The Bobbysoxer

It was a Saturday night. Zacky had invited me and the guys over for pizza and band practice. We hadn’t done much practicing lately and we all agreed that we had to work on it or else we’d never make it big in the music scene.

I was confident that one day we were gonna blow the universe away with our music. We knew we were good, but the rest of the world had yet to see that firsthand. Our band was called Avenged Sevenfold, which was so creatively thought up by all of us. We’d been together as a band since our high school days and very few people knew how talented we all really were.

We’d performed at multiple gigs, but unfortunately we had no luck in finding a record deal. It didn’t bother us that much. We knew landing a record deal was bound to happen sometime. We just had to be patient and strong as a band.

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t nervous about going to Zacky’s. I always was. Because of course she’d be there all innocent looking just waiting to torture me as usual. I didn’t know how long this little game of hers would last, and I honestly didn’t want to know. As much as I hated it, as much as it bothered me like nobody’s business…I couldn’t wait to see her face again.

"Dude, don’t eat that! That’s my piece!" Syn whined like a child as Zacky engulfed the cheesy pizza slice whole.

Syn’s real name was Brian Haner, but he preferred to be called Synyster Gates instead, which was a nickname he had since high school. In fact, all of us had nicknames. I was M. Shadows, Zacky was Zacky Vengeance, Johnny was Johnny Christ and Jimmy was The Rev. We thought it’d be cool to use these pseudonyms for when we’d get rich and famous.

"Dude, there’s another pizza box right there. Chill the fuck out!" Zacky said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, but the one you just ate was the biggest slice!" Syn countered, throwing a napkin at him. "Fucking pig."

"Brian Haner, did I just hear what I think I heard?" Zacky’s mom suddenly emerged from the kitchen, eyeing Syn in disapproval as she placed her hands on her hips.

Yes, Zacky still lived with his mom. The reason for that was because she had divorced his dad about four years ago and he didn’t want to leave his mother and little sister alone. Zacky’s mom was a really nice woman who constantly had to put up with five grown men in her house nearly everyday. She did it without ever complaining. The only thing she despised, however, was the trash talk, which was usually unavoidable in our conversations.

Syn smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Ms. B."

She shook her head. "I really hope I don’t have to use the soap."

"The soap will not be necessary, Ms. B. My mouth is cuss word free from now on," He answered with a wink.

"Oh, if only I could believe that," She said with a small laugh.

"Mom, you going out?" Zacky asked his mother in curiosity.

"Yep. I’m taking Evelyn shopping," She answered, placing the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"Oh. Have fun," He said with a snort.

She laughed. "Thanks, son." Then she turned around, walking towards the stairs. "EVELYN, SWEETIE, COME ON!" She called, while leaning over the staircase railing. "THE MALL’S GONNA CLOSE IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP!"

"I’M COMING!" Was the young girl’s response. She began skipping down the stairs gracefully. She was wearing a gray plaid skirt with a black shirt and black and gray checkered vans. Her silky hair was in a low side ponytail, which bounced up and down over her shoulder each time she skipped. Her sense of fashion was different from any other fourteen year old’s I’d seen. Sometimes she’d dress like she was from the nineteen-fifties.

Funny how no one knew that underneath all the apparent innocence that covered Evelyn Baker, there was a malicious girl who showed no mercy when it came to seducing older men.

How would her mother react if she knew what her daughter did continuously?

Evelyn met Ms. Baker at the foot of the stairs, ruffling her skirt. Her head suddenly snapped towards my direction and our eyes locked briefly. A clever smile played on her lips as she began mozing into the living room.

"Ohh, pizza! Can I have a slice?" She asked politely.

"Sure, kiddo," Johnny answered, opening the pizza box for her. She smiled that dimply smile of hers before reaching for a slice.

"Evelyn, I thought you wanted to eat at the mall!" Her mother scowled with her hands on her hips.

"It’s just a slice of pizza, mom. I won’t be too full for gummy bears!" She giggled, taking a bite.

Gummy bears. My seducer eats gummy bears, for Christ’s sake.

Ms. Baker sighed disapprovingly at her daughter. "Let’s go. And careful with that pizza. Don’t let it stain your skirt."

"Okay, mom," She replied with a roll of her eyes. She shot me a teasing glance before following her mother out the door.

I sighed, looking down at my half eaten pizza in my hand. I felt like a dirty geezer. Someone should seriously lock me up.

"Hey, Syn. I bet you can’t eat five slices in one minute," Jimmy challenged suddenly, immediately putting my thoughts to rest.

"Ha! Name your price, Rev." He smirked.

Jimmy looked up in thought. "Thirty bucks?"

"Make it fifty."

"Alright, deal!" Jimmy laughed.

"Can somebody time me?" Syn asked, already adjusting himself to an eating position over the coffee table.

"I’ll do it," Johnny volunteered, waving his hand.

"Oh God. If you vomit on my floor, you’re cleaning it up with your tongue, Haner," Zacky scolded with a roll of his eyes.

"Whatever," Syn responded. "Johnny, do the honors."

Johnny nodded, looking down at his watch. "One, two, three….go!"

We all watched in amusement as Syn began wolfing down the cheesy feast at an impressively rapid speed.

"You’re not gonna make it, Syn." I laughed.

"Just you watch!" He said in a mouthful, spitting out small pieces of crust.

"And I’m the pig?" Zacky shook his head.

"Twenty seconds, Syn!" Johnny alerted as his eyes never left his watch.

Syn struggled in between the fourth slice.

"Ten seconds!"

Syn’s eyes widened as he shoved the fifth and last piece of pizza in his mouth. He looked a little green in the face.

"Five, four, three, two, one!" Johnny exclaimed, slamming his palm on the coffee table.

Syn threw his arms in the air triumphantly, swallowing one last time. "HA! I DID IT!"

Jimmy slapped his forehead with a groan. "Damn."

"Fork over the greens, Rev," Syn said with a grin, holding his hand out.

"Here. Choke on it," Jimmy mumbled, removing a fifty from his back pocket and slapping it on Syn’s palm.

"Why hello there, Mr. Grant!" Syn laughed. "Pleasure doing business with you, my friend." He shoved the fifty dollar bill in his front pocket. "Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go hurl." He suddenly jumped to his feet before bolting out of the living room with his hands over his mouth. We all laughed hysterically.

"Hey dude, you gonna finish that?" Johnny asked me, referring to my slice of pizza.

"Nah. Here you go," I answered bluntly, handing it to him. After Evelyn left, I wasn’t so hungry anymore.

Johnny grinned, eating it in one bite.

"Come on, let’s go practice," Zacky announced, standing up.

We all nodded, mimicking his actions.

"Hey, Greedy! We’re going to the basement! Hurry up with the puke, alright?!" Zacky yelled loud enough for Syn to hear all the way from the bathroom and groan loudly in response.