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HOT WIRES AND AWKWARD SITUATIONS
Part 5
written by
Little Horn and Flonnua7a

" Cool movie."

{ I know.}

Gloria and Chamber strolled down the damp Boston street. It was crowded with students and twenty-somethings. It had a typical Friday night atmosphere.

A couple of drunk students ran past them naked, spilling beer.

" Can you believed Cassidy trusted us when we said we were going out to get streamers. HA! The fool."

{ And long may he stay that way.}

Gloria held up her beer in mock toast.

" To Cassidy and his gullibleness."

A few police cars flashed by them. They both didn’t bat an eyelid. Gloria spotted one of her sister’s friends across the street. She shuddered.

{ Hey, it’s almost eleven.}

" We just need to stay out long enough to get out of clean up OK?"

{ Wanna get a coffee? You, I mean?}

" Fine by me."

" Where the hell did those two go?! We had to set this up on our lonesome!!!"

Jubilee marched angrily around the darkened hall. The disco lights lit up her furious expression. Everett was running after her desperately trying to calm her. She shoved herself in-between two kissing couples. They looked angrily at her and then continued.

Everett sat down beside her in the darkened corner.

" Look J, I’m not surprised that they didn’t turn up, I mean it’s not exactly their scene, is it?"

" * Sigh* I s’pose not." She angrily shoved someone’s arm out of her face.

" So . . . . . . .You wanna dance?"

He grinned hopefully at her. She looked at him with more than a little chagrin and pushed a kissing couple toward the other end of the chair.

" Don’t get yer hopes up . . . . .Bub."

{ I don’t know why it ended. It just did. Isn’t there some kind of thing where a person actually notifies you’re getting dumped?}

Gloria handed Chamber a napkin to fiddle with while she drank her coffee.

" Geez man, I didn’t bring you out here to be miserable. I thought it would be better than sitting at home and thinking of all those couples making out."

Chamber cringed. He hadn’t thought about that. An image of Paige and that B****ks Tristian came into his mind. He quickly pushed it out.

{ The first I heard we were ‘over’ was when she accepted that wan***r, Tristian’s, offer.}

" I don’t see the problem. The damn bit** is greener than a fern. You’re better off without her. Trust me. Especially if she’s gonna treat you like crap. You don’t have that much in common either. And she treated me like dirt. Well, not really but she ignored me."

{ You really don’t like her do you?}

" You notice someone who should be here but isn’t?"

" I don’t know what you’re talking about Tristian."

Paige looked around the packed auditorium. She checked around for anything out of order. Apart from some disgusting displays of ‘ Public Affection’ there was nothing else.

" What? Apart from disgusting, greasy fifteen year olds groping anything in a skirt, no . . . . . . ."

" Your ‘friend’ Jonothon . . . . Or whatever his name is."

" Oh? I hadn’t noticed. Come to mention it, Gloria’s not here either."

Tristian looked confused.

" Oh, right. You don’t know her. She’s the new pupil here. Tall, wears black. Freak. Hard not to notice?"

Tristian frowned again. He obviously hadn’t noticed.

" Maybe they’re out together?"

Paige glared at him. Her face lit up by the shards of white light reflected off the disco ball.

" I don’t even want to think about that."

All right, Angelo, breathe . This is your big chance . Here goes ….

" Hey, Eve ."

" Oh ? … Oh It’s you ."

Eve looked disdainfully at the scruffy, grey skinned mutant . He was wearing a south park T-shirt . Ugh .

" I’ll cut to the chase . Eve will you go to the dance with me tonight ?"

" Sorry, Espinosa, I already have a date . Oh well ."

He should have expected that . But he didn’t. But that didn’t stop him from being hurt.

‘ Brave face man . . . . . .Oh please don’ crumple.’

" Uh, O.k.. That’s fine, really. I already had other plans. It’s just with you being the ‘new’ kid n’ all. . . . . . ."

Eve looked at him with a mixture of disgust and pity. Of course she didn’t have a date. She just wouldn’t go out with him if every other man on earth spontaneously combusted. She resisted the urge to run screaming at the very thought.

‘ Now make an excuse and get the hell away from this freak show’

"Uh . . . . . . . I’ve got science homework that’s really important. G’bye!"

