This is your NEW school
All characters mentioned in this(except ones that I made up)belong to Rockstar Games. I do not make money off of this.
This chapter contains smoking and alcohol references – XX-THIRST
Chapter 12: Mind in a Bottle, A Song at Full Throttle
7:30 PM. Standing before Kody's apartment door, Jimmy was, once again, griping about this date he had been forced into.
" What a pain in the ass! Screw you! This is all your fault! ".
" Shut it Hopkins! " snapped Gary. " Stop being such a bitch ".
Jimmy turned away, cursing Gary under his breath. In all honestly , he was actually glad Gary had decided to tag along ('to amuse himself ' he had said ) , because he couldn't think of a good excuse as to why he had to bring the other boy with him. He imagined the disastrous results of telling Gary the headmistress had ordered Hopkins to keep an eye on him , 24/7 , all the damn time. His stomach cramped at the thought. Or maybe that was from the opening of Kody's apartment door and being blasted by the heavy odor of booze and sweat.
" Jerryyyy! You made ish!" Kody slurred. He lazily threw his arms around Jimmy, trapping him in
a sloppy, awkward hug.
" It's Jimmy. And you're stone cold drunk,aren't you ? ".
" I'msh onlyy a little buzzed ".
Pulling away, he smiled absentmindedly at the two boys and garbled mostly nonsense.
" Diiibbb, daaa. Sssiish, gar , dares dis plllish I'd luvsh to go to, an awesum karaoke restuurrraunt ,leds gut goingggg , jeeeeblsh , daaaaa , wannah see a unicornsss fly dare? Yeeeeeeaaahhh …."
Jimmy, only catching the bit about a ' karaoke restuurrraunt ' , grumbled " Alright, let's get going and get this thing over with ".
" Greattt! Now where dib I put my carrr keys ... " said Kody , patting at his pants pockets.
" You're in no condition to drive! ".
" Aaaww coome onz , I only hit five trish canz last timez I wuz bizzzed ".
" We're taking the bus , Kody ".
" Sure cap'in! ".
He skipped up the hall, ahead of the other two boys and almost fell down. Gary turned to Jimmy, sheepishly grinning.
" Well , lead the way, captain ".
After stumbling off the bus, Kody lead them to the restaurant, ' Singer Swingers '. A waitress greeted him by the name of ' Mr. Brant ' at the door. In his drunken state, he neglected to mention that his father owned the swanky looking joint. Gary explained the situation to Jimmy once the three young men had been seated in a booth and their orders were brought to them.
" His dad is a rich S.O.B. This guy owns half of the businesses in town. He's also a VERY generous donor to the school. Hell, he even supplies Kody and his band mates with not only their instruments, but their beer and weed as well " said the scarred faced boy whilst rudely shoveling his meal into his mouth. Bits of half chewed food flew onto Jimmy, who sat next him.
" So let me guess, the old man gives him whatever he wants so that Kody'll stay out of his way ? ". Jimmy did his best to ignore the horrible sight of Gary's mashed up mustard , scallop and chocolate ice cream abomination . Not to mention the boy's terrible table manners as well.
" Yooouu got itsh! " Kody gleefully interjected, plastered to boot.
He chugged down a bottle of light beer. Apparently the staff was more than happy to provide alcohol to a minor. Then again, he wasn't just any minor. Not with a father as wealthy as his. In fact , several diners greeted Kody by name as they breezed by , even complimenting him on his choice of alcoholic beverage. Including a police officer. One particular woman, comically stuffed into her red business dress like a pork sausage, skirted her way up to the table . Her heels clacked loudly as they struggled to hold up the hefty forty-something that looked at least ten years older. She excitingly cooed at Kody , acting as if she hadn't intentionally strode over.
" Oooh my, it's Mr. Brant's son! Why isn't this a coincidence . I just happened to be strolling by THIS very table and here I see yooou. Of aaalll people! ". She turned her head and caught sight of Gary and Jimmy. Her fake smile disappeared, turning into a deep scowl and her nose crinkled upwards , glaring at them as though the two were snot and blood encrusted tissues that had missed the waste basket.
" And who are these two … " she paused , struggling to think of a polite term , less she spoil her image in front of the young master . " … gentlemen … ".
" Ah , sssissh , dis izzz my date Jimbo. And heee brut hizzzzzz friend Garrreee ".
" Ooh really! How nice! The young master on a date!" . Her aspartame smile returned . " And what a … an interesting looking boy. He certainly … has a unique face that's all his own ".
