Friday, May 27, 2011

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Act V

            “Oh my god!” shrieked Erica, bounding into Economics and handing Karine a piece of paper.
            “What’s this?”
            “The grad gag list.  Look Karine, you’re hottest female, isn’t that nice?” she smiled sweetly.
            Clearly Erica was up to something.  Karine scanned the list and recoiled in horror.
            “Oh my god, me and Steven are most likely to get married?  Eww!”
            “I know, isn’t it awesome!  Everyone has realized that you and Steven are meant to be.”
            Karine sighed heavily.  Why did she stay with him?  Could she imagine going to cegep still being with Steven?  What was the point of their relationship?  Now that Terry was single, she should really be concentrating on making headway with him.
            “So when’s the wedding?” asked Erica.
            “Shut up, it’s just a stupid joke,” she tossed away the list.
            “I doubt Steven will think it’s a joke.  He’s probably out buying a ring right now.”
            “Whatever,” said Karine, trying to hide her annoyance.
            “Karine, why are you even with him?  You obviously don’t give a shit about him anymore.”  Erica looked at Karine and her face was sincere.  It was an honest question.
            “I don’t know,” Karine admitted.
            “I mean, you cheat on him all the time.”
            “Not all the time!  I’ve done it like twice!” Karine hissed, trying to keep her voice low.
            “Karine, making out counts as cheating.”
            “No it doesn’t!”  And even if it did, so what?
            “I’m sure Steven thinks it does.  And you obviously don’t care about him,” Erica whispered back.  “Ok listen, I wasn’t gonna say anything but I was talking to Terry earlier…”
            “You were talking to Terry?” Karine asked skeptically.
            “He is really messed up about Cherry, it’s weird.”
            “I know, he’s so far gone on her, it’s so messed.”
            “But since he’s free for prom I thought I’d take pity on him.  I asked him to go with me and he totally shot me down, fucking asshole.”
            Karine tried to contain her amusement but then wondered why the hell Erica would be admitting to this.
            “So I got pissed and I was all like, you’re such a fucking loser, you’re not even gonna go to prom and then he was like, oh yeah?  I’ll go with Karine.  And I was like, Karine has a boyfriend and he was like, oh right and then he got all sad.”
            Was Erica serious?  It was entirely possible that she was.  It was equally possible that she was full of shit but Karine couldn’t quite see what her game might be.
           
Steven, Erica and Andrew sat at the picnic tables at lunch but there was no sign of Terry or Chrissy.  Karine had a moment of panic when she thought they might be hooking up.  It would be so like Terry to rebound on an idiot like Chrissy and so like her to fall for his lies again.
Karine texted Chrissy and then joined her under the bleachers of the soccer field, where she was sobbing uncontrollably.  Oh god, what if they’d hooked up and Terry ditched her?
            “What’s wrong?” asked Karine as she sat down next to Christina.
            “Kill me,” sobbed Chrissy.
            “Come on, it can’t be that bad,” said Karine, fearing the worst.  “What’s up your ass?”
            “Erica!”
            “Like she’d fit.”
            Chrissy burst into laughter but then kept crying.  “This isn’t funny!  She’s crossed the line!”
            “What’d she do this time?”
            “I don’t know how she did it but now Andrew’s going to prom with her!  He just like, informed me that he’s like, going with like, her and like, not me!  I hate her!”
            Interesting.  “Ok, granted Erica needs bitch therapy but I think Andrew deserves a little blame in this too!  What the hell, I thought you guys were going out.  He just decides he’s gonna go with someone else now?  Who does that?”
            “Yeah, he’s an asshole, we all know it.  But he was my asshole!  And now he’s Erica’s asshole!”
            “Like Erica doesn’t have enough asshole of her own.”
            Chrissy giggled and insisted it wasn’t funny.
            “Don’t worry, you’ll find someone else to go with.”
            “I wanted to go with Andrew.”
            “Why would you wanna go with someone who would dump you so easily?  Erica comes along so he chooses her over you?  Fuck him.  He doesn’t deserve you.”
            “So who does?  I don’t have time to find another date.  Prom’s just around the corner.  Do you think Terry would take pity on me?”
            Terry actually might so Karine had to fix this up right quick.  “You can go with Steven.”
