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Oh Tucky Day - Copyright 1998 by Ellen Hayes.
Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when used for satirical purposes.
This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and possibly sex. If you are legally not allowed to read materials containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading this. I am not responsible. Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish, state, and country.
All rights reserved. See the bottom for distribution rights.
Oh Tucky Day
*** 08:46 8 Mar
I woke up from a dream that was too much like the self destruct sequence in Alien, to find the phone flashing. I grabbed it just before the voicemail got it.
"Tuck?" It was Mike.
"Uh?"
"Get up, man, we're goin' out, remember?"
"Nuh?" I looked at the clock. "Uh." I swallowed painfully. My nose had clogged after the perfumery at the mall, and I'd been breathing through my mouth all night. "Okay, lemme take a shower and I'll be ready."
Mike threatened, "You got fifteen minutes, bud, then you're coming with us!"
"Yeah," I sighed. All my friends liked kidnapping me, it seemed.
*** 08:50 8 Mar
Mom was just coming out of her room when I came out of mine. She was all dressed up, so I guess she had a showing today or something. "Hey, Mom," I asked, "Debbie asked if she could come over tonight, would that be okay?"
"Oh, uh..." She thought about it for a second. "That'd be alright. How is she?"
"Not well."
"Oh? What's wrong?"
"Ahh..." I was kind of embarrassed, but I figured that Mom would understand, better than anyone else in the house. "Female trouble, cramps and stuff." Mom made a sympathetic face. "Yeah, and she just wants to spend some time with me, I guess I make her feel better or something."
She smiled. "Well, tell her we'd be delighted to have her over again. Is Rachel coming?"
"Uh, not tonight."
"Okay," she looked at her watch. "Eugene, I have to get going or I'll be late. Give Mom a hug." I gave her one, and she kissed me on the cheek. "Be careful today."
"Yes Mom." I would, but I couldn't think of any trouble I could get into today.
*** 09:02 8 Mar
I was downstairs, still damp, wondering how my dork sibling could drink all the cola in the house when the doorbell rang.
*** 09:04 8 Mar
"We gotta get some-" George held up a bottle. "Oh, God, thank you..." I dug a dollar out of my jacket and gave it to him, and he gave me the Coke. I wasted no time in starting to pour it into me.
*** 09:11 8 Mar
"Hey, Dan."
"Hey." He gave me a look. "What happened to you last night?"
"Debbie, Lisa... just the usual. I got home at one."
His face went funny. "What did you do?"
I shook my head. "Don't ask." More Coke was necessary, so I administered some. Actually, I didn't want to think too much about last night anyway.
*** 09:23 8 Mar
"BOOK!" we all yelled. I hadn't expected to pick up Book-man too. Oh well. More Coke. I was fried this morning.
*** 09:24 8 Mar
"Oh, man, why do I have to sit in the middle?" I complained.
"Because you're the smallest," Mike told me as he shoved me in the backseat. "Get in there."
"Jeez, maybe an inch. Butthead." Book squeezed in next to me. Book was considerably more than an inch taller than me.
"Hey, what's been up?" he asked.
I just shook my head. "Oh, you know, Debbie. Homework. Debbie's friends. Computers. The usual."
"You and Debbie are getting way tight," he observed. Mike and George started laughing in the front seat. "What?"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled before they could start explaining. "Don't ask, Book, and you won't have any nightmares."
He raised his eyebrows. "Like what?"
*** 09:38 8 Mar
My good friends had refused to spill the beans to Book. In exchange for me paying for half of breakfast, each. I hated the idea - had they been taking lessons in extortion from Debbie? - but paid up. Silence, after all, was golden.
Book was now annoyed that he wasn't getting any benefits from this.
*** 09:43 8 Mar
We pulled out of Jerk-in-the-Box with a lurch. "Well?" asked Mike. "Where to?"
"Bookstore, uh, the Butler's Place," said Dan.
"You got it!" Mike floored the Beast, which roared but didn't do much else. Mike's car was a lot like an English sheepdog - big, but not a lot of go in it.
*** 11:48 8 Mar
"Where to now?"
"Ah..." We all thought for a while. My mind was a blank.
George suggested, "Game shop?"
"Sounds good." Mike pulled out.
*** 13:09 8 Mar
"Oh, come on, when was the last time you played?" asked George.
I shook my head. "I dunno... long time. George, I don't even have my decks with me!"
He shook his head. "Idiot." I flipped him the bird. "No thanks, not my type."
*** 13:16 8 Mar
Book and I were watching George get his ass whipped in INWO, when Book said unexpectedly, "So what IS this deep dark secret you've got?"
"Book, I'm not gonna tell you. You don't want to know, anyway."
*** 13:26 8 Mar
"Babes. We need babes!" George howled.
