The Shadow of Oz Short

by Jay Michael Wright II

  Dorothy knew instantly the answer. "Columbia. I love her tap-dancing outfit." She pulled her hair up past her shoulders and asked, "So, how would I look with short red hair?"

  Katie blushed and replied. "You'd look like you always do, beautiful. But I like your hair like it is, long and black. The black make-up you do with it is fucking bad-ass!"

  It was Dorothy's turn to blush. "You really think so? I've been trying to accent my eyes with this new style. You really like it?"

  "Yes." Katie purred as she stopped and let Dorothy run into her at which point she wrapped her arms around Dorothy's neck. She got close enough that she affectionately rubbed her nose against Dorothy's. "It brings out the blue in your eyes. It makes them as blue as the sky on a cloudless Spring day, and those are skies I can get lost in for hours."

  Dorothy chuckled. "Laying it on a bit thick, aren't we?"

  Katie gently placed her lips against Dorothy's. Katie was the best kisser Dorothy had ever known, but the little soft kisses she gave made Dorothy just melt. Katie then laughed and licked up the side of Dorothy's face. Dorothy jumped and gave Katie the oddest look as she started giggling. "You ain't right, girl. But seriously, what's this about?"

  "Well," Katie said, casually looking off to her left being playful, "I thought maybe tonight could be the night I got to meet your folks."

  Dorothy pulled away as a rush of panic washed over her. Her heart beat like a drum in her chest and she broke out in a cold sweat. The thought of Katie meeting her mother didn't just worry Dorothy, it filled her with absolute and complete dread. She rushed out the words as her hands began to shake, "Oh no! You just can't. No. Absolutely not."

  Katie wrinkled her brow and frowned. Her eyes became sad and glossed over as she got close to tears. "Dee, why can't I ever meet your folks? We've been together forever now! It worries the hell out of me that you won't let me meet them. Why are you ashamed of me?"

  Dorothy sighed. "I have never said I'm ashamed of you. Why do you keep thinking that?"

  "Well, tell me what the big deal is. Please! Help me understand what's going on."

  Dorothy sighed heavily and decided to come clean. She had hidden how bad her mother was out of fear of what Katie would think. She stuttered at first, but she forced the words out. "It's not you. It's my mom. I told you she was bad. I just never told you exactly how bad."

  "Dee, what do you mean?"

  Another wave of panic washed over her. She was terrified to tell the truth, but, like Elvis said, it was now or never. "My mom drinks, like every fucking day, and when she drinks—she gets fucking batshit crazy. She woke me up one morning fucking beating me with a walking cane, screaming about me stealing her watch. Come to find out, the fucking bitch got so drunk she forgot where she put it. She's a fucking monster, Katie. I'm not ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of her. I thought if you saw how crazy my mother was that—" her voice dropped to a whisper, "—that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore."

  Katie stuck out her bottom lip and her eyes turned sympathetic. "Oh, baby, nothing would make me not want to be with you, Dee. You should know that by now. I don't care how crazy your momma is. I'm not in love with her. I'm in love with you. Don't you ever think I'm giving up on you."

  Dorothy all but cried. Katie made her feel like she was worth something, that she was wanted, needed. It was the grandest feeling in the world. "Goddamn!" she said, sniffling. "You are fucking amazing, Katie-Bug!"

  Katie snorted and struck a cheeky pose. "Well, tell me something I don't know, baby!"

  They burst into laughter together and that's when the voice from behind them sent chills down Dorothy's spine. "Hey-hey-hey, witch-bitch!"

  Oh, fucking no! Not him! Not now!

  Dorothy looked over her shoulder, and there he was, that cocksucker Todd. It was one thing to put up with his bullshit at school, but this was her time. How dare this bastard come up and start shit with her on the weekend!

  Todd slammed the door to his car, a brand-new Mustang that Todd's father had bought him for taking the football team to state last year. He came strutting up with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I fucking knew it! I knew you two were way too close! You're fucking dikes! Oh, my fucking God! Wait 'til the guys at school hear about this!"

  Dorothy took a step in Todd's direction and Katie grabbed hold of her left arm. "Todd, shut your fucking mouth!"

