The Accidental Siren

6.3 Fairytale Part Two: The War

11:45 PM.

Testosterone clung to the lead pores of my bedroom walls. Boys were draped over every available surface like chimps in a tree. Doritos, popcorn and cookie crumbs littered my bedsheets and peppered the berber with crunchy specks.

Whit and A.J. sat beside me in the corner of the room. Together, we admired the lounging jocks. One of the boys rushed to Ryan, sat on his lap, farted, and laughed.

Whit broke the seal on a packet of Tic-Tacs, tipped back his head, and dumped a mouthful.

“Can I get one of them mints?” A.J. asked from the edge of my bed.

Whit didn't respond, but picked up an empty Coke can from the nightstand and balanced it on A.J.'s head. He formed his fingers into a gun and aimed it at the reformed-bully's face. “Ka-pow,” he said and pulled the trigger.

I grabbed the can and crushed it. “Whit isn't as forgiving as Mara,” I said. “You've been Danny's stooge for a long time.”

Whit rolled the heap of mints in his mouth. “That kid's a primordial ass.”

“He's gonna kill me,” A.J. said.

“You know what I've been thinkin'?” I asked. “I think Danny's no different than Bobby or Jake. He likes Mara but he doesn't know why, so he pokes her and calls her names.”

“Yeah, 'cept the twins don't carry a pellet gun and scream obscenities.” Whit watched as two of Ryan's buddies stood face to face for a game of ram sham bo. “Think they like us?” he asked.

One boy spread his legs and clenched his face. The other pulled his foot back, grinned, then wailed his bare toes into his buddy’s crotch.

Whit popped another Tic-Tac. “Told ya Mara would get us friends.”

Ryan abandoned his buddies, took two giant leaps across my bed, and plopped between Whit and A.J. “Give me a mint,” he said and Whit obliged immediately. He held the mint between his front teeth as he scanned our faces. “Who wants to make twenty bucks?”

“Me!” A.J. said.

Ryan put his arm around the kid’s skinny back. “The money’s yours, little dude. But you gotta do me a favor.”

A.J. was skeptical. He responded nervously, as if the wrong words might scare away the offer. “Whatcha need me to do?”

“During the game tonight, dare me to kiss Mara.”