The Rhythm

He chose me.

After all the years of teasing him and silently wishing for his attention, he had finally noticed me. When he sent D.W. to sell me coke, he was really saying, "Come, chase after me." He was too wonderful an aardvark to come out to me honestly...no...the great aardvarks demand that you come after them.

All my work paid off the day I helped him get information from francine. I did so well, he decided to invite me to the ball that Francine had financed.

"How's it coming, Pookie?"

It was my instinct to close my drawer I hid my coke in, but there was nothing in it tonight, so I could rest easily for now at least. When I looked at him his eyes darted away from the desk. "That Arthur boy's outside. Are you ready to see him?"

"Of course I am, Dad. I'm all dressed up."

"And looking beautiful. Your mother..."

He couldn't say it, but I didn't want him to. We both would know any positive thing he told me about my would've been a lie he concocted "Thanks Dad."

"Your welcome sweetie." He walked me towards the stairs signaling our butler Bailey to open the door for Arthur. "This Arthur boy...he cares about you right?"

"Of course he does dad," I said weakly.

He looked at me, heartbroken. "That's good." He knelt down, "Just be careful muffin. I want you to have a boy who's gonna care about you, who's gonna take care of you."

For one ungrateful instant, I was angry. He looked at me like I couldn't take care of myself, like I was damaged. But then I realized that it was true, and my old indignance subsided.

"I will dad. Trust me."

I felt his hands tremble on my shoulder. "Hi Arthur!"

From the balcony I could see him in his tuxedo waving to us. Pathetically, I flew down the stairs, hoping for him to grab me and whisk me away. Stupid.

When I reached him, he put his hands behind his back and pointed his head towards the limo he had waiting outside.

"Nice ride, Arthur."

He stared at me unsmiling. "Didn't cost much, in the grand scheme of things. You should've let me know what you were wearing. I could've gotten you something nicer."

"Oh, um, thanks Arthur."

He looked over my shoulder. He must've caught my father's gaze, "I'll bring her back before midnight, Mr. Crosswire."

"Please do, Arthur."

His smile died on his face. "It's Mr. Read."

My father looked angry until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and George walked in and leant against the doorframe looking right at my father. How could such a short boy give off such a powerful presence?

"Um sorry. Please do Mr. Read."

George nodded his head and headed back to the limo. As Arthur and I began to follow, my father called to me.

"Muffy?"

I turned around, but he was already walking away. Arthur pushed me into the limo and pestered his driver to speed the entire way down to the school gymnasium. When we arrived, the place looked like a bus station filled with dozens of tour buses, the lettering on which I couldn't understand.

Every student in the school turned up in tailored tuxedos and imported dresses. "You wanna see something cool?" Artur whispered to me before tugged me towards his destination. I tripped three times in my heels, but he never stopped.

He brought me up to the tour buses where a large crowd had gathered. Before anyone in the crowd had even turned around, they stepped to the side for The Hammer as he led us through, almost like they could sense he was coming. We reached the object of the crowd's attention.

It was a beautiful long sprawling red carpet. On it walked the members of the Paris Opera's House's orchestra. I remember seeing them in a portrayal of Faust on my last birthday. I could see it in the faces of my schoolmates that none of them had any idea who they were, but still they cheered because everyone else was cheering, following each other into one gigantic bandwagon of praise.

"Drones."

When I looked at Arthur the smile was wider than it had been on his last birthday.

Soon the crowd grew even wilder than it had been before. Yo Yo Ma had just left his limo. As he walked across the carpet, I noticed the flashing of a camera on the other side.

"Who's that?" I heard someone say.

"The photographer? Probably just some journalist covering the guy's visit."

I heard Arthur whisper something to The Hammer. "I don't want her catching a picture of us together." The Hammer went under the rope and walked across the carpet, checking Yo Yo Ma's shoulder as he passed him. The photographer was mostly in the dark but I saw The Hammer pull the camera out and throw it down onto the ground.

He caught Yo Yo Ma's attention, but once they made eye contact, Ma hurried away clutching his cello case before The Hammer had crushed the camera under his boot.

Arthur grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me away. "Time to go dancing."

The moment we reached the end of the crowd he stopped, and beneath the light of a lamp post, I saw Francine on Buster's arm. She wore a gorgeous lace gown and pearls as white as the bunny that accompanied her. Buster looked like an accessory by comparison in a plain tuxedo with a tie matching the bright red of Francine's gown.

"Hey there." When Arthur had sent me to the Sugar Bowl to get answers from Francine, she seemed afraid every time he came up in the conversation but now she looked straight at him. Buster was visibly shaking as she tightened her grip. His eyes shot to his left away from Francine when Molly McDonald walked up behind him.

"Hey Francine," Arthur said as he loosened his grip on me. "Here, let me talk to my friend for a moment. It's been a little moment."

As he tried to wrestle Buster's arm away from her, Molly reached over and grabbed his wrist. "He belongs with his date. Isn't that right, Buster?"

Buster's eyes began to water as his shaking became more violent. "Um...I..."

Before Buster could answer, I felt hand pushing me to the ground. When I looked up, I saw The Hammer grab molly's wrist and twist it. I heard her squeal drown out the sound of her crunching bones.

The crowd refused to gather around us when the hammer turned around to face them. Most of the students and faculty moved like cattle into the school gymnasium.

George looked towards me. I always found it disturbing that I could tell when he was looking at me, even when he had sunglasses covering his eyes in the dark.

Arthur put his hand out for buster, and Francine let him go.

Buster fled to Arthurs arm, and we strolled into the gym behind the crowd.

"buster. What the fuck? Why are you with Francine?"

"I'm sorry Arthur. She said she'd kill my mom" His ears sagged.

"It's okay buster. I'm sure it was a joke anyway." He put his arm around busters shoulder, and let go of me. As the crowd moved, I found myself lost in it.

Once I entered the gym, what I witnessed was a wonder to behold. Beautiful tapestries covered the upper half of every wall.

They depicted the story of the founders of Elwood city, tomised read, Abraham Ratburn, and my distant ancestor, Leopold Crosswire the third.

Before I could see anything in front of me, I bumped into Mr. Haney.

"Aah!" He screamed. "Oh... sorry Muffy. I thought you were... never mind."

"Are you okay Mr. Haney?" I pointed at the cast on his arm

"Oh this? It's nothing Muffy. Just some gambling debts gone bad."

He scurried away, and I looked to find Arthur.

The people from the tour bus gathered on stage, and began playing classical music.

When I found Arthur he was seated at the first of a large array of dining tables, with the first of a sea of fresh served lobster and steak. I found buster in my seat.

"Excuse me buster."

Buster looked towards Arthur, and Arthur shook his head.

He looked at me "why don't you take busters seat at Francine's table. I could use you to get info from her again. "

I stood still, speechless.

Arthur got up, and grabbed my hand. "Why don't you go enjoy yourself."

When he took his hand off of mine, I opened it to reveal a small baggie of coke.

I attempted to conceal the tears, but ran off into the bathroom.

Walking in was like leaving a beautiful painted world for a dirty abandoned canvass left on a scummy street corner. Nothing was done to touch up the look of the gymnasium stalls. They were the same grimy, awful stinking shitholes they always were.

I picked up the baggy. There was no hesitation. I stuck my nose in and inhaled everything it contained.

The piss stained hue of the toilet turned to gold before my eyes, and the grey walls to marble.

I saw Haney's arm, slung up for support, and wrapped in a cast. I saw my hang, holding the smoking pistol as the cast fell away, and the hole reopened on his arm.

"it's my fault."