Quad Squad

by R. Barri Flowers

It was fucking lit. Lit af. They had a really sick sound system and it was super loud but it was a huge house so if you wanted to talk in the other rooms you could, plus there was a pool, a fucking pool, which if Andrea had known she would have totally brought a bathing suit. A couple of people were splashing around and it looked sick. There was like a lot of beer, and a whole lot of pot going around. She decided to kind of start off easy so she could pace herself. At the beginning she kind of stuck to Malik but then she got in the middle of this really funny conversation about a whole bunch of shit with these people who were literally seniors, and nobody even asked what she was doing there or anything, they were arguing about sometimes kind of boring shit like politics but also legalizing pot and the death penalty which was just so mature, it was sick.

  Some people were dancing and for a while she did too, like with Malik or whoever was there but then this gross guy started putting major vibes out, he was gross, this like senior stalker or whatever. God, hit on someone your own age, gross. He kept trying to dance with her, and, like show her his lame-ass moves. He asked her name and how often she came to parties like this and other stupid shit that just made him seem desperate. She didn’t even know his name and didn’t ask, but then Ray wandered over and kind of stood next to her, kind of all protective and everything? Which she didn’t mind if it got rid of the creeper, but she didn’t want Ray to think she was all oh so grateful, either. The only thing that would have made it all kind of funner would have been if some girls had been there that she knew because there wasn’t exactly anyone to talk to? But it was lit.

  Ray was drinking a Corona and even though he seemed fine Andrea thought, okay, well, that’s my ride. Still, obviously he knew how to take care of himself, he was a junior and he had a license and he was a good driver and everything and she didn’t want to seem all paranoid by asking him about it, anyway what would she say? Are you drinking that beer you’re drinking? Could you not?

  Where was Malik, anyway? She hadn’t seen him in like a hundred hours. The pot was weird, she was getting a weird high off of it, not like before.

  She walked outside to get some air. It was nice out there. Dark but with cool deck lighting that made everything seem like this adult party that celebrities go to and shit. People were getting into it, now, jumping in the pool and splashing like little kids, but more ironically or whatever, and it seemed way fun. Suddenly she was dying to go in the water. Where was Malik? There were way more people in, because everybody had started just going in in their underwear. They were having a seriously fun time.

  A guy she had definitely seen around school, possibly varsity basketball, way tall and way hot, just dropped his pants right in front of her and it was like, okay… He grinned back at her and said, “Your turn.”

  Andrea was like, “What?”

  “Come on, get in, everybody is!”

  She said, “Well…”

  But before she could finish he took two steps and launched a major cannonball into the pool, cracking up everybody who was in the pool. He came up and looked up at her and said, “What are you waiting for?”

  And it was like, good question. She looked around for a second, then started unbuttoning her jeans.

  “Honestly? I think you should talk to him again,” Rachel said. “He’s just a nice guy.”

  “These are so sick,” Maya said. “Aren’t they good?”

  “These are like award-winning cookies. We should go on that British Baking Competition.”

  “We would kick their British asses. But what would I say?”

  “I don’t know, like, ‘We Americans make the best baked goods in the world, this is why we fought the Revolutionary War, motherfuckers!’”

  “No, I mean, to Mike.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Your bad.”

  “Okay, how about, well -- what do you want to say?”

  “You’re a douchebag I wish you would die.”

  Rachel laughed. “Okay, good start.”

  “I mean, what?”

  “Can’t you just say … something honest, like you like him and you’re wishing you could find a way to patch things up?”

  “Why doesn’t he patch things up with me?”

  “I don’t know. He should. He -- he doesn’t -- he should. You’re right. But do you want to wait for that for the rest of eternity?”

  “No, but I can’t just go saying, like, what you said.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because -- what am I, going to just walk up to him and be like, ‘Oh, hi, remember me that pathetic girl from that time --”

  “Not a good start.”

  “Well, God, I can’t!” Maya said, suddenly getting more worked up than ever.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Rachel said.

  “I know, it’s just that I wish … I don’t know.”

  They sat on the couch together and both downed a cookie and some milk before anyone said anything else.

  “Look, how about this?” Rachel finally said. “How about I text him, just kind of to say hi, and if it comes up kind of let him know where I am, and then I can see if he wants to talk to you?”

  Maya thought for a second, clicking her teeth together nervously and to clear cookie gunk out.

  “Okay, but don’t say that I’m here watching you, that’s so lame.”

  “What if he asks?”

  “I don’t know, just make something up.”

  “Okay. Ready?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I’m going to do this. Unless you stop me.”

  Maya grabbed a couch pillow and put it entirely over her head. From inside came a muffled voice saying, “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

  hey

  yo Rach

  busy night ur house?

  no

  not at all

  Oh too bad

  unless you consider plying smash bros busy haha

  “Maybe just stop there,” Maya said.

