Thanks so much for the reviews! And yeah, I forgot what kind of car the
Rockets have, so I made one up. Sorry! I don't really watch the show
anymore, just read the fanfics, so I apologize in advance for any more
factual discrepancies because of this reason. I'm glad y'all liked the
references to Virginia—I also have family in Richmond, and used to go to
Va. Beach with my cousins every summer.
I'm trying to write this story from each character's viewpoint—that is, every chapter is seen through the eyes of a different character, though still with a third-person narrator. The first chapter was Otto, obviously, and the second was Reggie. I think I could've made that more clear, but I'll work on that for this chapter. Also, I'm trying to work in some tension and developments between other characters, so that the whole thing's not about "Otto's reaction to Reggie/Twister." And just a warning, the maturity level is going up a little with this chapter, with some sexual references and drinking. So, here it goes.... *****
Chapter 3: All Together Now?
The colored lights laced along the border of the Shore Shack were still twinkling brightly when they arrived, and Twister was glad. After being cooped up in a car crammed with people for most of the day, he was ready to get out, stretch, and more importantly—eat! Everyone hurried from the dark rear parking lot into the Shack, which held a small crowd of people, a not-so-small amount of food, and a banner hanging over the lunch counter that read, "Welcome Home, Otto!"
"Aloha! Aloha, Otto! Welcome back, lil' cuz," Tito appeared and pressed the boy into his great, round belly. The other guests already present—Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez, Lars, Trish and Sherry, the Stimpletons, and Mrs. Dullard also came forward to greet him. Twister's first move, however, was toward the lunch counter, which was covered with a tantalizing spread of burgers, fries, ice cream, and cake.
"You mingle, I'll grab us some grub," Twister called to Otto.
"Thanks, man," Otto grinned, before Mrs. Stimpleton grabbed his face for a wet kiss on the cheek.
Twister busily loaded up two plates with burgers and fries. He noticed a pitcher of strawberry-banana milkshake on the counter and filled up an extra glass for Reggie, since he knew it was her favorite. With both Rockets home now, Twister couldn't be happier. He walked over to where the girl was standing, carefully balancing the heavy plates and glasses. Reggie was talking to Trish and Sherry, two of her friends from school.
"Hey Twist," Trish said slyly. She lifted up the bottom of the boy's t-shirt, displaying his stomach. "Damn, look at those abs," she said. "Reg, I can see why you want a piece of that."
Twister's cheeks reddened. In the past year, Trish had become quite the expert when it came to guys. She was always making sexual comments toward him, jokingly, of course, but it embarrassed Twister. He had noticed more girls talking to him as he grew taller and more muscular, but the only girl he really cared about was now standing in front of him, her cheeks also red from Trish's last comment.
"Remember what we talked about, girl," Trish winked towards Twister and went off to get some food. Sherry giggled and followed her.
"What was that all about?" Twister asked as he offered Reggie one of the milkshakes.
"Oh, nothing. Just Trish being Trish." Reggie said. "She thinks that now that we're dating, she needs to give me, like, advice on sex and stuff."
Twister nearly dropped everything he was carrying on the floor. Reggie smiled and rolled her eyes at Trish's "helpfulness," while Twister forcefully attempted to harness his highly active sixteen-year-old imagination and just concentrate on following Reggie to the circle of people surrounding Otto in the dining area.
*****
After a while, Twister had quite a stomachache from his constant intake of refreshments, but he was still enthralled with the stories Otto continued to tell about his trip. He sure wished he could've been surfing around the country for a couple of months, seeing new places and meeting new people. "But then," he thought. "Me and Reggie might not have...wait...Reggie?" Twister suddenly noticed that Reggie was no longer in the chair beside him. He had been so caught up in Otto's talk that he hadn't noticed her leave. He turned to his other side and asked Sam of her whereabouts.
Sam had stopped paying attention to Otto as well. He looked nervously from his watch to the side door of the Shack. "Reggie got up and went to the back about 20 minutes ago," Sam said. "But hey, I just remembered my mom wanted me home soon. It's getting late." He started to inch toward the door.
Twister raised his eyebrows. "Sam, your mom just left a little while ago. And it's only 9:30. Remember, it's summer vacation, dude!"