I started to laugh. "Oh, gee, George, lemme call Debbie and see what-"
"No! I don't want to deal with them. Look what they did to you!"
Like he knew.
"What?" asked Book.
"Nothing!" I told him.
*** 13:41 8 Mar
In the eternal quest for babes, we ended up at the Galleria. Plenty of babes, all of them carefully not looking at us. I snickered. Actually, I was kind of enjoying the anonymity. It was a nice change from lately.
George was annoyed. "What?"
"Oh, George, you're such an idiot..."
"You have a better idea?"
I nodded. "If you want babes, let Unka Tuck tell you..."
After all, I did have more of a clue now than I did six months ago.
*** 13:43 8 Mar
"That's stupid!"
I shrugged. "Try it, or not."
Book asked me, "You think?" I nodded.
*** 13:48 8 Mar
"No, man," Book chuckled nervously, "I can't."
"Oh, you dork, c'mere." I grabbed his arm, and pulled him along.
"What are you-" he tried to pull loose, but I'd got a good grip on his arm. "What the hell are you- Let go!" he whispered frantically as we approached the girl he was interested in.
"Excuse me!" I said, and she turned around. "Hi! My friend here thinks you're beautiful, but he's too shy to admit it-"
"Tuck!" Book gasped. The girl giggled. She was kind of cute.
"Anyway, what's your name?"
"Uh, Donna?" she giggled shyly.
I grinned at her. "Hi, Donna, this is Allen, but everybody calls him 'Book'. He's a sophomore... what year are you?"
She was blushing fit to die, but she giggled out, "Freshman?"
"College?" I tossed in.
"No!" She giggled some more. She seemed embarrassed. Heh.
"Well anyway, you two needed to be introduced, so I'll take off for a while. Nice meeting you Donna!" I waved, let go of Book's arm, and walked off.
*** 13:49 8 Mar
"I can't believe you did that," George mentioned, stunned.
I was watching Book and Donna talk a little more. At least neither of them had run off screaming. Yet. "Huh?"
"I said I can't believe you did that!"
I turned back to face him. "Trust me, it works. I've seen it. You get them alone, and do something a little embarrassing, and they get the giggles real bad. Then you back off, and you've got an opening, and you can start getting to know them." At least, that was what Jack had done to me, and I'd seen it work on the other girls too. Mike was shaking his head. "What?"
*** 13:53 8 Mar
Book came back to us, shaking his head. "Well?" we asked.
"Well what?"
"Did you get her phone number or something?" I asked before anyone else could say something dumb. He nodded. I spiked the ball. "Yes!"
*** 14:01 8 Mar
"It's simple," I insisted.
"You're simple," George insulted me. I flipped him the bird, and took another bite of my pretzel. "No thanks, not my type," he replied reflexively.
"So do I just call her or what?" Book asked me. I nodded. "And then what?"
I sighed in exasperation. And almost choked on my pretzel.
*** 14:36 8 Mar
We were walking along, looking at the girls, when Book mentioned, almost casually, "Hey, is that Travis?"
I choked. "Which Travis?" It's just a coincidence, I told myself, trying to slow my heart down. Just a-
"Travis Jensen, he plays for Red Bluff basketball, and he owes me ten bucks, too-"
"Oh shit!" I stopped listening and dodged behind George. "Where?!" Book turned around to me and gave me a strange look. "Where IS he you asshole!?" I hissed at him. George just stood there, but Mike was getting some maneuver room and looking alert.
"It's not him, it's just some other guy, Tuck-"
"Stop looking at me! Where!"
He turned around and pointed. "Over there, behind that group of girls..." There were about two dozen groups of girls in the direction he was pointing, but I scanned and scanned over George's shoulder until I saw him. It wasn't Travis.
I took a deep breath, and felt faint. "Oh, God..."
Book asked, "What is your deal? Did you piss him off or something?"
I was gonna answer him - actually I was going to lie to him - but I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I yelped and my whole body jerked, before I spun around and recognized Rachel.
She was pulling her hand back, and had an apologetic look on her face. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there, uh, Tuck, right?"
"Oh God, oh God...." I was at the end of my nerves.
"Maybe you ought to sit down for a minute?" she suggested, and took my arm and walked me to a bench. I appreciated the help.
*** 14:41 8 Mar
"So anyway, I was-" I stopped and looked at the guys. "Hey, why don't you guys go look at Waldenbooks or something?"
*** 14:46 8 Mar
She shook her head. "You have the most interesting life... No, really, you do, I mean, I go out sometimes with a few friends, but mostly I go to class and study." She smiled at me. "It must be really interesting for you to be doing all this."
I rubbed my forehead. "Yeah, I guess..."
She shrugged, and changed the topic. "So what are you doing for spring break? Yours is this week?"
