Status: In progress with some already written out
Young Turks
Chapter Three
Two boys occupied the stolen lawn chairs while another boy and two girls sat on either folded knees or folded pillows. A box that Alma had used to move her clothes sat in the middle of the group, cards being repeatedly slapped down atop of it as shouts of “bullshit!” cut through the reggae sound of Sublime streaming from Alma’s old boom box decorated with her name spelled out in purple glitter nail polish and Lisa Frank stickers.
In a corner of the room, a group of five or so kids from school sat smoking pot from a small rounded glass pipe. Brian wasn’t sure about who they were, but he was offered complimentary “hits” from the pipe for providing such a “bomb” place to party. A number of Brian’s closest friends stood in the cramped kitchenette, taking the occasional shot of whiskey from Jimmy’s bottle. Laughter sprang from the kitchenette when Matt began to vomit into the one-compartment sink.
“Are you drunk, Matt,” Zack said, chuckling as Matt heaved his last spray of watery vomit.
“Shut up, man,” Matt said, pulling at his sleeve to wipe his mouth.
On the mattress, which had been nudged and kicked several feet away from its original spot, sat Alma and a group of girls. A few of them were the guys’ girlfriends and the rest were close friends who had associated with the group for the past three years of school. Some sat braiding hair while taking large gulps of their 40’s, and other sat gossiping about their relationships over more alcohol and the tortilla chips someone had brought. When, on the radio, the reviled Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera came on, the girls spat their drinks towards the far away boom box, giggling. Many of them preferred Hole or even the ever-pissy Alanis Morrisette. Soundgarden was another big favorite among the girls who had crushes on Chris Cornell.
Alma glanced Brian’s backside from the entrance to the kitchen. She smiled, thinking about his body tangled up in hers as they roll around on the floor. Dancing in her head was the image of her hands groping onto his broad back as he hunched over her smaller frame, moving in a steady and heavy rhythm. A feeling resembling a butterflies rose from her abdomen and fluttered up to her navel. She shuddered ever so slightly and blushed to herself as her friends sat around her, talking incoherently.
“What are you looking at, my pretty lady,” someone said, coming to pull Alma up by her hands.
Alma looked up at her boyfriend. “You, my handsome… frog,” She said.
Brian laughed, took a quick drink from his beer, and leaned down to kiss Alma. With one arm wrapped around her waste and the other holding his beer, he attached his lips completely to hers and refused to let go. Alma’s hand went up to his chest as they both hesitated to pull away.
“I love you,” Alma said with a toothy grin, looking up into Brian’s brown eyes. The music and the noise of everyone drinking, playing, and shouting reverberated in the background. The white noise of everything surrounding them left Alma and Brian by themselves, standing in the middle of their new home.
“I love you too, soul,” Brian said, biting Alma’s lip.
Six months back, when the couple had been together no longer than two months, the first “I love you” had been exchanged between the two. Brian had been pumping gas into his dad’s old Honda as Alma sat in the front passenger seat playing with an old Gameboy that was a gift from Steven. She’d never felt the need to refer to him as her stepdad.
Leaning into the car, Brian kissed Alma. “Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to go in and out of your car when you’re putting gas in,” Alma said quickly, however, still having enjoyed the spontaneous kiss. Brian closed the car door and smiled through the window. “I love you,” he said, moving his lips silently. Alma stopped for a quick second to register what Brian had just said.
Half an hour earlier the couple had left a party that was getting a bit too formal for them. Drinking at a dining room table and playing cheesy games wasn’t what they were into. Pinching her thigh, Brian suggested they ditch the boring crowd and drive off.
Sitting in the passenger seat and staring quietly at Brian’s back as he finished pumping gas, Alma felt her body warm up. He had finally said it. She was surprised and had not expected any sort of statement like that from Brian. Folding up the receipt and shoving it into his pocket, Brian climbed back into the car. Alma reached over and kissed Brian over the center console. “I love you,” She said.
Surprisingly, the couple didn’t go to a dark parking lot or to hide inside a baseball dugout to have sex. Brian simply went to Dolores’ house and dropped off Alma. Two months into the romance and they had said the words. The “I Do’s” of teenagers who had fallen irrevocably in love and who were convinced that the world of adults hated to see them feel so much love. Love that no one thought young hearts deserved. But Alma and Brian knew they deserved each other. They wanted each other with a passion that rivaled the shit-storm of Romeo and Juliet and the gag-fest of Jack and Rose on that dumb ship.