"Yeah, I know. It's just that I have to...do some chores tonight, yeah. So I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Ok, peace." Twister said to Sam's retreating figure. He shook his head and got up to go find Reggie. In the meantime, Tito had taken the reigns from Otto when he moved on to the Hawaii portion of his trip, and was now rambling on about he and Ray's past surfing escapades down in the Islands. Twister figured he could slip out unnoticed.
Light spilled out into the kitchen from the supply closet at the far end of the restaurant. Twister passed through the dark, empty kitchen to the closet doorway, where he found Reggie trying to scoop millions of plastic straws into a garbage bag. She looked up when she saw Twister and sighed. "Raymundo asked me to bring out some more forks and spoons, but the box was on the top shelf. When I tried to get it, I knocked over this gigi-normous box of straws. To bad they didn't come wrapped, 'cause now I've got to throw them all away."
"I'll help you," Twister offered. He crouched down on the floor and began to shove the dirty straws into the bag.
"Thanks," Reggie said, pushing a loose strand of hair from her face. Twister couldn't help gazing at her for a minute. "Damn, she is pretty," he thought.
"Hey Twist, promisemeyouwon'twannahangoutwithOttomorethanmethissummer," Reggie suddenly blurted.
"Huh?" Twister replied. The two were squatting face-to-face on the floor.
"Sorry. I meant, now that Otto's back, I'm worried that you guys will wanna spend all your time together, like you used to, and, well, leave me out." Reggie confessed.
"No way! Otto is my best bro, but you're my best girl. Whoa, sorry, that was cheesy."
"Yeah, cheesy, like your breath! How many orders of Tito's cheesy fries did you eat up there?" Reggie worried expression changed to a sour one.
"Wh-h-h-at did you say?" Twister purposely breathed in her face.
"Ack! Breath mint! Breath mint!" Reggie laughed and tossed her tin of Altoids at him.
Twister popped two in his mouth and tried again. "H-h-h-how about that?"
"Much better," Reggie replied. Twister leaned in closer and kissed her. The first kiss was a brief one, but the second time Twister leaned in, neither he nor Reggie pulled away. Reggie put her hand at the back of his neck, caressing his light red hair. Twister gently rolled her onto her back on the floor, and the two continued making out. After awhile, Twister slipped a tentative hand up Reggie's shirt and over her bra. Instead of slapping it away, Reggie responded by reaching down and lightly brushing her fingers across the skin underneath the elastic band of his boxers. Twister shivered involuntarily. He wished they could go on like this forever, but soon Reggie was gently pushing him away, standing up, brushing herself off.
"C'mon, Twist. It sounds like people are getting ready to leave out there, and they're probably starting to wonder about us. Oh, and do you think you could try to talk to Otto? He never responded to the email I sent him about us dating, and I think he'll open up more to you."
Twister lay on his stomach and groaned. "Okay. You go on. I'll be there in a minute," he said into the floor. Sometimes he hated being a guy. He waited until the physical evidence of his enthusiasm toward the prior activity had subsided before making his way out the door.
Twister was smoothing his hair and had just placed his backwards baseball cap back on his head when he ran smack into Lars, who was standing with his arms folded at the corner of the stoves. "Yo. I just saw Rocket- dork's sister pass through here a few minutes ago, lookin' just as hot 'n' bothered as you. Now if you and your girlfriend want to be screwin' in the supply closet...."
"So what if we were?" Twister interjected. His brother often tried to get a rise out of him, and lately Twister had been challenging him at his own game.
"Well, uh, I mean, I just thought you'd come to your big bro first, that's all," Lars said, caught off guard. "For tips from the master." Lars was two years older than Twister and naturally saw himself as cooler, wiser, and more experienced.
Twister snorted. If he and Reggie ever did decide to have sex, he sure wouldn't go to Lars for advice—even though he had, admittedly, had way more experience with girls when he was Twister's age. Twister didn't know what the girls saw in Lars, but it must've been more than a long-haired high school dropout with a shifty look in his eyes, a look that alternately meant he had just gotten in some major trouble or that he was ready to pound the living crap out of Twister.
"Just be careful, okay?" Lars popped Twister in the back of the head and walked off.
"Brotherly love," Twister thought. "Yeah, right."
*****
At the front of the Shack the party was finally breaking up, with Sherry and Trish making future mall trip plans with Reggie and Tito trying to convince Twister's parents to take home an extra pineapple-coconut layer cake. As Lars brushed past them, Mr. Rodriguez called out, "Where are you going?"