" He's got some tough competition with a dog face like yours , lady " Gary mumbled under his breath.
" By the way , it JUST so happens that I'll be sending my son to Brat-Hog next year. And he JUST happens to play the flute. He would fit RIGHT IN WITH YOUR BAND ". She was dropping hints so heavily , one could've sworn the floor was shaking. " You and him would make GREAT FRIENDS! And oh! Earlier this week, I was looking around for antiques when I JUST SO HAPPENED to walk right into the antique store that your mother owns. And while I was there -". The woman , all the while rambling on, suddenly felt the need to reach up to her neck and fiddle with her (possibly faux) pearl necklace. As if she had to prove her social worth to Kody. All her mannerisms screamed " See? See?! I'm worthy! Shower me with your wealthy and prestigious existence! ".
By now , all three boys were blocking her out , two because of irritation , the third because of intoxication. Kody eventually spoke to the woman , though what he had to say probably wasn't as profound as she had been expecting. Especially when he began with a belch.
" Heyz Garreee , Johnny and mizz magiz talkin hippo , I'll bee rit back, I gotta pizzz ".
Soon as he left for the bathroom , the dumpy woman's cheery demeanor quickly faded.
" Well. I best be off then " she curtly stated in a huff and made her exit. Putting his hands behind his head, Jimmy sighed and slumped in his seat. This had already been too much for him.
" Now that the beauty queen has left … " Gary garbled with a mouthful of mush, " how are you enjoying your self ? ".
" Uggghh, I wanna leave ".
" Jimmy boy , eat well while you can . That's what I'm doing. Besides , get friendly with Kody and the metal heads won't mess with us ".
" Won't mess with ME. I don't give a shit what they do to you. You would probably deserve it anyway ".
" Not even grateful for the connections I make for you ".
" Grateful ? To you ?! Yeah right! As if ! ".
" Who was it that showed you around the piss hole school , Jimmy ? Who's been advising you this whole time ? Who's been the man with unlimited knowledge, suppling you with vital information , huh ?! Abraham Lincoln ?! " .
" Gary, don't flatter yourself . Frankly , all you been doing is getting off to the sound of your own voice ".
" Getting off is your area of expertise ".
" Shut the f- up, okay ? Arrgh, why did I even agree to this ? " .
" Once again Jimmy , getting on the good side of a bunch of stoned senseless, third rate rockstars has it's benefits . Such as them not being in the way when we take down the other - ".
" We're not taking down anyone. Not this shit again. Let's make it clear. No taking down cliques , no trying to take over the school, no 'I'm the king of the universe' psychotic bullshit ".
" Of course you would bring that up. That was in the past . I've significantly matured since then ".
" In the span of four months ? "
" Exactly. Even a genius like me makes mistakes from time to time " .
Jimmy decided to drop the subject , not wanting to make this situation anymore painful than it already was. He went back to eating his cheese burger and fries in silence. And soon, to his dismay , Kody had returned , tripping over at least three tables as he headed back to the booth. No one seemed to be fazed by the boy's behavior. He plopped down into the booth and batted his eyes at Jimmy.
" Sllsh , id wud be awsum if yoooou came tooo see our band playz sum tim, Jimmer. If yoou pliz an iiinstisment , weeed be glid to hev you join. Yoood need to speeek wit Alshin firpst , hic ".
" Who ? ".
" Alan. Alan Marshall. He's the lead singer of the band " Gary informed Jimmy.
" Srrrish, egggzackly! Und I pliz gut-tarz cuz I can'tz sing tooo gud ".
' He's getting drunker by the minute! '.
" So what's your band called ? ".
" Durr …hic … Atomic Super Squad ".
" Somehow I'm not surprised. Well , maybe we should get -".
" HEER'S TEN DOLLARZ! " Kody suddenly blurted out . And he indeed pulled a crumpled ten dollar bill from his denim vest pocket and slid it across the table to Jimmy. Eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion , Jimmy turned to Gary , questioning the generous act.
" Sometimes he just does that when he's hammered. Isn't that right , Kody ? ".
" Yesh! You knooow whut I wuuz thinkin ,Jimmer ? I thiink ur reeeel cute. Nut cute cute, but 'ugly cute', slzzsh. U knoooow , lik a bulldug or pitbull ".
" A bulldog or pitbull. That's just great ".
Kody sprang up from his seat and quickly exited the booth. As he began pointing franticly at the stage at the back of the room , shouting " Ooh! Ooh! Srrrsh leds ged on stidge aaannnd sing! ", he pulled Jimmy out from the booth as well, much to the shorter boy's annoyance .