“I can’t wait to fall asleep here with you,” Brian said, turning to look back at all the people crowded into the tiny apartment. Alma buried her head into Brian’s chest.
“I can’t wait to wake up every single day after this.”
In a corner of the room, a group of five or so kids from school sat smoking pot from a small rounded glass pipe. Brian wasn’t sure about who they were, but he was offered complimentary “hits” from the pipe for providing such a “bomb” place to party. A number of Brian’s closest friends stood in the cramped kitchenette, taking the occasional shot of whiskey from Jimmy’s bottle. Laughter sprang from the kitchenette when Matt began to vomit into the one-compartment sink.
“Are you drunk, Matt,” Zack said, chuckling as Matt heaved his last spray of watery vomit.
“Shut up, man,” Matt said, pulling at his sleeve to wipe his mouth.
On the mattress, which had been nudged and kicked several feet away from its original spot, sat Alma and a group of girls. A few of them were the guys’ girlfriends and the rest were close friends who had associated with the group for the past three years of school. Some sat braiding hair while taking large gulps of their 40’s, and other sat gossiping about their relationships over more alcohol and the tortilla chips someone had brought. When, on the radio, the reviled Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera came on, the girls spat their drinks towards the far away boom box, giggling. Many of them preferred Hole or even the ever-pissy Alanis Morrisette. Soundgarden was another big favorite among the girls who had crushes on Chris Cornell.
Alma glanced Brian’s backside from the entrance to the kitchen. She smiled, thinking about his body tangled up in hers as they roll around on the floor. Dancing in her head was the image of her hands groping onto his broad back as he hunched over her smaller frame, moving in a steady and heavy rhythm. A feeling resembling a butterflies rose from her abdomen and fluttered up to her navel. She shuddered ever so slightly and blushed to herself as her friends sat around her, talking incoherently.
“What are you looking at, my pretty lady,” someone said, coming to pull Alma up by her hands.
Alma looked up at her boyfriend. “You, my handsome… frog,” She said.
Brian laughed, took a quick drink from his beer, and leaned down to kiss Alma. With one arm wrapped around her waste and the other holding his beer, he attached his lips completely to hers and refused to let go. Alma’s hand went up to his chest as they both hesitated to pull away.
“I love you,” Alma said with a toothy grin, looking up into Brian’s brown eyes. The music and the noise of everyone drinking, playing, and shouting reverberated in the background. The white noise of everything surrounding them left Alma and Brian by themselves, standing in the middle of their new home.
“I love you too, soul,” Brian said, biting Alma’s lip.
Six months back, when the couple had been together no longer than two months, the first “I love you” had been exchanged between the two. Brian had been pumping gas into his dad’s old Honda as Alma sat in the front passenger seat playing with an old Gameboy that was a gift from Steven. She’d never felt the need to refer to him as her stepdad.
Leaning into the car, Brian kissed Alma. “Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to go in and out of your car when you’re putting gas in,” Alma said quickly, however, still having enjoyed the spontaneous kiss. Brian closed the car door and smiled through the window. “I love you,” he said, moving his lips silently. Alma stopped for a quick second to register what Brian had just said.
Half an hour earlier the couple had left a party that was getting a bit too formal for them. Drinking at a dining room table and playing cheesy games wasn’t what they were into. Pinching her thigh, Brian suggested they ditch the boring crowd and drive off.
Sitting in the passenger seat and staring quietly at Brian’s back as he finished pumping gas, Alma felt her body warm up. He had finally said it. She was surprised and had not expected any sort of statement like that from Brian. Folding up the receipt and shoving it into his pocket, Brian climbed back into the car. Alma reached over and kissed Brian over the center console. “I love you,” She said.
Surprisingly, the couple didn’t go to a dark parking lot or to hide inside a baseball dugout to have sex. Brian simply went to Dolores’ house and dropped off Alma. Two months into the romance and they had said the words. The “I Do’s” of teenagers who had fallen irrevocably in love and who were convinced that the world of adults hated to see them feel so much love. Love that no one thought young hearts deserved. But Alma and Brian knew they deserved each other. They wanted each other with a passion that rivaled the shit-storm of Romeo and Juliet and the gag-fest of Jack and Rose on that dumb ship.
“I can’t wait to fall asleep here with you,” Brian said, turning to look back at all the people crowded into the tiny apartment. Alma buried her head into Brian’s chest.
“I can’t wait to wake up every single day after this.”