10th Grade

by Joe Weisberg

  So we make the rounds of the restaurants. John and Renee are going to Cafe Tres Canards which means “Cafe 3 Ducks” in French it’s a very fancy place my parents go on their anniversary behind the mall then me and Lenea get out at Jimmys which is way way way nicer and fancier than it sounds Randy and his date went to the Meadowbrook Grill which I tried to talk him out of because it’s overrated and not that good and I’ve gone there with my parents twice and had steak that was basically a slab of meat.

  We had a reservation and when we went to our table pretty much everyone in the universe was looking at us partly because I’m in a fucking Tuxedo but partly also I think because Lenea is about the most beautiful woman in the place.

  We each order an appetizer and a salad and soup and a main course. I order Filet Mignon which is my favorite steak and if I’m with my family I only get it if it’s a special occasion like my Birthday or something because it’s so expensive. I also order Pumpkin Soup and house salad and for my appetizer Greco Chicken Appetizer. Lenea gets fish causing me to say “Fish?” and her to say “I like fish. Don’t you like fish?”

  “Not really” I say.

  Then she gets Vichiswaz which is potato soup and also house salad and these little mushroom hats basically filled with some vegetables and stuff inside.

  At 1st we were like ‘what do we talk about now’? because we were never really alone before now for more than about a minute but then she said “What are you doing this summer” and I told her about my job (messenger) and she told me more about this bicycle trip she was going on in France. It turned out she’s really into travel and foreign cultures and seeing the world. Lenea thinks we have to see how other people live to understand them and ourselves. Which I think too it’s sort of like with the Ife and other tribes and how they have puberty festivals and how if you know that then you know we don’t have puberty festivals. Which I told her. Except I said “Festivals for passing into manhood”. And she said “Jeremy you’re really smart.”

  Then we talked about all the stuff like being Juniors next year and college and I thought about saying I wasn’t going to college but I didn’t want to give her the wrong impression so I didn’t say anything and besides maybe I was going to college who knows. (By the way I passed Math so I can be a Junior. On the final I got a D+/C– which Mr. Math when he found out gave me a thumbs up which made us both laugh because we both knew it really sucked but at least I passed).

  Over steak and fish Lenea told me how she wanted to be a lawyer specializing in human rights and international refugees it was a whole side of her I didn’t know and had never seen before. I said I have no idea what I want to be and she said what do you like to do and I thought for a second and said soccer and she said well what classes and I said No classes and she said None and I said I liked Mr. Rasfenjohn 1st Semester. And she said you could be a writer. And I said “Uh-huh.”

  I had chocolate cake with rasberry topping all over it and Lenea had fruit tart for dessert. We both had cafe (which is pretty much coffee) which was actually pretty good.

  I paid the check and then I asked the Maitre D if I could use the phone and I called the guy at the Limo place. Everyone had to be done by 8:15 and even though it was exactly 8:15 it turned out we were the last ones done and John and Renee had already gone to Prom and when he picked us up Randy and his date were in the Limo. His date was named Wendy. She was from Florida and I don’t know what the hell she was doing in Hutch Falls to go to Prom with Randy I think they knew each others families and saw each other sometimes during the summer and she flew here to go to Prom with him. Or maybe they were cousins or something. But anyway she was tall and kind of big but not bad big more like good big she had very blond hair and a white red face probably from living in Florida all the time and she was 1 of those sort of super-American style girls. She was pretty cute actually. Like you’d want to play Frisbee with her and have sex with her at the same time. She was wearing this red dress with no sleeves and what would be cleavage if she had any. We didn’t really talk in the Limo and I didn’t know if she knew Randy was kind of a dope or if she was madly in love with him or what but he put his hand on her knee in the Limo and she didn’t do anything. (But maybe she was just being nice).