‘ At least that’s over.’

Angelo looked dejectedly at his shoes. He didn’t notice Eve running as fast as possible down the hall.

‘ Well, this probably went better than Jono’s.’

" Well, welcome to the jungle my friend."

Gloria pulled out a key from her tattered black purse and slotted it into the door of the Kelly residence. She looked visibly embarrassed. As the door creaked open the quiet Boston night was disturbed by the cries ands howls of many, many children.

" Oh, hi Gloria."

Gloria regarded the little, water-pistol brandishing boy on the landing with due suspicion. He grinned evilly and pointed it at her. She calmly walked over ands plucked it off him.

" Hey!!"

She set it carefully on the cupboard in the hall.

" Just ‘cause I went away doesn’t mean I’m still not bigger, and stronger, to beat the crap out of all of you. I’m still the oldest."

The boy glared at her, before taking a lump out of Chamber’s leg.

{ Oi!!!}

Gloria grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the living room. The chaos there was not for untainted eyes. Several children of about eight to eleven were in a large pile over a playstation. The surreal scene was illuminated only by the constant green flickering from the Television. A girl of about thirteen was in the corner, scribbling furiously on a notepad. The youngest child lifted her head and smiled at Gloria and her accomplice.

" Hey!! Gloria’s got a boyfriend!"

Gloria’s face turned milky white. Even more so. Before Gloria could retort a large ring of children formed around Gloria’s legs. They all looked like carbon copies of one another. They were jumping like hungry dogs, centring in on their prey. Gloria cringed.

"Glory’s got a boyfriend!!"

" Don’t call me that."

" What are you gonna do? Sick your boyfriend onto us?!"

Gloria looked at Jonothon desperately.

{ Hey, wanna see Something cool?}

The kids suddenly lost interest with their intended prey and concentrated on the stranger Jonothon. Their small faces displayed freak show level interest. Gloria sighed inwardly. Jonothon peeled away some of his scarf.

"Agggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

" Gross."

" Cool!"

Suddenly mesmerised by the glowing thing on Jonthon’s face, Gloria took her chance to get from the kids and chat to her Mom. She left Chamber to the dogs.

" Mom?"

" Not now luv."

" Mom. It’s me. Gloria. Eldest daughter. Slave. Dark."

A small, plump woman with large blonde hair ,and dressed in an apron, of about fifty popped her grinning face around the kitchen door. She flew to Gloria and grabbed her in a bear hug.

" MA!!"

Gloria loosened her mother’s grip from her waist and , sheepishly, let herself down.

" Uh . . . .Nice to see you’ve still got all that energy."

She grinned at the uncomfortable girl.

" Don’t say you aren’t glad t’ see yuir ol’ mother?"

Gloria looked somewhere between horrified and confused. They had never really got on that well. She was the Churchy type. Gloria was the Atheist type. They had really fallen out just before she left for the Academy. Eve was always her baby. Maybe she was just lonely with just kids for company. Gloria looked at her, fifty, single, a bottle blond, fat and seven children. No bloody wonder if she was so lonely. She wondered if Jonothon ever had these problems. He was probably a single child. He wouldn’t understand.

" You sit down Mom, I’ll put the kettle on."

" Oh, thank ye luv."

‘Jeez, she has a short memory . . . . . .and that fight was freakin’ scary. I thought she would never speak to me again.’

Gloria pushed that thought to the back of her head.

{ Am I interrupting anything ?}

Gloria turned around to see a rather bedraggled Jonothon standing in the doorway. How he managed to shake off all those hell cats was beyond her.

" Jonothon? Oh, no. it’s fine. Really. Come in."

‘A boy?! I thought . . . . .Oh well, might as well make him comfortable.’

Gloria sneaked a glance at her mother. She knew she would die when she saw Jonothon. Mainly because he wasn’t a girl. She was grinning happily at Jonothon and shaking his hand eagerly.

" Jonothon!!! What a nice name!!! British are you? Well, I won’t hold it against you!! HaHaHa!!!"

{ Uh . . . .}

Gloria grimaced inwardly. The first date in four years and her mother had to ruin it. She turned off he kettle and poured two cups of tea. She really hoped her mom wouldn’t offer Jonothon some.