"I, ah, I'm babysitting. I think. Part of the time anyway."
"Oh," she nodded companionably, "that's cool. Something Debbie set up?" I nodded. "Who's going?"
I thought about it for a minute. Then my mouth fell open.
*** 14:49 8 Mar
"Well, anyway, give me a call, okay?" I nodded, and she gave me a quick hug. "I gotta go catch the bus, my car's in the shop," she mentioned before she took off. I watched her walk off.
"Jesus," Mike said from behind me, startling me.
"Who was that?" asked Book.
"One of Tuck's spare girlfriends," Mike said.
Dan added, "She went to the Christmas dance with Tuck. AND Debbie."
Book's eyes got wide. "See," I told him, "I told you I know women! And you didn't believe me."
Mike slapped my head. "It's your cute face," he insulted me.
*** 15:04 8 Mar
A little Mortal Kombat to settle my nerves was going quite well, as I was whipping George's butt. Hard.
"Take that!" he said. I dodged. "Oh, h-" I dodged and kicked him. "You-" He moved the wrong way, and I dropped a classic series on him, which pushed him over the edge of mortality. He expired. "I hate you," he mentioned casually. I shrugged.
We turned around, and Book was telling Mike, "I'm gonna nail you, chink!"
Mike, on the other hand, was gibbering in fake Chinese and using a lot of body English on the machine. "Ah, now you die, chocolate boy!"
*** 15:17 8 Mar
Mike and I were watching everybody else in the linked racing cars when someone behind me called, "Valerie! Hey, Val!" Mike and I snapped upright at the same time.
I'm hallucinating, this can't be happen-
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I glanced at Mike, who was staring at someone behind me. I pulled my jacket tight, to conceal the fact that I had no boobs today, and turned around slowly.
It was Jack.
"Hey, whatsup?" he asked.
"Hey?" I managed to choke out.
He looked at me, then looked at Mike, then at me, then at Mike, then at me. "Did I interrupt something?" Mike and I both shook our heads.
"Ah, can we go outside? It's kind of hard to talk in here," I suggested.
*** 15:18 8 Mar
My composure wasn't helped by Mike mumbling, "Oh shit, oh shit oh shit..." all the way out. But at least he figured out what was going on. I took the opportunity, while Jack was in front of me, to finger-comb my hair into something approximating a girl's hairstyle. I hoped.
"So, what'sup?" Jack asked again once we got out the door.
"Ah," I glanced at Mike. "Nothing much, we're just hanging at the mall for a while." Mike just nodded.
"No sister?" I shook my head. He shook his head and grinned. "God, you look so different than the other night."
"Ah, well, that was Debbie's fault," Mike explained when I took too long. "She likes playing dress up with little Valerie here."
I thought my heart was gonna stop.
"She looked real good," Jack said it as a compliment. "I guess you can do grunge, too, though," he added, and laughed. I forced something out that sounded almost normal.
"Where's the rest of the band?" I asked. Enquiring minds wanted to know. Real bad.
"Oh, I just came by to pick up some new shoes," he said, indicating his almost dead pair of sneakers, "and I stopped in at the arcade for a minute." He looked at Mike, then lifted his eyebrows and looked at me.
"Ah," I looked at Mike, "this is a friend of mine, Mike. Mike this is Jack. He's in that band, Stepwise Pagoda." Mike silently said ah.
"Hey."
"Hey," Mike said back.
We all stood around and looked at each other for too long.
Jack started again, "Well, I just thought I'd say hi, when I saw you. You gonna come to the concert tonight? Same place?"
"Ah," I said the first excuse I could think of, "I've gotta babysit tonight." I added, "Sorry."
"Oh, well, it's a regular gig, so you can catch us there for a while, I hope." I nodded. "Anyway, see you later, huh? Nice meeting you," he waved a hand at Mike, and walked off.
I stood and tried to catch my breath. Mike waited about thirty seconds, then grabbed me and dragged me back into the arcade, to relative safety.
*** 15:20 8 Mar
"Oh Jesus oh Jesus oh Jesus-"
Mike snapped, "Shut UP!"
We went back to the racing machines, and I leaned against one, panting. I glanced up at him after a minute, and he was doing the same thing.
*** 15:22 8 Mar
"I gotta get out of here, Mike," I told him. "This is getting too weird, man, I mean, this was a good idea and everything, but this is getting too strange, I mean," I ran my fingers through my hair, "this is like freak-out number three, I gotta go lie down or something, oh God..."
"Well, let's vacate the mall, anyway," Mike suggested. "I think we pretty much sucked all the entertainment out of it for a while."
*** 15:26 8 Mar
George, Dan, and Mike were sort of clustered around me as we walked out, while I scanned for Jack and tried to remember where the Foot Locker was.