  Prom was at the Sheraton Executive Towers in downtown Hutch Falls. Everybody was already there by the time we got there it was very crowded. There weren’t any Sophomores there except for us but nobody cared and not everybody knew us anyway so they didn’t even necessarily know we were Sophomores. John and Renee were in the Main Ballroom by the wall and drinking Tab and Punch John was wearing a white Tuxedo jacket by the way and standing there with the cup in his hand he looked like James Bond or something.

  “What’s up?” he said.

  He gave me and Randy Hi-5s and I was kind of like that’s dumb to do at a fancy occasion like this but Renee wasn’t even looking she was looking over at the dance floor like she was daydreaming.

  Anyway we were all standing around talking and here’s what it was like: like when we stood around talking in the hall except in Tuxedos. Except it was different because I swear those Tuxedos do something to you everything is weird and different. There was a band of older guys and they were playing older stuff like When I Need You and new stuff like Bette Davis Eyes (who my Dad said was quite an actress) and slow songs like Do That To Me 1 More Time that nobody knew I like even though I do and I was for whatever reason more into Renee than ever maybe because it was Prom. It was dark in the Main Ballroom and Randy and his date go to dance and then John and Renee go to dance and Cindy and her date who graduated from Hutch Falls a year ago go outside either to make out or just get some air and then me and Lenea are standing there twiddling our thumbs and she was like “Well?” but there was a fast song on and I can’t fast dance so I didn’t say anything and I was wishing we could talk some more about our futures and stuff or whatever but dinner was over and we just sort of stood there. Then after about 5 million songs they start playing Sometimes When We Touch and Lenea was like “well?” again but just sort of with her eyes and expression and this 1 was slow and 1 of my favorite songs of all time so this time I just go “Do you want to dance?”

  She grabbed my hand and pretty much pulled my arm off pulling me out there and then we’re dancing. I guess the truth is I never really danced before and basically here’s what you do: turn around. In a circle. That’s it. With a beautiful woman all over you. So in particular Leneas Tits were smashed into me even with her dress and my shirt and my Tux jacket bottom line is her Tits were all over me. You can totally feel them and they weren’t big but they were there 2 soft parts of her and all I can tell you is if you ever get a chance to dance do it and we were turning around and I think I was sort of naturally pretty good or OK at it because of soccer and just being an athlete and the music was going and I wasn’t listening to the words really but I heard that part of Sometimes When We Touch that you might or might not know that goes “At times I think we’re drifters still searchin for a friend a brother or a sister but then the passion flares again” and I forgot about Renee for a second and I felt Lenea all over me and I was like are we like a brother or a sister and is the passion flaring again? Then I thought about Renee I looked around but there were a lot of people and she was off dancing with John somewhere and I didn’t see her.

  We danced some more then we got Cokes. I saw John talking to some Juniors. They were all laughing and having a good time. Me and Lenea were I think closer now and we just stood around then Cindy and her date came over he was this big oaf who played football and he obviously didn’t want anything but to fuck her and she didn’t know or seem to mind her hair was so curly anyway but I guess she’d curled it because it was even curlier now like just a huge blond thing of curls on her head. It looked good. Her idiot date liked talking about all his football injuries he had when he played football and Cindy and Lenea were like “Ooooh” and I was like Give Me A Fucking Break and why don’t you play a skill sport like soccer wher
e people don’t kill each other. Then I saw Renee go up to John who was about 35 feet away talking to the Juniors and she put her arm in in kind of a loop in his.

  Was Prom fun? I don’t know. Cindy got this big smile and was like “So Jeremy do you want to dance?” like it was some big deal or something and so we danced and John and Renee were obviously having a good time except John’s always having a good time but Renee isn’t and she was smiling and was tonight she danced with John and about 50 other guys who because she was Renee just wanted to dance with her and came up and asked and she said yes and danced 1 dance with them. John didn’t care he was dancing with other girls too I don’t think he even cared about his thing for Renee he went out at 1 time or another this year with Millicent Burgen and had sex according to him anyway with Andrea Wayne and Alexa Janovich. Randy and his date would show up and talk for a while then disappear then show up again then disappear again they didn’t dance or at least I never saw them.