            “What?”
            “Ok, did you see the grad gag list?  Ok, first of all Erica’s most popular which is like, whatever.  You’re cutest though so congrats.”
            “Yeah, I have it,” said Chrissy, pulling the list out of her book bag.  “You’re hottest girl.”
            “Yeah well,” smiled Karine.
            “Terry is hottest guy,” Chrissy read from the list.  “No shit.  And he’s best male hair.  How is Erica best female hair?  She has Kesha roots.  Andrew’s most obnoxious and funniest.  Well, I guess that makes sense.”
            “But look at most likely to get married.”
            “You and Steven!”
            “Yeah, what the hell?”
            “What?  It’s sweet.  You two have been going out since Sec 3.”
            “But it’s like people think we’re joined at the hip and I like, barely even notice him anymore.  This just makes me realize you know, I don’t wanna be with him anymore.  I haven’t wanted to be with him since the beginning of the year.”
            Christina looked at Karine in confusion. 
            “I shouldn’t have gotten pissed at you when you started flirting with him that time at my party.  I mean, you totally should go out with him.  You’re both the same.  You’re both into commitment and long-term shit.  You should be with Steven, Chrissy.”
            Christina looked stunned. “Um, what?”
            “Ok, fuck Erica.  You know this isn’t just about her having a date.  She’s always been jealous of both of us.  And she was constantly pissed that you had someone and she didn’t so that’s probably why she wanted to go with Andrew.  So fuck her, now you have Steven.”
            “What the fuck, Karine.  Are you serious?”
            “Totally!  Take him!”
            “What if he doesn’t want me?”
            “Oh please, you’re cutest female.  You can be his shoulder to cry on when I dump him.  He’ll be all sad and vulnerable and shit and he’ll totally go for you.”
            “Isn’t that kinda mean to do that to him though?”
            “Oh whatever, he’s a guy.  He’ll get over it.”
            “But isn’t it kinda like what Andrew did to me?”
            “Do you want a date for prom or not?” asked Karine impatiently.
            “Yeah.”
            “Then let’s do this thing.”
            They joined Erica, Andrew and Steven at their picnic table and Karine ate her lunch in a hurry.  She wanted to get on with it but she was also kind of nervous.  Thankfully Andrew gave her an in.
            “So when’s the wedding?” he snarked.
            “Most likely to get married, eh?” chuckled Erica.
            Steven laughed in embarrassment but Karine kept her composure.  “I’m not gonna marry you, Steven.”
            “I don’t remember proposing,” he responded coolly. 
            “Yeah but it’s like, what’s the point of staying in a relationship if there’s no potential for growth?”
            “You wanna get married?”  He sounded confused.
            “No!  I don’t!  And I think that means something.  I think this relationship has run its course.”
            Andrew, Erica and Christina all held their breath, frozen in position, watching the scene with interest.
            “Are you breaking up with me again?” asked Steven with barely contained contempt.
            “It’s just, the stupid grad gag list made me see that we don’t make sense.”
            “You’re breaking up with me because of a stupid grad list?” he yelled angrily.
            “It’s not the list.  It’s… life!”
            “You fucking bitch.”
            “Look,” she said in annoyance.  “I’m really sorry, Steve.  You know I care about you.  I just can’t keep doing this is all.”
            “Fuck you, Karine!  You always do this shit.  When the fuck are you gonna wake up and realize you’re never gonna do any better?”
            “Fuck you!” she yelled back.
            “Fuck you!  You think I don’t know what this is about?  I’m sure it’s a big fucking coincidence that you’re breaking up with me right after Terry becomes available again.”
            Karine froze and got up from the table.  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled dumbly.
            “God, just fuck off!”
            Karine did exactly that.  She walked back to the school but before turning the corner she looked back and saw Chrissy put her arm around Steven, no doubt comforting him.  Good girl, following the plan.  Erica for her part looked way too pleased and even Andrew had a huge grin on his face.  What a couple of assholes.
            Now to find Terry.  His car was still in the parking lot so he had to be somewhere close by.  She could text him but she figured he would be somewhere outside smoking.  Sure enough she spotted him on the overpass, looking down at the cars zipping by underneath. 
            “Hey,” she said, joining him.  It was windy up here and her hair flapped in her face.