Book tagged along, asking really obnoxious questions, like, "So what freaked you out?" I refused to answer them. It was bad enough going through it; I didn't want to talk about it too. It would be too hard to explain from the beginning anyway, and it wouldn't make any sense otherwise.
We'd almost made it to the door, when someone called out, "Hey Tuck!"
I think I screamed. Mike and George made expressions of disgust as they turned around. Dan was shaking his head, like he didn't believe it either. I was scared to look.
"Thank God," breathed Mike, sounding relieved. "I mean Buddha. It's Kim and Jill." So I turned around. There they were, walking towards us.
"God, Tuck, you look sick," observed Jill as she got close. I just nodded. I felt sick.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked.
"Let's take this outside," Mike urged. "I think it would be a REALLY good idea."
*** 15:28 8 Mar
"First, Book thought he saw Travis-" the girls' faces went into shock simultaneously. "It wasn't, but it almost gave me a heart attack. Then Rachel, remember her?" They nodded. "She taps me on the shoulder from behind, right after. THEN, we're in the arcade, and Jack shows up."
"Jack?" Kim said, "like from-" She stopped. I just nodded.
"Holy..." breathed Jill. "You're having a fun day, aren't you?"
"No."
Kim wordlessly gave me a hug. I needed one. Jill patted me on the head. "Poor Tucker," she cooed. But she almost sounded sincere.
*** 15:30 8 Mar
"So were you guys taking off?" Mike nodded. Jill suggested, "Well, did you guys eat recently? We're starved."
Kim clutched her stomach and made a face. A few seconds later, she elbowed Jill, who glanced at her and then did the same thing. "Starved!" Kim whimpered.
The guys looked at each other. Then they all looked at me, like it was my fault or something. I just shrugged.
*** 15:33 8 Mar
"Where are we going again?" Kim asked as she started her car.
*** 15:48 8 Mar
"Oh, man," I said as I slid in next to the girls. "It has just been a bad day." Mike nodded absently, staring at the menu.
Jill made a face. "Lemme tell you about mine," she started, but Book interrupted, "What is going on? Will somebody tell me?"
Everyone else looked at each other. Jill finally said, "No."
"You guys got paid," I reminded the guys.
"You really don't want to know," Kim added apologetically.
Book raised his hands like he was going to argue, then just choked a little, and put them back down. "I just don't understand what could be so bad...." Everyone looked at me. I hid my face in my hands. Then I hid my face in Kim's shoulder. She wrapped an arm around me.
*** 16:06 8 Mar
"So what happened to you last night?" Jill asked me.
I almost told her. Out loud. That would have been a bad idea. We both realized it at the same time. So what I did instead was bend down and whisper in Kim's ear, "I had a date with Travis, one of those where they just stare at you a lot? It turned out okay, though. More Sunday." I wasn't going to risk telling them about the kiss. Not in here.
Kim coughed, then leaned over the other way and told Jill, hopefully what I'd told her. When Kim got done, Jill straightened and gave me a look. "Again?" she asked.
I shrugged helplessly. "It's... Lisa," I tried to say enough to explain it to them without explaining it to everybody else. "You know... paying back that favor."
George started choking, so Mike started pounding on his back.
*** 16:54 8 Mar
We were about done, finally. I was kind of tired, and looking forwards to being home with Debbie. Although Kim was nice too. And Jill had turned around a lot lately. I didn't know why.
"Hey, get up," Kim pushed at me. I got up, and when her and Jill got out, I started to go with them. A few steps along, though, Jill turned around. She wiggled a finger at me, and bent down and whispered in my ear, "Not today, sweetie, but maybe later?" I thought she was propositioning me, until it hit me what she was talking about. I smacked myself in the forehead. Jill nodded, then turned back around and they started off to the restrooms again.
"What wah..." Dan started to ask, then he thought better of it. Then he put his head down.
"What?!" an annoyed Book wanted to know.
Dan pulled his head up, looking like he'd just gotten a pop quiz, and told him in no uncertain terms, "You do NOT want to know, Book. You just don't."
Mike asked Book, "Hey, you gonna eat that?" pointing at his plate.
"Don't you ever eat at home?" Book snapped.
Mike shrugged. "Some days yes, some days no. So are you gonna eat it or not?" I thought Book was gonna throw the whole plate at him, but he didn't.
*** 16:57 8 Mar
"So what are you guys gonna do now?" Jill asked after they'd gotten back.
"I gotta go home," I told them. "Debbie's coming over, and, and, I need a rest. I think I'm gonna go lock myself in my cave until she gets there."
"Aw, man!" Mike protested, "Tuck, I swear, what the hell are you doing?"
"Mike," I told him tiredly, "one more thing, just one more, and I'm gonna have a coronary. Next time we do this, I think we stay out of the malls, man. I'm not up to 'em any more."