  “What? I haven’t even said anything!”

  “Exactly.”

  “Don’t be a wimp.”

  “I am a wimp!”

  “Wimp.”

  what r u doing

  hanging out eating choc chip cookies

  what that sounds sick

  oh its a lit party you better believe boiii

  I want a cookie

  Its me and maya we’re just having a sleepover

  chill

  yeah plus not only cookies there’s milk

  holy shit that’s dank

  Right? We party hard

  Savs

 

  wheres my cookie

  Sitting here, we made way too many lol

  “Don’t say that!”

  “What? Why not?”

  “It sounds like you’re inviting him over!”

  “I’m just joking around. Relax.”

  “Give me that phone.”

  “Shut up, don’t touch.”

  You want a cookie youll have to earn it

 

  how

  be nice

  ?

  I am nice

  are you tho

  what do u mean

  Its all good

  Is this about u

  no its nothing

  “Don’t say that!”

  “What? Which part?”

  “Don’t say it’s nothing!”

  “Oh my God you are being so weird, just stop.”

  “What I’m just -- oh my God! Oh my God!”

  is this about maya

  Jerry started running. No one was home besides him and anyway his Dad would probably not have given him a ride or maybe worse would have tried to get involved and that wouldn’t be good either.

  It was probably maybe a mile or two so if he was in P.E. that was maybe 15 minutes if you were really booking it, at least that was where he remembered her living. He thought as he ran, pounding out thoughts as he fell into a steady jog down the sidewalk i
n the dark, pounding, thinking, could anyone else give him a ride, getting into rhythm of the stride, why wasn’t she answering texts, it definitely sounded like something really serious, lungs already hurting, who says that they want you to have a good life, it sounded like a goodbye, she was always sad, it all kind of made sense, but that made no sense at all, second wind now, he could ask someone else where she lived, but then they would ask why he wanted to know, everyone would assume he was trying to bone her, why did everything have to be about that always, she was super nice sometimes, what was he doing, this was crazy, what if he got there and she was just fine, her phone died, or she didn’t live there, can’t do it in 15 minutes no way, he’d knock on the door and they’d be like what are you doing here, also how was he supposed to get back, run back again? But she seemed really bad off. Like, really bad.

  Jerry kept running.

  “Matro!” she said, a bit of pool water in her mouth.

  “Polo! What did you say?”

  “I said Marco!” she laughed.

  Andrea bounced along the bottom of the pool with her toes, medium deep part of the pool, her eyes closed, not sure what she had yelled, actually. It was pretty freaky bouncing along a pool in your undies in the dark at a stranger’s house with cute older guys all around, stoned, but so so fun.

  Jonathan was the guy on her right, he was trying to say she was cheating or something?

  She heard Jonathan’s voice, “You said Mario or something.”

  “No I didn’t, Marco!”

  Penelope and Dominique, who were also playing, shouted, “Polo!” off behind and to the left.

  She dove and opened her eyes. In the giant pool lights underwater she could see Jonathan’s, like, pretty much everything, he was wearing super-tight Jockeys, nice view.

  She came up a little bit sputtering and shouted, “Marco!”

  “Bullshit you were looking Polo!” Jonathan yelled.

  Penelope and Dominique were now talking behind her, to somebody outside the pool, something about a show they had gone to and was it any good, they were barely in the game.

  Andrea pushed off the bottom hard and searched to the right at the shallow end for Jonathan. Suddenly he was right there, she was on top of him.

  “Got you!” she said.

  “Got you,” he said back, kind of quiet and suddenly it was way different, and she realized that he was kind of holding her, his arms were huge, and she had ended up kind of up against him sideways, so she put her arms around his neck. It was easy in the shallow end. He bumped up with his legs, kind of making a lap for her to sit on and she thought, oh my. She opened her eyes and he was right there kind of smiling but kind of not. She kissed him. He kissed back, nice.

  “Get a fucking room,” Dominique said, but it didn’t really sound like she minded.

  Andrea glanced around. People were all over the place, just partying. No one really seemed to mind who kissed who or whatever. She put her hand on his chest, which was huge and like a rock. He put his hands under her butt and pulled her closer, up his lap, her legs twisting around his back. Even in a pool she could feel everything.

  “We still playing?” Penelope asked.

  Before Andrea and Jonathan could answer, somebody said, “Playing what?” The voice sounded familiar. Oh shit, it was Ray.

  “Just some Marco Polo,” Andrea said.

  Ray ignored her. “Dude, freshman,” he said to Jonathan.

  “Dude, chill,” Jonathan said.