  "Or what?" he replied cockily. "You ain't gonna do shit, bitch!"

  Katie stormed past Dorothy and shouted, "She might not, but I fucking will!" Katie brought her right hand back and swung with all her might for Todd's face, but Todd was too quick and too strong. He snatched Katie's arm out of the air like it was nothing and laughed.

  "Damn, Katie! You got more fire in you that I thought!" Todd slowly tightened his grip and started bending Katie over to the side. The sight of it made Dorothy's blood boil.

  "Let her fucking go, Todd!"

  Todd just laughed. "You're fucking funny, witch-bitch!"

  For a moment, everything flashed white and Dorothy felt as if she was watching herself instead of acting. She heard herself scream, "Fuck you!" Before she realized she was doing it, she had reached out, grabbed Todd by the balls, twisted and yanked straight down.

  Todd immediately released his grip and hit the ground clutching at his crown jewels. "Oh my God! When I get my hands on you, bitch!"

  "Bring it, you fucking asshole!" Dorothy screamed as Katie pushed her away. Reaching around Katie, Dorothy wagged her finger furiously and screamed, "I hope you wrap your daddy's car around a fucking tree, you creep!"

  "Christ!" Katie said with a concerned look on her face. "That's fucking harsh, Dee! Even for a jerk like Todd."

  Dorothy all but growled. "I don't fucking care! I fucking mean it! I am so tired of his shit!"

  Dorothy couldn't believe what she had said, or what she had done. It was like something had boiled up from the bowels of Hell and seized hold of her. She really hadn't meant to hurt Mrs. Henderson. She just panicked and shoved the old bat away, but with Todd, it was intentional. Her conscious was whispering in her ear that she should feel bad, at least maybe a little bit, but she didn't feel bad at all. In fact, she felt fucking great. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders because once, at least fucking once, she got even with that cocksucker. Although she was happy, a fire still burned in her eyes as she thought about all the other sadistic things she could do to Todd for the grief he had put her through over the course of the year.

  There was a sound in the distance, a muffled voice that sounded like someone was trying to scream under water. At first, Dorothy ignored it. Her mind was still heavily wrapped up in devious thoughts and cruel intentions.

  There it was again, except this time it was louder, clearer. She started to make out part of the messaage. "He—, muffle, muffle." The voice, it was so familiar. There was something about it that just felt like home.

  Suddenly, she heard snapping and it was like coming out of a trance. Katie stood in front of her, snapping her fingers frantically with an extremely concerned look on her face. "Dee! Hey, Dee! Come back to me, girl! Where are you, baby? Talk to me."

  Dorothy froze in her tracks. She was in a state of shock. What had just happened? "Huh, baby?" Dorothy said just before her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

  When she came to, she was about a quarter of a mile from where she last remembered being and the whole world felt like it was spinning. She tried to sit up, but Katie was sitting behind her with her arms wrapped around her tightly. "Ssh, baby." Katie whispered. "I lost you for a minute there."

  "What...what are you talking about?" Dorothy asked weakly.

  Katie stroked the hair away from Dorothy's forehead and replied, "After you followed Bob Barker's advice about help controlling the pet population by de-nutting Todd back there, you were just… gone."

  Dorothy turned her head and looked up at Katie. "What do you mean? Gone?"

  "Like the lights were on but you we
ren't home. I tried talking to you, but you wouldn't answer me. I looked you in the eyes and that just wasn't you. I've never seen that look in your eyes. I never once felt threatened, but you looked like you could have killed someone."

  Dorothy groaned, pulled free of Katie's grip and sat up. "Trust me, I thought about it. Oh, my fucking God! My head is fucking killing me! Oh shit! What time is it? I've got to get home or my psychopath mother is going to hit the fucking roof."

  Katie helped Dorothy to her feet and looked quite concerned. "If you run, you'll still make it, but can you run? You still look wobbly, Dee."

  Dorothy swayed to and fro for a moment and then straightened herself up. She forced her mind to clear and steadied herself. "I've got this, Katie-Bug. Promise."