George observed, "Well, at least it'll be at your house tonight."
I nodded. Debbie would have to use explosives to get me outside tonight.
*** 17:22 8 Mar
"Well, are we gonna see you tomorrow?" Mike asked. He was still pissed off at me wimping out, or something. Maybe it was because I was going to spend time with my girlfriend and he didn't have one any more.
"Yeah, I'll be there, okay? With bells on."
"Hey, seeya Tuck!" called George from inside the car. They all waved, and I waved back until my arm got tired.
*** 18:04 8 Mar
I was actually watching TV instead of hiding when the doorbell rang. Brian spastically looked at his watch, then at me as I got up to get the door.
"Who is it?" he asked me as I unlocked the door. He'd followed me.
"Debbie!" I shouted as I opened the door.
"Hi," she said, dragging in. She sounded like I felt. We hugged after I shut the door. "How was your day with the boys?"
I shook my head. "Too interesting. Tell you later. How did the sales go?"
She nodded. "Pretty good, but I feel like hell. When's dinner ready?"
"About now, actually. Come on in..." I took her coat and hung it up in the closet.
Mom and Dad were both glad to see Debbie, which made Debbie feel a little better, and pissed Brian off. That made me feel doubly better.
*** 18:13 8 Mar
Debbie and I sat next to each other, and ate. I wasn't too hungry since I'd already eaten three times that day, but Debbie helped make up for it. She was starved. And appreciative. Mom was happy. Dad was happy, because I was too interested in Debbie, and too tired, to argue with Brian. In fact, the only one at the table who seemed unhappy was Brian. Which made me happy. He'd made me unhappy often enough.
*** 18:41 8 Mar
Debbie and I carted the dishes in and started on them while Mom put the food up. Debbie had offered. "So what are you doing so much of, Debbie?" Mom asked. "Eugene says you're always busy." Mom seemed innocently to be pushing me towards an early death, or at least a hearty choking, from embarrassment.
Debbie nudged me, like she usually did when someone used my official paperwork first name, but told my mom, "Oh, I'm actually selling Mary Kay, believe it or not."
"Oh, really?" asked Mom, who sort of lightened up. Mom, doing real estate, was a real booster when it came to women in business.
*** 19:37 8 Mar
Dad and I were idly watching TV for a while. Debbie was taking a hot bath, and Brian was chewing on himself for some reason, up in his room.
"She's a very nice young lady," Dad mentioned out of the blue.
It took me a little while to figure he was talking about Debbie instead of the actress a few channels back. "Oh, yeah," I said. "I like her a lot."
He grinned, and nodded slowly. "I can tell." Jerk. Interfering in my personal life. I stared at the coffee table and hoped my blush would go away. "I'm glad to see more of her, actually. She's very interesting." I nodded, wishing he would stop and watch TV.
Amazingly, this wish came true. He stopped talking, and flipped back a channel, and we watched car racing for a while without saying anything.
*** 19:46 8 Mar
I heard the water turn off, so I got up and went to go give Debbie a hand.
She came out of the bathroom a minute later, wearing my robe. She looked really exhausted, but she smiled when she saw me. That made me feel better.
Brian was dancing around, and told Debbie, "Get out of the way!" Debbie and I both turned on him and gave him this look that promised an eternity of pain and suffering, which subdued him long enough that Mom started her shower. "Aaaaguh!" he screamed, and stomped back to his room.
Debbie gave me a look, so I explained, "We've got a too small water heater, so we can only take one shower at a time."
*** 19:50 8 Mar
Debbie was wearing my clothes, for once. She'd started giggling at the reversal, and got me laughing about it too. A baggy pair of shorts fit over her hips, and an old soft flannel shirt covered her top. She said she wanted to wear nice soft stuff, so I got the softest things I could find.
We'd gone downstairs again, and were cuddling on the couch under a quilt, watching TV, when Debbie murmured, "I wonder what's up with your brother tonight?"
I shrugged. I didn't care.
*** 19:56 8 Mar
The shower upstairs had stopped, and I was readjusting myself around Debbie when the doorbell rang. One glance at each other was all we needed.
"We'll get it Dad!" I told him as Debbie threw the quilt off and we raced for the front door.
I opened it, and it was Jenny, and her mom. "Hi!" I said, as nicely as I could manage.
"Hello, won't you come in?" Debbie oozed. I pulled the door open wider, and called out, "It's Jenny and her mom!"
"Where's Brian?" Jenny asked, starting to panic again.
I lied, "Oh, the other girls are upstairs, getting him ready."
I'd obviously paid up my karma earlier, because a few seconds later, Brian found out there wasn't any more hot water, and screamed loud enough to be heard downstairs. Thank you, God! Jenny's head snapped up, and her eyes got slightly bigger, which I didn't think was possible.
