DAZED AND CONFUSED | VANCE HOPPER

.Chapter 01.

MOREY'S PIER smelled of fresh fried foods, cotton candy, and smoke. Smoke of two kinds, weed and cigarettes. I was hitting on the first of the two, as Lillianne, my best friend since diapers, and I made our way across the boards to The Great White, a thrilling wooden roller coaster.

"I can't believe this is actually your last day in Wildwood!" she called over the screams of people on rides, the giggles of girls being snuck up on by thirsty boys.

I shrugged and passed the joint to her. "I know, I mean, it fucking sucks, I don't want to move to nowhere Colorado, yknow?"

Lilli pushed my hand away. She never smoked. "I mean, it'll be a nice change of scenery for your mom, she needs to get away from here."

"Yeah," I raised the joint to my lips and breathed the smoke in, holding it for a beat, then letting it out. "I've contemplated staying here, with my dad, but I thought 'what if he starts doing the same shit he did to my mom, to me?', and I can't leave Emmaline alone, I'm all she's got."

Emmaline is my kid sister, seven years old, living in a beach town, and still no friends, other than her sixteen-year-old sister. I love Emma, but I can't babysit her all the time. Maybe Colorado will give her a new, fresh start, some elementary friends, that's parents will allow them to stay at our house because they don't know what our father has done.

"Yeah, true." Lillianne smiled at me and got in line for the coaster. "Last Great White ride... of 1977, anyways, are you excited?" 

I shrugged. "Bitter sweet. I'm gonna miss this place so much, I'm gonna miss you so much." 

Lillianne hugged me. "We'll see each other again, I just know it. We'll plan visits, and  you can still come on vacation here, plus, we still have Old North dreams, right?" 

"Lilli, I don't know..." I sighed, hugging her back. "Ivy League doesn't seem like something for me. I want to be free, y'know? I want the eighties to be full of concerts and parties, not school and studying." 

"Yeah, yeah I guess so." Lilli let go of me and rubbed my arms, progressing through the line. 

Lillianne was going to go places, she was going to marry a lawyer, have children, live on a big house off of a lake. I'd be lucky if I even get a dog. 

I felt my hair get whisked to the side, and over my shoulder from the back. "Beat it, Maverick." I mumbled.

Maverick Jones. The boy who has been "in love" with me since kindergarten stood behind me, leaning over, hot breath on the back of my neck.

"Oh come on, Vivian! Just one kiss before you leave. So you can remember me?" He laughed, closely shaven hair shaping his head like a watermelon, a bit of peach fuzz growing on his chin, like what a twelve-year-old boy would call a beard. It was completely, and utterly disgusting.

"Screw off, asshole!" I shoved him back into the rest of the line, causing almost a domino effect of people toppling back on each other, though the only one to hit the ground was Maverick.

The crowd erupted with giggles and gasps, whispers and taunts, though they were interrupted by the line keeper, a short, old lady with curly red hair and a blue vest on.

"Keep the line moving, kids, lets go! Vivian, I thought I told you to stay off of this goddamn pier!"

I giggled and climbed into the front car of the rollercoaster. "Aw, Ms. Phillips! It's my last day in New Jersey, let me stay a bit longer!"

She rolled her eyes and locked Lillianne and I into the car, then made her way down the rows, making sure everyone in seats behind us were secure.

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The ride was mediocre, but the fact that it was my last go-around brought a pang to my heart. It would have been better if I didn't ride it.

I sucked in a breath. "I gotta go to the arcade, set the highest record known to man on my fucking pinball machine."

Lillianne sighed. "Okay, then. This is where I leave you. I love you, Vivi."

I gave her a sad smile. "I love you too, Lilli. I'll call, as soon as I get there, and... and every day after that!"

She laughed and nodded, wrapping me in a tight embrace. "Of course, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." I held the hug a minute more and let her go. "Just go before I start crying."

She nodded, and turned on her heel, leaving me on the middle of the boardwalk, all alone in a crowd of people. I didn't shed a single tear, but a smile stretched across my lips as I booked it for the boardwalk arcade.

When I went in, Maverick was in front of the machine, starting a new game.

I huffed and walked over. "Get off."

"Make me." He replied, as a ball rolled back into the panelling.

His loss made me laugh hysterically. "Okay, then."

In one foul swoop, I stepped behind him and grabbed the back of his neck, slamming his face into the clear plastic that covered the gameboard. He screamed, and I gripped his hair tighter, picking his head up, and cramming it back down, until the plastic was covered in crimson, and I could only imagine what his face looked like. I hit his face again, and the covering cracked, sending his head straight into the pinball obstacles.

Before I could process anything, I was being hauled back by Boardwalk Security, holding me to the ground.

"Really, Wiley?" One of them asked, pressing his knee into my back as I was handcuffed. "This kid's got a broken nose plus some! He's probably gonna press charges, and you know your mother doesn't need that."

I huffed and rolled my eyes as I was forced off the ground. I spat at Maverick as I was pushed out of the arcade. He was sitting on the floor, getting medical attention to his bloodied face.

I laughed at the sight. He had it coming. Everyone has everything coming.