"Out," Lars replied, after he was already in the parking lot.
"Ay dios mio," Mr. Rodriguez muttered, pulling on his black mustache in frustration. The Rodriguezes had insisted that Lars get a job at Ray's rental shop to pay rent on his room in the basement of their house after he dropped out of high school the beginning of his senior year. Though he kept up that end of the bargain, Lars continued to run loose with his gang of friends in Ocean Shores, and his parents were past the point of trying to control him. Twister knew about the drinking, drugs, and occasional small robberies that Lars was a part of, but he tried not to worry his parents with details of his brother's behavior and on the whole stayed out of trouble himself.
"Hey Twist, why don't you stay over?" Otto offered.
"Can I, Dad?" Twister asked.
"That's fine, Mijo," Mr. Rodriguez replied. "Goodnight, Rockets and Tito; thank you for having us."
"Buenas noche," Mrs. Rodriguez added, kissing Twister on the cheek.
As soon as Twister's parents left, Otto exclaimed, "Alright! Let's go to the Pier! I have a major urge to ride some 'coasters."
"Otto, the amusement park closes in 15 minutes," Ray tapped his watch.
"Aw, well we can at least check out Rocket Beach. I've missed that place so much!"
"It is a nice night to be out," Ray agreed. "But somebody has to help me clean up these dishes, and it's not gonna be Tito, since he prepared all the food in the first place."
"I'll do it," Reggie volunteered, feeling guilty about the straws. "You two go ahead."
"And talk to him," she mouthed to Twister, while glancing meaningfully at her brother.
Twister nodded and headed out the door with Otto. Once outside, Otto had a mischievous look in his eye. "Let's make a stop by Lars's room first." To Twister's protests, he reminded him that Lars had said he was going out a little while ago.
"Well, okay," Twister conceded. The boys snuck into the basement of the Rodriguez house by way of an open window that Lars used for such purposes of his own, namely when he misplaced his key while drunk or high. They went to the mini refrigerator partially concealed in the corner of the room, and from it took two beers each, dropping them in the deep side pockets of their cargo shorts. Otto pulled out a third beer and stashed it in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt for good measure. Twister didn't feel bad about taking the beer from Lars; after all the times he had "borrowed" money from Twister over the years and never paid him back, he figured he owed him a couple.
The boys made their way down the boardwalk, parallel to the beach, until they came to a spot absent of streetlights. They veered right onto a wooden walkway that cut across the dunes and jutted out like a pirate ship's plank above the flat beach for a few feet before turning into wooden steps that led to the sand below. There was one dimly glowing overhead light here, which bugs and local teenagers alike gathered 'round late at night to pass the time and not get caught. Otto plopped down on the edge of the platform, rested his feet on the top step, popped open his first beer, and gazed out at the ocean.
"Man, it feels good out here. Feels good to be home," he said to Twister, who had followed his action and was taking a swig of his own beer. He tried to hide the grimace on his face when the foamy, bitter liquid hit his tongue. It did feel like old times again, sneaking a beer, sometimes cigarettes, out on the beach at night with Otto. Talking about nothing important. Just shooting the shit. They talked a little more about Otto's adventures and the surfing championships that they were both looking forward to the next week.
"You'll get to meet all the mad crazy folks I hung out with on my team. Oh, and my buddy, Skylar, is coming Friday, before everyone else gets here for the competition, so he can hang with us this weekend. He's pretty tight."
"Awesome," Twister replied. Otto had finished two of his beers and dropped the empty cans in the rusted trashcan anchored directly below the platform. Twister had managed to gulp down one, but while Otto was leaning over, he poured half of his second beer out on the sand. How Twister wished he were drinking a monster chocolate shake from the Shore Shack instead!
The boys were silent for a while as they both stared out into the vast dark smudge that was the ocean, listening to the booming sound it made as it connected with the shore. Finally Twister cleared his throat and began, "So Otto-man, Reggie wrote you that email about how she and I are, you know, goin' out, and well....I guess it's kinda weird for you...."
"No shit, Sherlock," Otto muttered, his eyes narrowing. He didn't seem to be protesting talk of the subject, so Twister continued:
"...It just sort of happened, man. We didn't plan for it to. We'd always been just friends until about a month ago when things sort of...clicked. And Reggie's just such an amazing girl—she's pretty, good at sports...."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you dig my sister," Otto held his hands up. "If she's gonna have a boyfriend it might as well be an okay guy like you."