"He sure hates that soap!" Debbie remarked. "But he'll be down in a few minutes. They're VERY efficient." We didn't look at each other, because we would have lost it.
*** 20:05 8 Mar
There was a pounding, as of feet along the upstairs hall, and Debbie poked me unnecessarily. We were wrapped up on one end of the couch, with Jenny's mom on the other end, and my dad and Jenny facing each other in chairs. Dad looked happy enough; Jenny looked very unhappy. She still looked like a lemur.
When Jenny heard footsteps, she twirled the chair around. "DAD!" Brian called frantically. "Jenny's supposed to be coming, is she-" He skidded to a stop.
"We were just talking with her," Debbie said, waving. I waved too.
*** 20:08 8 Mar
The door shut, which was a relief, because I could start laughing. So could Debbie. We laughed and laughed until we got tired.
*** 20:34 8 Mar
We were laying together on the floor, pillows propping our heads up. Mom and Dad were watching TV on the couch, and I guess we were too, but I was getting enough entertainment just watching Debbie from the back. Call me dumb, I guess.
I heard her groan, a little. "Cramp?" I whispered. She nodded. "Want me to rub?" She nodded again.
I slid my hand under the sheet and around the right area. She grabbed it and put it where she wanted me to rub. So I did.
"Nnnn," she moaned softly, and pressed against me. I felt sorry for her. "It's helping," she told me a little later.
*** 21:00 8 Mar
I'd been hearing my parents whisper and giggle a little as we were lying on the floor, but I didn't think anything about it. Until my dad said, "Well, we're gonna go to bed, kids. Tuck, remember the rules, please." They got up before I could roll over and look to see what they were doing. They were kissing. How gross. Then they went upstairs.
"What?" Debbie asked.
"Ugh, nothing."
*** 21:46 8 Mar
We'd moved up to my room, because she wanted to lie down. So we did that for a while, talking about our days, and then she went to sleep. I just held her, and thought about how lucky I was.
*** 22:52 8 Mar
"Nnnnn," someone moaned next to me. I opened my eyes, and it was Debbie, blinking at me. "What time is it?"
"Uh..." I checked the clock, "almost eleven." I must've fallen asleep too.
"Nnnn." She settled back down.
Then she woke up again. "I gotta be home soon. Help me up? Can I borrow this until tomorrow or something? Oh, wait, we need to get you something for babysitting...."
"I was gonna ask about that," I mentioned.
She made a face. "Well," she said hesitantly, "the client requested a girl..."
I sighed. "I figured."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I mean," I explained, "Rachel made me think about it today when I ran into her in the mall."
*** 22:56 8 Mar
We carried the two bags of clothes, as well as other assorted illicit goods, up to my room where I buried them for later retrieval. There were worse things to be caught with than drugs. I could explain drugs to my parents; I didn't think I could explain fake boobs...
"Can I use your phone?" Debbie asked.
*** 22:57 8 Mar
"Mom? Hi, it's me... yeah, I'm gonna be a little late, I'm over at Valerie's and I overslept." Pause. Debbie looked at me, her eyes wide. "Well, her.. her dad already went to bed, so I can't ask if I can stay over." I slammed a fist into the mattress several times. "Uh huh. Yeah. No, it's... yeah, I took a hot bath over... yeah, his... his wife," she winked at me and rolled her eyes, "she was real nice. Helped me out a lot." With what? I wondered, until Debbie pointed at her crotch. Oh. I'd have to thank Mom tomorrow. "Yeah," she continued, "...no, I just thought I'd tell you I'd be a little late, is all... yeah... love you too, Mom... bye."
*** 23:03 8 Mar
Debbie was taking my clothes, which was okay with me. I walked her out. "So, call me tomorrow?" I asked.
She nodded. "Tuck?" She gave me a big hug. "Thanks for being here for me tonight... I really needed it."
"Sure," I breathed into her ear. Then I nibbled it, a little, then kissed her on the cheek. "Be careful," I begged as she let go and got into her car.
"I will, love.... Later." She shut the door and concentrated on starting the car, but I stayed and watched until she was out of sight.
I floated back to the house, barely noticing that I was starting to shiver.
*** 07:38 9 Mar
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and stared at the bags of clothes. I imagined they were staring back. I sighed. If I want this job, which Debbie had said should bring in at least fifty dollars, then I'd better see what's up. I had an idea, too.
*** 08:03 9 Mar
There was a LOT of stuff in those two bags. Not to mention my "very own" makeup bag, and two boxes containing the blobs. At least I recognized what all of it was by now.
Not much underwear, though. This was gonna cause a problem.
*** 08:34 9 Mar
I was figuring out what looked sort of together, like Debbie would wear, when the phone rang. I dove for it. "Hello?"
