"But we don't," I argued. I'd never known Lana to give in to peer pressure. Frankly, it was getting uncomfortable for me.
"Just try some," she repeated. She gave me a tight smile. "Really, it's not bad. Just drink slowly." She took a long sip of hers, not really following her own advice.
I took a tiny sip of mine and recoiled from the bitterness. Blech! The beer burned against the back of my throat and reminded me of what I imagined a combination of cat piss and sweaty socks would taste like. I tried again just to make sure I hated it, but yeah, I could barely choke it down. I couldn't understand why people went so crazy over this stuff. "I'll just hold mine, okay?" I said. Already, I was wishing I could go home, but I'd promised Lana that I'd hang around for at least an hour. I cradled my beer and wished for something exciting to suddenly happen.
I jumped when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Dude, ladies, glad you could make it."
Lana groaned. It was Lenny. But I was glad to see him.
"So, Lenny, I didn't know you knew Jan," I said.
"Oh, is that her name?" he asked. "She's my friend's friend. But boy, I'll tell you, she's a real party pooper. She didn't even say 'hi' when I walked in. And I complimented her house and everything."
"That's just Jan; she likes to complain," Lana explained. She took a seat at the kitchen table. "Whatcha been up to, Len?"
"Oh, you know, the usual," he said. "I washed my car and then my friend Chaz came over and showed me how to crush cans against my head without knocking myself out. Wanna see?"
"Okay," I said. It's not like we'd gotten a better offer.
Lenny picked up a soda can and knocked it against himself. Nothing happened. "Ow!" he yelled. "What did I do wrong?"
"It would probably help if it were empty," Lana suggested. She polished off her beer and placed the empty can on the table. Almost immediately, the long-haired guy handed her a second drink. Lenny was still trying to perfect his trick.
"Dude, yeah, you're right," Lenny said. He then opened his can and soda fizzed out everywhere. Lana and I jumped back. "Whoa, sorry, Marlena, Llama. Didn't mean to get you."
"My name's..." I began.
"Don't even bother," Lana told me, pausing to guzzle her beverage. She turned back to Lenny. "So, what other tricks do you have for us?"
Lenny looked thoughtful. "I'll bet I can fit 10 Tootsie Rolls in my mouth." He began shoving them in until he looked like a chipmunk. He tried to talk. "Ude, is ish ool!"
Lana cracked up. "Lame. I can do more than that. I can do 15." Now it was her turn to shove candies into her mouth. She looked like she was going to explode. "Ey, aye outh ish igga an aye ought!" she marveled. Both swallowed their Tootsie Rolls.
"Hey, you know what I've always wondered?" Lenny said. He picked up a box of candies from the table. "Do you think it's possible to get drunk on cherry cordials?"
"I don't know, I never thought about it," Lana admitted.
"Wanna try?" He held the box out to us.
"Okay." Lana looked at me. I shrugged my shoulders. The two of them started downing cordials at rapid speed.
"Whoa, chocolate goodness," Lenny praised. "It's like a party wrapped in a shell of a party even better."
"It's like buried treasure discovered within treasure already found," agreed Lana. I rolled my eyes.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to take a walk," I told them. They waved at me as they went on about the candy.
I wandered through the party, holding onto my beer and taking in everything. Most of the kids I knew, although some I'd never seen before. I assumed they were from Smithfield. Ryan Barsky and some other guys were busy playing poker -- for potato chips. Dani and Ken were standing by the dining room table, kissing. In fact, many couples had snuck off into corners and were making out. I smiled, wondering if Josh and I would be like that. Maybe coming to a party would be a lot more enjoyable if I had a cute guy to snuggle with. I snapped out of my daydream when I heard someone crying. Kathy stood near me watching Ken and Dani with hatred. Clara and Tamara patted her shoulders, trying to comfort her, but it didn't seem to be doing any good.
"He's never going to notice me," Kathy sniffed, pausing to take a sip of her beer. "And I got all dressed up tonight." As usual, she looked great in a red miniskirt and black top. I felt drab in my long flowered skirt and purple sweater.
"Don't worry, Kath, he'll get the hint," Tamara assured her. "It's not like he's going to want to be with that slut for long."