"Wow, uh, thanks, man," Twister said. Coming from Otto, that was quite a compliment. Twister knew how hard it was for Otto to praise people other than himself.
"Yeah, well, you better not hurt her or anything, 'cause I know where you live," Otto continued half-jokingly. "Let me have that," he said as he took Twister's last beer, which by that time was half-full and warm. He chugged the remaining liquid and tossed it, along with his third empty can, into the trashcan. "Race you back to the house?"
It was then Twister knew that Otto had disclosed all he wanted to say about the present subject. Though there was probably more on Otto's mind, Twister was content with what he had gotten out of his friend for now—and he actually seemed okay with Reggie and him dating. "You're on!" Twister replied, and the boys flew down the boardwalk. They both knew that these type games at their age were a little babyish, but their heads were buzzing from the alcohol, and it felt good to stretch and test their muscles in the cool night air.
*****
Otto was first to slam his hand down on the mailbox, with Twister close behind. The two boys stood panting under the streetlight, not ready to go inside yet.
"Twister, you better not become a lame-o and just go shopping with my sister all the time and not want to board or play hockey or anything." Otto said suddenly.
"Whoa, why would I do that? And Reggie hates shopping," Twister somehow felt like he had heard this before.
"Bros come first, remember that," Otto said seriously putting his hand on Twister's shoulder. Twister grabbed it and attempted a wrestling move, which only resulted in Otto putting him in a headlock. After horsing around a bit, the two finally disappeared into the house.
The first thing Twister saw when he entered the living room of the Rockets' home was Reggie sitting on the couch, looking extremely bored and slightly pissed off.
"Glad to see you two finally made it back," she said sarcastically, idly flipping channels on the TV.
"Yeah, we kinda lost track of time," Twister said honestly.
"Sorry you missed out, sis, but let's all go to Madtown tomorrow! After 8 weeks of surfing, I could use some time at the skate park!" Otto exclaimed.
Reggie's face immediately brightened. "Okay, I'll tell Sam." She walked over to the computer that was set up in the corner of the living room and sent Sam an instant message telling him about the plans. Instead of a reply, however, Sam's away message popped up. "That's odd," Reggie said. "He's 'away.' Sam is always around his computer at night, usually until about 1 or 2 AM. I wonder where he is?"
"Hmm, beats me. He was acting weird earlier tonight, too. But maybe he just went to bed early." Twister suggested.
"I'm sure the Squid is fine. We can bust up in his room tomorrow and wake him up," Otto said. "But now I'm ready to pass out. We all should rest up for an action-packed day at Madtown tomorrow!"
Reggie and Twister followed Otto up the stairs. While Twister waited for Otto to finish up in the bathroom, he conferred with Reggie in the hallway. "Are you mad at me or something?" he asked.
"No, just annoyed that you went off with Otto for, like, ever, right after our talk. But anyways, did you talk to him about us? What did he say?"
"He said he was cool with it, more or less," Twister replied. "Everything's cool. And it will be good for the four of us to hang out tomorrow."
"Yeah. The gang's all back together again," Reggie agreed. "Well, 'nite." They exchanged a brief kiss on the lips before they parted—Reggie to her room and Twister to Otto's.
*****
Long after Otto fell asleep, snoring lightly, Twister lay awake on the mattress and old cowboy-print sleeping bag on the floor, turning things over in his mind. Reggie and Otto both had warned him against spending too much time with the other sibling, and if he didn't watch out, he might screw up two good friendships, plus the first real romantic relationship he'd had. And to top all of that, Sam was acting sketchy. Where was he? Twister sighed and rolled over. It wasn't that big of a deal. And they were all going to skate together tomorrow, so it would be just like old times. Wouldn't it? Twister tried to make his mind go blank, listening to the soft whir of the ceiling fan and Otto's snoring. Finally, he succumbed to sleep.
*****
Sorry I took so long to update, and sorry this chapter is long—I tend to drag out everything the characters are doing sometimes. And I can't seem to get each paragraph or new dialogue to indent. I'm using MS Word 2000, so that may have something to do with it. If anyone has any tips, let me know. Well, hope you enjoyed it, but unfortunately I must say that I will not be updating until at least June, as I am about to go to Europe for a few months. I've got some great ideas for the coming chapters, though, so sit tight!
