ONE
“Gimme
another.”
Darren Lunsford
sat at the dark mahogany bar in The Second Time Around and tossed back the
whiskey the bartender passed to him. Few people filled the bar so early in the
morning, but those that did shared his level of enthusiasm.
Normally he
idly enjoyed the bar’s old world charm, it’s dark, smoke-stained paneling not
overly cluttered with black and white photographs, as he drank himself into a
pleasant stupor, but today not even the obscure collection of ancient beer
bottles and cans ringing the ceiling interested him. He barely noticed the way
sunlight had caught a few of the bottles at just the right angle to cast green
and brown shadows over the floor.
Senior year, he
thought. Two hundred and seventy days and he’d be out of this hellhole.
“Another,” he
rasped. That last one hadn’t gone down quite right, but he didn’t care. He
heard a thump as one of the other patrons fell out of his chair, but didn’t
turn to investigate.
“How old are
you kid?” the balding barkeep asked, filling the shot glass once again.
“None of your
damned business,” Darren glared and tipped the alcohol into his mouth, enjoying
the burn as it once again scorched the back of his throat.
He checked the
watch on his wrist before standing and tossing a few bills from his pocket to
the counter. He lengthened his stride to step over the emaciated man who still
lay next to his chair as he left the bar.
◙◙◙
“Rani, I’m not
comfortable with you taking those notebooks to school with you.” Mora Horrell
knelt in front of her youngest son trying to stuff him into his grey school
jumpsuit, but the boy was not having it.
“Ma! I want to
wear my Spiderman shirt!” he cried.
“Doyle! You
know that’s against the rules. You have to wear a plain white t-shirt.” Holding
the two sides of the zipper together under his chin with one hand she was
finally able to pull it closed. “There. Now go brush your teeth.” She swatted
the impish boy on the bottom as he turned to run to the bathroom.
Sitting at the
island in their rooster themed kitchen, Rani tipped her cereal bowl to her
mouth to drink the last of the milk. She watched as her mother began patting
her pockets as her eyes roamed the table next to the door. “Your keys and cell
phone are already in your purse.”
“They are?” Mora
opened the bag and marveled that it was true. “How did they get there?”
“You put them
there ten minutes ago.” Rani hopped off the barstool and put her bowl into the
dishwasher.
She was
shrugging on her backpack when her mother stopped inspecting her briefcase for any
missing briefs. “You know how they make me uncomfortable.”
“I know, Mom,
but they’re empty.”
Mora snorted.
“They won’t stay empty.” She tucked a lock of her daughter’s short blond hair
behind her ear.
“No. They
won’t.” Rani sighed and placed her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “But, I’m
not going to give them up.”
“Can’t you wait
until you get home? I want to listen to your valedictorian speech, not cry over
your coffin,” Mora said, repeating the argument she made weekly throughout the
school year. “That boy has it out for you.”
“Or I could but
then I’d shoot myself out of boredom. I’ll be fine.” Her smile tight, she
kissed her mother on the cheek.
“Ma? I gotta
pee.”
Mora groaned,
her eyes flashing to the ceiling, and Rani put her hand on her mother’s arm,
“I’ll get it this time.” She turned, bringing her hands up to frame her mouth. “Doyle!
You know how to work a zipper if you aren’t out here and ready to go to school
in three minutes I’m going to feed you to the Elk!”
Her brother
shrieked. Doyle had been terrified of their school’s mascot ever since their
eldest brother’s best friend had tormented him with its foam antlers at his first
football game.
“Rani!”
“I know,” Rani
said, handing Doyle his backpack as he ran out to them, his jumpsuit only
partially zipped.
◙◙◙
“Rani!” Melinda
Hirsch bounced off a lettered jock as she ran to her best friend. “Sorry!” she
called, waving her hand absently at him.
The jock
frowned as the tiny girl with wiry red hair dashed down the hall. Seemingly
unperturbed he shrugged and turned back to his friends.
Rani shook her
head, a smile forming as she walked through the drab grey hall having just left
Doyle in his kindergarten classroom. She was pretty sure that Melinda could yank
on a lion’s mane and the lion would just purr and beg for more. The girl was
that charismatic.
Melinda jumped
as they met in the middle of the corridor, throwing her arms around Rani’s
neck.
“Oof! I can’t
breathe,” she said, stumbling for a step before awkwardly patting her friend on
the back. It was hard to imagine that the wisp of a girl could squeeze that
hard.
“Sorry!” Melinda
let go and slid to the floor.
Rani gave a
slight snort at Melinda’s favorite word, hitching her backpack higher onto her
shoulder from where it’d slipped at the greeting. “No problem. How was your
summer?”
“Great! Sandestin
has the softest sand, and the water is the prettiest shade of jade! Oh!” She
suddenly dropped her backpack to the floor and began rummaging in it, tossing
aside a few notebooks, a sweater, and what looked like her crushed lunch.
“Here!” She pushed a wrapped package into
Rani’s hands.
“You didn’t have
to buy me anything.”
“Uh, yeah.
You’re my best friend. I couldn’t spend three months in paradise and not bring
you something. Open it!”
“Thank you,”
Rani said, smiling. She pealed back the aquatic paper and took the top off the rectangular
blue box. “Oh.” She put a hand to her mouth as she looked down at the necklace.
“Melinda, it’s beautiful.”
A tiny sea
turtle on delicate silver chain rested on the black foam lining the box. The
turtle was outlined with silver, but its parts were made of an iridescent
material.
“It’s some kind
of shell—sorry, I don’t remember its name,” Melinda said, reading Rani’s mind.
“It’s
beautiful,” she repeated, touching the turtle with one finger.
“Well, look at
that.”
Rani’s eyes
flashed to the newcomers. “Darren,” she said, her body automatically tensing. Out
of the corner of her eye she watched the halls clear at his gang’s arrival.
Not quite six
feet tall and not very broad at the shoulder, he was far from the largest male
in the school, but his eyes, black as pitch, left no question to the authority
he wielded. Nothing escaped his notice and he was not stingy with his fury.
It was rumored
that he knocked the teeth out of the captain of the football team their sixth
year after he’d laughed at the two left turns Darren’s nose took as it made its
way from his eyes to his mouth. That single fight established him as master of
the school even before he’d fully reached puberty. Not even the administration
questioned his actions and his father being mayor seemed to have little to do
with it. Whatever he wanted was his.
But when Darren
reached for the necklace, she pulled it away.
“Come on, let
me see it,” he coaxed, stepping closer to her.
Rani tried to
step back, but was stopped by the gunmetal grey lockers lining the hall. Darren
put his hands on the lockers to either side of her head, bending his dark head to
speak in her ear. “Let me have it.” She could smell the alcohol strong on his
breath.
“No.” She tried
to step around him, but was stopped by the hulking mass of Darren’s five member
gang surrounded them.
As she slipped
the box into the back pocket of her grey jumpsuit, she took a deep breath to
steady her nerves and met his eyes. Her heart hammering in her chest, she tried
to clear her face of all emotion. Failing, she bit her lip before pressing her
lips together.
He was only a couple
inches taller than her, but felt like a giant then, and she pressed herself
closer to the lockers, trying to figure out how to get away. She heard the
first bell ring, but none of the guys moved to go to class.
She saw
something flash across Darren’s black eyes, but only for a moment before he
leaned in to brush his lips over the curve of her throat.
Taking her
chance, she brought her knee up and into his exposed crotch, shoving his
shoulders at the same time to send him tumbling into Jed, his second in
command.
Jumping over
his legs, she ran, grabbing a stunned Melinda’s arm as she passed, dragging her
through the deserted halls.
“You’re late
Ms. Horrell and Ms. Hirsch,” Mr. Dowell said as they entered the chemistry lab.
He was sitting behind his desk at the front of the room, reading a magazine.
Neither girl
responded as they made their way to their table, as was the rule. Rani pulled
the necklace box out of her pocket and tucked it next to the stack of notebooks
in her backpack before she took her seat.
Etieg School,
serving all the educational needs of the City of Etieg since 1902. Or so said
the banner across the front of the grey stone building. The reality was that the
school was less about educating and more about power. Questions and any
extraneous conversation were equally discouraged.
“This is
chemistry. Read your syllabus and you’ll know what we’ll be covering this year.
This is the periodic table. Spend the rest of this class memorizing it. There
will be a test tomorrow.” Mr. Dowell didn’t stand and made no move to point at
the large chart on the wall behind him.
No one spoke as
they opened the textbooks already available on their tables and began to study.
Rani’s quest to
be at the top of her class had been initially fueled by boredom. Tests at Etieg
were a matter of direct memorization which had never been a problem for her.
Hand her any page and a few minutes and she’d still be able to recite it
verbatim two years later.
School rules
stated that textbooks weren’t allowed to leave the classroom, supposedly
because students weren’t using them at home anyway and they were just being
destroyed. In the third grade she decided to challenge herself to recreate
their textbooks on her own. What started out much as more or less school as
usual, revealed itself to be a dangerous undertaking.
Simple
questions about certain laws printed in the textbook, but not discussed in
seventh grade civics, exposed the many lies propagated by their esteemed mayor
and earned her a week of detention scrubbing toilets and washing dishes for her
trouble. Her parents were stunned to get the call from the school telling them
what she’d been caught doing and, desperate to stop her they took her with them
to the monthly trials.
In silence,
surrounded by every resident aged thirty to seventy-five, they watched as three
women not much older than Rani were hanged for subversion. The evidence was only
circumstantial so far as Rani could tell. The girls had been simply working
that particular shift when the anti-Lunsford pamphlets were printed, but it
made no difference to the jury.
Rani vowed that
day to double the amount she copied, refusing to be just another mindless
puppet.
Unfortunately,
as her lawyer mother and engineer father tried and tried to explain to her, no
one was mindless. Everyone knew exactly what was going on--they’d all lost at
least one loved one to the trials. Rani’s oldest brother Tad had been convicted
the previous May and they were still dealing with the loss of a man everyone
knew would make the NFL. She’d been horrified to learn that to the outside
world his death was attributed to a car accident.
Rani kept her
head bowed to not attract attention to herself as she and Melinda left
chemistry and followed the crowd to their mathematics class. The day had barely
started and everyone knew that tensions between Rani and Darren hadn’t been
resolved by the summer months.
She sighed. These
clashes with Darren were a dangerous distraction. If his father ever became
suspicious of her, she knew she’d be the next one hanging from the beam.