"But Dani is so pretty!" Kathy sighed. "And smart. And head cheerleader, for God's sake. How in the hell am I ever supposed to compete with that when I'm just a dorky band geek? Face it, I'm a loser." She buried her head in her arms and sobbed. It reminded me of how she'd cried at the recital.
"You're beautiful," Clara said. "It's just that Dani got to him first, is all. You know her; she's so possessive!"
"Do you think it's my red hair?" Kathy went on. "I have Ronald McDonald hair. Maybe I should dye it blonde like hers..."
"No, your hair is gorgeous..." her friends insisted. I moved away from them, shaking my head in disbelief. Who knew that Kathy was so insecure?
Clara and Tamara slipped away from Kathy to get her another drink. I watched as she continued to sob. Everyone else at the party was so busy doing their own thing that they didn't notice her, even though she was definitely one of the best-looking girls there. To my surprise, I found myself feeling for her, understanding how it is to think that you're invisible. It was then that I realized that she and I had more in common than I'd thought. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I made my way over to her and offered her a tissue. "Here," I said, handing it to her. "Your mascara's starting to run."
Kathy looked up, surprised, but accepted the tissue. "Thanks," she said quietly. She blew her nose. "Some party, huh? Happy holidays and all that."
"I know, it's pretty lame, right? Lana made me come with her."
"Tams and Clara made me come with them," she admitted. "I don't even like these things."
"Yeah, me neither."
I was about to offer to get her a glass of water or something else non-alcoholic, but Clara and Tamara returned. "Ugh, what are you doing here?" Tamra asked. "I thought this party was supposed to be exclusive."
"That's right," Clara said, arriving with Kathy's drink. "What the hell are you doing here, Smellinda?"
"Geez, you try to help someone..." I began.
"I don't need your help," Kathy sneered, again doing the whole Jekyll And Hyde thing that she'd done to me at the recital. I noticed she was no longer crying. "In fact, I don't need you around me at all. Go back to where you crawled out of. Or better yet, go be with your filthy boyfriend."
"Wait, you mean Josh?" I hadn't expected him to be there.
Kathy's eyes widened. "Oh, so you mean you didn't come with him. What'd I tell you? He's already moved on."
I didn’t respond to her last remark. "Where is he, anyway?"
"Just go to the basement," Tamara said, grinning. "But don't say we didn't warn you."
"Yeah!" the always-helpful Clara added.
"What are you talking about?" I figured that the beer was making them difficult to understand.
"Oh, let's just say that you're not Josh's only 'friend,'" Kathy said. "Get ready to see a much different side to him." She tossed her used tissue at me so that it stuck to my hair. The trio laughed as I pulled out her disgusting "present." "Thanks for the tissue!" she called. "Tell Josh I said hi!"
I felt a bit worried as I made my way to the basement but couldn't wait to find Josh. With the night I was having, seeing him would definitely make it better.
I walked down the stairs to Jan's spacious furnished basement. The lights were low and the music blared. More couples were making out down there, only the place reeked of beer. I actually stepped into a puddle of it as I pushed through the crowd. Great, now my new loafers were all wet.
In the corner, a group of guys and girls sat around a small table. Cards we
re spread out all over the place, as well as bras, panties and other articles of clothing. I realized that they were playing Strip Poker.
"Hey, come on, baby, do it!" called out a blonde girl I'd never seen before. She and her friends were wearing only their underwear and were cheering on someone. "Woo hoo, take it all off, hon, take it off!"
I walked closer to the table, then did a double-take. At the far end of the table was Josh. My Josh. Butt naked. And drunk out of his mind. Josh was sloshed.
###
I stood there for a minute not wanting to believe what I was seeing, but I couldn't move. I just watched in shock as Josh did a little shimmy and poured a can of beer over his head.
"You lose, Kowalski," one of the guys said. "Time to do the Dance Of Shame."
"Hey, I ain't shamed of dis body," Josh slurred, laughing. "Eveyone..." He tried to get the word out. "Ev-er-y-one ... they should wish ey look ike me!" He stood on the table and did a little jig. "Okay, ladies, dis is your one chance to getta handful of me! Come an geddit!" He then locked eyes with me. I tried to run away.