" So, what do you think of America dear?"

{ It’s . . . .uh . . . . nice.}

" Well, it took me some time to get used to all the hustle and bustle here, but I did!!! I’m sure you’ll be fine dear."

Gloria was secretly praying that she wouldn’t lean across and slap his knee. She did of course. He looked pleadingly at Gloria.

{ Help me . . . .}

The repulsive stench of the chemical, outdoor toilet accentuated the screams for help that broke through the hazy evening. Not that anyone could hear it. Not that anyone cared. A small group of boys stood in silent patrol around the battered, peeling brown paint on the door. Inside was a different picture.

" Let go!!! Please!!!!!!"

"Shut up bitch."

Carmen tried to keep her head above the toilet for fear of the humiliation of the alternative. Why did they pick on her like this? What had she ever done to deserve this?

" Shut up and hold your breath"

< Splash>

A torrent of vicious laughter washed over her as they pulled her head out of the water.

‘ Don’t cry Carmen . . . . . please don’t cry’

The tallest boy of the group gave her a disgusted look.

" I think we’re done with her. Go throw her somewhere."

The group circled in on her again and dragged her by the legs outside to the others.

" We’ve had our kicks for tonight. Lets go back to the dance and throw a little life into it. C’mon girls."

With that he motioned for the group of giggling girls to follow him. They all grabbed their boyfriends’ arms and walked away. A few looked back in pity.

She sat for a while in the darkening, hazy, summer night. Carmen pulled herself up and walked slowly away from the toilets.

" Bastards."

" And don’t forget to tell Evey that Mummy said ‘Hello’!"

Mrs. Kelly stood on her doorstep, waving goodbye.

" Yes Mom."

Chamber waited until Gloria’s anger had resided.

{ Well, that was a . . . . . learning experience.}

They walked slowly away from the house, down the tree-lined Boston streets to the train station. Chamber looked bemused by the situation.

{ I know you said your mother was . . . . overbearing . . .but . . }

" Yea, yea. I know. The woman’s insane. . . . . . . . sorry."

{ At least she cares. My parents send me socks each year for Christmas. That’s about it. I think they get kicks out of telling the neighbours that their darling boy goes to boarding school in America.}

Jonothon sat down on the bench beside the railway. Gloria plonked her self beside him.

" At least the movie was good."

They sat in silence until the train came. They got odd looks from the other passengers , but they didn’t notice. Finally Gloria spoke up.

" She’s obsessed with me being a nice little house wife and supplying her with more grandchildren. I think it’s because I’m the first born. She doesn’t treat Eve like a slave. She doesn’t scream at her when she gets bad grades. Oh, no, but she yells at me if I get less than an A in like, Fucking Home EC or something. She doesn’t want Eve to be a fucking nice house wife. She wants her to be a lawyer and make her fucking proud. HA! Eve, a Lawyer!!! That’ll be the fucking day!!!"

Jono backed away from her. She was shaking with anger.

" She treats me like I’m a fucking freak or something! You don’t know how many times she’s screamed at me to be more like Eve!! More like EVE?!!! I wouldn’t want to be that fucking whore if I thought I would save my freak life!!!!!"

{ Gloria . . . . .people are staring . . .}

" She thinks it’s a sin against her precious religion to be a lesbian!!! HA!! See that look on her face when you came in?!!!! You know she tried to get me councelling?!!!! She Doesn’t Realise what a little harlot her precious daughter is and picks on me!!!!!! She probably thinks I smoke and shoplift!!!!! ME?!!!!!! Why doesn’t she look at EVE for once in her worthless, PETTY little life!!!!!!!"

{ Gloria . . . calm down . . . . please?!}

Chamber tried to grab her shoulders to calm her down. It wasn’t working.

{ Gloria Please!! People are staring!!! We’ll get in trouble!!!}

That seemed to snap Gloria out of it. She looked around her. A few old ladies in the corner were looking at her with horrified expressions on their faces.

" Uh . . . . .sorry Jonothon . . . . ."

Monet looked around her. Eve had disappeared with a large group of boys out the back. She knew the boys. She should have warned Eve about them. They were right little bastards. Oh, well, Eve knew how to protect herself.

‘ Maybe I can get a dance out of Everett . . . .’