  "Pinkie promise?" Katie asked.

  Dorothy smiled and locked fingers. "Pinkie promise."

  Katie planted one last, very long kiss on Dorothy's lips and caressed her face tenderly. "Gonna miss you, girl," she whispered.

  Dorothy leaned over, touched foreheads with Katie and then gently rocked back and forth like she was a cat marking her territory. "Not as much as I'm going to miss you. Now, get! You know I can't walk away if you're standing here looking at me like that."

  They both blushed and kissed one last time. Katie started back to her home and Dorothy started back to hers at top speed. If she was lucky, either she'd beat the clock, or her mom would be passed out drunk by the time she got there. One could only hope.

  Chapter Five

  Dorothy had been late, but she had been lucky. Her mother was passed out cold in her recliner with a glass of whiskey sitting right next to her. Thank God! The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with her mother this night. Now came the agonizing wait for her father to come home so she could try to explain how she got suspended from school for the week without having her house going into a nuclear meltdown.

  She sat up the next two hours nervously waiting on her judgment day to come. She heard the front door rattle and her father enter the house. She knew better than to greet him at the door with bad news. Depending on how his work shift went, that might be social suicide. She decided to give her dad about an hour to eat, clean up, and start his nightly ritual of reading that day's paper before bed. Maybe luck would stay on her side and he'd show her the least bit of mercy.

  The time came, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She was scared to death of what her father might say or do. Sure, she'd been in detention a few times, but we were treading on virgin ground here. She had never once in her life been suspended. It wasn't that she so much was afraid of what her father might say. It was seeing the look of disappointment in his eyes that scared her the most.

  She walked up to her father's study's door. She paused and fought the urge to turn around and run like hell. She was on the verge of doing it when she heard her father say, "Come on in, Dorothy."

  Shit! He knows I'm here!

  She nervously grabbed the door handle and took a giant breath. Her hands felt like ice as she turned the knob and entered the room. Her father sat at a very old, worn desk. All the gleam had left this piece of furniture decades ago, but her father refused to get rid of it. Why, she never knew.

  Her father carefully folded the paper, placed it on the desk, and removed his reading glasses. "Well, Dorothy, I heard you out there lurking by the door for five minutes. What is it that you need to talk about?"

  Dorothy bit her bottom lip and swayed from side to side stalling for time. Her father pursed his lips and shook his head with a gleam in his eye. "Alright, Dorothy, whatever it is… it can't be that bad."

  Without thinking, the words just quickly escaped her mouth. "Oh, I don't know about that." As soon as she said it, she had her regrets. Shit!

  Now her father looked concerned. He slapped the seat next to him and said, "That does it. Park it, little lady. I can tell from how your acting this is serious." Dorothy reluctantly took the seat. Her father patted her knee and asked, "So what's going on, sweetie? You know you can tell me anything."

  "Wellllllll...you know how I'm claustrophobic and freak out when I'm grabbed?"

  "Oh Lord." her father muttered beneath his breath.

  "Well, Mrs. Henderson grabbed me and—"

  "Oh Lord!" her father groaned, his face showing the dread starting to fill him.

  "—and I may or may not have knocked the old bird down and she may or may not have temporarily lost consciousness."

  Dorothy's father placed his right palm over his eyes and dragged it down to his chin. "Son of a—!" He paused and recomposed his thoughts. "Dorothy, please tell me you really didn't."

  Dorothy smiled nervously and replied, "Well, I kinda did...and I kinda got suspended from school for a week." She braced for it. You don't say something like that and not get blasted in response. This was going to be bad, really fucking bad.

  Her father sat very silently. Every second seemed like an eternity. Every breath she took she felt like it might be her last. Her heart raced. She stiffened up as if bracing for impact. He looked around the room and then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Okay, firstly, we ain't tellin' your mamma about this."

  Dorothy's face lit up. "Seriously?"

  "Yes," he replied, "last thing we need is your mother flying off the handle over this. So, this is what we're going to do: you're going to get up every morning this week, get ready for school, and leave out just like you're going. Your mom never needs to be any the wiser, but...if she finds out, this is just like the movies: I will disavow any knowledge of you or your mission. Do you understand me?"