            “Thanks for letting me crash at your place yesterday,” he said, dropping his cigarette butt down onto the highway below.
            “So did you see the grad gag list?”
            “Yeah, congrats.  I hear you and Steve are getting married.”
            “Oh my god, that is so not funny.  It’s retarded.”
            “Bet Steve’s all picking out china patterns or some shit.”
            “Not likely.  I broke up with him.”
            He peered at her quizzically.
            “It just makes me realize I don’t wanna be with him.  Like, at all, you know?”
            “Ok, I guess we’ll see how long it lasts this time.”
            “No, it’s for good.  I mean I even set him up with Christina... so yeah.”
            “What?  That’s weird.  Although I guess they do deserve each other.”
            Karine agreed and they both lit up new cigarettes.  A few drops of rain speckled the concrete of the overpass.  Both Karine and Terry flipped up the hoods of their sweatshirts.
            “So how you feeling?”
            “I dunno,” he shrugged.
            “So um, listen.  Well about prom.  Obviously I’m not gonna go with Steve anymore and you’re not gonna…”
            “Aw man, fuck prom.”
            “What?”
            “I’m just not even gonna go.”
            “What?” she said incredulously, wiping a drop of rain off her cheek.  “How come?”
            “I dunno man, I’m just not into it.”
            “But it’s prom!  It’s grad!”
            “Yeah but it’s like, I dunno, Karine.  I don’t wanna go there and see her and stuff.  She’s prob’ly gonna go with her dork friends and be having a good time and it’ll just suck.”
            “So if you can’t go with Cherry you don’t wanna go at all?”
            “Her name is Cerise,” he said tightly.
            “So you’re just gonna let her ruin your prom night?  That’s pathetic!”
            “Fuck you,” he said in irritation.
            “Well what?  You’re just gonna let that flaming bitch freak ruin your grad?”
            “Hey relax!  Don’t call her that!  She’s not a bitch.  She’s just, you know.  I think she just didn’t feel like, comfortable with me ‘cause of you know, how we hang with different people.  She has her whole crowd and I have mine and she felt like, out of it I guess.  Which, you know, makes sense.  I mean, I can’t blame her.  She has a point.  And I mean I just have to think of a way to convince her that it’s cool.  I mean, we don’t need to have the same friends to still go out.  Maybe if I give her some time she’ll see that and maybe you know things could be cool again.  I dunno, what do you think?”
            He regarded Karine earnestly.  She stared back in shock.
            “No, seriously,” he said.
            “What happened to all that shit about how she thinks she’s better than you and everything?”
            “She doesn’t.  She’s just concerned, that’s all.  It’s like that time she was saying I’m a good public speaker and I could be good at school if I wanted.  She was saying how I could be more you know?  I could do more.  ‘Cause that’s how she is.  It’s like she’s got this whole motivation thing going on.  And she does stuff.  She doesn’t just sit around or whatever, she does stuff.  And she thinks about stuff and… stuff.  And I think she just thinks I could be like that too.”
            “What’s wrong with how you are now?”
            “I dunno, I just need to be a bit better… for her.  I just like her.  You know, she’s cool and... you know, I think we can still get back together.  I just have to...” he paused, his eyes widening in horror.  “Oh my god, I’m such a retard.”
            “What do you mean?’
            “It’s so obvious!  God, I’m so stupid!  It’s prob’ly…”
            “What?”
            “Nothing, just… the last time we fooled around… it got a bit kinky.  I mean, even for me it was new.  It prob’ly scared her!  She prob’ly got freaked out by how hardcore we got.”
            “I thought she was a virgin.”
            “Yeah, we haven’t you know, P in V’d but we did other stuff.  Like a bit S&M’ey.  God, she thinks I’m a perv, Karine!”
            “Did you like hurt her?” asked Karine, genuinely shocked.
            “No!  Hell no!  She hurt me!  I mean I was sub, she was dom.”
            “Really?”
            “I can’t believe I let myself get carried away like that.  I thought she was cool with it but what if she wasn’t?  What if I pushed her too far, too fast?  Oh my god, I’m gonna be sick.”  Terry crouched down and buried his face in his hands.
            “Are you ok?” Karine asked, crouching down next to him.
            Holy shit, he was crying. 