◙◙◙
“You need to kill that bitch,” Jed said,
taking the fries off some kid’s tray as they walked through the cafeteria.
“I’ll get her.”
Darren sat gingerly when they reached their table in the center of the room,
his jumpsuit pulling uncomfortably at his crotch. “At the game this Friday.”
“Good.” Jed
eyed another tray that was walking across the room and whistled for that kid to
come over. The boy couldn’t have been ten years old and his hands shook so
violently, his chocolate milk threatened to fall to the floor. Jed took his
time browsing the selection before taking the fries, hamburger and, finally, the
milk.
Darren snorted
at the expression that flashed across the kid’s face as he gazed unhappily at
the fruit cup left to him. The kid must have suddenly remembered where his
lunch had gone because he ran away so fast he left a vapor trail of sweat.
Darren unzipped
one of the pockets on his chest and pulled out his flask, drinking deeply while
openly meeting the eyes of the teacher supervising lunch. The burly football
coach bowed his head and turned to chastise the fourth graders who were
laughing too loudly at their jokes. He wasn’t surprised when a tray suddenly appeared
in front of him.
“Hey baby.”
Darren hid his
wince as Ashlie dropped down on his lap, cooing. He tilted his head up for a
kiss and her tongue playing avidly against his. “How’re you feeling?” she
murmured, cupping him in what he assumed was supposed to be a sexual way.
“Sore,” he
grunted, pushing her hand away with his free hand as he tucked his flask back
into his pocket.
“Aw.” She held
a fry to his lips and he sucked it into his mouth, nibbling on her fingers in
the process. While Jed preferred to take his lunch from kids, Darren liked his
with a side of woman. “You going to feel less sore tonight?” she asked,
massaging his chest.
He shrugged,
wanting his hamburger. “Quit flirting and feed me.”
Ignoring Ashlie
as she cut his burger into bite sized pieces, Darren scanned the room for Rani.
He almost overlooked her sitting at a table in the corner of the utilitarian
room with her heard bent over a notebook. Melinda sat next to her, her mouth
moving a mile a minute, but it didn’t look like Rani was paying attention.
His dick ached.
She hadn’t needed to hit him that hard and Ashlie kept shifting more of her
weight on him. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes and wishing that he
was back in the bar.
“Open up,
baby,” Ashlie said, tapping his lips again. He mentally rolled his eyes and did
as instructed.
TWO
Six months earlier,
Rani first attracted Darren’s attention. Happy to stick to the shadows, the
only time anyone noticed her was when they wanted a tip on how to better
remember their subject matter. The single time she dared step forward earned
her not only a certain level of notoriety, but the school’s unanimous vote for
the superlative of “Most Likely to be Killed on School Grounds”.
She’d been at
her locker getting her coat after classes were threw for the day when she saw him
and his cronies harassing a guy a couple years younger than them.
“Leave them,”
Melinda said, taking her arm. Rani realized that she’d been staring.
Normally she
would have. Growing up in this town meant speaking up was a good way to end up dead.
But she saw the terror on the boy’s face and something finally broke inside
her.
“Knock it off.”
She cringed at how tiny her voice sounded and when six of the biggest and baddest
guys in the school turned to face her, she instantly wished she could take the
words back.
Jed broke rank,
confronting her first. “What did you say, bitch?”
“Jed!” Darren
left the boy, whose name Rani never learned, to reprimand his second in
command. Jed stood taller and wider than Darren, but Darren’s pedigree left no
one believing that he wouldn’t kill anyone who got on his nerves. His father
hadn’t become the mayor without killing anyone who got in his way. Nor had his
grandfather before him.
Rani didn’t see
where Darren pulled the knife from, but no one dared move while it rested next
to Jed’s carotid artery.
Darren’s voice
was steady and, in other circumstances, conversational. “If you want to take my
role as leader then kill me. Otherwise, stay in your place.”
Jed’s eyes were
wide and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Fine. Sir.” He choked over
the words, clearly not thrilled with the choice.
Darren left the
knife at his second’s throat for a moment longer before slowly folding it
closed and tucked it back into his jumpsuit. A bead of blood was evident on
Jed’s thick neck, but he didn’t move to wipe it away.
Calmly, Darren
turned to Rani who still stood before her open locker, frozen in horror by the
display and wishing she’d kept her stupid mouth shut. Her stomach was queasy
and tight. Her feet and hands had gone ice cold and she felt so lightheaded she
feared she was going to faint.
Darren had
knifed a guy for sneezing too close to him the previous semester.
“I’m sorry,”
she squeaked, taking a heavy step towards him, preparing to fall to her knees
to beg for forgiveness. She wondered if he preferred being offered favors or
reasons why killing her wouldn’t be profitable for him and strangely, by
concentrating on what words might get her out of this situation alive, she was
slowly able to widen her tunnel vision. “Please…”
“Quiet.”
Rani snapped
her lips shut, swallowing thickly. At least if he didn’t want her to speak, she
wouldn’t have to fight her tongue or the lump in the throat.
He circled her
once as though he’d never seen her before, even though they’d been classmates
since they were five.
“Rani, right?”
He tapped his finger on his chin.
She nodded
quickly, her stomach clenching even tighter.
“You’re the
smart one.”
She nodded
again but stopped almost immediately when the floor tilted to an awkward angle.
She closed her eyes and could feel the world spinning, threatening to buck her
off.
He chuckled.
“You don’t want to hurl on my shoe.”
She shook her
head, but had to clamp her hand to her mouth, her eyes watering as she retched.
“Take her to
the restroom, Melinda.”
Her friend
grabbed her free hand and dragged her blindly to the toilet. Rani had barely
made it into the first grey stall, falling to her knees before becoming
reacquainted with her lunch.
Melinda reached
around her to flush the toilet and handed her a damp paper towel. Rani pressed
it to her face before resting her cheek on the seat, physically exhausted by
the ordeal.
“That’s kind of
gross,” Melinda said. “You putting your cheek there and all.”
Her eyes
closed, Rani snorted. “I’m going to be dead in a few minutes, so I don’t think
it matters what STIs I catch.”
“Still. Put
this under you.” Melinda handed her a wad of dry towels. “It’ll make me feel
better.”
“For you, I
will go to my death perfectly healthy.” Her voice cracked and tears leaked from
her eyes.
“Oh don’t cry,
honey.” Melinda used another damp towel to wipe Rani’s tears away. “You’re a
hero. It took some serious guts to stand up to him.”
“I don’t want
to die,” she cried, her tears and nose running freely. She sat up suddenly,
nearly cracking her head on the toilet paper dispenser. “I’m too young to die!”
Melinda wrapped
her small arms around her friend and held her as she broke down.
“You can’t go
out there like this,” Melinda said finally, once Rani’s tears began to subside.
She held Rani at arm’s length, or as far away as she could manage in the small
cubicle. “I’ll write you an epic eulogy, but only if you hold your head high
and don’t beg for your life. Unless, of course, begging for your life saves
your life. I love you girl. Do whatever it takes to save your life, but if it
doesn’t save your life, don’t do it.”
Rani nodded,
gulping air as a few sobs continued to escape her lips, following what her
friend was saying until suddenly she couldn’t understand a word of what her
friend was saying. “What?”
“Exactly.”
Melinda stood and stepped out of the stall waiting for Rani to follow her. “How
are you feeling?”
Rani inspected
herself internally as she pushed herself to her feet. She felt mentally and
physically drained in the way only a heavy crying fit could do. Her head ached,
her nose was stuffy and she yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes with her fists like
a toddler. She pulled a few feet of toilet paper to blow her nose. “I want a
nap.” she said finally, tossing the paper in the toilet, but still having to
breathe through her mouth. “But I’m not going to faint, at least. Until I get
in front of him again, that is.”
She moved to
wash her face in the sink, inspecting the red rimming her blue eyes in the
cracked mirror above. Her cheeks were an awful shade of pale.
“Do you have
any makeup in your bag?” she asked Melinda who was finger combing her frizzy
hair into an even larger mess on top of her head. Rani gulped as she remembered
the sleep over in seventh grade when Melinda finally came to terms with the
fact that her hair would never be tamed into a fashionable style and decided to
give it free reign. Neither girl had expected that her oft tangled curls would
actually benefit from the freedom, framing her pixie-like face in a becoming
way.
“Huh? Umm…let
me see.” She searched her bag and pulled out a tube of mascara and a square
compact of rosy pink blush. “I don’t know how old this is…” she said, handing
them to Rani.
“I’m already
dying,” Rani reminded her as she leaned towards the mirror to darken her
eyelashes.
“It’s kind of
weird that they’re letting you have so much time…” Melinda mused, taking out a
comb to set Rani’s sweat dampened blond hair to its usual flared self.
◙◙◙
Darren could
tell his crew was getting antsy waiting for Rani to reappear from the restroom.
He leaned comfortably against a locker across from the door, clenching his
fists at every sigh he heard.
“It you
assholes can’t stand still I’m going to cut your fucking throats.”
“Boss…they’ve
been in there awhile…”
Devin was a champion
kiss-ass who loved nothing more than inflating the heads of his betters and
Darren kept him around for precisely that purpose. Jed’s head was so bloated from
praise of his larger size and strength that he couldn’t understand how he’d easily
be defeated by anyone with half a brain—such a valuable quality in any good gang
member.
Darren tilted
his head to one side, in no real hurry to get an answer from his plebe. “Is
there a window or other way for them to escape?”
“No sir,” Devin
replied, his eyes dropping to the floor.
“Then what on
Earth could they be doing in there that should worry us?” Darren assumed a
number of things, but kept such information to himself. As expected, his partners
answered like the typical flunkies they were.
“Crying?” Toby
asked.
“Putting on
make-up?” Bart supplied.
“Well…we know
she threw up,” said Hank.
“Fuckin’ writing her will, if she’s smart,” said Jed, cracking
his knuckles as he glared at the door.
Darren wished
he hadn’t forgotten his sunglasses so he could roll his eyes at them. Rather
than focus on the fact that she’s female and obviously scared, they really should
have acknowledged that Rani was the smartest person in their class and he
wouldn’t be surprised if she put together a MacGyveresque machine gun.
Finally the
door opened and Melinda’s head popped out. She blanched and squeaked at the six
men surrounding it and it took a lot for Darren not to laugh at her mouse-like
behavior. “Erm…excuse me,” she said, scooting through their ranks to stop somewhat
down the hall, out of the way.
