it bad?"
"Well, kinda. Just hear me out," Sarah started. "Okay, so me and Kat went to the diner for breakfast this morning and Ace and Eyeball happened to be there. They pretty much demanded that we go with them to Erring Point tonight."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jen asked angrily.
Sarah was totally surprised. Jen *never* cursed like that. "Look, Jen, what was I supposed to say? We tried to say no, we really did. They just wouldn't hear it."
Jen sighed. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I would've been more of a wimp than you probably were. But what are we going to do?"
"I guess we're going to the Point at eight tonight," Sarah answered bluntly.
"How am I going to get out of the house?"
"Well, I'm telling my mom that I'm sleeping over Kat's, and I bet Maggie's doing the same thing. Can't you do that?" Sarah asked as she stood up and brushed dirt off the seat of her shorts.
"Sure, yeah. I just hate lying," replied Jen.
"It's not really lying if you think about it. We really will sleep over Kat's when we get home."
"That's true. Do you have to leave now?"
"Yeah, I have some things to do."
"All right. So I guess I'll see you around seven-thirty, right?" Jen asked.
"Sure thing. See you then," Sarah waved goodbye as she crossed the street and entered her own home.
-----------------------------------------
It was around seven at night when I heard the doorbell ring. I let Maggie in and she looked around the foyer of my house with barely disguised awe. "Wow, great place you got here, Kat."
"Thanks. So, ready for this 'fun' night?" I asked after I showed her where she could drop her stuff and we went into the kitchen to get some pop.
"I guess. I'm nervous, though." she answered.
"How come? I mean, haven't you gone out with 'em before?" I asked and jumped up to sit on the marble counter.
Maggie sat at the table. "Not like this. Maybe we would meet them somewhere. But then we could leave whenever we wanted. We didn't depend on them for a ride home or something."
"Oh. Well, I think it'll be okay. And if not, I got this," I said and produced my switchblade.
Maggie's eyes widened in shock. "Is that thing real, Kat? Where'd you get it?"
"Of course it's real. I've had it for awhile. I just never thought I'd need it again," I answered.
"Wow, that's crazy! Are you gonna show Sarah and Jen?"
"Sure. It makes me feel safer, maybe it'll do the same for them."
-------------------------------------
My house got the same 'oohs' and 'aahs' from Jen and Sarah, which I kinda expected. My blade also drew a similar reaction. Jen eyed it nervously. "Do you think you'll have to use that thing?" she asked.
"I hope not," I answered with a shrug.
"I second that," Sarah said and we all giggled nervously.
At five after eight there was no sign of the guys, so we kinda hoped that maybe they forgot. "Hey, maybe we ought to get out of here before they come. We can tell them they just missed us," Jen suggested hopefully.
"And where would we go?" Sarah asked.
"The dance. Our folks think we might go there anyway," Maggie pointed out.
"That sounds like a swell idea to me," I said, and I kinda meant it. Even though I think we all did really want to hang out with the Cobras and be "bad," it would be easier to cop-out and make a run for it.
"Are you serious, Kat?" Maggie asked.
My friends looked at me expectantly, I guess 'cause suddenly my knife made me seem a lot more serious than before. "Sorta. Wanna make a break for my car?"
"Hell yes," Jen said emphatically.
We left my house and I locked up, and we resisted the urge to sprint to my car. It would've looked really dumb if the guys pulled up right then. Which they did. I was sure the neighbors were dropping dead if they were spying on us, which I bet you anything they were. Just as we were making our way across the lawn, two cars pulled up and my stomach did a flip-flop. Ace got out of his car, but left the motor running. I saw that besides him, Eyeball and Jack were also in his car. In Vince's car was Vince, of course, Billy, Charlie, and Fuzzy. "Hey girls, weren't tryin to leave before we got here, were ya?" he asked.
"What do you think, Ace?" I asked and rolled my eyes, just to emphasize how stupid his question was.
"Well it sure fuckin looked like it!" Fuzzy yelled from the passenger window of Vince's car.