Later! Much!
blakelybrown
I'm trying to write this story from each character's viewpoint—that is, every chapter is seen through the eyes of a different character, though still with a third-person narrator. The first chapter was Otto, obviously, and the second was Reggie. I think I could've made that more clear, but I'll work on that for this chapter. Also, I'm trying to work in some tension and developments between other characters, so that the whole thing's not about "Otto's reaction to Reggie/Twister." And just a warning, the maturity level is going up a little with this chapter, with some sexual references and drinking. So, here it goes.... *****
Chapter 3: All Together Now?
The colored lights laced along the border of the Shore Shack were still twinkling brightly when they arrived, and Twister was glad. After being cooped up in a car crammed with people for most of the day, he was ready to get out, stretch, and more importantly—eat! Everyone hurried from the dark rear parking lot into the Shack, which held a small crowd of people, a not-so-small amount of food, and a banner hanging over the lunch counter that read, "Welcome Home, Otto!"
"Aloha! Aloha, Otto! Welcome back, lil' cuz," Tito appeared and pressed the boy into his great, round belly. The other guests already present—Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez, Lars, Trish and Sherry, the Stimpletons, and Mrs. Dullard also came forward to greet him. Twister's first move, however, was toward the lunch counter, which was covered with a tantalizing spread of burgers, fries, ice cream, and cake.
"You mingle, I'll grab us some grub," Twister called to Otto.
"Thanks, man," Otto grinned, before Mrs. Stimpleton grabbed his face for a wet kiss on the cheek.
Twister busily loaded up two plates with burgers and fries. He noticed a pitcher of strawberry-banana milkshake on the counter and filled up an extra glass for Reggie, since he knew it was her favorite. With both Rockets home now, Twister couldn't be happier. He walked over to where the girl was standing, carefully balancing the heavy plates and glasses. Reggie was talking to Trish and Sherry, two of her friends from school.
"Hey Twist," Trish said slyly. She lifted up the bottom of the boy's t-shirt, displaying his stomach. "Damn, look at those abs," she said. "Reg, I can see why you want a piece of that."
Twister's cheeks reddened. In the past year, Trish had become quite the expert when it came to guys. She was always making sexual comments toward him, jokingly, of course, but it embarrassed Twister. He had noticed more girls talking to him as he grew taller and more muscular, but the only girl he really cared about was now standing in front of him, her cheeks also red from Trish's last comment.
"Remember what we talked about, girl," Trish winked towards Twister and went off to get some food. Sherry giggled and followed her.
"What was that all about?" Twister asked as he offered Reggie one of the milkshakes.
"Oh, nothing. Just Trish being Trish." Reggie said. "She thinks that now that we're dating, she needs to give me, like, advice on sex and stuff."
Twister nearly dropped everything he was carrying on the floor. Reggie smiled and rolled her eyes at Trish's "helpfulness," while Twister forcefully attempted to harness his highly active sixteen-year-old imagination and just concentrate on following Reggie to the circle of people surrounding Otto in the dining area.
*****
After a while, Twister had quite a stomachache from his constant intake of refreshments, but he was still enthralled with the stories Otto continued to tell about his trip. He sure wished he could've been surfing around the country for a couple of months, seeing new places and meeting new people. "But then," he thought. "Me and Reggie might not have...wait...Reggie?" Twister suddenly noticed that Reggie was no longer in the chair beside him. He had been so caught up in Otto's talk that he hadn't noticed her leave. He turned to his other side and asked Sam of her whereabouts.
Sam had stopped paying attention to Otto as well. He looked nervously from his watch to the side door of the Shack. "Reggie got up and went to the back about 20 minutes ago," Sam said. "But hey, I just remembered my mom wanted me home soon. It's getting late." He started to inch toward the door.
Twister raised his eyebrows. "Sam, your mom just left a little while ago. And it's only 9:30. Remember, it's summer vacation, dude!"
"Yeah, I know. It's just that I have to...do some chores tonight, yeah. So I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Ok, peace." Twister said to Sam's retreating figure. He shook his head and got up to go find Reggie. In the meantime, Tito had taken the reigns from Otto when he moved on to the Hawaii portion of his trip, and was now rambling on about he and Ray's past surfing escapades down in the Islands. Twister figured he could slip out unnoticed.