Karine rubbed his back.  “It’s ok, it’s gonna be ok.”
“What if she totally hates me forever?” he wailed.  “What if… what if she thinks I like, you know, pressured her?  Like if she thinks I assaulted her!  Oh god!  I’ll kill myself!”
“Hey, it’s not that big of a deal, just talk to her,” Karine suggested gently.
“She won’t talk to me!  She won’t even look at me!  I’m a fucking perverted asshole freak!  I’m just like my father!  She was the best thing that ever happened to me, Karine!  The best thing!  She’s like perfection and I fucking blew it!”
“Oh my god,” Karine stared at Terry as the truth dawned on her.  “Terry.  You’re in love with her.”
            “Shut the fuck up,” he replied in embarrassment, wiping away the tears on his face.
            “Oh my god, you’re totally in love with her.”
            “I just like her, Karine.  I’m not gonna marry her or anything.  That’s you and Steve, remember?” he said with more spite than was necessary.
            It was drizzling now and Karine stood up.  Terry composed himself and with shaking hands lit another cigarette.  Karine walked away without another word.  There was nothing else she could say.
She walked past the picnic tables but they were empty.  Entering the school she saw Steven and Christina in the fishbowl, talking.  Was it too late to get back with Steven?  How bitchy would that be to Chrissy?  But Karine couldn’t go to prom without a date.  That would be insane.  Who the hell else could she go with though?  It was so last minute.  Who would be free?
            She found her answer in English class where she overheard Cherry explaining to Sarah that she would be going to prom with Jay since she and Terry weren’t together anymore.  Sarah thought Jay was a pretty shitty consolation prize.  Karine agreed but he was better than nothing and Cherry really needed to get her ass handed to her.  Who the hell did she think she was, dumping Terry?  She was lucky he ever went out with her in the first place.  It was so gross that he was in love with her.  God, what a fucking piece of shit!
            Karine lingered outside of French class at the end of the day and followed Jay to his locker.  Once the hallway was mostly clear she went up to him.
            “Hey.”
            “Hi!” he smiled brightly.
            “So those Taffy pranks were pretty classic.”
            “I know, right?  Thanks for helping with the boat…” he trailed off.
            “It was my pleasure,” she smiled suggestively.
            He stared at her in awe, drool practically falling from his mouth. 
            “I’m feeling sad,” she pouted.
            “What’s wrong?” he asked with concern.
            “I just broke up with my boyfriend.”
            “Oh!”
            “Now I don’t have a date for prom.”
            “Oh.”
            “But I guess you can take me.”
            He blinked in confusion.  “Uh, what?”
            “Don’t you wanna go with me?” she asked, her voice dripping with honey. 
She sealed the deal by giving him a peck on the cheek.  He turned red and swallowed the lump in his throat.  She looked down to confirm there was another lump elsewhere.  God, it was so easy sometimes.
“Be at my house at like, 6.  And you’ll have to pay for our share of the limo.”
“Ummm…”
“Ok?” she demanded.
He nodded.

            Jay ran to The Wall, frantically trying to catch the guys before they left.  He found them chatting with Cerise.  He ran over to them and jumped on Willy’s back, who twirled around like a cat that had just been attacked.
            “You’re never gonna believe it!” Jay whooped in excitement as he dismounted his sweaty steed. 
            “What?” asked Vani.  “Did they renew the Sarah Connor Chrominomicles?”
            “Better!  Ok, you know how we thought we were in the twilight zone when Sarah asked Karl to grad?  Well we just entered the Outer Limits because guess who asked me?”
            “The abominable snowman!” screeched Vani.
            “Karine frakking Cavalière and I’m 98% sure she was serious!”
            “You’re sure she wasn’t just checking out your ass?” asked Vani with a grin.
            “You’re so full of shit,” mumbled Willy.
            “I swear to god,” insisted Jay.  “I’m really being serious.  It really happened.”
            They all stared at him.
            “Really?” asked Willy.
            “Yes!”
            “It’s really like we’ve entered a parallel dimension,” said Karl.
            “We’re not in a parallel dimension, we’re in a perpendicular dimension,” said Vani.
            “How are these things happening?” asked Willy.  “And how come they’re not happening to me?”