"Don't pay attention to him. There's a reason his nickname's Fuzzy, and it's not his hair," Ace said.
"Well, that's good to know," I replied.
"So, come on! Time to party!" he announced loudly and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward his car. "Sarah, you're with us. Mags and Jen can ride in Vince's car. And don't worry, I told 'em not to touch 'em," the last part he told me quietly.
"Thanks," I whispered back, but I felt kinda funny doing so.
When we got to his car, Jack got out so I could sit in between him and Ace or, more accurately, next to Ace. Sarah got in the back with Eyeball but was sitting kinda squished all the way on the left, while he was on the right. It was obvious she didn't want to be anywhere near him. But that would totally change by the end of that night. And so would my relationship with Ace, for better or worse. I really couldn't have told you at the time. Now I wish I'd never gone to Erring Point, and that I'd never even looked at Ace that first time.
Chapter 3
It was the next day when I knew that I might not be able to live up to my end of the bargain I'd made with my folks. It had started out fine enough. Sarah asked me to go to the Blue Point Diner with her for breakfast, since both of us had parents who were away for the weekend. Mama had called me at maybe two minutes after I got home from the docks to tell me that her and Daddy had to make a trip to Boston to close some business. I was relieved but a little disappointed. Guess I had stupidly thought that maybe us moving would not only give me another chance, but them too. Maybe that they would love me this time. Babyish, huh?
So, I walked to the diner in my newest green sundress, which I thought matched my eyes perfectly. Yeah, I do wear dresses and skirts, when I'm in the mood. Every girl should be pretty sometimes. When I got there I saw that Sarah was already there, and I joined her at a booth by the big window. "Mornin, Sarah," I said as I sat down.
"Hi, Kat. Everything good with you?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. How bout you?"
"Fine. I'm still thinking about what happened with the Cobras last night."
I furrowed my eyebrows for a second. "Why?"
The waitress interrupted us and we gave her our orders. "Well?" I asked.
"Oh, well, it's just...you, know. Me and Eyeball and everything." she admitted.
"Listen, what didja really think about him before?"
She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "I dunno, Kat. I guess I knew that he was an asshole. Maybe I just didn't want to think it, cause he was so sweet to me those times."
I knew how she felt. I'd had a couple of experiences like that before. It hurts something awful to admit to yourself that you knew all along that someone you like is bad news. "It doesn't necessarily mean he's a *total* bastard. He just does dumb-ass things."
"I guess," she replied softly.
Our food came then and we ate in silence for awhile. After about fifteen minutes the diner's door swung open and in walked the topic of our discussion, plus the object of some of my...pleasant dreams, if ya can dig it. I nudged Sarah with my foot and whispered "Ace and Eyeball" very softly. She frowned deeply and then went back to eating her eggs and toast. I went back to eating too, but I knew they'd spot us and try to maybe talk to us.
"Hey, girls," Ace said as they sauntered up to our table.
"Scoot over, Sarah," Eyeball demanded and Sarah put her fork down and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Come on, babe, I wanna sit."
I was totally bowled over when she did just that. She slid over, taking her plate with her. Eyeball grinned and plopped kinda haphazardly onto the seat. Ace was just standing there, and I knew that he wanted me to move without him even having to ask. "Do you wanna sit too, Ace?" I asked.
"What do you think?" he shot back.
"Fine, all ya had to do was ask...or not," I said and moved over.
"So, what are you two gonna do tonight?" Ace asked after he took a gulp of my water, which pissed me off even though I wasn't gonna drink it. "And where's the rest of your little gang?"
"What business of it is yours?" I asked him.
"Well, we got a proposition for ya. If you're up for it, that is," he added.
"All right, so what is it?"
"We just wanted ta know if ya wanted ta go to Erring Point and hang out with us, and the rest of the Cobras, of course. Ya know, ta make up for what we did the otha night." Eyeball told us.
