SATELLITE [STEVE HARRINGTON]

one hot car

"While you were scrounging around like a homeless bum, I mowed Old Man Humphrey's lawn," Lucas explained. Erica and Ginny watched from the doorway with nearly identical unimpressed looks.

"Old Man Humphrey's got that kinda cash?"

"Well, Ginny gave me six dollars, too, but I had to sell my soul for that."

"Damn right, you did..." muttered his older sister. "Dustin, make sure he shares with the rest of you- especially Will!"

Lucas turned around to glare at her again. "How come Will is always your favorite?"

"Yeah, how come you only like Will?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't you guys have another dweeb to call?"

Already back on task, Lucas nodded. "Right. Dustin, call Mike."

"You call Mike."

"I have to go take a shower from doing real work, like a man. Over and out," Lucas argued, causing his sisters to burst into laughter from the hall. He turned over his shoulder again. "Shut up!"

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

"TINA'S HAVING A PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT. WE SHOULD GO."

Iris Hawthorne, resident girl-next-door and Ginny's red-headed best friend, leaned against her car, a lit cigarette between her red-nailed finger tips.

Ginny laughed, accidentally inhaling the smoke from her cigarette too quickly and sending herself into a small coughing fit. "You're kidding, right?"

"Absolutely not. Why would I joke about a sick Halloween party at Tina's?" Iris countered, looking confused.

Shaking her curly-haired head, Ginny waved away some of the smoke from her own cigarette. "No, I meant- you're joking if you think my parents would ever let me go to a party, especially one at Tina's on Halloween."

"What's so bad about Tina's on Halloween?"

"Community punch bowl? Drunk Tommy Hagan in a toga? Tina?" Ginny listed. She raised her eyebrows. "My parents will find nothing wrong with that scene..."

Iris rolled her eyes at her best friend's sarcasm. "I never said you had to tell your parents where you're going." The bell rang, signaling the students should start heading to their classes, and the red-head sighed. She dropped her cigarette and smushed it into the gravel with the toe of her shoe.

Ginny did the same, leaning down to check her hair and lip gloss in the side-mirror of Iris' car. "My parents have a way of knowing everything I do," she muttered, fluffing up a few of her curls. She shared a glance with Iris. "Also known as Lucas-the-Little-Shit."

"Well, he'll be with his friends, won't he? Just tell him to shut his trap." Iris shrugged.

"Oh, Iris... I wish it were that simple," Ginny said, shaking her head ruefully. They started off towards the school. "Besides, I have to work tonight, and there's an early admissions application due tomorrow morning for the university I'm looking at. I'm going to be too exhausted to deal with Carol and Tommy's bullshit tomorrow night..."

Iris sighed heavily. "All I'm saying is... Community punchbowl," she sing-songed, wiggling her eyebrows.

Ginny laughed, shaking her head still. "Why don't you make Lily go?"

Lily was the third in Ginny's trio, a pretty dark-haired girl with striking blue eyes. Iris frowned a bit, looking around. "Speaking of, where is that bitch?"