"Mel--Melinda!" he cried, quickly jumping off the table and grabbing his jeans and boxer shorts. "Is that really you? Or, am I seein' thingks?" He struggled to put his pants on, but fell over. This elicited a bunch of cheers from the crowd.
"Yes, it's me," I replied. My cheeks reddened as he sprawled on the floor in front of me, still mostly naked. Except for his jeans, which were still pooled around his ankles. He'd given up on his underwear and was cradling his shorts.
"Well, Mel, hello!" he cried out. He stood up again and finally managed to at least pull up his pants. "Come join da party! Dance wit me!" He tried to twirl me, but I still couldn't move. "Aw, you're upset, aren't you?" he said. "Come on, Mel, you knew I liked ta party. I nevah lied 'bout that."
"No, you didn't," I admitted. "But I just ... you're really, really drunk!" I wasn't sure how to react. Drunk Josh was nothing like the guy who'd kissed me in the city.
"Damn straight," he drawled. "Come on, why don you play wit us? Ten you won feel left out. I always say... I always say..." He looked at his friends. "Wa--what do I always say?" At this point, he was having trouble standing up.
I didn't think things could get any more awkward, but I was wrong. I stood there, trying to gather my last bit of dignity when I heard a cackle behind me. Kathy had overheard everything.
" ‘Tis a really bad sign for a couple when da guy is driven to drink after, like, one date," she said, grinning. She was also staggering around after having so many drinks. "Heesh pathetic. Heesh so drunk he doesn't even know hish name!"
"I'm Josch," he interrupted —- and belched loudly.
Kathy raised her eyebrows. "Well, now's your one n’ only chance ta make a move on him, Mel. She hiccuped. "I'll bet he'd be wit anythink tat moves at dis point."
"Damn it, Kathy, just shut up!" I said. Josh was now sitting at the table with his head in his hands.
Kathy wouldn't let up. "I tink heesh ‘bout to passch out," she slurred. "And who can blame him? Smellinda's garbage face could stun anyone!" She cracked up at her own joke. Then before I could stop her, she did the unthinkable: she marched —- well, hobbled -- right up to Josh and planted a kiss on his lips. At first, he seemed shocked by the move but then started to get into it. Their arms twined around each other as their faces mashed together and her mouth brushed against his. She pulled him closer and moved her hand down to his ass, but he didn't try to stop her. He even seemed to be enjoying it.
"See that?" she said, giving me a smug look when they'd finally finished. Her lipstick was smeared and her eyes were glazed over. "I told you he'd kissh anyone tonight."
I just stood there, continuing to stare at them. It took me a minute to grasp what had just happened. When I did, I didn't bother to answer her or stick around. I turned and ran out of the basement while Kathy and her friends laughed.
As I made my way upstairs, Josh followed me. "Mel!" he called, stumbling after me. I ignored him and kept going. I went to find Lana.
"Mel, wait!" he pleaded. He still hadn't put on a shirt.
I looked around the living room and finally spotted Lana ... going at it with Lenny. But by then I was too upset to be shocked by anything else. I pulled her off of him.
"Dude..." he began.
"Hey..." she yelled, annoyed. She then saw me crying. "Honey, what is it...?"
Josh staggered over to us, panting. He held onto the wall for balance. "Melinda, don't leave," he pleaded. "Don't leave mad."
Lana looked from him to me. "Geez, he's hammered!" As soon as she opened her mouth, I was hit by the odor of beer. Judging from her choice of makeout partners, she was pretty far gone herself, I realized. But I didn't want to leave by myself.
"Please," I begged. "Let's go home. Now."
Lana nodded. She grabbed her coat and gave Lenny an apologetic look. "Ladies, do you need a ride?" he offered.
"We're fine," Lana told him, dialing her sister on her cell phone. "We need some girl time."
"I understand," Lenny answered.
It had started to snow. I walked as quickly as I could without sliding across the pavement. Josh followed us out.
"Mel, please tawk ta me!" he slurred. "I can't styand if it you're angry wit me. I wuz stoopid."
Lana was worried. "Mel, just tell me what's going on."
