A Calm Before the Teenage Storm
Same night
When you are an adolescent sometimes the most minor flaw can be one of the most
devastating but like a pre-occupied on a cell phone driver not seeing the puppy they are
about to run over, you can never know when that moment was coming. It just happens
when you least expect it. Such as when you get news over a loved one's unexpected
passing you are usually having a buoyant day never thinking that you will come down
from your natural euphoric high.
It's like a paper cut that only needs a mini rectangular band-aid, while you are ready to
prepare a tourniquet.
It was fifteen after eleven at night in the modest sized house on a working class street in
San Diego, California where it was indeed a calm before the teenage storm.
There are two kinds of teenagers in the civilized world. There are the ones that are very
adult oriented who are forty in mind and spirit, but seventeen chronologically. Then there
are the youth who are exactly that. The sunshine, the lollipops, the I don't have a care in
the world and my parents are my safety net. You know the ones who act under their
actual age. But those would just be a stereotype for the ones in the murky middle. The
ones who want to be older, the ones that want to grow, the teenager who just wants to
find their way in the world. Mistakes would be made, but Hell, even sixty five year olds
make mistakes. Why is it so Earth shattering when an adolescent makes one?
The trick is to take that mistake and turn it around as a lesson, because the one thing
they never tell you in high school is that one never stops learning. It's part of your life
process.
None of this mattered right now though. Tonight another puppy is saved as one driver
opts to not be careless and uses a hands free unit.
Tonight was a night of calm.
Drake Parker was never one to have his life mapped out. He never really gave much
serious thought as to what he was going to do after high school. The most adult thing he
thought of was buying an engagement ring for Torey. He knew his "little" (in the scheme
of worldly things it was true) band was not going to be around for much longer. Even if
they didn't start to call Torey, "Courtney Love" behind her back he knew that particular
musical chapter of his life was going to end. He thought about his life, he just didn't
know where he was going to go from here. Surely, his girlfriend, by then fiancée, would
be his side and they could start their life together. Drake knew that Torey was going to
go to college and he never would stop her from her goals. He just didn't realize that his
girlfriend had a different way of looking at that situation.
There was a noise coming from outside that interrupted all the quiet. It must have been
those frat kids from the party across the street. The egg timer went off in his hands and
Drake put it on the refrigerator.
It was then that he noticed the doorknob turn.
"Torey," Drake came upstairs as she opened the bathroom door, "I think your Mother
just came home." He whispered
She pulled Drake in the bathroom when she heard the TV go on.
"Shit. What is she doing home so early?"
Drake laughed, "You look better in my shirts than I do."
It was a basic red t-shirt with black swirls on it. Torey didn't even get time to enjoy the
forbidden flirtation when she heard her Mother come up the stairs.
"Oh no!" she quickly locked the bathroom door.
"Torey, are you in there?" asked forty three year old Laurel Becker as she knocked on
the door.
Torey turned the water faucet on and mouthed, "hide" to Drake.
"Where?"
There wasn't even a window in this bathroom. Unless you counted that purely
decorational octagon shaped one on the side wall.
She pointed to the shower.
"Yes, Mom."
"Open the door."
Torey disliked how her mother always thought she could come in here because they
were "both girls". She pulled the shower curtain closed. Drake thought it was amusing.
What was the worst that could happen? He wasn't going to let Audrey ground him over
something like this. Not when he'd be leaving home in September.
"What took you so long?" Laurel asked when Torey undid the lock making sure to have
a toothbrush in her hand.
"I was getting ready for bed. Why are you home so early?"
"I'm going to steam out the wrinkles out of my uniform." She didn't answer the last part of
her question.
"I can do that, Mom." She took it out of her hands and placed it on the bar.
"Are you still seeing that boy?"
"His name is Drake and yes. I don't know why you don't like him, Mom."
"He's a rock and roll musician. They're not to be trusted. Mark my words; he'll only hurt
you in the end. After all he hurt you once before didn't he?"
"Mom..."
Torey was too tired to argue. She hated for Drake being in the room having to hear all
this.
"I'm going to play cards with Denise." That was their backyard neighbor as their houses
weren't side to side on the block, but if you walked from their small backyard straight,
you'd be right in theirs.
"Okay. Goodnight, Mom."
"Night," She faintly kissed her daughter on the cheek, "Torey, you said you would steam
my uniform," Laurel cocked her head up, "Are you waiting for doom?"