Light spilled out into the kitchen from the supply closet at the far end of the restaurant. Twister passed through the dark, empty kitchen to the closet doorway, where he found Reggie trying to scoop millions of plastic straws into a garbage bag. She looked up when she saw Twister and sighed. "Raymundo asked me to bring out some more forks and spoons, but the box was on the top shelf. When I tried to get it, I knocked over this gigi-normous box of straws. To bad they didn't come wrapped, 'cause now I've got to throw them all away."
"I'll help you," Twister offered. He crouched down on the floor and began to shove the dirty straws into the bag.
"Thanks," Reggie said, pushing a loose strand of hair from her face. Twister couldn't help gazing at her for a minute. "Damn, she is pretty," he thought.
"Hey Twist, promisemeyouwon'twannahangoutwithOttomorethanmethissummer," Reggie suddenly blurted.
"Huh?" Twister replied. The two were squatting face-to-face on the floor.
"Sorry. I meant, now that Otto's back, I'm worried that you guys will wanna spend all your time together, like you used to, and, well, leave me out." Reggie confessed.
"No way! Otto is my best bro, but you're my best girl. Whoa, sorry, that was cheesy."
"Yeah, cheesy, like your breath! How many orders of Tito's cheesy fries did you eat up there?" Reggie worried expression changed to a sour one.
"Wh-h-h-at did you say?" Twister purposely breathed in her face.
"Ack! Breath mint! Breath mint!" Reggie laughed and tossed her tin of Altoids at him.
Twister popped two in his mouth and tried again. "H-h-h-how about that?"
"Much better," Reggie replied. Twister leaned in closer and kissed her. The first kiss was a brief one, but the second time Twister leaned in, neither he nor Reggie pulled away. Reggie put her hand at the back of his neck, caressing his light red hair. Twister gently rolled her onto her back on the floor, and the two continued making out. After awhile, Twister slipped a tentative hand up Reggie's shirt and over her bra. Instead of slapping it away, Reggie responded by reaching down and lightly brushing her fingers across the skin underneath the elastic band of his boxers. Twister shivered involuntarily. He wished they could go on like this forever, but soon Reggie was gently pushing him away, standing up, brushing herself off.
"C'mon, Twist. It sounds like people are getting ready to leave out there, and they're probably starting to wonder about us. Oh, and do you think you could try to talk to Otto? He never responded to the email I sent him about us dating, and I think he'll open up more to you."
Twister lay on his stomach and groaned. "Okay. You go on. I'll be there in a minute," he said into the floor. Sometimes he hated being a guy. He waited until the physical evidence of his enthusiasm toward the prior activity had subsided before making his way out the door.
Twister was smoothing his hair and had just placed his backwards baseball cap back on his head when he ran smack into Lars, who was standing with his arms folded at the corner of the stoves. "Yo. I just saw Rocket- dork's sister pass through here a few minutes ago, lookin' just as hot 'n' bothered as you. Now if you and your girlfriend want to be screwin' in the supply closet...."
"So what if we were?" Twister interjected. His brother often tried to get a rise out of him, and lately Twister had been challenging him at his own game.
"Well, uh, I mean, I just thought you'd come to your big bro first, that's all," Lars said, caught off guard. "For tips from the master." Lars was two years older than Twister and naturally saw himself as cooler, wiser, and more experienced.
Twister snorted. If he and Reggie ever did decide to have sex, he sure wouldn't go to Lars for advice—even though he had, admittedly, had way more experience with girls when he was Twister's age. Twister didn't know what the girls saw in Lars, but it must've been more than a long-haired high school dropout with a shifty look in his eyes, a look that alternately meant he had just gotten in some major trouble or that he was ready to pound the living crap out of Twister.
"Just be careful, okay?" Lars popped Twister in the back of the head and walked off.
"Brotherly love," Twister thought. "Yeah, right."
*****
At the front of the Shack the party was finally breaking up, with Sherry and Trish making future mall trip plans with Reggie and Tito trying to convince Twister's parents to take home an extra pineapple-coconut layer cake. As Lars brushed past them, Mr. Rodriguez called out, "Where are you going?"
"Out," Lars replied, after he was already in the parking lot.