" Oh come on , Kody , can't we just leave ?! ". He struggled against the surprisingly strong grip of the drunken metal head.
" Burt I wunna siiingz. Juds wun sung , pllliizzz ? ".
" Don't be such a spoil sport , Jimmy ".
Gary waived over a waitress and asked her to set up the karaoke machine. She nodded and led the three teenagers over to the machine that sat just below the stage and handed them a laminated sheet. Printed on the sheet was a list songs , most of them being cheddary love screechings by long forgotten pop idols of yesteryear . Jimmy skimmed over the titles , not caring what the hell they sang. He was sure though that Gary was going to force them to sing the most sugary , vile, tween vomit fest of the 90's just to be a prick.
The boy with the scar handed the sheet back to the waitress , pointing to some song Jimmy hadn't bothered to look at , having only really read a quarter of the sheet.
" Good choice , sir. Here's your mikes, head up on stage. I'll have things set up in a minute ".
They made their way on stage, Kody of course falling up the steps . Gary tapped on his hand-held mike, releasing a terrible ween of noise upon the patrons below.
" Ladies and genital-men !" he bellowed into the microphone. " Get ready to have your ears blessed by the heavenly voices of the genius mind of century ...yours truly … and the distinguished son of Mr. Charles K. Brant ! And oh! To my right, we have a very SPECIAL guest with us tonight, a young man who shows us that you can still function in society , even when you're plagued by a severe mental handicap ".
" Shut the hell up , Gary! " Jimmy hissed as he punched the boy in the arm. Gary grunted upon impact , but it didn't seem to phase him too much , for he continued to masturbate his ego for several more minutes , only stopping when Kody would interrupt by blurting out nonsense about potato chips.
The karaoke machine soon flickered on and the waitress flashed the boys the go ahead with her three fingers. Jimmy turned to see the song title up on screen , sure that it would be something corny, like ' All My Honey Pie Love ' or ' Baby , You Move Me Like the Planet ". To his surprise, it was a song simply titled ' Crazy '. But still , knowing Gary like he did, it had to have some kind significance. He hoped the lyrics wouldn't be too embarrassing.
" Get ready to rock, morons! " Gary shouted as the funky beat started playing.
I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place.
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space
' Hrmmf… he's actually kind of okay ' Jimmy noted, even if Gary was off key at certain points.
And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much
' What hell , couldn't hurt to join in ,would probably save the audience's ears '.
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly …
Kody had join their singing as well, his voice slightly deep and raspy. And slurred.
And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice
Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,
Ha ha ha bless your soul
You really think you're in control
Well, I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me
The teenage boys were now swaying in sync with the music. The audience below seemed to be caught up in the song as well, many of them snapping their fingers and bobbing their heads to the beat. Hell, some were even singing along themselves.
My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done
Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe you're crazy
Maybe we're crazy
Probably
When the song ended, the boys were met with a rousing roar of hoots and cheers. Kody took a bow, leaning too far over the stage's edge and fell off, taking Gary and Jimmy down with him. He landed on his back. He didn't seem phased at all though, his only action was to raise his arms in the air and holler " WOOOO! ". A waiter non-nonchalantly helped the boys up from the floor , this obviously being quite routine for him. Kody dug a 50 dollar bill from his pants pocket and placed it in the waiter's hand. Jimmy assumed that was probably for their meal and stage performance. As he headed for the restaurant's exit , with the scar face and drunkard just behind him, he had to admit, he actually had enjoyed their time on stage. Music was his thing after all , he had told Ms. Phillips that once.
Just as Kody , Gary and Jimmy had exited karaoke restaurant , a bright red station wagon swerved up to the curb. Out stepped a guy sporting a devil goatee and a droopy mop of blonde hair with a red bandanna tied around his head. The dude also wore dirty jeans , dirty brown boots and a well worn leather vest over a school polo shirt.
He waved at Kody and beckoned him towards the car. His expression was both annoyed and frosty.
" God Kody, band practice starts at eight thirty , why can't you ever remember that ? ".
" Ssslsh , reelly Allllan ? Cud've swore it wuz ut niiiine … ".
" Whatever ,man , I'm driving your ass back to school , we really gotta work on that guitar and bass section ".
" Suuuuuuure budddy! Jerry , give meez a huuug ".
Kody pulled Jimmy into another clumsy embrace, awkwardly hugging the top of the shorter boy's head.
