HUMID NIGHTS.

chapter one: FAN WEATHER

It was the summer of 83'. Louisiana was always this hot at this time. Phoebe, Charlotte, and Becky were in the bathroom. Charlotte was in the bathtub smoking. Phoebe and Becky were sitting on the floor. Charlottes tanned legs were hanging off the bathtub, with a cigarette in her right hand. "This summers been pretty great so far, hasn't it?" she said with a wheezy voice from smoking so much. "I mean, we finally have an alliance with the clan of the wild, or whatever the fuck they call themselves. Little hippies." She shifted around in the bathtub, causing some warm water to splash on Becky. "Hey, watch it. You just did my hair." she snarled, petting her shiny, straighten brown hair. "Geez, my bad Becky. I can always re-iron it." She muttered. Phoebe scooted closer to Charlotte. "Hey Char, what are we going to do tomorrow? That whole "festival" or whatever the hippies want to do, to bring us closer to The Legion is being talked about." Charlotte looked over at Phoebe. "Oh, hell no. Do Amanda and Jason know why we hate The Legion?" She groaned with an annoyed tone. Becky spoke up "I don't think so. I bet I could get Estella to tell them though. But I don't know if that would be a good idea. You know how they are. Always want to "bring peace" or whatever." Charlotte chuckled "I raised you two losers well, i'd say. I do hope mom and dad come back soon though. No one can find out about them being gone, or we'll be sent to this place called foster care. I heard kids get killed there." Becky and Phoebe looked at each other, horrified. Becky's parents were both alcoholics that just neglected her, so Charlotte took her in. "Chill out guys, i'm kidding. Are you two that retarded?" Charlotte giggled. "Okay you two, i'm gonna get ready for bed. We still have to finish cleaning up and claiming that old church as our cult home." Phoebes face lit up. "Really? You're gonna let us help?" She exclaimed. "Uh, yeah? We need the extra work. Free child labor!" Charlotte turned off the water in the tub and pulled the plug, glaring over at Becky and Phoebe. "What are you looking at?" She said in a rude tone, but breaking the tension by laughing. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But seriously, go and get ready for bed. It's almost 12." Phoebe and Becky sighed. "Okay, mom." Phoebe groaned as she walked out the door. From the room over, you could hear them blasting Madonna. "HEY NUMB-NUTS! QUIET DOWN IN THERE, JESUS!" Charlotte yelled, putting her burnt-out cigarette on the ash tray. She sighed, lying down in her stained sheets with a towel wrapped around her. She ran a hand through her curly, dark blonde hair. "Fuck, I should probably go buy one of those fans. I can't take another night without a broken AC." she muttered to herself, sitting up and sliding on a black sabbath t-shirt and a pair of shorts. "Hey losers, come on. The hardware store should still be open. Let's go get a fan". Phoebe and Beckys faces lit up. They ran quickly to put on their shoes. "Grab your helmets too." Charlotte told them before walking outside and grabbing her bike. Not long after, Phoebe and Becky came out with their helmets. Charlotte got on her red bike, her black converse practically sticking to the pedals. Every so often, Charlotte would turn her head around to make sure Becky and Phoebe were behind her. She couldn't let anything happen to them. Not again, at least. They turned around the corner with the big, yellow stores with brick patterns. "Okay, park your bikes there and we'll go inside. Hopefully its still open. Oh, and also, watch out for legions." Charlotte whispered subtly. Phoebe and Becky nodded, going into the store. It had run-down wooden walls with torn, grey wallpaper on the other side of the store. A man Charlotte had never seen before greeted her at the checkout. "Hey, young lady. Aren't you a little young to have two kids?" he joked. Something felt off. "Oh uh, these are my sibling actually. We're here just to...get a fan. For my parents, obviously." Charlotte responded with an anxious tone. The man got up, signaling for her to follow him. Charlotte nodded, still keeping an eye on her siblings. She followed him to the back of the store, where he handed her a cheap fan. "20 bucks little lady". Charlotte pulled 20 bucks out of her pocket, along with some quarters. "Uh, keep the change." she turned around, grabbing Becky and Phoebe along with her, walking out the door. "Phoebs, can you help me tie this to my bike?" Charlotte held out a rope with a buckle on it. Phoebe, annoyed, took the rope and helped Charlotte buckle it. "Okay, done. Let's get home. It's getting late". Charlotte got on her bike, leading the way home.