  Relief washed over Dorothy. She felt like she'd been given a last second reprieve from the governor just as they were about to stick the needle in. Then she had a thought. "Um, Dad, where am I going to go?"

  Her father sighed. he dug into his pocket and handed Dorothy a twenty-dollar bill. "There, sweetie. That's enough bus fare money to get you through the week. Go hang out at the park or at the mall. I don't care where, just as long as you don't get caught."

  Dorothy leaped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. "Oh my God you are awesome, dad!"

  She hurried to get out of the room. She had dodged a bullet and she knew it. As she made it to the door, her father stopped her. "Dorothy?"

  Oh shit.

  "Yea, dad?" she said softly.

  "Try not to beat any more teachers up."

  She smiled. "I'll do my best."

  She went to cross the threshold of the room, but once again her father stopped her. "And Dorothy?"

  She cringed. "Yes, sir?"

  He smiled as he asked. "Did the old bird really have it coming?"

  Dorothy hesitated and then smiled. "Yea, she kinda did."

  His grin grew as her father sat back and picked up his newspaper. "Good."

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, Dorothy was up at six thirty, showered, did her make-up, and got ready for school just like it was any other day. She grabbed a breakfast pastry, exited the house, and headed for the school bus stop. She certainly couldn't go, nor did she have a desire to, but she could see Katie for a few minutes and let her know that she was still alive.

  She got to the bus stop first. Maybe Katie was running behind, or maybe it was the fact Dorothy couldn't wait to get the fuck out of the house and away from her mother quick enough. Whatever the case, she stood on the street corner alone for about five minutes, until Katie came running up.

  "Dee!" she squealed. "What in the world are you doing here? Did your folks kill you?"

  Dorothy paused, still finding what she was going to say hard to accept. "Believe it or not, my dad played it cool and didn't tell my mom."

  Katie jaw dropped. "Seriously? Freakin' sweet! Still, what are you doing here? You're suspended from school."

  "Just stopping in to see you before I head off to the Lakewood Mall. Figure I'd spend the day in Hot Topic and try to find me a new My Chemical Romance shirt."

  Katie smirked
. "Nice! Well, here comes the bus." She threw her arms around Dorothy and whispered in her ear. "I love you, Dee. You be safe. I'll call you when school is over."

  Dorothy smirked. "You better."

  Four hours later and Dorothy was bored out of her mind. She had gone to Hot Topic, but had no luck finding herself a new shirt. She did find an amazingly cute pair of stuffed Jack and Sally dolls from the Nightmare at Christmas movie, but she didn't have the money to afford them. She held the dolls forever before setting them back down and whispering in their ears that she'd be back for them one day.

  Spencer's had been good for a cheap laugh. She wandered through the black lights, flipped through the posters, and eyeballed all the "neck massagers" which no one used on their necks. After that, Dorothy decided to give up on the mall and take a stab at the strip mall across the road.

  She strolled from store to store, window shopping at several locations, but kept moving. There was a book store in this strip mall that Dorothy absolutely adored. She was hoping she might find some Stephen King merchandise in the mark-down bin. She'd love to get herself another copy of the unabridged version of The Stand. Her last copy had suffered a tragic death when Toto had mistaken it for a chew toy. If she didn't love that little mutt so much, she may have skinned him for that one. Nobody fucks with the King.

  She passed a heavily tattooed man in his young 20s who looked like he hadn't had a bath in weeks. He had holes in his ear lobes large enough for Dorothy to stick her thumbs through. Why in the fuck would people do shit like that? Piercings, sure, but gauge your ears that much? Oh Hell no!

  As she walked by, the dark haired fellow whistled and then spoke in a low voice. “Hey! Hey, girl!”

  Dorothy stopped dead in her tracks and looked around. Seeing no one else around, she asked, “Who? Me?”

  “Yea, yea you. C'mere.” The man took off his backpack and sat it down on the ground. He knelt, partially unzipped the bag, and asked, “You want some weed, girl?”

  Dorothy burst into laughter. “Me? Oh no! Totally not my thing, dude.”