            “You really want me to answer that?” smirked Karl.
            “You didn’t say yes though, right?” asked Cerise coldly. 
            Jay looked at her.  God, she wasn’t mad was she?  She had to understand. 
            “Well yeah,” he replied.  “I mean, it’s Karine!”
            “But she’s going out with Steven.”
            “She broke up with him!  God, Cerise, isn’t this awesome!  Now we don’t have to go together.”
            “What?  You guys were gonna go together?” asked Willy.
            “Yeah but just as friends,” explained Jay.  “But now I get to go with Karine!  It’s like a dream come true, it’s so awesome!  I mean you don’t mind, right Cerise?”
            “Oh no, of course not, why would I mind?” she smiled.  “Karine’s your dream girl, of course you should go with her.”
            “I knew you’d understand!” he said with glee.
            “I’ll go with you,” Willy said to Cerise.
            “I have to go pee.  I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” said Cerise, ignoring Willy and walking off to the bathroom. 

            Shauna dropped her cigarette butt into the sink and watched it soak up the moisture.  Suddenly the door flew open and Cerise burst in.  She ran to a stall and threw up.  Shauna stayed frozen and eventually Cerise flushed the toilet and stumbled over to the sinks.  She rinsed her mouth out with water and turned off the tap, staring at the sink below.
            “Are you ok?” asked Shauna.
            “I deserve this,” she replied, her voice groggy.
            “What?”
            Cerise looked up at Shauna.  Her eyes were filled with tears.  “I’m a total bitch and I deserve whatever I get.  You should hate me, Shauna.  You should like, hit me or something.  It’s what I deserve.”
            “I don’t hate you,” Shauna responded.
            “It’s fucking karma!  I did a shitty thing and now a shitty thing is happening to me!  I dumped Terry and now Jay dumped me!  It’s fucking karma!”
            “So you don’t have a boyfriend anymore?”
            “Nope,” Cerise laughed bitterly.  “I’m alone!  Like the fucking loser I am!” 
            Cerise sobbed loudly and kept wiping the tears from her eyes.  She fished a Kleenex from her pocket and blew her nose.  Shauna considered going to her, hugging her or something but she didn’t have the guts to do it.  She tried to think of something to say but Cerise didn’t stick around to hear it.  She left before she stopped crying and didn’t even say goodbye.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Act IV

            Cerise felt sick.  She hadn’t slept well all weekend and the fatigue was making her nauseous.  The weight in her stomach didn’t help either.  She wanted to die.  To completely die.  She’d avoided Terry all weekend, making a lame excuse about needing to do family stuff.  She walked to school with Jay on Monday morning and he rambled about nothingness but she did confirm that they were going to prom together just to make sure it hadn’t been a dream.
            When she got to school he went off to join the guys and Cerise hesitantly joined Terry and the gang.
            “Did it just get lamer over here?” asked Erica, who flicked her cigarette in Cerise’s direction.
            The butt landed on Cerise’s jacket and she swept it away in annoyance.  She stormed off to the school and Terry caught up to her in the fishbowl.
            “Hey, are you ok?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
            God, why did he have to be so nice?
            “I’m fine,” she said icily.  “God, why do you even hang out with that fucking bitch?”
            “It’s complicated,” he sighed.
            “It’s stupid!” she snapped.
            “I know, I’m sorry,” he said sadly.
            “I don’t want you to hang out with them anymore,” she said.
            “All of them or just Erica?”
            “All of them.”
            “Come on, that’s not fair.  The rest of them are ok.”
            “They all hate me!”
            “No they don’t.  Steven defends you all the time…”
            “Why does he have to defend me?  Because the rest of them talk bad about me?”
            Terry shrugged helplessly.
            “They do, don’t they?”
            “Ok, how ‘bout from now on we do our own thing at lunch?  If you want I’ll even sit with your nerd friends.”
            Oh god, why did he have to be so accommodating?  “Oh, my nerd friends.  Yeah, ‘cause all my friends are losers and yours are so cool.  Screw you!” she snapped angrily.
            A twitch of a smile spread over Terry’s lips and he leaned in to her.  “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to kiss her.
            She pulled away.  “Are you laughing at me?  Are you fucking laughing at me?  I’m being serious!”
