Chapter Fourteen
Girl's Sleepover Session
"I apologize before hand." Mrs. Renner bowed her head towards Freddy. "I understand you're dying to meet your play co-star." Freddy nodded eagerly, like a puppy about to receive his treat after being praised by their master.
"Is she a real lesbian?" He blurted out, hardly acknowledging the alarmed stare she gave him.
"I'm really not too sure." Mrs. Renner cleared her throat. "Come on we'll go to the drama room- she should be there." Freddy would never act in front of the school- and luckily, he wouldn't have too once he was back in his own body. The only disappointing meaning of that meant no kiss. Lola would be livid when she found out about this.
He rubbed his hands together and followed the teacher who pushed open the drama room door and he could hardly wait.
"Here she is! Theresa!" Mrs. Renner beamed and clapped a loud thunderous clap. The girl heard the loud sound and whirled around. Her face lit up.
"Lola Cep! Hi I'm Theresa Lane." He died. Well, not literally, but he almost fainted.
Oh.
My.
Her buck teeth protruded from her mouth at odd angles, she snorted and then wiped her sleeve across her runny nose. Her hair was the texture and color of straw. Her braces were caked with leftover lunch and she wore coke-bottle glasses over her wide green eyes. Squares like this still existed in 2003? They'd been around while he was a boy.
"I'm so excited to begin working on this play." Theresa clasped his hands in hers.
He felt his throat close up with what was it-vomit perhaps?
"I can tell you two are going to get along just great." Mrs. Renner grinned from ear to ear.
"Do I have to kiss that thing?" He shuddered. Mrs. Renner's mouth dropped, and the glow in Teresa's eyes dimmed.
"Lola Cep." Mrs. Renner hissed. "We do not talk about our classmates like that.
"There aren't any sex scenes in this are there?"
"No." Mrs. Renner snapped leading Theresa and him to the other end of the room. "Let's begin rehearsal immediately!" The mutant glanced sadly at Krueger who scowled back. She was the most disgusting thing he'd yet to lay eyes on.
By the time the play rolled around to the big kiss scene he was sprouting a cold sweat all over his body. He fidgeted restlessly in his position, regretting offering to do the part to begin with- was it too late to back out? Mrs. Renner would hold a never ending grudge against Lola for the rest of her senior year but he cared about only his own ass.
"Simone?" Theresa read aloud from the script. "Can I kiss you?" It was cheesy romance play, set out to touch the hearts of all audience members alike and it was absolutely sickening. Why had he agreed to be a part of this joke?
Theresa stepped toward Freddy, her lanky body towering over him. She leaned down towards the nightmare stalker and their lips slowly met.
He pulled away quickly sputtering with her saliva. Well as they say, the show must go- meaning kiss or no kiss. It was doubtful Freddy was aware of this theater etiquette.
Brie tugged at Freddy's cotton cardigan on the rush to period three class.
"You've so got to come over tonight- its Friday." She rose her arms to the heavens. "Big sleepover at my place- bring all your magazines and makeup!" She winked and rushed her separate way. He halted in the middle of the hallway traffic jam.
Sleepover? With girls? He'd never even had a sleepover with boys and now he was having one with girls? No possible way.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Girls. Nude girls. Girls in bras and panties. The final bell pierced the air and he took his time getting to class.
Freddy wasn't quite sure why he was standing on Brie's doorstep clutching a sleeping bag ringing her doorbell. He heard a thud, giggles from inside the picturesque house. He really couldn't believe Lola had threatened him if he didn't go to the sleepover party- she threatened him by promising she would bring her razor and shave his legs for five hours straight.
The door was flung open and a breathless Brie greeted him.
"You came! We are going to have so much fun! You're the last to arrive!" She ushered him in the neat and tidy house.
"Pizza!" Zoe shrieked as the doorbell rang a second time. "She ordered pizza." She added to Freddy. The girls stampeded to the front door and paid eagerly, for their three pizzas.
"Oh!" One girl, Tamara groaned as she scarfed down her fourth slice of greasy, cheesy pizza. "I'm totally going to be a tub of lard after this. I'm gonna be the size of a blimp!" He wasn't much of a pizza person so he helped himself to one slice. Brie cranked up her stereo and loud rap music belted out of the speakers. He felt his headache slowly kick in.
When they had finished their greasy treat he followed them into the den.
"The Shining? Prom Night or Fear Dot Com?" Brie asked them, holding up the three DVDs and all six girls began eagerly voicing their opinion. They chose The Shining after ten minutes of straight arguing. Freddy was bored to tears as the girls shrieked and clutched at each other.
As the credits rolled down Freddy wiped at his sleepy eyes. He was ready to call it a night.
"Who's ready for me to curl their hair?" Brie squealed as she led the girls into her room. A flood of pink, stuffed animals and Powerpuff Girl posters. She plugged in her iron and pushed Freddy to the plush double bed. Where were the naked girls?
"I'll do your hair for you Lo!"
"No!"
"I insist!" She patted him on the shoulder.
"What do you guys think of me going steady with Matt?" Torrance asked. Freddy rolled his eyes at the conversation topic. This is what girls did at sleepovers-gossip all night?