  I go outside for some air. It’s nice out and I’m thinking. But who’s out there but Cindy and her idiot date and I notice her asking me and a few other people if they know anybody who has any cigarettes her idiot date is saying “come on baby we’ll take a drive and get some” but she’s still looking and she goes inside and comes back still without any. Then he’s like “Lets go” and she goes “OK OK lets go” he’s been drinking I know because he’s got a flask and when Cindy went inside and we were just standing there saying nothing he swigged it a few times and also just the way he is and everything I can tell he’s toasted and definitely too wasted to drive. So they start going to the parking lot and I say “hey man I’ll drive you” (Yes I don’t have my license but I’m a good driver and I’d rather drive without it then let this situation develop). “Huh?” he says. “I’ll drive I haven’t been drinking or anything.” “Hah” he more or less says. We’re basically in the middle of the parking lot further from the Prom now. “It’s no big deal” I say “I’ll take you.” This time he just ignores me the thing is he’s holding the keys and I’m walking right next to him and I just reach down and grab them I think because he’s drunk and everything he doesn’t really have the reflexes he would to stop me. Plus he’s a dumb lame ass football player. I kind of scoot back a little in case he decides to tackle me. So I take the keys and he’s like “Huh?” and I say “Let me drive you it’s no big deal” and he looks at me and he’s like “I got a idea give me my keys before I kill you.” “Look man” I say then he shouts louder “I’m not fucking around doosh bag give me my fucking keys” but I don’t. “I’m counting to 3 then you die” he says. I stood there and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do then Cindy suddenly says “Pete I don’t want to go anymore lets go back inside.” “You don’t want cigarettes?” he says. “I don’t feel like smoking” she says “Lets go inside.” “Keys” he said. So I toss him the keys he almost drops them but he catches them. I get way out of his way when he goes by and when I turn around I see that John is walking way in front of them back to the hotel so I guess he was there behind me somewhere. I wait in the parking lot and get some air when they go back in. I just stood there for a while. Football players often are oafs. What a jerk.

  So the night was going on. And on. And then it was almost over. Prom and all that it meant was coming and going. I liked the music and a few times I looked in Leneas eyes for a second but she was usually looking away especially near the end she looked depressed maybe because of John or something it wasn’t because of me there was nothing there. For me either. Except we were really good friends now.

  Most of the Juniors and Seniors had cars but a lot of them had Limos too and when we went out to the parking lot we couldn’t even tell which 1 was ours. Everyone was getting in their cars and Limos and laughing and had their arms around each other it was a really special time. None of us had arms around each other except Randy and Wendy. Mr. Football had his hands in his pockets but looked like he wanted to put them somewhere else and Cindy was walking right, right next to him. So we got in the Limo and went off to the Shore which was an hour away.

  “I’m tired” said Lenea as she yawned and put her arms up and stretched them.

  “You’re going all night baby” John said.

  Eventually we get to the Shore I’ve been there before because my parents friends the Hausers have a house there and especially when we were little we used to go there for the weekend. The Hausers kids were older so we had very little in common but I know now their daughter was pretty hot and the truth is I always thought it was boring just going to the beach and having bar-b-q’s and stuff and a lot of times you’d be down there at night bar-b-qing and there’d be tons of other people down there with bonfires bar-b-qing too or having clam bakes and laughing their heads off and running in the water at night and basically I just always thought it sucked.