Erring Point. Now there was a swell idea if I never heard one. Even I knew, and I'd only been in Castle Rock a week, that you only went to the Erring Point to get drunk or make-out or whatever.
"Erring Point? Are you serious?" asked Sarah in disbelief. "We know the rep that place has."
"What's ya point? You know our rep too, and yet ya still hang around us on occasion," replied Ace.
"I dunno if you know this, but I'm tryin to stay *out* of trouble," I said, but truthfully, I kinda wanted to go with them.
"Ah, come on Kitty-Kat. Where's your sense of adventure?" Ace asked and leaned back, putting his arm around me in a flirty way.
"First, *don't* call me Kitty-Kat. Second, I think I left it back in Boston," I answered sarcastically.
"That's too bad...," Eyeball began.
"Nah, it's not. They're comin," Ace said, interrupting him.
"What? We are? When did that happen?" Sarah asked, and she looked a little pissed, but also sorta happy.
"I know you wanna go with us, but you'd never say 'yeah' just like that. I'm just takin the choice away from ya. You can tell your friends that we insisted. They're comin too, by the way," Ace informed us.
"Really? Well thanks for tellin us, Ace. You're one swell guy," I said sardonically.
"Thanks, I know. We'll pick ya all up at eight at *your* house, Kat," Ace said, and then he got up and Eyeball followed him.
Me and Sarah jumped up when he said that. Who did he think he was, anyway? "Just wait a goddamn minute! I'll go to Erring Point with you guys, but we are not goin in *your* cars!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, like you'll really show up if you're doin the drivin. Get real, Reyes. Me and Vince're drivin," stated Ace.
"Ace, we'd show!" cried Sarah. "You're being unfair."
"No one said life was fair," Eyeball said, and then they were gone.
Sarah slumped back into the booth. "Kat, what're we gonna do?"
I sat down too, and took a sip of my orange juice. "I guess we gotta go to the Point with 'em. What other choice we got?"
Sarah shook her head. "I guess so. Hey, you wanna break the news to Maggie and Jen, or should I?"
"I'll tell Maggie, you tell Jen," I answered.
"Hey, why do I have to tell Miss. Priss? She's gonna flip!"
---------------------------------------------------
I stopped at Maggie's place on the way home and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Everson answered. "Well, hello Katherine. You're looking lovely today," she said.
"Oh thank you, Mrs. Everson. Is Maggie home?" I asked, slightly taken aback by her compliment.
"Yes she is. Go on up. Second door to the left," she answered and stepped aside to let me in.
I walked up the stairs a bit self-consciously, hoping that she wasn't watching me or anything. When I got to Maggie's door I lightly knocked. "Come in," her cheerful voice greeted me.
I opened the door and Maggie looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Hey Kat, what're you doing here?"
"We gotta talk," I said and then took in her room. It was plastered with pictures of different movie stars and singers. Her record player was in the far corner and a stack of records was piled next to it. Her desk was just plain white and piled with books and papers. A couple of shelves of porcelain dolls lined the walls on either side of her window and on a shelf above her bed sat teddy bears of different colors and sizes. A family portrait sat on her night table, along with an alarm clock. Nothing really unusual.
"About what?" she asked with concern and sat up (she had been lying on her stomach, facing the door).
"Can I close the door?" I asked.
"Sure," she answered.
I closed the door and she moved over so I could sit next to her. "Well, it's like this. Me and Sarah were at the diner this mornin, when Ace and Eyeball walked in. Before we knew it we'd been roped into goin with 'em to Erring Point."
"Erring Point?"
"Yeah, I know. We tried to get out of it, but they wouldn't let us say no," I explained apologetically.
"So we have to go?" asked Maggie in disbelief.
"Seems that way. Hey, you know I wouldn't take this from 'em, normally. But what could've we said, ya know? They're comin to my house at eight to pick us up."
"Damn, Kat, this is bad," Maggie said softly and stood up and began to pace.
"Don't be mad, Maggie. You know I don't wanna be in trouble. I'm real scared," I admitted.
