Peace, Love, and Manson

It takes a bit of coaxing, but in a little while, I’m set (or as set as I’ll ever be) and ready to go. Ready to run away from the home I’ve stayed at my whole life. All for this odd hippie ranch. Spahn Ranch. I keep telling myself that it will be good for me, this will be a good thing. But I am unsure myself.

Ramona calls her sister and tells her an emergency. Rebecca is on her way.

Rebecca is just like Ramona. Everyone always asks if they’re twins, but Rebecca is in her first year of college. Or… was.

Rebecca gets to the house at around 3 A.M. I haven’t seen her since her graduation party last summer. She looks… she looks old. These past few months of partying have put bags under her eyes and cracked dry lips. She’s also a lot thinner.

“Hey! Tiney!” Rebecca whisper/shouts at me.

“Hi Rebecca,” I smile politely.

“What’ve you been up to lately?” She snaps her gum, just like Ramona.

“You guys can make weird small talk on the way,” Ramona interrupts.

“Fair enough,” Rebecca nods, smiling at me.

We’re finally on the road, three hours into our trip, when I fall asleep. My head resting on Arthur’s broad shoulder, the slow rocking of the car lulls me into a deep slumber. Right before my brain shuts itself off temporarily, a smile stretches my lips.

I am awakened by the slamming of the trunk. My head gives a quick jerk as I look up. I look to my left to see Arthur has fallen asleep too.

“Wake up,” I flick him on the forehead like I did when we were little. He wakes, laughing a little.

“Are we there?”

“I think so,” I say, sitting up and grabbing the door, opening it shyly.

Standing up on my feet and cracking my back forward, I see Rebecca and Ramona standing and talking to a ditzy looking blonde girl and another guy who’s holding her by the shoulders. It looks like she’s so drunk that he’s actually holding her up. I walk over sheepishly.

Rebecca grabs me and pulls me over towards her. “This is Clementine. You can call her Tiney but not Clem, she hates that. She’s a bit of a bore but with a little help she can be totally corrupted like the rest of us!” They all cheer.

“Hi,” I give a little wave.

“I’m Shirley,” the blonde girl steps forward, stumbling a little, “The pleasure’s mine.” She has long blonde curls that fall to her shoulders. She could have a cute face, but she keeps rolling her head and smiling really wide that I can’t get a good look at her. She is very obviously under the influence of something.

“Nice to meet you,” I smile politely.

“Phoenix,” the boy steps forward to shake my hand. He has a good, strong grip. I run my thumb over his hand and can feel uneven callouses and scars. His head is toppled with caramel brown curls, but he’s slicked back the sides. He looks like a total greaser and hot damn, is that working out for him.

“Hi,” I barely breathe out.

Rebecca turns to us, Ramona, Arthur, and I all in a straight line.

“Well, Clementine and Ramona will be bunking with you, Shirley. Arthur will be bunking with you, Phoenix. We don’t want mixed bunking going on. So it’s your fault if you get pregnant or get someone pregnant,” Rebecca laughs.

Shirley grabs Ramona’s hand and then mine and skips to a something that looks like a shed or a small cabin. When we enter, it has the general set up of a camp cabin, which brings back childhood memories. It looks like a genuine summer camp. There are four beds, only one of which is made up. The rest lay with sheets folded neatly at the ends, ready to be made and tucked into the mattress. The sheets and mattresses are all different colors and brands. Some of them look old and used countless times. Some look like they’ve been stolen from a grandmother or other family member. A lot of them look like they’re from thrift stores or dumps.

I drift over to the bed that looks like the sheets are the cleanest. I grab the bed spread and shake it out, beginning to tuck sheets in just like my mother taught me.

“Well, y’all are probably pretty tired,” Shirley says.

“Yeah, we are,” Ramona replies, “We’re probably going to call it a night, Shirley, thanks.”

“Sure, and if you need anything, we’ll all be in the next cabin over.”

“Thanks, Shirley,” I grin.

“Sure,” She skips out of the door. Ramona and I watch her skitter into the cabin next to us, giggling.

After I’m done making the bed, I change into a cotton tank top and short shorts. I curl into the bed it gratefully, and sure enough, the sheets smell like a sweet little old lady. I try to comfort myself by imagining I’m at my grandmother’s house, but my grandmother is not a sweet little old lady. So I just think about how I’m finally here. Finally somewhere where people will accept me for who I am.