" It's Jimm- aw hell , forget it, you're not going remember " Jimmy said once he was released from the headlock. He began to head towards the station wagon after Kody had stumbled into it, but Alan quickly leaned over his band mate, slammed the car door shut and activated the locks.
" Hey, what gives ?! Don't we get a ride back too ? " protested Jimmy , knocking on the window. Alan's response was to give him the finger and speed off down street, leaving Jimmy and Gary coughing in a cloud of car exhaust. Looking in his rear view mirror, he sighed and turned on the radio , blasting their ears with heavy metal music . Turning to his fellow metal head , he shouted over the screaming musician
" You always did have a thing for the short , dumpy ones " .
Ten minutes later and Jimmy and Gary had managed to get themselves lost in a poorly lit, seedy looking area of town. The bus driver had taken a detour and let them (the only two passengers) off in the middle of wherever because … whatever. How nice. Well unfortunately , neither boy was familiar with the area and they were now arguing about which way they should go.
" Like I said for the millionth time ,Gary ! We should go back up four blocks, pass that bent lamp post and cross over to that brick building , I know I saw a bus stop sign there! ".
" And like I've been telling you , moron , that there isn't one there and we should keep going down this street! ".
" Oh yeah , let's get even more lost , that sounds like a brilliant plan! ".
" Yes , exactly. It's brilliant because I am brilliant and highly observant, which is why I know there isn't a sign there , nothing escapes m- "
" Yeah ,yeah , we all know you're soooo smart and you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Damn it, if only that Alan jerk had given us a ride back ".
Gary shrugged. " He can be an asshole like that sometimes. Makes him feel rebellious and bad ass ".
" Well that's fantastic! " said Jimmy , throwing his arms up in frustration . " Lost in the middle of no where , all because some jerk off decided to-".
He backed into someone and they grunted " watch it ,punk! ". Turning around, Jimmy came to face a man about his height, unlit cigarette in his mouth and glaring at him with bright green eyes.
" You stupid or someth'in , kiddo? ".
He sounded like the villain of some 80's high school flick. Actually, the guy was even dressed the part too, wearing a red varsity jacket, blue jeans and red high-tops (his clothing looked pretty worn out though). Jimmy would've cracked up had it not been for the fact that this dude was looking him over like a piece of meat. The guy's eyes stopped at the crest on his school vest pocket.
" Oh I see. You guys go to that richy rich school. So . What are ya do'in here in these parts , school boy ? ".
Neither Jimmy nor Gary answered.
" You deaf , school boy ? ".
" Nope " Jimmy finally responded after a lengthly pause. " But maybe you could tell us where a bus stop is ".
The varsity jacket dude laughed as he brushed a hand through his sandy brown hair. Frankly, his hair cut looked a little lopped sided.
" School boy , asking stupid questions gets your ass kicked ".
Jimmy stepped forward. " Is that a threat ? ". Before he could get in the douche bag's face , Gary placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to back up.
" Come on Jimmy, you don't need to prove your toughness to some ignoramus dressed like they walked out of 'Back to the Future' ".
After cooling down , Jimmy said " Whatever. We don't need to keep talking to this jack ass ".
" Not so fast , school boy . You ain't leave'in so soon. Now I usually prefer fire crackers, the big kind , but since I don't have any ...". The dude calmly pulled a large knife from his jacket pocket. Jimmy and Gary froze in place.
" Hands up " . The boys did as they were instructed. " Money , rich kids. All of it ".
Normally , neither of them would take this kind of crap , being threatened for money. But stink bombs and potato spuds were one thing. Knives were another.
" Just a drop in the bucket for richy rich kids like you ".
Reaching into his pants pocket while still keeping his other hand in the air , Jimmy dug out the ten dollars from earlier and threw it to the ground. Mr. Varsity Jacket then turned to Gary.
He sneered at the knife wielding guy " I don't have any money ".
" You're lying rich kid. I know your type, walk'in 'round with big fat wallets bulging out of your pants ".
" I really don't have any money you moron. You can check ".
The guy indeed checked him over , patting downing his sides and legs. He frowned after finding only a bus pass.
" Pff. Ten bucks ain't bad though. Glad to do business with ya , school boys " . He backed away while still pointing the knife at them and disappeared into the shadows of a dark alley way to his right.
After about a minute , Jimmy lowered his hands and breathed a sigh of both relief and irritation.
" Just my luck , my first night off campus and I get mugged at knife point. Maybe we can report it once we get back on campus ".