A few seconds
later Rani appeared in the doorway and Darren was surprised. She had put on some make-up. It covered the
effects of her fear well enough, he had to admit. His eyes flashed to his
flunkies, deciding that even if what they said was stupid, they weren’t always
wrong.
She bit her lip
as she met his eyes and he gave her credit for her ability to fake bravado.
Even when she’d been about to puke all over him, or fall over, he wasn’t sure
which, she didn’t start babbling or crying into his chest. It was distracting
when people did that.
He was further
surprised by how she filled the uniform jumpsuit. Most girls either lost their
figure or looked slutty with it pulled too tight over their important bits, but
Rani’s was snug in a flattering way. The drab color couldn’t wash out her
tanned skin, especially with the slight pink added to her cheeks and he liked
the way her short, dirty blond hair fell in her eye. He wasn’t sure how she’d
escaped his notice in the years since girls ceased being icky.
She lifted her
chin as he checked her out as though telling him she didn’t care what he saw in
her. He really liked that. Especially when her knee started to shake showing
him that she wasn’t quite as strong as she pretended.
“Are you just
going to stare at me?” she finally asked.
The corner of
his mouth turned up when her voice cracked, her sentence finishing as little
more than a whisper.
He pushed himself
from the lockers and crossed the hallway to her. “Do you have any idea how
angry I am?”
He saw her
gulp. “Not really.”
He smiled
broadly and she flinched. “Then I’ll have to show you.” He stepped closer, pushing
open the bathroom door behind her. “After you.”
“What?” Her
eyes were suddenly really wide, the white showing all the way around her cobalt
eyes.
“You’ve upset
me by questioning my authority. When that happens, I demand retribution. Now,
you can either die or you can do me a service. I’m horny and you’re not hideous
so I’ve decided that today you shall live.”
Rani’s mouth
fell open and her eyes darted around wildly, searching for Melinda. He bit the
inside of his cheek to stifle a laugh.
“Yes, just like
that. Now, after you.”
She clamped her
mouth shut and made the strangest noise. Expecting her to run, he positioned
his body to block her escape.
“Go.”
She made the
noise again and he put his hand on her abdomen to push her into the bathroom.
She resisted until Melinda yelled something about being alive. With that, she
closed her eyes and took a step backwards into the room. He followed, locking
the door behind him.
“I…I don’t know
what you w-want.”
“Really? You’ve
never heard of a blow job? Then you’d better listen closely to what I say.” As
he spoke, he pushed her towards the wall furthest from the door.
Rani stumbled
as her body rebelled against his demand. “Please…”
THREE
“Woo,” Rani
called, lifelessly waving her pennant as their team ran down the field.
“Yay!” Melinda
shouted, but even her default level of enthusiasm was deadened.
It was Friday
afternoon and they were watching their Fighting Elks take on the Oakridge
Baboons in the first football game of the season.
For appearances
sake, five sports were offered to the boys: baseball, basketball, football,
soccer, volleyball, as well as cheerleading for the girls. To outside
observers, the students and parents of Etieg were rabid fans of their athletic
department with near perfect attendance for all games. But in truth, students
at Etieg faced hours of detention for unexcused absences and unenthusiastic
cheering, all while their illustrious mayor happily sat at the fifty-yard line
or half-court surrounded by the parents of the team.
“This is so
pointless,” Rani said, pulling out a notebook, carefully angling her body to
hide it from any teachers or security guards. She waved her pennant whenever
she heard cheers around her, but otherwise ignored the game as she wrote out
the next chapter for English Lit.
Melinda kicked
her leg and Rani automatically shoved the book into the backpack at her feet,
looking up with plenty of time to appear attentive for the group of men approaching
on the walkway below.
She cursed
quietly. It was Darren and he only had eyes for her. Her vision seemed to
darken around the edges, and her hands tingled as he crooked his finger.
Everyone in the section turned to see who he wanted, fearful that he’d turn on
them next.
“Go. Before he gets angry,” Melinda said, helping
Rani to stand up.
He’d generally
left her alone since the kneeing incident the first day of school, only sending
a few glares from across the cafeteria to tell her that he hadn’t forgotten or
forgiven. She should have known that he’d save her punishment to display in
front of the entire city.
Her knees felt
weak as she hitched her backpack onto her shoulder and she stumbled as she made
her way across the row, her classmates taking her elbow to help her along.
Swallowing hard
with her dry mouth, too soon she found herself in front of the devil himself.
As much as she
wanted to stay strong and not show him her fear, her knees would not stop
shaking.
“Touch me,
bitch,” he commanded loudly, ensuring that everyone in the sections nearest knew
exactly what he wanted.
When she made
no move to comply, he grabbed her hand in his and pressed it to the lump in the
front of his jumpsuit, grinding himself against her fingers.
He gave a loud moan,
partially closing his eyes as his head jerked back. “You know you enjoy this.
Squeeze me tighter…Fuck.”
Rani closed her
eyes with a grimace and wished they weren’t in front of everyone. With only a
handful of people not in their seats, anyone in the stadium not watching the
game could easily tell that something was happening.
With his free
hand he unzipped her jumpsuit to her waist, revealing the tight white t-shirt
underneath and cupped her breast, squeezing her nipple hard. She shuttered from
the revulsion of being groped in public.
“Stay here,”
Darren instructed his crew, ripping Rani’s hand off his crotch and dragging her
down the nearest flight of stairs.
Rani groaned as
she opened her eyes and saw the stares from her classmates. Halfway down, she
missed a step and fell into his back. He pulled her around his body and crushed
his mouth to hers, their teeth clicking. She struggled to push him off which
just made him grope her more.
He ended the
kiss suddenly, a knowing fire in his eyes, before pulling her once again behind
him. They passed a security guard who ignored them even though their main
purpose was to keep spectators in their seats.
Rani stifled
her instinct to shout for help, knowing that it’d not only be futile, but
unproductive in the long run. Damn him!
Darren shoved
Rani first though the cut in the chain link fence under the concrete bleachers,
pausing to look around to make sure that everyone was watching their antics
before following her in.
Rani faltered
when she saw that they weren’t alone and Darren bumped into her back. She heard
him curse before he spun her in his arms, pushing her jumpsuit off her
shoulders, pulling her t-shirt over her head and shoving her bra to her waist.
She yelped,
trying to cover her breasts with her hands while he pulled his own jumpsuit
open and struggled to get out of it.
He ignored her
as he stepped out of his clothes and pushed her against one of the concrete columns
holding up the stands, crushing his mouth to hers again, pinning her with his
hips.
As though suddenly seeing the other couple, he
pulled back slightly and shouted at them, “Get the fuck out of here you fucking
fuckers!”
The other teens
jerked away from each other and paled at the owner of the curses, unable to
move. It wasn’t until he repeated the order that they stumbled over each other
whilst trying to get back into their clothes.
Rani was having
a hard time sustaining her fear while watching the boy fall over when he tried
to grab his t-shirt off the ground without pulling the bottom of his jumpsuit
up first. The girl didn’t wait for him and disappeared as soon as she wore enough
clothes to be considered covered.
Even after they
were truly alone, Darren continued to absently stroke her bared waist. She
cleared her throat and he jumped back. “Sorry.”
Her laugh was
soft as she twisted her bra back into place. Darren retrieved her t-shirt from
the dirt and shook it out before handing it to her. Then he bent to pull his
jumpsuit back on over his black leather biker boots.
“How…?” she
asked, frowning as she realized what he’d done without falling over.
“My image. It’s
all about my image,” he said, his face stoic even while hopping slightly to get
his pant leg over the heel of his boot.
Rani couldn’t
hide her smile as she put her backpack back on her shoulder. “How long are we
going to be stuck under here?”
“Well, I’m
known for my sexual prowess, but I’m also supposed to be raping you, so…” he
straightened as he pulled his jumpsuit over his boxers, jumping slightly and
pursed his lips, “half an hour? You might be unwilling, but I can’t leave you
wanting.”
“Your image?”
Darren shrugged
his shoulders into the jumpsuit “Of course.” He zipped up and scraped his boot
across the dirt. “Man it’s filthy under here.” Broken bottles, dirty syringes,
and used condoms comprised most of the debris.
Rani punted a
dingy shoe into the darkness. “I can’t believe that those two were lying on
this stuff.”
“Given that I
see that girl in the men’s room a few times a month and he didn’t look like he
was going to use a condom, I’m not surprised at all.” He found an empty milk
crate and turned it over. “Well, one of us can sit.”
Rani
appreciated his thoughtfulness, but, “I’d rather stand.” She leaned her back
against the column again.
He nodded, also
looking dubiously at the crate and leaned against the column as well.
“…you fucking
fuckers?” Rani said, smirking.
“Shut-up, I
wasn’t expecting to find anyone under here. Plus I’m known for my sexual
prowess and my irrepressible anger, not my ability to think of insults on my
feet.”
Rani couldn’t
contain her laugh. Six months previously she’d though he was truly the devil
incarnate, demanding she perform sexual favors at his command. Instead, in the
girl’s bathroom, she learned the truth…
◙◙◙
Darren sighed. “Quit
trying to beg. It’s really annoying and it’s not going to make me change my
mind. I’m not going to force you to suck my dick.”
Rani’s eyes
flicked up to his. “What?”
“It’s all a
fucking act. I’m not an asshole and I’ve never killed, or raped, anyone. But if
you tell anyone that, you may be my first.”
She started
blinking very rapidly and frowned. “Wait, what?!”
“You know who
my father is. He’s the monster and I have no desire to be like him.
Unfortunately he doesn’t approve of that plan so I had the choice: either
pretend to be just like him or get my nose broken every few weeks.” He gestured
at his nose. “After the second time, I chose the first option.”
“Oh. So um…what
are we doing here, then?”
“Waiting the
appropriate amount of time for you to complete the deed. You’re in luck, I’m
pretty quiet during sex so we won’t have to make any awkward noises. Unless you
want to be loud—it has been done.”
“Oh god no!”
Darren forced
his laugh into the lower registers. “On second thought, anyone listening to
your outbursts won’t have trouble imagining what’s going on in here.”
“What?”
He smirked. “I
thought you were smart.”
Rani gaped. He
was questioning her intelligence?!
They were in a bathroom pretending that she was going down on him. If anyone
found out the truth, “We’re dead…or worse.”