  “He’s my ride,” Andrea said, although it seemed kind of stupid to say. “He’s my friend’s brother.” She said it kind of quietly into Jonathan’s ear, her arms around his neck, and even just doing that felt totally sexy, like they were this couple in a pool who just whispered shit in each others’ ears hanging out in the shallow end.

  “I am chill,” Ray said to Jonathan. He finally looked at Andrea. “You need to get out now.”

  “Excuse me?” she said.

  “You don’t want to know. This guy.”

  Jonathan basically dropped Andrea. He stood up and said, “This guy what?” as Andrea kind of almost ducked under and then stood up, herself. Ray stared right at her, and she started to think about how swimming in a kind of lacy white bra had some consequences and how kind of stupid she had been not to think about that. She folded her arms.

  “Excuse me, can you toss me those?” she said to a girl sitting on a deck chair next to Andrea’s clothes. She ignored Andrea. She was watching Ray and Jonathan. She leaned over to a girl next to her and they both giggled about something and when Andrea followed their gaze it was obviously Jonathan’s boner. So childish. Andrea gave them a look that was kind of like, back off, that’s mine, but they couldn’t see her, probably because of the light in the pool being weird.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Ray said. To Andrea he said, “Just come on out of the pool,”

  “No, I’m worrying about it,” Jonathan said to him, then told Andrea, “Don’t go anywhere.”

  Ray said to somebody behind him something Andrea didn’t really hear that sounded like, “Yeah shallow end of the pool, exact--... this guy ...remember with... she’s maybe fifteen.”

  Andrea stood there, not sure what to do. A little bit of the high was wearing off and she was starting to feel a little shivery. She let herself sort of drift under and came back up again, pulling her hair back from her face.

  She was surprised to see that suddenly there was a lot of new shit going on. Jonathan was getting out of the pool and two other guys were coming over from the back end of the deck to join him. Malik came up and stood next to Ray, but Ray said, “Man, get the fuck out here.”

  “What’s going down?” Malik asked.

  “I said get the fuck out of here.”

  “You okay?” Malik asked Andrea, basically staring at her boobs. Like, even more than usual.

  “Toss me a fucking towel and my clothes, right there,” she said. “I’m freezing.”

  He went to get the stuff, which was at least a little loyal.

  “You got a problem?” Jonathan asked Ray. He was standing on the side of the pool, looking huge from Andrea’s point of view, she hadn’t realized how big he was, she couldn’t help noticing his Jockeys were still kind of stretched out, he was kind of gutsy to just stand there like that, but right then someone threw him a towel and he put it around his waist. Athletic body. Andrea thought, yeah, I might be having some of that, if I want. Do I want?

  Malik had the towel ready so she climbed up the little stairs and put it around her. Now she was really shivering but at least she was more covered up. This whole party was getting intense. There were maybe twenty people gathering toward the action and more coming.

  “Shit’s going down,” Malik said quietly, which was kind of like, stop trying so hard, Malik, because he was all trying to whisper in her ear like she and Jonathan had been doing, but it was completely different, like now that she and Jonathan had been kind of messing around it was like how could she have thought Malik was cute? Yeah she used to think she liked black guys more but come on, he was like 12 years old by comparison. But it was also kind of cool because he was her only actual friend there that she could just say stuff to.

  “Your brother’s kind of being a dick,” she said, also quietly.

  “I know,” he said. “He gets like that.”

  “Don’t start none, won’t be none,” Jonathan was saying to Ray.

  “Don’t be messing around with that girl, that’s all I’m saying,” Ray said.

  “Don’t tell me what to do. It’s none of your fucking business.”

  He was getting closer now and people were kind of crowding in, making it harder to see.

  “You guys, chill out!” someone shouted.

  “Let’s just all go dance!” a girl behind Andrea called out.

  “Kick his ass, Ray,” some guy said, which pissed Andrea off. Why try to make it worse?

  “It’s my business if you’
re child molesting my friend,” Ray said.

  “Child -- what the fuck is your problem?” Jonathan demanded. He gave Ray a shove in his chest. He sort of fell back into a bunch of people but they held him up.

  “Wooah!” everybody yelled.

  Ray started right back at Jonathan but a people held him back, grabbing his arms. Carson came running up behind Jonathan and said, “You guys fucking mellow out, this is my house. You good, Jonathan?”

  Jonathan just nodded, keeping an eye on Ray. They were still faced off but Carson was kind of pushing ahead.

  “Okay,” Carson said to Ray. “Just mellow out.”

  “Kick out the child molesters then and I’ll mellow out,” Ray said.

  “The fuck is your problem, boy?” Carson demanded.

  Everyone went “Ohhh,” and Carson looked around with this look that was like what? What did I say? Andrea thought, he doesn’t even get why that’s offensive?