" ' Yes officer, a midget from the 1980's robbed me tonight ' " said Gary sardonically.
" What do you mean midget ? He was my height ".
" Oh , pardon me for forgetting that you're so tall , Jimmy ".
" Aw shut up , Gary! Anyway , let's find that bus stop ".
" And again , dimwit , there is no stop at that brick building , so we shouldn't go backwards ".
Once they had gone two blocks back , Gary simply stopped and refused to move, insisting that he was right and Jimmy was wrong.
Jimmy yelled at him as he slammed his palm against a pole " Stop being such a stubborn asshole! God, why can't you just-".
A bus stop sign fell from the pole to the ground. Gary grinned in triumph.
" Ha! See ? You were wrong , moron ".
" But it's not like you were right! ". He soon saw the lights of a bus coming up the street. " Oh screw it, there's no getting through to you ".
It was almost ten o' clock by the time they made it back to the boys' dorm. Outside their dorm room sat a large plastic bag. Jimmy crouched down and cautiously open it. To his pleasant surprise , inside was the Sling Shot 5000 along with a note.
Dear Hopper and Smith ,
As you requested , here is the Sling Shot 5000. When you see Simon , please tell him I had an
exemplary date. ❤
Gwen Thompson
' How come no one here gets my name right ? '.
He held the contraption up( it looked a lot like the spud cannon, only with a thinner body) and showed it to Gary.
" Nice. So Zit Girl came through on her end ".
Looking past Gary , Jimmy saw Simon skipping up the hall and waved to him. The boy smiled and jogged over to them.
" Hello there Jimmy. I'm just getting in myself. How was your evening now ? ".
Jimmy crossed his arms and grumbled " It was terrific, we got robbed ".
" Oh my , how awful! ".
" The nut job had a knife and stole ten dollars from me- ".
Gary interrupted , snickering " Yeah and Jimmy was shaking and practically pissing himself , too scared to even tell the moron to go to hell ".
" Was not! And you weren't exactly fending him off ".
" If I had been armed with a weapon , I would've - ".
" Probably ran away ".
" That's terrible to hear! " Simon gasped. " But ah! I have good news ". He reached into his vest pocket and presented them with a ten dollar bill. " It's the least I can do since we're good mates and all ".
Jimmy hadn't really considered Simon a 'good mate ' ( he hoped he meant 'friend' ) , but what the hell , the kid was being nice , so he accepted the money.
" While I was roaming about town , I just happened to bump into my uncle , he lives around town. Wouldn't you know, he said he found this lying on the pavement by chance ".
Gary leaned over to Jimmy and whispered in his ear " Psst, James , that's the same ten dollars that crazy stole from you ".
" What ? " Jimmy whispered back. " No way, you can't tell if it's the same one ".
" I pay great attention to detail. Believe me, it's the same bill ".
He wasn't sure if Gary was just making shit up or not, but it did seem a bit odd that this uncle of Simon's just happen to find ten dollars lying on the ground.
" Hey Simon. What does your uncle look like ? ".
" Hmm ? Well … he's not very tall. Just about your height actually. Green eyes ... ".
Jimmy looked at Gary worriedly, then turned back to Simon. " And ? ".
" Curly black hair , he has a bit of stubble on his chin, he tends to wear greenish blue sweaters and he's rather soft spoken. Why do you ask ? Have you seen him ?".
" Uh … n-no reason. Just wanted to know ".
" Alrighty then. I'm off to bed, I'll come knock you up in the morning ".
Once Simon was out of range , Jimmy shook his head and said " See ? Not him. You're being paranoid. The idiot probably just dropped the money and Simon's uncle happened to find it. Besides, wouldn't his uncle have an English accent ? ".
Gary rubbed his chin. " True. But still. Isn't it just a little TOO convenient ? I tell you Jimmy, I can't put my finger on it , but there's just something that's off about that Simon Perry. I don't trust anyone ".
" Ugh, Gary , drop it . Take your paranoia pills or whatever they're called and get some sleep ".
He pushed Gary into their shared room . But still , questions were swarming through his mind . It was a little too convenient. And later , as he drifted off to sleep , he did his best to block out the nagging voice of his conscience. He told himself that he wasn't going to play into Gary's delusions and he was going to have a normal, trouble free school year.
Looong chapter. Looong time since I've written anything. Gah. Being busy and limited internet access will do that. I'm rather tired now, time to go to sleep. Until next time - XX-THIRST.
Song : Crazy – Gnarls Barkley