"Ay dios mio," Mr. Rodriguez muttered, pulling on his black mustache in frustration. The Rodriguezes had insisted that Lars get a job at Ray's rental shop to pay rent on his room in the basement of their house after he dropped out of high school the beginning of his senior year. Though he kept up that end of the bargain, Lars continued to run loose with his gang of friends in Ocean Shores, and his parents were past the point of trying to control him. Twister knew about the drinking, drugs, and occasional small robberies that Lars was a part of, but he tried not to worry his parents with details of his brother's behavior and on the whole stayed out of trouble himself.
"Hey Twist, why don't you stay over?" Otto offered.
"Can I, Dad?" Twister asked.
"That's fine, Mijo," Mr. Rodriguez replied. "Goodnight, Rockets and Tito; thank you for having us."
"Buenas noche," Mrs. Rodriguez added, kissing Twister on the cheek.
As soon as Twister's parents left, Otto exclaimed, "Alright! Let's go to the Pier! I have a major urge to ride some 'coasters."
"Otto, the amusement park closes in 15 minutes," Ray tapped his watch.
"Aw, well we can at least check out Rocket Beach. I've missed that place so much!"
"It is a nice night to be out," Ray agreed. "But somebody has to help me clean up these dishes, and it's not gonna be Tito, since he prepared all the food in the first place."
"I'll do it," Reggie volunteered, feeling guilty about the straws. "You two go ahead."
"And talk to him," she mouthed to Twister, while glancing meaningfully at her brother.
Twister nodded and headed out the door with Otto. Once outside, Otto had a mischievous look in his eye. "Let's make a stop by Lars's room first." To Twister's protests, he reminded him that Lars had said he was going out a little while ago.
"Well, okay," Twister conceded. The boys snuck into the basement of the Rodriguez house by way of an open window that Lars used for such purposes of his own, namely when he misplaced his key while drunk or high. They went to the mini refrigerator partially concealed in the corner of the room, and from it took two beers each, dropping them in the deep side pockets of their cargo shorts. Otto pulled out a third beer and stashed it in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt for good measure. Twister didn't feel bad about taking the beer from Lars; after all the times he had "borrowed" money from Twister over the years and never paid him back, he figured he owed him a couple.
The boys made their way down the boardwalk, parallel to the beach, until they came to a spot absent of streetlights. They veered right onto a wooden walkway that cut across the dunes and jutted out like a pirate ship's plank above the flat beach for a few feet before turning into wooden steps that led to the sand below. There was one dimly glowing overhead light here, which bugs and local teenagers alike gathered 'round late at night to pass the time and not get caught. Otto plopped down on the edge of the platform, rested his feet on the top step, popped open his first beer, and gazed out at the ocean.
"Man, it feels good out here. Feels good to be home," he said to Twister, who had followed his action and was taking a swig of his own beer. He tried to hide the grimace on his face when the foamy, bitter liquid hit his tongue. It did feel like old times again, sneaking a beer, sometimes cigarettes, out on the beach at night with Otto. Talking about nothing important. Just shooting the shit. They talked a little more about Otto's adventures and the surfing championships that they were both looking forward to the next week.
"You'll get to meet all the mad crazy folks I hung out with on my team. Oh, and my buddy, Skylar, is coming Friday, before everyone else gets here for the competition, so he can hang with us this weekend. He's pretty tight."
"Awesome," Twister replied. Otto had finished two of his beers and dropped the empty cans in the rusted trashcan anchored directly below the platform. Twister had managed to gulp down one, but while Otto was leaning over, he poured half of his second beer out on the sand. How Twister wished he were drinking a monster chocolate shake from the Shore Shack instead!
The boys were silent for a while as they both stared out into the vast dark smudge that was the ocean, listening to the booming sound it made as it connected with the shore. Finally Twister cleared his throat and began, "So Otto-man, Reggie wrote you that email about how she and I are, you know, goin' out, and well....I guess it's kinda weird for you...."
"No shit, Sherlock," Otto muttered, his eyes narrowing. He didn't seem to be protesting talk of the subject, so Twister continued:
"...It just sort of happened, man. We didn't plan for it to. We'd always been just friends until about a month ago when things sort of...clicked. And Reggie's just such an amazing girl—she's pretty, good at sports...."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you dig my sister," Otto held his hands up. "If she's gonna have a boyfriend it might as well be an okay guy like you."