“Now, that’s
the spirit.” He leaned against the wall, before sliding to sit on the floor,
hooking his elbows around his knees. He pulled out his flask and took a large
swallow. “It’s not like I’m asking for much—you seem to be genuinely terrified
of me and so long as you stay that way, we’ll be good.”
She sat on the
floor not far from him. “I don’t think I’m so much afraid of you now, but am
terrified of what will happen when someone figures this out.”
“Use that fear.
It doesn’t matter what causes it so long as the effects are real.”
Rani frowned.
That sounded like he expected her to fear him regularly. “To what end? Is this
a one time thing? Or…?”
He shrugged.
“Usually I only terrorize people who I know are leaving soon. Like that
football player in sixth grade. His dad got a promotion at work and was heading
to Japan. He seemed to think it funny to get taken out by a twelve year old.”
Rani’s eyes
widened. “I thought you knocked his teeth out, there was an awful lot of
blood…” The fight had happened during lunch in front of the entire school.
“He used those
prank blood bags people buy for Halloween. Put three in his mouth to bite down
on when I hit him—I was scared he was going to choke to death on it all.” He
checked his watch. “Five more minutes should do it.”
Rani couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. “You’ve never hurt anyone?”
“I’m not a
passivist. I’ve never hurt anyone who was innocent, but you saw the blood on
Jed’s throat. If he hadn’t backed down, I’d have cut deeper. I have no problem
using people to get where I need to be, doing what I have to do. If you can’t
keep your mouth shut about this, then you’ll be used as an example whether
you’re willing or not.”
“What were you
doing with that kid just now?” She couldn’t believe that the fear on his face
was an act.
“I wasn’t going
to hurt him much. He’s been running his mouth, so I had to put him back in his
place. If you’d stayed out of it, you wouldn’t be in here sucking my dick.”
“I guess I
can’t tell Melinda?”
“You’ve guessed
correctly.” He checked his watch again. “It’s time to go.”
He stood up and
reached for her hand to help her up. Shocked at the politeness of the gesture,
she took it.
He frowned for
a moment before grabbing her head in both of his and ruffling her hair. “Your
jaw is going to be sore for a few hours, so don’t talk much.” He handed her the
flask. “Also, you probably cried some more, so take a swig of this.”
She did as
instructed and choked on the acerbic liquid, her eyes instantly filling with
tears.
“There, now your eyes are red again.” With a
final nod he swaggered his way to the door, and she hoped, out of her life.
◙◙◙
“We have a
change in plan, babe.”
She scowled at
the unwanted endearment. “Huh?”
“You know that
everyone knows about your notebooks, right? Well my dad is interested to know
what you plan to do with them.”
Rani’s legs
crumpled and she would have fallen to the litter below if Darren hadn’t caught
her. “Oh god.”
He hooked his
arm under her knees, picking her up and walking the short distance to set her
down on the upturned milk crate.
He squatted in
front of her, taking her hands in his. “I’m not going to ask you if you’re
okay, because it’s obvious that you’re not. I am going to ask if you’ll trust
me to keep you safe.”
Rani couldn’t
think straight. She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. She was
careful. Everyone had notebooks for their classes and other people read unassigned
chapters. All she did that was different was she recorded them for herself word
for word.
She gave
herself a mental bitch slap and wiped away the tears that had unconsciously
slipped from her eyes. She’d known the risks for years. She knew that they made
her an easy target and she’d accepted that. Her brother knew it, too, and
encouraged her, even when facing the hangman himself. He thought that they
might be useful one day. She couldn’t break down just because her time had
come.
Rani tried to
swallow around the lump in her throat and shook her head roughly to clear it. “Sorry
about that. I forgot who I was for a moment there. What did you say?” Her words
sounded thick to her ears and her throat was so tight it ached.
Darren tilted
his head, his dark eyes searching hers. “I asked if you trust me to keep you
safe.”
She nodded,
unable to speak further and threw her arms around his neck. There weren’t any
tears, but she wanted to feel connected to someone. Melinda didn’t know that
the conflicts with Darren were faked, and even though she was always there to
pick her up and help her through the imagined trauma, it wasn’t the same. Some
might say it was cruel of Melinda to encourage her to degrade herself, but as
she’d said during the first incident, it was better to be humiliated than dead.
Dead men couldn’t fight back and Rani wanted to fight back if the opportunity
ever arose.
Darren wasn’t
used to being hugged. Sure, girls threw their bodies at him regularly and he
wasn’t opposed to spending some time undressed with them, but they didn’t do
much cuddling as a rule.
He put his arms
around her slim waist, since that seemed like the thing to do, but was having
trouble keeping his balance on his toes. He really
didn’t want to fall over onto the crap surrounding them. Then abruptly, that
didn’t matter so much.
She smelled
like green apples and he dipped his nose into her hair to breathe more of her
in and pulled her tighter into his embrace. She wasn’t a small girl, but at
that moment she felt petite. Fragile.
If pressed,
he’d have to admit that he’d sort of enjoyed their play over the past few
months. The real fear she felt made her strength unmistakable. He liked that.
Usually he had to rely on overt violence to hide the fact that he wasn’t an
overtly violent person, even in private. But with her he could relax somewhat, could
tell or laugh at a joke without her cowering, and vent his frustrations about
how stupid this life was, trusting that she could still hold her end of the
charade in public. It was like having a real friend.
It took him a
second to realize that she was pulling back and he was surprised at how
reluctant he was to let her go. She felt good in his arms.
Her eyes met
his. “So what’s the plan?”
“More of what
we’ve been doing. Total domination.”
The corner of
his mouth quirked up as she raised a single eyebrow at him, pursing her lips.
Yeah, he knew that she’d totally go for it.
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone knows
I don’t actually have any power over you. You go about doing your own thing
until I notice you and only then you
know better than to defy me. I think that’s what my father’s noticed. If I
control you all the time, then he’ll leave you alone.”
“So…I’ll be
your sex slave every week instead of once a month?”
He hesitated.
“No… It should be every day.”
Rani’s chin
fell to her chest and she let out a puff of breath. “Right. If I didn’t know
better I’d say you were doing this for your own sick pleasure.”
“My father
hinted that you’d be the next one in the trials until I told him that you’re my
favorite lay. That your spark was half of your charm and that if I went after
you too often it would break you.” Darren paused. “He told me that if I didn’t
break you, he’d kill you.”
She tossed her
head back and laughed as she accepted the inevitable. “Craap.”
FOUR
“I want my
crotch-shots.” Rani said sitting down on the moss covered fallen log in the
woods that separated their neighborhoods. They’d decided to meet after school
to plan their encounters for maximum effectiveness.
Darren
flinched. “Really? Those aren’t exactly fun for me. You hit me more often than
you miss.”
“It’s not my
fault that you don’t…uh…wear yourself on the same side every day. I do try to
aim for your thigh.”
Darren
unconsciously shifted his body to protect himself better. “Forgive me if I’m doubtful
that even if we plan for me to be…a certain way, I’m afraid, yes afraid that
you’ll forget.”
Rani smirked. “Big
baby.” But she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before
sitting back again. “I’ll be careful. But I can’t not go for it because that’s
the most effective way for a woman to defend herself. Plus, it’ll piss you off
to the degree that we need.”
He sighed and
adjusted himself to relieve the shadow of pain that all men feel when
discussing this subject. “Just be very
careful, woman. They’re important to me.”
“You don’t see
me cringing from the attack you plan for me. I’m the one that’s going to be
covered in blood when this is over and done with.”
Darren groaned.
“You know that I’d never hurt you.”
“And yet,
you’re going to leave marks on me this time.”
He grimaced “I
really don’t want to…”
“But you have
to in order to make it believable. I trust you to not damage me, why can’t you
trust me not to damage you?” She grinned.
“You’re not a
guy. Anyway, I want to change this subject. So we’re clear, in Chemistry
tomorrow I’ll goose you and you’ll…” He sighed. “Then I’ll drag you into the
closet.”
“Yep. And then
on Thursday you’ll barge into the locker room after phys. ed. while I’m
changing and get really pissed off…”
◙◙◙
Darren leaned
towards Rani inspecting her eyes. “Those are scary.”
She grinned
more broadly than the cut on her lip should have ever allowed. “I know, right?
I think I should go to Hollywood to be a makeup artist.” Her left eye was
surrounded completely by deep purple fading to green and she’d added silicone
to make it puff up. The other was only darkened at her temple as though he’d
slammed him fist against the side of her head rather than directly punched her.
It was also purple, but not quite as dark. Her appearance was freakishly
realistic when she squinted as though they were really bruised and just
freakish when she gazed at him normally.
Besides the
“cut” on her lip, she’d also darkened her cheekbone on the right side, her jaw
on the left. In short, few people would believe he hadn’t beaten the crap out
of her in the shower stall of the locker room.
“What about the
real bruises?” he asked, trying to inspect her body as they sat on their log in
the woods.
“There aren’t
any.” He’d been so afraid of hurting her that he’d barely touched her bicep and
thigh. She’d finally had to resort to slapping herself to turn her skin rosy
under the cover of blood. She’d hidden two large blood bags in her cheeks
before the attack, smearing them over her body to further hide the fact that
he’d never really hit her when Melinda picked her up off the floor of the shower. “Do you want me to take
off my clothes to show you?”
Darren sighed.
“No. I believe you. How did your parents take it?” He still couldn’t get over
how realistic her eyes looked. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear that he’d
actually hit her. Whenever he closed his eyes he saw the blood that, fake or
not, created a scene of horror as it mixed with the droplets of water left by
the previous occupant, running in thin rivulets towards the drain. But worse
than that, the memory of her tears and screams as he mimed brutalizing her
drove him nearly insane with the desire to protect her. It’d taken a herculean
effort not to stop and ask her if she really was faking it all.
Rani drew her
knees up and rested her chin on them. “Depends on how you want to look at it.
They’re supporting me as good parents should, letting me come to terms with the
attack. But they are vocal about the fact that we can’t do anything about it,
not that I’m surprised. I guess I’m glad that they seem to buy the fact that
I’m not howling for vengeance. That I’ve finally been broken. I know my mom is
thrilled that I’ll finally stop writing in my journals.”
Darren clenched
his fists and made himself not punch the log. If his daughter had come home
looking the way Rani did right now, he’d have someone’s head for breakfast. It
pissed him off that her parents were happy that broken she’d stick to the safe
route through life. If only it was the safe route. “Will you stop writing?”