  Well when we get to Jeffs house which was pretty nice we went inside. A lot of people changed before they left Prom or in their Limos I guess but we didn’t and we were in the house there are a lot of people around but pretty soon most of them go to the beach and most of my friends did too because I was standing talking in the dining room where only 1 or 2 other people were to Lenea and drinking a Coke and Lenea said “Lets go to the beach.” “OK” I said. “Lets change” she said. Now I forgot to think about swimming at the after-Prom even though I was thinking about the after-Prom and I knew it was at the shore and I didn’t bring a bathing suit so I said “I didn’t bring a bathing suit”. “We’ll find you 1” said Lenea. She was confident. “OK” I said so she starts looking for the stairs upstairs and I just pretty much follow her and we go upstairs and there’s nobody up there we go in this 1 room and Lenea starts opening the drawers but there’s no bathing suit. “It’s a beach house I’m sure there’s a bathing suit somewhere” she says so we go in another room and she again looks in the drawers but no bathing suit. Finally we go in the last bedroom which isn’t the master bedroom but is probably like a guest bedroom at the end of 1 hall this room is a good setting for a beach house there’s a bed and this rug on the floor in front of the bed and there’s stuff on the walls like pictures and crafts. She looks in the drawers again and nothing no bathing suit so I say “I don’t really want to swim anyway”. Which I don’t just because I didn’t feel like it. “Oh” she said.

  Then she said “Here Jeremy can you help me with this?” She turns around and picks her hair up off her back and neck so I could get in and help her unzip her beautiful Prom dress. Her hair remember is very black and long and beautiful like when you picture a beautiful woman you picture this hair if you’re thinking about hair. I said “Yeah”. So I go over and the zipper is really long all the way down almost to her ass and I unzip it. And then before anything Lenea just slides out of it so it collapses on the floor and she’s in nothing but her bra and underwear Lenea as I said before is very foxy and I’m looking at her back which I never really saw before backs are actually really big they’re so much of the body and then she walks over to her bag she put on the bed and picks it up and goes into the bathroom which is behind me. She closes the door some but not all the way like she pushed it but not hard I start to say “I’ll see you downstairs” but when I’m at around the l in I’ll she says “I’ll be right out” before I did so I turn around and I’m closer to the bathroom and farther from the bed and I see inside where the door is open part way and partly I see her and partly there’s a huge mirror in there on the wall and I see the rest of her suddenly she takes her hand and puts it behind her and undoes her bra which goes flying off I see the side of her breasts right there and I look in the mirror and there I see the rest of them and I don’t keep looking in the mirror I kind of look away near the wall but then I look back and she kind of moves behind the door where I can’t see her or in the mirror except then her leg comes out and her underwear is sliding down then her other leg then I don’t know what happened and a second later she just comes out and she’s sort of holding her bikini top up in front of her to
carry it so it’s like she’s got her arms in front of her Tits but not definitely on purpose but you can’t cover your whole Tits with your arms and there is a lot of them in the middle and coming out the side and top and bottom and everywhere even though they’re not huge there’s still a lot of them and she’s got blue jeans on I guess with her bathing suit bottoms on under them and she says “tie this for me” and she walks 4 or 5 feet to me and I’m pretty sure I stared for a second but lucky for me she was there in 1 second and turned back around. “OK” I say. Leneas back is right in front of me and she just stands there. I don’t know what she’s doing thinking about something? Waiting? Adjusting the bikini top or something? Part of me is super close to just putting my hand on her back or grabbing her Tits. Then after a while she pulls the top up and on her Tits in front and reaches around and hands me the strings and I say “Uh” by accident and she says “just a regular knot double”. So I do that and then she goes back to the bathroom where her bag still is and puts on a T-shirt over it and comes back out and puts gym shoes on with no socks then she says “Are you going to change?” because I’ve got jeans and stuff and I say “Yes” and she says “I’ll see you out there” and I change into jeans and a T-shirt and go down to the beach where guess what we’re having a giant clam bake. I was still stuffed from dinner and I hate clams so I didn’t have any but the girls were feasting away like they hadn’t eaten in 10 years and Randy and John were eating and some of us had beers. Obviously you’re not supposed to drink at the after-Prom but if there were Chaperones I didn’t see them and they couldn’t see anything anyway like if you were holding a beer or a Coke in your hand or whatever because it was totally dark out. There were huge shadows everywhere from the huge bonfire that was already raging when we got there. It smelled like sand. And clams.