"Wow, uh, thanks, man," Twister said. Coming from Otto, that was quite a compliment. Twister knew how hard it was for Otto to praise people other than himself.
"Yeah, well, you better not hurt her or anything, 'cause I know where you live," Otto continued half-jokingly. "Let me have that," he said as he took Twister's last beer, which by that time was half-full and warm. He chugged the remaining liquid and tossed it, along with his third empty can, into the trashcan. "Race you back to the house?"
It was then Twister knew that Otto had disclosed all he wanted to say about the present subject. Though there was probably more on Otto's mind, Twister was content with what he had gotten out of his friend for now—and he actually seemed okay with Reggie and him dating. "You're on!" Twister replied, and the boys flew down the boardwalk. They both knew that these type games at their age were a little babyish, but their heads were buzzing from the alcohol, and it felt good to stretch and test their muscles in the cool night air.
*****
Otto was first to slam his hand down on the mailbox, with Twister close behind. The two boys stood panting under the streetlight, not ready to go inside yet.
"Twister, you better not become a lame-o and just go shopping with my sister all the time and not want to board or play hockey or anything." Otto said suddenly.
"Whoa, why would I do that? And Reggie hates shopping," Twister somehow felt like he had heard this before.
"Bros come first, remember that," Otto said seriously putting his hand on Twister's shoulder. Twister grabbed it and attempted a wrestling move, which only resulted in Otto putting him in a headlock. After horsing around a bit, the two finally disappeared into the house.
The first thing Twister saw when he entered the living room of the Rockets' home was Reggie sitting on the couch, looking extremely bored and slightly pissed off.
"Glad to see you two finally made it back," she said sarcastically, idly flipping channels on the TV.
"Yeah, we kinda lost track of time," Twister said honestly.
"Sorry you missed out, sis, but let's all go to Madtown tomorrow! After 8 weeks of surfing, I could use some time at the skate park!" Otto exclaimed.
Reggie's face immediately brightened. "Okay, I'll tell Sam." She walked over to the computer that was set up in the corner of the living room and sent Sam an instant message telling him about the plans. Instead of a reply, however, Sam's away message popped up. "That's odd," Reggie said. "He's 'away.' Sam is always around his computer at night, usually until about 1 or 2 AM. I wonder where he is?"
"Hmm, beats me. He was acting weird earlier tonight, too. But maybe he just went to bed early." Twister suggested.
"I'm sure the Squid is fine. We can bust up in his room tomorrow and wake him up," Otto said. "But now I'm ready to pass out. We all should rest up for an action-packed day at Madtown tomorrow!"
Reggie and Twister followed Otto up the stairs. While Twister waited for Otto to finish up in the bathroom, he conferred with Reggie in the hallway. "Are you mad at me or something?" he asked.
"No, just annoyed that you went off with Otto for, like, ever, right after our talk. But anyways, did you talk to him about us? What did he say?"
"He said he was cool with it, more or less," Twister replied. "Everything's cool. And it will be good for the four of us to hang out tomorrow."
"Yeah. The gang's all back together again," Reggie agreed. "Well, 'nite." They exchanged a brief kiss on the lips before they parted—Reggie to her room and Twister to Otto's.
*****
Long after Otto fell asleep, snoring lightly, Twister lay awake on the mattress and old cowboy-print sleeping bag on the floor, turning things over in his mind. Reggie and Otto both had warned him against spending too much time with the other sibling, and if he didn't watch out, he might screw up two good friendships, plus the first real romantic relationship he'd had. And to top all of that, Sam was acting sketchy. Where was he? Twister sighed and rolled over. It wasn't that big of a deal. And they were all going to skate together tomorrow, so it would be just like old times. Wouldn't it? Twister tried to make his mind go blank, listening to the soft whir of the ceiling fan and Otto's snoring. Finally, he succumbed to sleep.
*****
Sorry I took so long to update, and sorry this chapter is long—I tend to drag out everything the characters are doing sometimes. And I can't seem to get each paragraph or new dialogue to indent. I'm using MS Word 2000, so that may have something to do with it. If anyone has any tips, let me know. Well, hope you enjoyed it, but unfortunately I must say that I will not be updating until at least June, as I am about to go to Europe for a few months. I've got some great ideas for the coming chapters, though, so sit tight!
Later! Much!
blakelybrown