The corner of
her mouth rose as she shrugged. “Probably not.”
FIVE
Two weeks
later, Darren tried not to sigh with pleasure as Rani settled herself across
his lap. She wasn’t the smallest he’d had, but she knew how to position her
weight evenly and he liked that her only scent was plain soap and green apple
shampoo. Most of the girls drenched themselves in perfumes that did nothing for
him but tickle his nose.
She was proving
to be an excellent lunch wench and while she did know exactly where to hit his
kidneys whenever he got too handsy, he was entertained by the subtle ways she
defied everyone even while appearing to be totally submissive.
Jed was now
perpetually pissed off. Yesterday she’d slyly stepped on Darren’s shoelace so
that when he ordered her to re-tie it she could loosen one strap on Jed’s
backpack, leaving them uneven. It wasn’t much, but on top of all the other
little things that she did, such how she was now working to get the tail end of
one strap stuck under his chair, Jed was now convinced that he was haunted.
At first Darren
worried that Jed would see the connection between Rani’s arrival at their table
and his sudden bad luck, but Devin did his job well. Jed only saw the pathetic
creature she presented herself as and the one time he seemed to think a person
might be the cause of his frustration, he’d blamed Toby’s big feet.
What Darren
hadn’t expected was the impassioned female response to their new situation.
Ashlie sent death glares at Rani for taking her place. Tessa flashed him
repeatedly during calculus. And then Sarah had tugged him into the bathroom for
an impromptu oral assignment between history and Spanish, which, for the first
time in his life had made him feel rotten.
They were
walking a very fine line. He had to spend enough time with Rani to show
everyone that she was his to do whatever he wished, but he had to spend time
with other girls to show that she wasn’t special to him. The problem was that
with every passing day she was becoming more and more important to him.
◙◙◙
“Do you own any
pretty dresses?” Darren asked as they met in the woods for their bi-weekly
meeting. He took a chunk of the chocolate fudge she offered him.
“A few, why?”
Rani replied around a mouthful of fudge.
He waited for
her to swallow. “You’re going to meet the mayor.”
She choked
anyway and he had to pat her on the back so she could breathe.
“What’s the
occasion?”
Darren snorted
at her casual tone, even as she wiped the cough induced tears away. “A dinner
party for city council. You’re my date.”
“Woo.” She
shoved another chunk of fudge in her mouth, chewed too quickly, and followed it
by another.
“Careful there.
I don’t know how to do the Heimlich maneuver.” He grabbed another hunk for
himself. “This is really good by the way. Did you make it?”
She nodded
once. “Old family recipe.”
“The dinner is
next Friday and I’ll give you formal instructions for it that day. I don’t need
to tell you that it’ll be a surprise to you.”
They were
sitting next to each other on their fallen log with the fudge container between
them. Rani nodded again, debating whether to take the last piece of fudge. He
handed it to her with a small smile and she was surprised by how young he
looked away from the stresses of school.
“It’ll be
formal?”
“Yep. Ten
courses and three hours of agony. But the food’s usually good if you have the
stomach to eat it. Oh! And since I sit at my father’s right hand and you’ll be
next to me, you get a front row seat.”
Rani chewed her
lip. “What should I wear?” With five and a half days a week spent at school in
a grey jumpsuit her wardrobe wasn’t that well stocked. A potential prom dress
and a few short party dresses that Melinda made her buy. Nothing really fitting
a grown-up formal function.
“Uh. How should
I know?” Darren scratched his nose and frowned. “I’m wearing a black suit. I
think its Armani or Valentino or somebody. My dad has some buyer fill our
closets with what’s fashionable.”
Rani’s eyes
widened. “I can’t afford that.”
“Don’t worry.
I’m sure that you’ll be beautiful in what-ever you wear.”
Rani blushed.
“But I don’t
like your hair now,” he said, scowling.
Rani’s hand
flew up to inspect it for flyaways. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s not you.
It used to be all spiky and untamed. Now you look like damn Jackie Kennedy!” He
reached over to ruffle it and it didn’t do much more than dent from all the
hairspray.
“Oh, that.
Well, I didn’t feel very defeated when I was letting my hair flip up, so I
decided to change it. I do need to look into better hairspray though, this
stuff is awful. I feel like I’m wearing a helmet!”
“You look like
you’re wearing a helmet.”
Laughing, Rani
shoved Darren hard enough he nearly fell off the log.
SIX
Rani inspected
herself in the mirror. “I don’t know,” she said softly even as her heart sped
up.
She and Melinda
were in Macy’s looking for a dress for the mayor’s dinner that night. Darren
had just dropped the news on her at lunch and with hunched shoulders Rani had
asked Melinda to help her shop.
Melinda hugged
her shoulders. “Oh honey. You look gorgeous.”
The sleeveless
navy slant-tiered dress was draped with a sheer flowy fabric that moved even
when she didn’t. “My arms look fat.”
Melinda sighed.
“No they don’t. You’re arms are as toned as Michelle Obama’s. Straighten your
shoulders and push out your chest. No wonder you think you look bad, you’re all
hunched up.”
Rani
reluctantly did as instructed and smiled inwardly at her appearance. She did
look great, but she couldn’t reveal that she thought so. “I guess.” She looked
at the tag. “But this dress is really expensive.”
“You’re worth
it and you know it.”
When Rani told
her mother about the dinner, she’d handed her credit card to her daughter and
told her to buy whatever she needed. She knew her parent’s could afford the
dress and the strappy high heels the saleslady had brought over, but it didn’t
stop her from feeling like it was still too much.
But when she
pictured what Darren would look like in his Armani suit, she knew she had to
buy the dress.
“Alright. I
guess this one will work.”
“Great!”
Melinda didn’t wait for Rani to slouch her way into the dressing room before
she ran off to the jewelry department, probably looking for a necklace to pair
with the dress.
◙◙◙
“You look
beautiful,” Darren said after he tugged Rani into the coat closet. He started
pulling coats off the rack and dropping them to the floor.
“Thank you.”
Her cheeks still felt warm from being groped in front of all of his father’s
guests and she could feel her cheeks darken again at his compliment.
Rani hadn’t
missed the change that’d occurred the past few weeks. The way Darren stared a
little too long, how he never drank when it was just the two of them. And
especially about how reluctant he suddenly was to spend time with his female
admirers. Rani nibbled on her lip as she watched him artfully destroy the small
room.
Darren stood up
and admired his work. “Not bad, doll. Thanks.” He ruffled Rani’s hair and she
scowled up at him.
“Do you know how long Melinda spent on my hair
this afternoon?!” she said through gritted teeth.
He gave her a
pained look. “I realize that. But I can’t let you leave here unruffled.”
She sighed,
crossing her hands over her chest. “I still have a crick in my back from
sitting still so long, so I’m a little pissed at you right now.”
He kissed her
cheek, his hands sliding onto her waist. “I’m sorry.”
Rani’s stomach
clenched as her heart sped up. She leaned towards him to breathe in his spicy
scent and realized just how close his mouth was. Gulping air, she tried to step
back.
“Don’t,” he
breathed in her ear, bending his head towards hers.
“No,” she said,
pulling away. He let her go.
She turned
towards the door, smoothing her skirt with her hands then trying to smooth her
hair back into the up-do Melinda had painstakingly created. Her hands were
shaking and she couldn’t work the pins free.
“Stop.” Darren
took her by the shoulders and made her look at him. “I’m sorry for that.” The
corner of his mouth quirked up. “Yeah, I’m attracted to you. Go figure. Please
don’t kick me in the crotch for it. Are we cool?” he asked, tilting his head
with a smile.
Rani couldn’t keep
the mortification off her face as she reflexively brushed her hair behind her
ear. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Just ignore me,” she said grimacing.
“We’ll, we’ve
spent enough time in here, so your embarrassment is well earned. I’ll open the
door and we’ll walk out. You won’t meet anyone’s eyes and I’ll vaguely point
you towards the bathroom. It’s the first door on the left. Cool?”
“Got it,” she
said, breathing easier as he didn’t press her about the non-kiss.
Darren raked
his hands through his dark hair and surreptitiously half unzipped his fly
before putting his arm casually across Rani’s shoulders and opened the closet
door.
The foyer was
still full of uneasy guests waiting to be called into the dining room. Mayor
Lunsford didn’t believe in pre-dinner cocktails nor in welcoming his guests at
the door and inviting them into the lounge. No, he enjoyed their discomfort and
Darren knew he was sitting in his office watching the security camera footage
of his guests’ painful attempts at small talk.
Just as he’d
promised, Darren gave her a none too gentle shove towards the bathroom with
instructions to “tidy yourself up”.
Even before
she’d left his side he turned to look at the guests, daring them to comment on
her disheveled appearance. He threw his head back and laughed when no one would
meet his gaze then boldly zipped his fly to ensure that there were no doubts. Out
of the corner of his eye he saw a father pull his teen-aged daughter slightly
behind him and out of Darren’s view. Good
man, he thought, even as he sent the father a glare that made the man pale.
◙◙◙
Rani was
horrified by the state of her hair. What had been a style straight off Audrey
Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was
now a mess worthy of Miss Frizzle, but not in a cool way. Melinda had added a
hair piece to form the bun portion for Rani’s otherwise short hair and it had
been turned askew, probably by her own doing after the minor freak out.
Sighing, she
removed all the remaining pins holding the piece and briefly wondered how she’d
turn her short hair into something dinner worthy. Luckily Melinda had tucked a
comb and a travel sized bottle of hairspray in her clutch and Rani was able to
comb her hair back into the demure Jackie Kennedy bob. It wasn’t special for
the occasion, but didn’t give the stylistic bird she’d unconsciously flipped in
defiance for the past four years. Her mother had found the product that didn’t
give her a helmet while keeping her curls sedately tucked under. Rani’s tongue
had been sore for two days from biting it to maintain a meek composure while
Mora praised her for being a team player.
After touching
up her makeup and satisfied that she no longer appeared a disgrace, she left
the bathroom to find the foyer empty. It seemed that the party had finally
started without her.
She followed
the sound of murmured voices and loud cutlery to the dining room and smoothed
her dress a final time before stepping through the archway to face the Mayor’s
dinner.