Maggie stopped abruptly and stared at me. "You're scared? Why?"
I hadn't exactly told the girls why I didn't want to get in trouble. "Ya know how I don't wanna mess up? Well, it's on account of the fact that if I do mess up, I'll be thrown outta my house."
"Man, sincerely?" she asked and I nodded. "Well, we've just got to make sure nothing bad happens, right?"
I let out the breath I guess I'd been holding. "Yeah, for sure. I just don't know how we'll do that."
"First, I'll tell my mom that I'm sleeping over at your place. I'm guessing the other girls will too. You can tell your parents you're sleeping over here."
"That doesn't matter. They're in Boston," I said softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Maggie exclaimed in embarrassment.
"It's okay, Mags. Anyway, you guys really can sleep over after we get home. If anyone's parents ask, we can tell 'em we went to the dance that's goin on in Harlow tonight, right?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that thing! Everybody's going to be there. Except us, I guess."
"Guess so."
We walked down the stairs together and stopped at the door. "So, what time you gonna be over?" I asked.
"Will seven be okay?"
Mrs. Everson walked up to us then. "Where are you going at seven o'clock, Margaret?"
"Mom, is it okay if I sleep over Kat's tonight? We might go to the dance with Sarah and Jen if we get bored," Maggie answered without batting an eyelash. She was a pretty good liar when she had to be.
Maggie's mother seemed to be thinking it over and the two of us squirmed a little. If she said no we'd be in deep shit.
"Well, all right. But no funny business, got it?" Mrs. Everson said and we both relaxed.
"Got it, Mom," Maggie answered.
"Thanks, Mrs. Everson. I'm not sure what you've heard, but I'm really trying to change," I said in my sincerest and best English.
"That's good to hear, Katherine. I've always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt," she told me. I felt like such a shitty bitch right then.
"Well, I'd better be goin. I'll see you later, Maggie. Bye, Mrs. Everson," I said and beat it before anything else could be said. Damn that Ace Merrill!
------------------------------
Later, Sarah had told me that this is what happened when she went to talk to Jen.
-------------------------------
Jen's house is only across the street from Sarah's, so she was able to stop there right after we went our separate ways. Jen's house is medium size, pretty nice, with a large field in the back of it. When Sarah rang the doorbell, inside you could hear a crash, and some yelling. Jen has two young brothers and a baby sister. It happened to be her younger brother, Bennie, who answered the door. "Bennie, is Jen home?" she asked him.
"Sure. JEN!!!" Bennie yelled up the stairs.
"What do you want, you brat?" Jen asked as she came down the stairs.
"Yer friend's here," answered Bennie simply.
"Oh, hey Sarah. Let's go outside," said Jen and she rushed Sarah out the door and slammed it behind them.
"What's that all about?" Sarah asked as the two sat on the front steps.
"Well, Dad won't be home until four o'clock, so I have to watch the rug-rats," Jen explained. Jen's mother had died three years ago, when she gave birth to Jen's sister April.
"Oh, well, I have to tell you something," started Sarah.
"Is it bad?"
"Well, kinda. Just hear me out," Sarah started. "Okay, so me and Kat went to the diner for breakfast this morning and Ace and Eyeball happened to be there. They pretty much demanded that we go with them to Erring Point tonight."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jen asked angrily.
Sarah was totally surprised. Jen *never* cursed like that. "Look, Jen, what was I supposed to say? We tried to say no, we really did. They just wouldn't hear it."
Jen sighed. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I would've been more of a wimp than you probably were. But what are we going to do?"
"I guess we're going to the Point at eight tonight," Sarah answered bluntly.
"How am I going to get out of the house?"
"Well, I'm telling my mom that I'm sleeping over Kat's, and I bet Maggie's doing the same thing. Can't you do that?" Sarah asked as she stood up and brushed dirt off the seat of her shorts.
"Sure, yeah. I just hate lying," replied Jen.