  “What did you just say?” Ray demanded.

  “Nothing, just leave!” a girl screamed at Ray, and Andrea recognized that that was Madison, Carson’s sister.

  “Shut the fuck up, girl,” Ray said.

  There was another oooh.

  “Look, look!” Carson shouted, whiny but loud. “Just leave, get the fuck out of our house!”

  Ray looked like he was just about to, when Vinh showed up out of fucking nowhere, Andrea hadn’t even realized he was at the party, God, how did she used to think he was cute? He fought through the crowd and stood right next to Ray, grinning like the maniac asshole he was. Andrea flashed back on Halloween and was like, oh, shit. Then, right when she was thinking it, in that instant, Vinh flashed something from his jacket pocket and everyone went, fuck!

  Andrea heard, “He’s got a gun!” but she didn’t see it. There was huge jostling, she almost fell over, where the fuck was Malik, she had to hold the towel tight and her clothes were bunched in her hands and the crowd was freaking out, she was the shortest one there, and then through the pressing bodies Jonathan was suddenly next to her and she looked at him, kind of panicked, and he said, “I got you,” and then lifted her up, just put one arm under her butt like she was a little kid and carried her. She held on to his shoulders and watched a bunch of people surrounding Vinh and Ray, and it seemed like it had all gotten maybe under control. She could see better and Jonathan just went through the side French doors, away from the crowd of people.

  “Let’s do this,” he said, still not putting her down, walking past the drinks table and grabbing two beers in one hand, and Andrea was like do what, but then he kicked open a bedroom door and the bed was just sitting there, looking perfect and she was like, oh, shit.

  He kicked the door closed and set her down on the bed, kind of a toss more like, she sort of bounced and her towel came off. He put the beers down and pulled off his towel and his underwear off, too, like it was no big deal, Andrea couldn’t even look, she looked at his face and said, “Weird shit going down out there.”

  He said, “I know, sick party,” with this excited kind of breathless voice, and she said, “No, I mean with that fight and everything and did he have a gun?” and Jonathan was all, “Lit party,” and she realized that he actually liked all that boy drama, it was getting him all, like, worked up, he took a huge swig of the beer and she took a quick, like, peek, and then he was on top of her and pulling off her bra and she said, “Woah, hold on,” and he said, “Fuck that, let’s do this,” and she said, “Okay, maybe, but just -- hold on -- are you sure it’s safe out there?” And he said, “Stop fucking talking, you’re ruining it,” and Andrea felt her knee kind of getting crushed by his leg and she was losing track of what was happening and she put a hand on his chest and said “get off,” but he didn’t, he had unsnapped her bra and was grabbing at her boobs and it was all way too much, his body was all on top of her, and she said, “Time out I just need to run to the bathroom” and pushed him hard on the chest and he laughed and sat back on the bed and reached for the beer but it was too far, so she handed it to him and then grabbed her clothes and raced out the door and took a right to what she thought was the bathroom, yeah, it was, shit, how did it lock, there, she locked it and leaned against it and turned the light on and whispered, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

  what do u care if its about maya

  “Wait, why are you asking him that?”

  “Oh, my God,” Rachel said. “Can you not back seat drive every word I type? I got an A in English.”

  “You get an A in everything,” Maya said, which was a stupid comeback.

  shes cool im not mad at her

  thats good maybe shes mad at u

  ???

  is she?

  maybe

  for what

  “God!” Rachel shouted, laughing. “You know what’s funny? I don’t even remember for what.”

  Maya said, “For being an asshole. Don’t say that, though!”

  “Duh!”

  im not sure but tbh i think u and her should just talk

  yeah

  its not really on me

  Yeah ok

  Yeah ok what

  ill talk to her

  okay can u talk now

  yeah

  “Mission accomplished!” Rachel sang out, but Maya wasn’t even looking at her phone, she was looking at her own phone and she had a really strange look on her face.

  “What?” Rachel asked. “What is it?”

  Maya looked really pale. She showed Rachel her phone.

  help help im at a fucken crazy party my ride is in a fight im kind fo in trouble can u pick me up

  “Jesus,” Rachel said.

  Maya was already texting:

  r u ok my moms not here shes at a movie i cant even text her

  no im not ok please plese do something my mom would kill me

  “What the hell am I supposed to do?” Maya asked.

  “We should help her,” Rachel said.

  “Fucking duh, Rachel,” Maya said, jumping off the couch. They both knew that was a mean thing to say but it didn’t matter right now, there was too much to worry about.

  If she wants to talk im down

  hold on mike somethings going down gtg

  “Wait!” Maya said. She took a breath, steadied herself, and texted him.

  Hey mike we need help

 

  Hey maya what do u mean

  Is your parrots home can they give andrea a ride