The room was
meant to intimidate. Whether by the twenty foot ceilings, the two enormous golden
chandeliers, the single dark wood table able to seat thirty comfortably and yet
unblemished by inserted leaves, or the mural depicting the crucifixion that
dominated the entire wall across from the entrance, jaws were supposed to drop
when one entered.
Rani’s jaw
clenched, but after noting Darren’s location she wasted no time in dropping her
eyes to the floor as though embarrassed by her late arrival. She took a
tentative step in his direction and nearly collided with the footman who was
serving the first course of oysters.
“Look who
finally decided to arrive,” Mayor Lunsford said loudly, interrupting what
little conversation his guests were making. The sound of the silverware scraping
on the china stopped as everyone gave him their full attention.
Rani’s allowed
her voice to tremble, but oddly she didn’t feel frightened. “I-I’m sorry, sir.
I was in the powder room.” Thinking of Darren’s mouth, her cheeks flushed.
“Come here.”
Responding at
once, she walked to the head of the table. Or she would’ve had her stiletto
heel not caught in the thick pile of the carpet and caused her to stumble. The
mayor laughed as Rani worked her shoe free and stepping carefully she was
finally able to stand before him.
Darren had
inherited more than his father’s black hair and eyes. They also shared the
slight build that concealed the clout they wielded. But it was the subtle
differences she noticed that proved that the son was not the monster his father
was. There was no light in the mayor’s eyes that flickered whenever he was
amused. His mouth didn’t quirk as he hid the desire to smile broadly. And his
brow certainly didn’t soften as he looked at her when no one was around. There
was no subtlety of emotion for the mayor. No pleasant expression ever fully
removed the coldness from his eyes.
Marcus Lunsford
leaned back in his French dining chair, resting his elbows on the arms and
taping his lips with his peaked fingers. “So. You’re my son’s latest whore. Not
bad, kid.” He reached over and squeezed her bottom. “Nice ass.”
Rani saw
Darren’s jaw clench, but neither of them moved. She forced a tear to slide down
her cheek and ruined her lipstick from all her chewing. “Please, sir…”
“You want me to
take you right here?” he said, addressing the room as a whole with a laugh. The
guests responded appropriately, laughing loudly with their master. “That’s not
exactly sanitary, but given your history, I suppose it’s not a surprise that
you’d suggest it. But, as tempting as you are I’m hungry for something else
right now. Sit so that we can enjoy our dinner.”
He gave her
butt an extra caress before pushing her towards her seat.
Darren ignored
Rani, slouching in his chair as she was helped into her chair by a footman who
didn’t dare serve her the first course, forcing her to sit uncomfortably and
watch as everyone resumed their meal. After her disastrous entrance, no one
seemed eager to speak to her.
Perusing the
setting in front of her, she quickly counted six forks of varying sizes. She
gulped, sending quick thanks skyward for her avid interest in period dramas. She
was reasonably sure she wouldn’t use her dinner fork for her salad. Her water
glass was full and she had to stop herself from gulping it all at once. Her
throat was so dry she barely noticed the slight lemony flavor.
Rani was
somewhat surprised by the happy little violets decorated the table, contrasting
with the unhappiness apparent on the guests’ faces. She couldn’t help but feel
a little glad that she hadn’t been served the oysters because while they might
have given her something to hide behind they didn’t look particularly
appetizing. No one dared to not eat them and she saw more than a few grimaces
that were quickly stifled.
She watched as mayor
Lunsford enjoyed his dinner party, laughing as he told the city manager sitting
to his left an obscene joke. The city manager tugged on his collar as he
laughed, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.
Relief filled
the eyes of the few that had stalled in eating their oysters as Rani realized
that that the footmen had arrived with the second course.
“Thank you,”
she said as the man placed the soup before her. A glance around the table
showed that everyone waited for the mayor to begin, but unfortunately a glance
at her bowl revealed an eyeball. Her eyes widening, she suddenly felt a hand on
her thigh.
Darren hadn’t
realized that his father would choose such a menu, but he knew that it was only
going to get worse. The mayor’s soup obviously didn’t have any fish eyeballs
floating in it. It was even red rather than the pale yellow of everyone else’s.
Example #107 of how Mayor Lunsford demoralized his constituency, he thought.
Finally the
mayor gave his guests the signal that they could eat, not that anyone was
excited to. He called to the accountant sitting halfway down the table, asking
how the soup was. The man’s smile was more of a grimace as he declared it
delicious.
Darren tried to
sip some of the broth, but it was over salted and sour. Flicking his father a
not so subtle finger he downed his glass of wine and gestured for the footman
to refill it and leave the bottle.
To keep his
father’s attention off of Rani, he made an effort to flirt with the reporter
sitting halfway down the table. She was
easily a decade older than him, but knew enough of his reputation to refrain
from slapping him for his cheek as he openly discussed the probability of a
rendezvous in the butler’s pantry in front of her fiancé.
The third
course arrived and though he saw the relief cross Rani’s face, Darren wasn’t
fooled.
“Rocky Mountain
Oysters!” the mayor introduced with a grand flourish. “Or for those of you who
prefer laymen’s terms: calf testicles.”
They mayor’s
plate held what was obviously chicken tenders, breaded and fried. The things
breaded and fried on everyone else’s plates were not as immediately appetizing.
But at least Darren had tried this delicacy before and knew that they weren’t
bad with ketchup once you got over the reality of what they were. He requested
the magical red sauce from a footman and placed it on the table within easy
reach for Rani.
Keeping her
head bowed she whispered a request to have some.
“Whatever
floats your boat,” he said, waving a hand. He was preoccupied with trying to flick
lemon seeds from his water into the low cut collar of the city manager’s wife
across the table. Running out of ammunition, he stuck his hand into Rani’s
glass to retrieve the seeds there.
That might’ve
pissed her off, he thought, catching a firm kick to the leg from her pointed
shoe. She managed to keep most of her ire off her face even while her jaw
tightened to the point of aching.
Closing her
eyes she popped one of the “oysters” into her mouth and was surprised that she
actually enjoyed it. Until she remembered that it was a testicle, at which
point she gagged involuntarily and reached for her violated water goblet.
The rest of the
dinner passed by thusly, with dishes that increased in their ability to
nauseate even when their taste wasn’t awful. Rani had never been an adventurous
eater so she found it interesting how often she could enjoy an item except when
she was reminded of what she was eating. Unfortunately, to add to the enjoyment
of the evening, the mayor had requested that random dishes be ruined in a
variety of ways so that every mouthful was not only a question of “will I enjoy
eating tongue” but also “will this tongue bite me back because of too much hot
sauce”.
Darren moved on
from throwing lemon seeds to telling the raunchiest jokes imaginable to the
priest who sat at the foot of the table. Then he turned Rani’s chair towards
him, unzipped her dress and made out with her in front of everyone, pausing
occasionally to work on his second bottle of wine.
“Thanks babe,”
he’d said, licking his lips and turning back to the dinner.
Mortified,
she’d excused herself to the bathroom, struggling to keep herself covered,
though she’d been thankful for the break that allowed her to settle her nerves.
Her butt had
long sense fallen asleep and the pain in her back from having her hair done was
from having her hair done was nothing compared to how it felt after two hours
in the most uncomfortable chair she’d ever met. And wrestling to get her dress
re-zipped on her own didn’t help much.
As she washed
her face she inspected the fact that she’d spent a lot of time with her mouth
on Darren’s in public over the past six months, but it didn’t compare with
maybe kissing him in private. She had no real experience with kissing. She’d
always just stand there lamely trying to push him off while he did all the
work. To be honest, if what he did was supposed to be enjoyable, she’d rather
not.
But her heart
knew he was always over the top about it…and that freaked her out even more. He
was going to expect her to kiss him for real in private and how the hell was
she supposed to know what to do?!
Snorting, she
shook her head. She had bigger fish to fry. Her stomach gurgled. Man, she
wanted some fried fish now…or anything edible. She was surprised to find she
had an appetite after an evening of her guts clenching and unclenching every
time the mayor looked her way.
After fixing her
makeup she returned to dinner where Darren was obnoxiously trying to play the
water glasses and the mayor was delighting in asking the diners whether they
enjoyed the floral notes in the Waldorf pudding knowing full well that they
were eating ultra sour lemon gelato.
Finally the
mayor leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands together. “Now, after that
delicious dinner, let us get down to business. It’s come to my attention that
there have been certain inflammatory comments spreading through our community.
These cannot be allowed to continue if we want to maintain our pristine record
on crime. We’ve all seen the horrors that exist in communities where false
accusations and rumors are allowed to spread.
“Citizens begin
to think that their livelihoods are no longer protected so they think they must
act first. Anarchy ensues. We cannot have anarchy. So tell me. Do any of you
know where these rumors originated from?”
The silence as
the city council members’ looked at each other was only disturbed by the
occasional squeak of a chair as someone shifted their weight.
“Well, sir,”
the city manager’s wife said finally, “there was that extra paragraph hidden
inside the menus mailed out by that new Chinese restaurant. Maybe one of their
employees was upset by the owner’s hanging?”
They mayor pursed
his lips. “Do you really think that one of them would do that knowing firsthand
the risks associated with such false accusations?”
Rani bit the
inside of her lip to stop her mouth from falling open. She’d read the paragraph
in question and had been amused by its author’s audacity. She also knew that
every claim it made was not only truth, but that the evidence could be found in
their textbooks! It was such common knowledge that no one discussed it.
“No,” the mayor
continued, “there is someone else who is wants to destroy this beautiful city.
Someone who thinks that they know what’s best for our citizens. Someone who,
I’m afraid, we all know.” He gave the group a significant look and they all
searched the room, trying to figure out who the traitor might be.
“Lynn isn’t
here.” Rani recognized the president of the bank. He was a small, squat man
with a doughy face. A face that was slowly turning purple as he drew a new
conclusion about their world. “As the town librarian, she would have no trouble
passing along rumors. She might even be secretly tucking pamphlets into the
books of those who would be easily swayed by the lies.”
Rani’s stomach
dropped into her knees. The bank president’s niece had stupidly bragged about
her familial connections to the mayor in gym a few weeks ago. This wasn’t
necessarily a bad thing, but she’d gone into some detail about how the mayor
could frame anyone at any time so her enemies had better watch their backs.
Obviously she hadn’t considered the effects of providing evidence of activities
the mayor wished to keep private.
Worse yet, Lynn
Hirsch was Melinda’s mother and if the mayor decided to investigate one, the
entire family would be vulnerable.