"No," Anything to make this woman go away. She reached from behind the curtain to
turn the shower on and hoped that Drake wouldn't get too soaked in the process. "I'll
see you in the morning."
"Ten minutes and then you can turn the shower off."
She closed the door and waited to hear the sound of her mother going down all the
stairs.
"Drake," That was when the laughter hit when Torey saw that Drake due to her Mother's
positioning of the showerhead was a perfect target for the water to soak him
completely, "I'm sorry." Torey turned off the water and continued to laugh.
She handed him a towel.
"You think this is funny?"
"Yeah."
She stepped in the shower and kissed him.
On one hand he was glad that Torey was able to forget about her Father and if she
found him being soaked hilarious then that was a small pay if he should have a bad hair
day tomorrow but on the other hand Mrs. Becker's comments really bothered him. She
didn't know him. The barely met each other and she could easily cast judgment on him
just because he had long (by early '60s standards) hair and played the guitar?
Still it was a nice sound to hear his girlfriend laugh.
"I don't have any spare clothes."
He did think for a split second that he could sleep naked, but he knew Torey would
never go for that. Not now. Not while she was under her mother's thumb.
"Get undressed, Drake."
"What?"
She stepped out of the shower and closed the curtain again,
"I'll do your clothes. I have a load to do anyway."
"Um…what will I wear? Besides one of my t-shirts."
"One of my mom's ex-boyfriend's left a pair of sweat pants behind."
He'd rather be naked.
"I do have a unisex robe from my Aunt Jane. But it's ugly. It's got a Jack of Hearts on it.
She got it in Atlantic City."
"That's better than the sweat pants." He carefully threw his clothes over the shower bar.
"Okay. It's in my closet on the hook," Torey didn't peek, "I'll be back in ten minutes. You
can put on the stereo."
It amazed him that she didn't peek. He'd have looked at his own body and he most
certainly would have looked at hers if Torey wanted him to.
All in good time he supposed.
There was nothing on the radio that held Drake's interest. His heart filled up when he
saw his roses proudly displayed on her desk in quite a fancy vase.
"Hey, you look nice in that robe." Torey put her arms around him.
Her mother was wrong.
"Thanks. I was just admiring the flowers."
"I know. They're very pretty, Drake. I can't wait to crush them."
"What?"
"I'm going to press some of them for safekeeping."
Drake had a memory of his Grandma doing that with tulips when he was five years old.
"Cool. I know I shouldn't…"
"Drake, I know my mom is a bitch. Ignore her words. I do."
They put their arms around each other and kissed where they fell backwards on her
bed. Her teen dream bed with the pink sheets and purple blankets, it almost seemed
wrong for Drake to be in her bed with her. Not out of any moralistic reason. This was the
bed that she dreamed in.
This was the calm before the teenage storm. Something clouds were going to gather
but it was the one action that was meant to protect that was going to cause some
serious damage to their relationship house. There are no problems when you are
making out, but there are problems when secrets are kept.
"I love you," Torey stroked Drake's cheek with her hand
"I love you, too. Where are you going?"
"To put the clothes in the dryer. You don't want to wear that robe to school do you,
Drake?"
"It'd cause a sensation." He winked
"I'm going to bring up the rest of the cookies."
Life is easy when you are making out and eating cookies but in the next few months and
in the years that followed Torey and Drake were going to have to prove to themselves
and each other that forever meant just that.
"That sounds good. I wish I brought my guitar."
Drake thought life was great. They had school in less than eight hours and here he was
in his girlfriend's bed making out with her and no one was the wiser. He owed Megan a
lot for explaining his absence to Audrey.
'An important band rehearsal. We might have a big paying gig coming up.' Plus she
wouldn't really care since she was dealing with her own problems with Walter. He didn't
mean to exploit that situation, but he wanted to be with Torey, so he would take it
anyway he could.
"Thanks, babe." Drake said as he took the plate of cookies and his glass of milk when
Torey came back into the room.
"No problem," she put her glass down on the end table, "You don't mind if I close the
window?"
"No."
"It's cold in here," Torey put down the window as the curtains lightly fanned out due to the
light breeze, "It looks like a storm is brewing."
Notes: A special thanks to 'My heart beats only for you'. This storyline will start here
and end in part three.