"Hey Val?" It was Kim. "You want to go out for breakfast this morning?"
I looked at the mess of girl's stuff on the floor. "Sure. When?" I figured I could use the practice.
*** 09:02 9 Mar
FlashFlash! went the front doorbell. Showtime, I thought.
I ducked out of my room, carrying my pack, and made it through the house without anyone seeing me. I'd taken precautions, but I wasn't sure how well they worked.
Jill and Kim were waiting at the door. Jill said, "Well, come on," and turned around to go back to the car.
"Wait, Debbie said you got all the stuff..." Kim was staring at me, like she'd figured out what I was doing.
"Ah, let's get away from the house and I'll explain."
*** 09:08 9 Mar
I was too familiar with this parking lot. "So?" I inquired. "What do you think?"
"Turn around," commanded Jill. I turned, slowly.
Kim mused, "Oooh, baggy clothes. Just like you always wear..."
I unzipped my ski jacket and pulled it off, then shrugged off the plaid shirt. What was left, and one of the reasons I'd been sweating, was the sweater vest and blue oxford blouse I'd hidden underneath, guessing they would be suitable. My shoes went next... The parking lot was very very cold. Sunlight would have been nice, but the skies were gray and nasty.
I dug in the pack, and pulled out a skirt, which I slipped on over my jeans. I fumbled around through the waistband, and slid the jeans off from under the skirt. I sat down in the car seat, and dusted my feet off, then slipped on the thin white lacey socks, almost like hose, I'd found in one bag. My flats went on last, I grabbed the purse out of the pack, and then I stood up again.
"Damn," said Kim, and started to giggle.
"Val, you quick change artist you!" snickered Jill. "And here we thought you were someone else."
I laughed sickly. "Yeah, well, I need that cash this week."
They looked at me. "What cash?"
I gave them a look back. "Babysitting? Debbie didn't mention it?"
*** 09:11 9 Mar
"You're doing what? Jesus, T- ... Val, have you thought about this?"
I looked up from doing eyeliner. "Kim, wouldn't you say that this is sort of evidence of planning?" I pointed the brush at her.
Jill was shaking her head and chuckling.
*** 09:20 9 Mar
"Lemme have that," said Jill, and grabbed the hairbrush. "Now, THIS time watch what I'm doing, okay?" She started swiping at my hair.
*** 09:41 9 Mar
"Oh, God, I can't wait 'til we get there so I can look at you more," Kim commented. I was glad she had decided to wait to look until she stopped driving. "You figured all this out by yourself?"
"Debbie wasn't hiding up there in your room, was she?" Jill asked suspiciously.
"Well," I explained, "I was sort of paying attention when everyone was working over me. And you know that Debbie was making me do my own makeup and stuff."
"Yeah, but..."
I snorted. "Well, it's not the first time I've snuck out of the house wearing stuff I didn't want my folks to know about." They were both real curious about that one, I could tell. "Me and da boys, we found out that all black was good in the dark but not so good when we were trying to spoof the parental units and get outside." Jill made an ah-hah face. "And there was other stuff we had to sneak out too."
"Like what?" Kim wanted to know.
*** 09:54 9 Mar
I cut short my explanation of the intricacies of scientific mailbox demolition when we pulled up in the coffeeshop parking lot.
*** 10:06 9 Mar
"I'm pretty sure I can do it... it's just the makeup I gotta be stopped for." Putting pencils next to your eyes in traffic - bad idea.
"How long did that take?" Kim asked, but Jill answered, "'Bout ten minutes. Not too bad..."
She asked me, "Don't you think that's a little heavy for babysitting, though?"
I shrugged. "Debbie said I could use a little extra help." They both looked at each other. "What?"
Jill shook her head. "I don't think you need any extra help."
"You really think it's too heavy? What about the clothes? I took a guess..." Kim was shaking her head now, too. "What?"
*** 10:17 9 Mar
I could live with this, I decided as I took a bite of very good croissant.
"So what happened Friday night?" Jill asked me.
"Uh...." I took another bite of croissant.
They looked at each other while I was stalling. "Must've been good," Jill said to Kim.
Kim sang, "And it must be luvvvvvvv..." They high fived each other, laughing.
"No!" I protested. Then I remembered the kiss, and almost choked.
"What, did he kiss you again?" asked Kim. She must have seen something in my face, because she got really wide-eyed, and gasped, "He did! He did!"
"I think you'd better explain yourself, young lady!" Jill barked, shaking a finger at me. And started snickering.
*** 10:18 9 Mar
"Yes you have to!"
"But-"
Kim explained patiently, and quietly, "It's how we bond, Val. It's much better than staring at a TV screen watching sports together, at least."