"It's not really lying if you think about it. We really will sleep over Kat's when we get home."
"That's true. Do you have to leave now?"
"Yeah, I have some things to do."
"All right. So I guess I'll see you around seven-thirty, right?" Jen asked.
"Sure thing. See you then," Sarah waved goodbye as she crossed the street and entered her own home.
-----------------------------------------
It was around seven at night when I heard the doorbell ring. I let Maggie in and she looked around the foyer of my house with barely disguised awe. "Wow, great place you got here, Kat."
"Thanks. So, ready for this 'fun' night?" I asked after I showed her where she could drop her stuff and we went into the kitchen to get some pop.
"I guess. I'm nervous, though." she answered.
"How come? I mean, haven't you gone out with 'em before?" I asked and jumped up to sit on the marble counter.
Maggie sat at the table. "Not like this. Maybe we would meet them somewhere. But then we could leave whenever we wanted. We didn't depend on them for a ride home or something."
"Oh. Well, I think it'll be okay. And if not, I got this," I said and produced my switchblade.
Maggie's eyes widened in shock. "Is that thing real, Kat? Where'd you get it?"
"Of course it's real. I've had it for awhile. I just never thought I'd need it again," I answered.
"Wow, that's crazy! Are you gonna show Sarah and Jen?"
"Sure. It makes me feel safer, maybe it'll do the same for them."
-------------------------------------
My house got the same 'oohs' and 'aahs' from Jen and Sarah, which I kinda expected. My blade also drew a similar reaction. Jen eyed it nervously. "Do you think you'll have to use that thing?" she asked.
"I hope not," I answered with a shrug.
"I second that," Sarah said and we all giggled nervously.
At five after eight there was no sign of the guys, so we kinda hoped that maybe they forgot. "Hey, maybe we ought to get out of here before they come. We can tell them they just missed us," Jen suggested hopefully.
"And where would we go?" Sarah asked.
"The dance. Our folks think we might go there anyway," Maggie pointed out.
"That sounds like a swell idea to me," I said, and I kinda meant it. Even though I think we all did really want to hang out with the Cobras and be "bad," it would be easier to cop-out and make a run for it.
"Are you serious, Kat?" Maggie asked.
My friends looked at me expectantly, I guess 'cause suddenly my knife made me seem a lot more serious than before. "Sorta. Wanna make a break for my car?"
"Hell yes," Jen said emphatically.
We left my house and I locked up, and we resisted the urge to sprint to my car. It would've looked really dumb if the guys pulled up right then. Which they did. I was sure the neighbors were dropping dead if they were spying on us, which I bet you anything they were. Just as we were making our way across the lawn, two cars pulled up and my stomach did a flip-flop. Ace got out of his car, but left the motor running. I saw that besides him, Eyeball and Jack were also in his car. In Vince's car was Vince, of course, Billy, Charlie, and Fuzzy. "Hey girls, weren't tryin to leave before we got here, were ya?" he asked.
"What do you think, Ace?" I asked and rolled my eyes, just to emphasize how stupid his question was.
"Well it sure fuckin looked like it!" Fuzzy yelled from the passenger window of Vince's car.
"Don't pay attention to him. There's a reason his nickname's Fuzzy, and it's not his hair," Ace said.
"Well, that's good to know," I replied.
"So, come on! Time to party!" he announced loudly and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward his car. "Sarah, you're with us. Mags and Jen can ride in Vince's car. And don't worry, I told 'em not to touch 'em," the last part he told me quietly.
"Thanks," I whispered back, but I felt kinda funny doing so.
When we got to his car, Jack got out so I could sit in between him and Ace or, more accurately, next to Ace. Sarah got in the back with Eyeball but was sitting kinda squished all the way on the left, while he was on the right. It was obvious she didn't want to be anywhere near him. But that would totally change by the end of that night. And so would my relationship with Ace, for better or worse. I really couldn't have told you at the time. Now I wish I'd never gone to Erring Point, and that I'd never even looked at Ace that first time.