"I just want to get out of here," I said. I willed myself not to look back at him. I couldn't bear the idea of seeing him stumbling drunk and half-naked through the snow. "Just walk as fast as you can. I want to get away from him."
We made our way down the block to the corner, never once turning around. But I could hear Josh screaming my name.
CHAPTER 14
"Mel, honey, you've got to calm down," Lana said when we got home. She'd decided to sleep over. I was still sobbing. I flopped, face-down on my bed, not wanting to even talk with her. I was glad my parents were asleep.
"Here, have some hot chocolate," Lana said, placing the mug on my night stand. "I even put little marshmallows in it."
"I--I don't want--it," I sputtered, pushing it away. "Just leave me alone." I kept hoping that if I tried hard enough, I'd wake up from this nightmare, but I couldn't erase the image of Kathy and Josh kissing from my head. I burst out a fresh set of tears as I envisioned them with their lips mashed together.
"Shhh, sweetie, come on, it's not that bad. Really." Lana soothed. "It's not that bad," she repeated.
"It is!" I cried, lifting my head. "You didn't see him! He was kissing Kathy!. And to think, I was feeling sorry for her. I even reached out to that nasty beyotch. I'm sooo stupid!"
"Josh was drunk," Lana said. She shrugged. "So was she, I think." She hiccuped. "I am a little, too," she admitted.
"Well that's no excuse; he should've stopped her. They were kissing for, like, a whole minute!" I blew my nose.
"It didn't mean anything, Mel. Sometimes weird things happen at parties -- like drunk people kissing." She smiled, probably thinking about her evening with Lenny.
"Yeah, well, when Josh kissed me the other day, I thought it meant something, even though it was just a quick one. But he was willing to shove his tongue down the throat of someone he supposedly hates!" Lana handed me the box of Kleenex. "He's such a jerk."
"Mel, I agree, Josh acted like a total tool tonight, but don't you think you might be overreacting -- just a teensy bit?"
"No. I'm such an idiot for ever thinking he might like me."
"He does," Lana said. "Trust me, he likes you a lot. I think you'll see how not-so-bad this is tomorrow, how Josh's mistake isn't the end of the world. Yeah, it was dumb, but he probably didn't even realize it was Kathy he was kissing."
"Oh, he knew he did something wrong," I growled. "You saw the way he kept apologizing."
"Because he cares about you," Lana reminded me.
"Because he felt stupid about getting caught."
"Because he never meant to hurt you."
I played with the e
dge of the Kleenex box. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be my best friend, Lana, you sure seem like you're taking his side," I said quietly. "Guess when you get drunk, you'll forgive anyone else who does." I knew it was a low blow, but I didn't care. I felt like being angry with someone and Lana was the only one there.
"Excuse me?" Lana narrowed her eyes. "Remind me again who you pulled away from a good time ... to go home and comfort you."
"Oh, well, I didn't realize that weirdo Lenny was more important than me." I knew I was hurting her feelings, but the words still came out of my mouth.
Lana wouldn't have it. "You know, it's not always about you, Melinda," she said. "From the moment we set foot in Jan's house, you were being a total party pooper. But I was having fun. It was the first time in months that I was able to be with a guy who just liked me and didn't know or care about Ken or what people have been saying about me all year."
"Lana, I'm sorry..." I started.
"You should be," she said. "This whole year, I've done nothing but try to help you with Josh, even though I knew that you being with him would mean I'd get to see less of you. Maybe it's time you stop being so uptight about everything."
"Maybe you're just jealous!" I retorted. "You hate that I've been spending time with a guy while you haven't!"
"I've never said or thought that," she said in a low voice.
When had this fight turned into one between Lana and me? At this point, I was confused about the whole evening. I knew I should apologize to my friend for being out of line, but I didn't. Instead I hissed, "Go home! I don't need you."
She wouldn't go. "I'm staying because I know you need me," she said. "And one of us has to be mature here."
"Fine!"
"Fine!" She got up and clicked off the light, but we both knew neither of us was going to get much sleep that night.
###
I woke up that afternoon not feeling much better than I had the night before. My mood worsened when my mom came in to give me some phone messages ... all of which were from him.
Revenge Of A Band Geek Gone Bad Page 15