Chapter 5

After Jay and Tony left, Jess stood there for a minute debating on what to do. It was going to be dark in another hour, so it was too late to check out the pier at closer range. If she didn't go to this surf shop she'd probably be seen by the guys as stuck up, but if she did go…what if this Jay guy tried some stupid crap out on her? Well, she'd knock him over and take off screeching like that time Kevin Salvucci tried to hold her down and kiss her in 6th grade, that's what she'd do. If I could handle that overgrown putz, I can certainly handle this little California skate rat, she rationalized.

As she started to walk back up the hill, the group of girls sitting on the opposite sidewalk got to their feet and crossed the road, obviously intent on talking to Jess. The members of the faction appeared to range in age from early teens to early 20s. Most had clearly Latina or Native American features; none of them were blonde. Their attire was a mix of faded jeans, peasant skirts and fringed blouses, beaded tunics with wide leather belts, and flowing Mexican-embroidered dresses. They all had long one-length hair worn in simple styles, some with leather barrettes or feathers on leather thongs hanging down their backs.

"Hey, what are you doing around here?" the tallest one – whom Jay had called Karen - asked in a pleasant enough way, but there was a hint of steel in her vocal tone.

"Umm, I just moved here last week and was sorta exploring the neighborhood," Jess explained.

Angel, the girl who started the altercation with Jay broke in. "Where you move from, the Valley?" This query provoked a few titters and sneers from the rest of the group.

At first Jess thought she meant Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. "Nnnooo, a little farther East. Philly."

A third girl barked with laughter. "That's a lot farther east than San Fernando, girl!"

Ohh, that Valley, Jess thought, wanting to smack her forehead for being such a schmuck. She already knew the reputation that "Vals" had in L.A. proper and here she was acting as ditzy as they were reputed to be. She could feel a blush starting to come on.

"So where you live now exactly?" Angel queried.

"Well, right here. Y'know, Venice," Jess explained, then felt even more ill-at-ease when all the girls began to snicker derisively. "Uhh, I don't get it. This neighborhood is still in Venice, right?"

"Technically it may be, but the real locals call it Dogtown," Karen announced. Jess noted the emphasis she put on the word 'real' – that was definitely a message. She was starting to feel like a gang member who'd wandered accidentally into rival territory. Time to show them she wasn't so fresh off the bus that she knew nobody at all.

"So, do you know a guy named Stacy Peralta? Blonde, skater, goes to Santa…Monica…" Jess's voice trailed off at the sight of six girls' expressions that had suddenly gone darker than a raven in a coal mine at midnight.

"How do you know Stacy?" Karen asked, and this time the steel in her voice was unmistakable.

"I…don't know him…really. He uhh, just sits in my Geometry class and I heard his name once and saw him skate, and since you know some of these other guys here I just thought maybe you knew him too. But I've never talked to him or anything, honest." Her words were hurried as she tried to assure the increasingly hostile-looking girls.

Angel tilted her chin up defiantly. "What's your name again?"

"Jess."

"Ok Jess, since you're new here, I'm gonna tell you the deal nicely – once. I have to tell you again, it won't be with words, you dig?" Angel growled as the other girls formed a loose semi-circle around Jess, hovering just outside arm's reach.

Jess only swallowed and nodded.

"Stacy…you stay the hell away from. Never, ever, ever let any of us catch you talking to him for even a second. Not even to ask him for help with your homework. Not even if you catch on fucking fire and he's standing next to you with an extinguisher, got it?"

"I…yeah." That was all Jess could diplomatically say at the moment.

"And while we're schooling you, that goes for Tony too," Karen broke in. "He just left here – the curly haired guy in the dark blue shirt," she added.

"But Jay you can have!" one of the other girls shrieked, causing the others to cackle madly for a second or two.

But Jess was far from seeing the funny side of anything at the moment. She was so flustered and angry that she was almost shaking. If it had been just one or two of these girls confronting her, she might have challenged them or calmly asked them for an explanation at the very least. But since she was outnumbered six to one she thought it best to keep her mouth shut and just nod in agreement. Stay cool, keep quiet and get on your way as fast as possible. It seemed to work. The girls began to back off a few feet but were still watching her intently for any signs of defiance.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Jess and the question was out before she could stop it:

"Umm, is it ok for me to hang out and just watch the skating sometimes though?" She braced herself for a bad reaction as the girls looked at each other for a half-minute, but Karen only shrugged and said, "Hey, it's a free country. You can come here, but just watch your step with the guys we warned you about." Jess sighed in relief now that an ass-kicking was no longer imminent.

"Any other stupid questions?" Angel sneered.

Screw it, Jess thought. There's something I'm dying to know and if anyone knows the answer to this it'll be the real locals as that smug-ass Karen put it.

"Yeah, I'm just curious about that place." Jess pointed to the falling-down pier. "It looks kind of fascinating but I get the feeling that it's a bad place to go alone," she confessed.

All the girls remained stony-faced, hands on hips. "For you it's a bad place to go - ever," Angel barked. "It's for Dogtowners only. Everyone else is considered a trespasser and will be dealt with accordingly."

And with that last parting shot, the girls turned on their heels and walked away. They didn't talk or even giggle, just strode off in complete silence, which threw Jess off almost as much as the rest of the confrontation. She stood there for a minute watching the girls' retreating backs, then began wondering anew what she should do next. Play it safe and go home, or go to this Zephyr shop that Jay invited her to? After all, the girls didn't say anything about that place being off limits…