Brie finished tampering with his now bushy hairdo and the girls gather around in a clump of limbs and pajamas, casually piled against each other. Freddy remained alone on the double bed, trying his hardest to pull the curls out of his hair.
"I'm so mad, my family doctor told me I can never wear a tampon." Zoe wailed. "I get sick every time I try to insert one. Probably symptoms of TSS or whatnot. I feel like I'll be wearing pads like a twelve year old preteen forever." The girls all began to tell their own tampon situations and embarrassing period moments, and Freddy pretended to examine a stain on the ceiling, swallowing the lump in his throat. This was torture. People would prefer this to cutting up someone with a few knives?
"What do you use Lola? Tampon, pad or both?" Torrance asked him casually. Freddy gazed wide eyed at the six girls intensely staring at him.
"Uh." He felt his face heat up. "Pads?" He spat.
"Can I paint your nails?" Zoe asked, not waiting for a reply. Instead, she uncapped a bottle of hot-pink nail varnish and began doing his toes. He wriggled them away and she slapped him playfully.
"Stay still!" She giggled.
"So Lola... Any unusual nightmares at 1428 yet?" Tamara asked curiously. Torrance cleared her throat loudly, seeking the attention to be on herself. Now this was a topic he could relate to.
"Now I don't see what's the fuss about him. I mean he's a really.good.dancer." Torrance elaborately gestured with her arms.
They all began chattering at once again about dance, Christina Aguilera's new music video and Freddy Krueger.
"There has been a few deaths at that house." Tamara shivered. Unlike her friends, she had interests that expanded beyond shopping and boys. Dark things like 1428 Elm Street's mysterious past intrigued her. "One girl that lived there back in 1984 was actually killed a couple years after moving out of there."
"By who-the Bogeyman?" Brie rolled her eyes sarcastically and a girl called Sammy giggled.
"Freddy Krueger is the bogeyman." Tamara explained loudly over the hush of talk. The chattering stopped abruptly. Freddy leaned eagerly towards Tamara's direction, curious of what she had to say.
"The bogeyman is basically anything you fear- which Krueger supposedly can become."
"Who exactly is he?" Sammy asked. Her small brain had led her to many failing marks in classes.
"Well." Tamara cracked her knuckles. "Supposedly he lived when our grandparents did..." She said ominously, setting the mood tense.
"He poisoned all their children and so they burned him at the stake- he comes back to get revenge on them for that- and taking away his young son. He wears a blue and green striped-"
"That is all wrong." Freddy snapped, finally speaking up. "So wrong.""Well that's just what I heard." Tamara mumbled in defense.
"Here is the real story bitches...A bunch of assholes decided to seek revenge on a sexy young man who had killed their children. So what right? So after being released from court with the verdict 'not guilty' they burned him alive in his home. A few dream demons gave him the opportunity to stay alive but only in dreams. He agreed and so he seeks his revenge on the children of the parent's who killed him. What's worse? Kill you or your precious children?" He rushed in one gulp of breath. "And his sweater is red and green!"
"Wow. You're a walking, talking History book." Tamara breathed. He shrugged casually but feeling quite good for letting all that anger out.
"Truth question." Sammy spoke aloud. "How far have you gone with a boy?" She grinned and some giggled.
"Second base." Tamara admitted sheepishly. Second base? What was this baseball or some other stupid sport? Freddy wondered.
"All.the.way." Torrance bragged. The girls nodded and went around the circle.
"Cep?" Brie asked prodding Freddy with a long French manicured fingernail.
"Uh,first base?"
"Holding hands and kissing. That's it?" Torrance burst out laughing and clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. Die. Kill. Rip. Tear. Blood. Begging for mercy. Fire. Rage. Nightmares.
He was mad. No he was more then mad- he was a rage.
"All the way." He snapped back. Torrance's brown eyes widened and a grin broadened against her appealing features. She whistled and clapped her hands in respect.
Brie raced over to her CD player and clapping her hands, she popped in a disc and hit play. 'Billie Jean' boomed through the speakers and immediately, laughing her head off, began doing a fairly realistic impression of Michael Jackson. The others joined in the laughing and moonwalking to the rhythm of the music. Freddy watched in complete horror- and he thought they were idiots before?
"Come on Lola!" Zoe grabbed him and began spinning him across the room. He stood there in the midst of dancing bodies and Zoe tried to get him to move his stiff limbs. No way. Absolutely no one would make him dance like that. Or dance at all. When the song ended the girls breathing heavily, plopped down to rest and laugh and marvel at their silliness.
"That does not leave this room!" Torrance announced solemnly and the girls nodded in unison. "Why didn't you join us Lola?" She asked quizzically. A few nodded their agreement.
"Tired." He lied.
"I'm sweating." Brie groaned and yanked her sweatshirt over her head so that she was left in her lacy, crimson red bra. Freddy gawked at the half naked teenager. "Will someone pass me my tank top?"
The girls, if they noticed this girl wearing nothing but her lingerie, they didn't seem to act like they minded at all. To his mere delight he watched as several of the other girls began casually changing in front of him too- oh if they only knew there was a man, a killer among their midst- this gave him great pleasure.