Darren laid his
hand back on her thigh and she realized that her knees were bobbing up and down
from her fright. The soft rustling she dimly heard disappeared as she willed
them to stop shaking.
“I cannot
believe that Mrs. Hirsch would do such a thing,” Mayor Lunsford said shaking
his head in disbelief. Rani almost believed that he was shaken at the
accusation except that the coldness never left his eyes.
“She does have
the means and opportunity,” said Mr. Potts, the ancient owner of the hardware
store, quietly.
“She should
have been here tonight,” said the reporter’s fiancé.
The rest of the
council seconded this judgment with varying degrees of certainty. All except
for the priest at the end of the table who looked heartbroken yet unwilling to
voice his opinion.
Rani’s throat
was tight with tears as she watched and listened to the council condemn her
best friend’s mother without any help of the mayor. Stealing a quick glance at
showed him nonchalantly sipping his wine with nothing more than a tiny smile on
his lips as they did the dirty work for him.
Darren sat back
in his chair as apparently relaxed as his father. Only his hand on her thigh
letting her know that he was as horrified as she was. Or was he?
SEVEN
Rani had to get
out of that house. She could feel the walls enclosing in on her. The painting
of Judas selling out Christ on the opposite wall was entirely too apropos for
the moment and she lost all control over her knees.
Darren knew she
was in the middle of a panic attack and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. While
he could drag her to his bedroom and no one would comment the most unfeeling
thing he could do to her would be to let her fall apart in front of everyone.
Fuck it. He
stood up. “This shit is boring. Burn the bitch in her fucking library. That’ll
make a point. I’m outta here.” He grabbed Rani’s arm, yanking her out of her
chair and pulled her along behind him, not stopping until they reached the massive
garage. He left the main lights off relying only on the emergency lights that
were always on indicating that the exhaust system was engaged as he led her
through the rows of classic coupes, exotic imports, and muscle cars.
“Y…You
shouldn’t be driving,” she said, realizing where they were.
“That’s my
girl,” he said as he concentrated on pushing the button on the handle with his
thumb as he pulled opened the passenger door of the ivory ‘52 Packard. “Focus
on the mundane.” He helped her into the car and walked around to the driver’s
side.
She was sitting
rigidly staring down at her hands clasped in her lap as he slid in beside her.
“You’ve been drinking. You shouldn’t drive,” she said again and Darren winced
at her lack of emotion.
“I’m not
planning on driving. We’re just going to sit here and talk.” He was definitely
feeling the effects of the wine and he moved closer to her leaning heavily onto
the red and white leather bench seat.
Rani shivered
and he smoothly put his arm around her shoulders.
“Ow!”
Whoops. He’d
misjudged the distances and smacked her in the head. “Sorry,” he said, gently
rubbing the spot he’d hit, annoyed by the stiffness of her hair.
She laughed softly
at his drunkenness until it suddenly morphed into tortured sobs, her body
wrenching. Silently he pulled her into his embrace, tucking her head into his
shoulder. As he buried his nose in her hair he noticed that her hairspray
muffled her shampoo. That annoyed him, too.
Rani’s nose was
running even faster than her mascara and she was afraid that Darren would find
her hideous. He’d never seen her in all her crying glory. Holding her breath
she pulled away from him…
And realized
that she’d left streaks of tears and snot on the shoulder of his $1200 suit
clearly visible even in the dim yellow emergency lights.
“Oh my God. I’m
so sorry,” she gasped, wringing her hands as she stared in horror.
“Huh?” Darren
felt warm and fuzzy as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. “Oh.”
He handed her his silk handkerchief and tried not to stare at the mess that was
usually her beautiful face. He frowned when she started blotting his jacket
rather than herself.
“Don’t worry
about it,” he said, taking the handkerchief from her and gently cleaning her
face, moving slowly to try not to poke her in the eye.
“They’re going
to kill her…”
Darren didn’t
comment as he scrubbed the makeup from her cheek. For not being waterproof it
sure dried fast.
“Darren. We
have to do something,” she said taking the handkerchief from him. She shifted,
tucking one leg under the other as she faced him.
“And what
exactly do you suggest? Everyone who’s ever tried something has ended up dead.
I’m not putting myself on the line for nothing.”
“You’d let her
die?!” She shivered again and Darren pulled his coat off, holding it open as
she inserted her arms.
“I’m not going
to die in her place,” he said, pulling on the lapels of his coat closed around
her.
Rani glared at
him for a moment. Then her chin dropped to her chest as her eyes again filled
with tears. “There’s nothing we can do?”
“I didn’t say
that.” He tilted her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his.
He lost his
train of thought as he lost himself in her eyes. Before he could stop himself,
he brought his mouth down onto hers.
At first she
didn’t respond, but he knew she was unaccustomed to really kissing and he
didn’t push her. His patience was rewarded as she tentatively pressed her lips
into his and he brought his hand up to stroke her cheek.
She pulled back
slightly, biting her lip as her cheeks warmed.
“You’re doing
fine,” he murmured as he closed the distance between them again, wrapping one
arm around her waist as he pulled her closer. Tilting his head further, he
slowly deepened the kiss, taking a risk and sliding his tongue against her soft
lips. He expected her to pull away and was pleasantly surprised when she opened
up for him.
Rani was
slightly overwhelmed the unfamiliar feeling and pulled away again as she was
assaulted by the taste of alcohol on his tongue.
He growled low
in his throat as her mouth left his.
“You taste
sour,” she said.
“You taste
sweet,” he replied, leaning into her once more.
“Stop.” She
pushed against his chest and he relented with a sigh.
“I’m drunk, but
that doesn’t change things. I’m not going to hurt you, but I want to kiss you.
A lot.” He brushed his hand over her hair before softly running his thumb over
her bottom lip.
Rani’s heart
sped up as she met his gaze and she licked her lips. She wanted to kiss him
too, but she also didn’t want to look like a dork. Swallowing, she reached up
slowly and ran her hand through his hair, marveling at how soft it was.
The corner of
his mouth turned up and his eyes brightened as he bent his head towards her
again. “If you need to pull back, do it. And when you’re ready again, my mouth
won’t be too far away.”
Rani couldn’t
keep the slight smile off her lips as she took the initiative and pressed her
mouth to his.
◙◙◙
“Mornin’.”
Rani grumbled,
snuggling deeper into her warm pillow. Her eyes flashed open as her pillow
started softly tickling her waist.
“Oh crap,” she
said, realizing that she and Darren were still lying across the bench seat of
the Packard.
Darren’s chest
shook as he chuckled, “Not a morning person, eh?”
“My parents are
going to kill me,” she said sitting up.
He gave a
disdainful snort, rolling his eyes. “I doubt that.” He sat up too, though with
a slight grimace. “I’ll be right back, don’t move.”
She frowned as
he worked his way to the driver’s door. “What’s wrong?”
“Full bladder.”
Rani didn’t
hide her smile as she leaned heavily against the seat, yawning and rubbing her
eye. It was chilly in the car without him so she burrowed deeper into his now
very rumpled suit coat.
Her good mood
disappeared as she remembered what all had happened the night before. Melinda’s
mother…
“You distracted
me last night,” she said as Darren opened the driver’s door and climbed inside.
“Actually, you
distracted me.” He pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and
burying his nose into her neck.
“Stop that,”
she said, pushing his head away. “We have to do something.”
He inhaled
slowly, his arms tightening. “I’m with you,” he said finally. “Whatever you
decide. I’m with you.”
“But will you
help me?”
“Yeah,” he said
reluctantly. “Take me to the hangman, I’ll help you. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks.” She
twisted around and kissed his cheek quickly. As she pulled away he grabbed the
back of her head and tugged her mouth back to his, growling.
“Stop that,”
she chastised as she drew herself away from him. “We have work to do.”
“‘All work and
no play makes Jack a dull boy,’” he quoted, pouting.
“Well you got
to play all night, so now is time for work.” She tried to wiggle off his lap,
but he kept a firm grip on her.
“You know,
that’s the first time I’ve ever spent the night with a woman and not had sex
with her.” He shifted her weight to a more comfortable position.
“Well don’t go
getting any ideas…please.” She knew that if he ever decided to go bad, she
wouldn’t be able to fend him off.
“Really?” He
gave a sarcastic snort. “After all we’ve been through,” he said, shaking his
head.
“Anyway.” Rani
pushed herself off his lap and he let her go. Sitting with some distance
between them, she could think clearer. “Everyone who’s ever stood up against
the mayor has always hidden in the shadows, right?”
“For the most
part,” he agreed.
“Then we should
do something very public. A demonstration against the oppression showing
everyone that we’re not going to ask them to do anything that we wouldn’t do
ourselves.”
“Okay. Can you
put it together yourself or do you need my help directly?” He twisted a lock of
her hair between his fingers.
“Alright, bud.”
She flicked his hand away, turning to face him fully. “We need to discuss just
exactly how much you’re willing to help because you’re giving me nothing here.”
“I’ll tell you
what your odds of success/death are for the plan you give me. But without more
information I don’t know if you’re looking at a few days or a few hours. That’s
why I asked if you want me to give direct help or just critique your plan once
it’s finished. You’re the brains of this operation.”
“What would you
do?”
“Run. Right
after graduation I’m hopping on my Chief and leaving this hellhole. That’s one
thing my father has never stopped. We’re all free to leave and I cannot
understand why people stay.”
“It’s our home.
And the world outside is…” she shrugged.
“Brainwashed.
Got it.” He leaned back against the driver’s door.
Rani frowned,
tilting her head. “They’re brainwashed?”
“No. This town
is brainwashed. Yeah, some bad stuff happens on the outside, but it’s not as
bad as most people think.”
“I’ve read the
papers—there’s always murders.”
“There are murders
here, too. Everyone’s brainwashed into thinking that if they behave and do what
they’re told they’ll be safe and that’s bullshit. The few times my dad has come
close to catching an actual guilty person, they’ve left. Every single person
that’s died has been innocent.
“I watched you
at your brother’s…” he trailed off. “You know he wasn’t leading the football
team into revolt.”
She bowed her
head. “I know. It’s just…I can’t even imagine leaving. My family has lived here
for generations.”
“Yeah. And so
has mine. A town of immigrants, unsure of this new world happily tucked
themselves under the wing of a man who promised that if they gave him a bit of
money he’d keep them safe. Add a few well placed rumors and some ‘evidence’ of
foul play and neighbor will happily turn against neighbor.”
