Chapter 14 Chapter 14
Chapter 14 Chapter 14
Troy
We were still in the car, and she had smeared ice cream all around her lips; it was defrosting, and she had decided to drink it up rather than use the spoon.
She could have caught my eyes because she turned to me, licking her bottom lips, forgetting that some were smeared on other places.
“What is so funny?” She asked, still tilting her head backwards to drink more of the ice cream.
“Nothing,” I answered, but my eyes danced mischievously as a grin formed on my lips.
“Liar,” she yelled, but I had wild thoughts like licking off the ice cream with my lips; that would surely bring out a reaction from her, and surely it did. Now I was acting like Skylar. I brought my head closer to her face and saw the way her pupils dilated and the way she was blinking rapidly, pressing her lips in an awkward manner, but I didn't mind. My hand was on her neck as I pulled her closer; first it was her upper lip. She didn't fight this; rather, she stayed calm. She just tasted like vanilla there.
Her lips were soft like the buttocks of a baby; then came the side of her lips, then the other.
Before I withdrew, a blush had crept up her neck so that her cheeks were rosy red.
She adjusted her glasses, even removing them to clean off nonexistent dust before wearing them back. Then her lips—she started to bite on them nervously.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, but I felt better. Well, she, on the other hand, I couldn't say the same.
She was bewildered; she kept staring forward as though there was something outside, which clearly there wasn't.
We stayed that way for a while before I remembered something.
“Sky, would you attend my homecoming party?” I needed to add this part because it was crucial, “as my girlfriend,”
She didn't say anything, just stared ahead.
“Sky,” I called out this time; my voice was louder, and she actually turned nonplussed.
“What, were you saying something?” she asked, still blushing.
“Yeah, my homecoming party—would you come?”
“Yeah, sure,” she answered quickly.
“As my girlfriend,” I continued so she knew what it entailed. “And there is this pool party we have to go to together as a couple.”
“Mmm,” she mumbled. Finishing the ice cream in a rush and unbuckling her seatbelt.
“Skylar, are you listening? ”,
“Yeah, sure.”
“It doesn't really sound like you are.” Now she rolled her eyes at me.
“Maybe I am not.” By now she has alighted the car. “Have a nice day, Troy.” She said, walking away.
I scoffed; if I thought Skylar was tense, then this was a whole new degree of it.
We didn't say anything the whole day, but I know she received my message.
“There is a keg party tonight; be there by eight.” I had texted and knew she would get my message.
The rest of the afternoon I was attending classes; Nick saw me going to biology.
We both got a handshake; he was on the hockey team as well. He didn't have a bother, but he respected me as the star, everyone did.
“What's up, dude? I heard you are dating the assistant. ”,
“Yeah, you heard right.”
“When did it all start? You never looked at her that way. ”,
“Didn't I, I made sure I was careful ?’,
“Of course you were; I didn't notice anything. ”,
We both entered the class together; he had a super nice jacket whose sleeves were red and the rest of the body a cream white.
We sat on the same adjoining desk.
Mr. Kevin was a man in his sixties, and to me, he was way overdue for a retirement.
He had scanty white hair and roundish glasses that covered most of his eyes.
“The course for today is Chromosomes,” he pointed, but the “nays” and “gross” that came from the others were overpowering his voice.
“I know, but you all are going to learn how to make babies and which gender to expect,” he added, holding up his textbook close to his eyes. This was Mr. Kevin; he wasn't gross, he was naughty. I heard he had eight children, and that wasn't a wonder; you just don't become that naughty for nothing.
And to think his last child is ten—that was baffling.
The class went on, but I wasn't as engaged as before; I started scribbling down things in my pad. Hopefully waiting for night to come.
But with privileges came responsibility.
I could never put Duncan in the right, but it was time I went to the club, way past time.
It was seven before I got to the McLaren club; it had been a big warehouse in the nineties but not anymore. It had a big post in front, its name inscribed in white and red.
Bikes were parked outside in an organized line, a group of guys were talking to a girl, and she was sending them sensuous eyes.
They all laughed at that.
I entered inside; it smelled of grease and beer and jubilation. We were a brotherhood, the red serpent.
Some other guys were playing snooker in a part of the club. While Michael and Jeremy were trying to get the bartender to talk to them.
The others were making loud jokes about something, but one thing was everyone was busy with something. This was that one place where we could come together and have a reprieve from our worries, the red bandana, which highlighted the gang, was hanging from neck to wrist, sometimes stuffing out the breast pocket of their shiny black jacket. But all in all, everyone had their symbol on.
“Guess who is here,” Jeremy chanted from the bar, and the guys turned.
One of them from the crowd started singing, and the rest joined:
“We ride in fire, we ride in rain,
Same scars, same road, same pain.
When one of us shows his face,
The pack stands tall—this is our place.”
This was our anthem, something we were known for; every new member learned it. I have known it since I was a kid and had kept it that way. Now it was my turn to sing.
It was low at first till their voices started rising once more.
Me:
What coils the road?
All:
THE RED SERPENT.
Me:
What never sheds its own?
All:
THE RED SERPENT.
Together we sang the end:
One blood, one bite,
One strike in the night.
You wear the scale—you’re never alone.
Our voices were horrible, but we didn't mind; even Taylor, the bartender, sang as well. She wasn't a member, but she had stayed so long with us that we saw her as one.
They clicked their mugs of beer at the chorus. And everyone s
tarted laughing; I gave most of the handshakes and then a bear hug.
This was really home, and looking at it now, I understand why the song said