Jill added, bitterly, "Or getting so drunk you puke." That sounded like experience talking.
I posed the question, "But why am I bonding with you, anyway?"
Kim looked me straight in the eye. "Because you like us and want to be friends with us," she intoned.
"Oh," I finally submitted.
"So tell us," said Jill, almost casually. Almost. But she was giving me the same stare that Kim was.
*** 10:22 9 Mar
"...and then I realized, like, oh my God, this is like one of those dates, in junior high, when nobody knows what to do, and you just keep screwing up and screwing up..." Jill was grinning, Kim had her hand over her mouth to strangle the giggles. "And then it hit me, right? What was the one thing you wanted to do when that happened?"
"Die?" Kim suggested in a giggle fit.
"Go home," said Jill.
I shook my head. "Start over! So I did. I stood up, introduced myself, and shook his hand-"
The two of them burst out laughing, which was too contagious for me to resist.
*** 10:31 9 Mar
"So they threw you outside together, and then what?"
I was going to stall some more, but someone else interrupted. "Good morning girls!" someone chirped. I looked up, and it was John, Debbie's hairdresser. "How are you all doing today?" Bam, thudthud twitch thudthudthud went my heart.
"Fine." "Okay," said the girls. I just nodded.
"Jill," he said, turning to her, "I just came over to see how your color was working out."
"Oh, I love it!" she said earnestly. "It's great, great."
"Well, I thought it would work out, and I'm SO glad it did! So, will you be coming back in in two weeks for a touch up?"
Jill got a look on her face. "I, I dunno. Can I get the corporate discount again?" He nodded. "Yeah, okay, I.. let me call and make an appointment." Corporate discount? I wondered as he pulled out a business card and handed it to her.
"Alright, I'll be looking forward to that call," he agreed, and then he turned back to me. "Well, Valerie, you look very nice today."
I was going to quietly choke to death when Kim kicked me under the table. Twice. Three times... "Thank you," I said, and tried to smile. My leg hurt.
"How did your night on the town go?"
"Uh," I started.
"LOTTA fun," Jill grinned. "Val here," she pointed at me, "found us a half dozen guys to go party with."
John WINKED at me when she said that. It was so humiliating.
*** 10:33 9 Mar
When John left, they started in again. "So what happened then?"
"Huh?" I stalled. They didn't buy it.
*** 10:35 9 Mar
I was flushing so hard that my face hurt. "Oh, God...."
"Want me to try?" asked Kim. I nodded, unable to talk any more about it. Then I figured out, too late, Wait, then she'll-
"So what happened next was," Kim shot out, "you looked up into his eyes, he looked down into yours, it took forever for him to actually kiss you, but he did, and then it was bliss, pure heavenly bliss and it made you dizzy, and then when he was done, you stared at him with that look," she did a remarkable imitation of that after-a-screen-kiss face that I'd caused in Debbie and Lisa, "and then he left." She paused, and looked at me with an amused expression. "Right?"
I choked out, "Twice." They'd find out anyway.
"He kissed you TWICE?" Jill verified. I nodded helplessly.
They both went, "Ooooh!"
*** 10:43 9 Mar
"Mike said I ought to go along with it, a long time ago."
"Mike said that?" Jill sounded surprised.
I nodded. "Something about 'understanding girls better' or something like that." Jill and Kim pondered that for a while. "I don't think he knew everything that was going on, though," I added.
"Well," Kim finally asked, "is it working?"
I shrugged. "I think so," I finally admitted. "I've learned a lot, I guess.... like how much of a pain it is sometimes."
They both started "Let me tell you-" and then broke up laughing at each other.
*** 11:06 9 Mar
"Come on, Val, cough some more up!" I dug in my purse for a tip.
"This is getting expensive," I mentioned.
Kim snorted. "Why do you think we work all the time? Those of us without steady boyfriends-"
"Which reminds me," Jill butted in, "who paid for Friday night?"
"What? Oh," I exclaimed, disgusted, "not that again!"
"So who paid?" asked Kim.
I sighed. "He did, at least for the food. We got our own disks and books." They nodded, like that's what they were expecting.
*** 11:15 9 Mar
"So where are we going?" I asked.
Jill turned around in the seat to look at me. "Park. We need to check something."
"What?"
She just waggled her eyebrows and remarked, "Don't worry about it."
Yeah right.
*** 11:21 9 Mar
"Don't you think it's kind of cold to be out here?"
Jill looked around carefully. "No." Kim gave Jill a look. "C'mere, Val," Jill drawled, leaning against the car.
"What?"
"Just come here for a second."
I sighed, and walked over and leaned against the car like she was doing. "So? What's up?"
"Kiss me," she commanded.
"What?"
"Kiss me!"
"HAYES! Is that report ready?!" Uh oh. clikityklikclicki
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