“But everyone knows
that the mayor is behind it.”
“Is he?” Darren
asked, taking her face into his hands. “Who was really plotting against Lynn
Hirsch in there?”
Rani’s eyes
widened. “Oh my God.”
He let her go. “All
my dad does is drop a few hints then he presides smugly judge. Sometimes he’ll
fabricate evidence, but more often than not he’s just spinning what already
exists into circumstantial evidence.”
“Oh God,” Rani
said as she realized the full extent of the situation. “Every time someone
starts something, they create evidence for the next scapegoat.”
“Exactly. My
father doesn’t care who hangs so long as he makes a statement and the bloody
cowards either leave in shame or fight the hardest against other rebels.”
“So if we make
a public statement we won’t be cowards, but we’re not going to make any allies
from those who’ve tried before and ended up killing an innocent.”
“Not likely,”
he agreed. “Though my father would probably enjoy watching us get ripped apart
by those who formerly opposed him.”
“Shit.”
Darren smiled. Rani
didn’t curse often and she always took on a bit of an accent as through trying
to hide the profanity.
“What are you
smiling about.” She frowned. “We’re screwed.”
“We were born
screwed. We can’t screw up much more than we already are, so why worry?”
“Gah!” She
threw her hands up. “I need to get home and face the walk of shame. And I need time
to think about this mess. I’m not
going to let Melinda go through this without a fight.”
“Of course you
won’t.” He stroked her cheek with his finger. “Your pretty neck with hang right
next to hers with me stupidly next to you. I hope you weren’t planning on a
quiet execution because I plan to go down with some awesomely sarcastic last
words.” He reached across her to the glove drawer and pulled out the keys.
“Care to be driven home in this one? Or do you want something flashier? The
Lamborghini?”
“Your dad let’s
you drive his cars?!” There were easily $5 million worth of vehicles in the
garage.
“No. But he’s
not going to stop me. I’m a world class douchebag, in case you missed that
performance at dinner last night. Are you happy with this car?”
When she nodded
he helped her with the aftermarket lap belt before fastening his own. Automatically
shifting into classic car mode, he pushed down the clutch with his left foot,
turning the key and slowly pressed down the accelerator with his right until
the car started.
He was careful
as he drove through the garage. He might not respect his father, but the cars
were all cherry and he didn’t believe in destroying any work of art out of
vengeance.
He flicked off
the security camera before punching his code into the key panel to open the
doors, peeling out as soon as there was room for the car.
◙◙◙
Rani was lying
prone on her bed poring through her psychology notebook when her father yelled
to her that Darren was at the door. Frowning, she went downstairs.
She was still
pissed that he hadn’t mentioned just how much her hair had resembled a bird’s
nest when he dropped her off that morning. Not that her parents had commented
on the fact that she’d been out all night.
She stopped a
few steps from the bottom when she caught the insatiable lust on his face. He’d
never come to her home before and had tore off as soon as she’d shut the door
of the car. It took her a moment to hunch her shoulders and lower her gaze to
his feet.
“Yes?” she
asked as she stood in front of him, chewing on her bottom lip.
“I’m bored,” he
said simply. “Show me your room.”
Rani’s eyes
darted to her father whose jaw and fists were clenched tight, but he didn’t say
anything and she didn’t disobey Darren, turning around to go back upstairs.
He followed
slowly. “Do you have any silk nighties? T-shirts and pajama bottoms aren’t very
sexy.”
Rani rolled her
eyes as he tortured her father, but didn’t comment until they got to her room
and she’d shut the door.
“What are you
doing here?” she asked, sitting on the end of the full sized bed.
He threw
himself on the bed next to her, completely laid out. “Like I said. Bored. And I wanted to see how you’re
doing with our suicide plan.”
“Well…we have
to get everyone to admit their own failings publically, which seems to be
nearly impossible to do. Funny how it goes against human nature to admit that
they screwed up,” she said sarcastically, falling backwards, enjoying the
slight flip in her stomach as she released herself to gravity. She turned her
head to look at Darren, noticing how his nose looked extra crooked in the light
cast by her reading lamp. She drew her finger down the length of it, feeling
the bumps.
“Yeah…it’s
ugly, I know.” He didn’t flinch, resigned to the deformity.
“It’s not so
bad. It gives you character. And it reminds me how strong you are.”
“Heh. I think
it shows how big a coward I am. I got it from standing up to my father and haven’t
done so since.”
“You could be
just like him and yet you’re not. You let everyone think you’re this awful
badass when in reality you’re kind of a softy. That takes strength. To let everyone
hate you for something you’re not.”
He shrugged and
changed the subject. “Tell me how you get people to admit their faults.”
Rani sighed. “I
don’t know. There’s a chapter on empowerment that seems helpful, but it’s aimed
at self-destructive individuals. People who are without hope. But the trigger
is different for everyone and few are persuaded without an intense personal
mentorship. It’s not something that happens overnight.”
Darren absently
ran his fingers over Rani’s abdomen, thinking. “Do you think they’re happy?”
“What?”
“The people in
this town. Do you think they’re happy being used?”
“Who could be?”
There was always a sense of sadness under even the most pleasant encounters as
families remembered their loved ones who weren’t there. And the constant fear
that something said without thought could be used against them later on.
“Maybe you
could give a speech on happiness. No accusations. No demands. Just a nice
little push to help people take control over their own happiness. You might
even be able to do it without my dad realizing its true intent. He’s not a big
fan of literature.”
Rani sat up and
frowned down at him. “I’m definitely not
the brains of this operation. That’s brilliant.” She smiled as she got off the
bed to find a blank notebook.
“I like
listening to you speak. You always give great presentations in class and I
enjoy the little digs you make under everyone’s nose.”
Rani ignored
him as she threw herself back on the bed and began to brainstorm the speech.
“Wait,” she
said, pausing her pen mid-word. “When am I supposed to give this? Mrs. Hirsch
is going to be investigated within the next couple of weeks at the most. I
can’t wait until graduation.”
“Homecoming is
this weekend. As valedictorian it wouldn’t be too odd for you to give one of
the speeches. It might do something or it might do nothing, but it’s a start.”
Rani crawled
over to give him a deep kiss. “Thank you for coming over tonight,” she said
before she moved back to her notebook.
He surprised
her by throwing her notebook to the floor and rolling her over until she was
pinned beneath him, his hips between hers. As she tried to ask him what he was
doing, he crushed his mouth to hers in a way that frightened her.
Until her door
opened to show her parents.
“It’s getting
late,” her father said, his voice shaking slightly. “He should be getting
home.”
Darren gave him
the full force of his glare before turning back to look down at Rani his brow
instantly softening. He gave her a tender kiss. “Don’t stay up too late,” he
whispered against her lips before he rose from the bed.
◙◙◙
Rani looked out
at the crowd gathered for the Homecoming presentations and dinner. It hadn’t been hard to get permission from the
principal and Homecoming committee to give the keynote address as no one cared
to do it anyway.
“‘A
feeling or state of well-being and contentment,’” she began. “That’s how the
dictionary defines happiness.
“We all know
what it is. It’s what gives our actions meaning. Everything we do, we do
because we believe it will make us happy. No one does something that they
believe will bring them sadness in the long term. That’s not the way human
nature works.
“Unfortunately,
not all actions result in happiness. Sometimes the surgery doesn’t work and the
dog dies anyway. Sometimes we still lose the friend even though we gave them
proof that their lover is cheating. Sometimes we’re thrown a curve ball from
left field and never suspected that the promotion would alienate us from our
families.
“When our
actions inadvertently create sadness it’s only natural to want to hide it. To
pretend that it’s not our fault. Sometimes that is true. Sometimes, shit
happens and there’s nothing we can do about it. We cannot blame ourselves for
the things we cannot control.
“But sometimes,
in order to be happy, we have to admit to ourselves that we did screw up. That
we missed the signs. Because when we’re not honest with ourselves, we’re not
truly in a state of well-being. We’re not truly content. We’re merely acting
the part, praying everyday that no one sees through the charade and asks the
questions we daren’t ask ourselves.
“To be happy, we
must ask: Are we truly happy? Or are we pretending to love every little thing
about our lives because it’s easier than dealing with the fear? It is scary to
leave our comfort zone. To be someone new. Someone that even our closest
friends wouldn’t recognize because they’ve never truly known who we really are.
“But it is also
silly to fear the unknown when we’re not happy with the known. We shouldn’t
give up the chance to really be happy simply because we’re afraid that we might
fail. Everyone fails at some point. Everyone becomes certain that the path
they’re on must be the right one because if it’s not then it must mean that they’ve
wasted their life. But life isn’t wasted so long as you still have breath.
“Everyone
deserves to be happy. To be content with their life. To experience the feeling
of their wishes being fulfilled. Don’t push aside your hopes and dreams because
some people don’t want you to succeed. Because some people desire power at the
expense of all others. Don’t let people use your fear to control you. Don’t
doubt what you know to be true. Stand up for what you believe in. Defend it. But
don’t be afraid to question it.
“The most
contented man on the Earth is the one who fears no question because he’s
already asked it.”
Rani took a deep
breath as she finished her short piece. No one applauded. No one spoke. No one moved.
Darren was
sitting on the edge of the stage facing the crowd. He looked relaxed, but Rani
knew he was tensed, ready for action if necessary.
Finally a small older
woman stood up. “I’ve lost two sons, a nephew, and a granddaughter in this
town. I did not speak up.” She sat down.
A young man
stood next. “I’m an orphan. I wish I’d spoken up.”
There was some
confusion as two women on opposite sides of the room stood up together. The
younger gestured for the older to speak first. “I’m a coward,” she said quickly
before dropping heavily back into her seat.
The younger
woman looked surprised at the admission. “That wasn’t cowardly at all,” she
told her before telling them the room that she also did not speak up.
When Rani told
Melinda’s parents of their upcoming investigation, they revealed that they were
part of a growing peaceful insurgency. They thought that Rani’s speech would be
the perfect place to formally introduce themselves and one by one the members
were standing in solidarity. No one had expected so many non-members to stand
hence the growing confusion.
Tears were
flowing openly down the cheeks of many in the audience as they finally forgave
themselves and vowed to never let it happen again.
As the
testimonials wound down members of the rebellion passed around information
packets for the first free elections to take place two months later. Anyone who
wished to run for mayor could apply.