            “I know, I’m sorry!” he insisted, his hands flying up defensively.
            There were a few other kids in the fishbowl and they were all quietly eavesdropping.  Cerise’s voice was getting quite loud because she was now genuinely upset.  Terry always laughed at her when she got angry!  What an ass!
            “And you fucking reek of smoke!  You smoked today didn’t you?”
            “I had like two puffs off Karine’s cigarette. 
            “You reek!”
            “I’ll get some gum!”
            “I hate it when you smoke and I really hate going out with a smoker!”
            “I’ll quit!  I pretty much already have.  I swear I’ll never smoke again.”
            “Even if you did quit, which like, yeah right, your friends still smoke.”
            “Well I don’t exactly have any control over that now do I?” he asked, beginning to show some irritation.
            “I hate them.  I hate all of them and they hate me.  Why do you even like Karine so much?  She’s a freaking… ugh!”
            “Hey, come on,” he said tightly.  “Karine’s cool.  She’s like my best friend.”
            “Well she’s a bitch to me.”
            “I’m sorry, Cerise, I’ve told her to chill on you.  I can tell her again.”
            “What if I asked you to stop hanging out with her?  Would you do it?”
            “Cerise, no.  I’m sorry but no.  You can’t ask that.  Look I’ll stop hanging out with Erica but I care about Karine.”
            Cerise regarded Terry icily.  “Why are we even together?”
            “What?” he asked, his voice nearly frantic.
            “We have nothing in common.”
            “What are you talking about?  Yes we do!”
            “Like what?”
            “Like fuck, I dunno!  Like watching Nikita and… stuff.  You know, stuff.” 
He pressed up against her and stroked her neck and it felt wonderful but Cerise forced herself to pull away.
“That’s all we have, Terry.  And that’s not much.  In fact, it’s nothing.”
“It’s everything,” he said.
“You really are nothing but a perv, aren’t you?” she asked.
Terry looked hurt and dumbfounded.  He stared at Cerise with wounded eyes.  “What are you saying?” he choked out.
“I don’t think we should be together anymore.”
If he’d looked shocked before now he seemed blown over.  He was stunned into silence and just stood up straight, staring ahead as though a nuclear bomb had gone off in his face.  Cerise walked away.

What was he supposed to do?  Cerise was gone and they were broken up and he’d just been completely humiliated in front of a whole bunch of kids.  He looked around discreetly and the fishbowl wasn’t crowded but there were enough people around that the news would no doubt spread fast.  Everyone would be laughing at him, saying he was pussy whipped and his nerd girlfriend had completely dumbed his ass like he was nothing.  The anger boiled up inside Terry and he thought about beating up one of the nearby kids just so they wouldn’t laugh at him but that would probably just make it worse.  Besides, if he went around beating kids up then Cerise would never get back together with him. 

Cerise ran to the nearest girls’ washroom and locked herself up in a stall.  The first bell rang but she didn’t move.  Heavy tears flowed from her eyes.  How could she have done that?  How could she have been so cruel?  Terry was the perfect boyfriend and she had just destroyed him.  It was true that she hated his friends and his smoking but to break up with him over it was ridiculous considering how good he was to her.  He was always sweet and considerate and he made her feel amazing but she threw it away because she wanted Jason fucking Harris and his stupid obliviousness.  Why?  Why couldn’t she get Jay out of her head?  Jay was a complete asshole.  Jay had promised to go on grad ski trip with her and then had backed out because the guys didn’t want to go.  Jay was obsessed with Karine and had gotten a hard-on just from her touching him.  Jay was a weasely, clueless jerk and Cerise liked him anyway and she’d just dumped the sweetest, cutest, coolest, best boyfriend ever.  How the hell was she going to explain this to the Green Girls?
Cerise emerged from the washroom stall only to find Shauna staring at her.  She went to a sink and splashed some water on her face.  Shauna continued to stare.
“Are you ok?” Shauna asked quietly.
“I’m fine.”
“What’s wrong?”
Cerise dried her face and looked at Shauna.  It was insane.  Everything Cerise had done to her, abandoning her, bitching her out, calling her names, and Shauna still cared about her.  She still wanted to know what was wrong, still wanted to be her friend.  It was so pathetic. 
Cerise regarded Shauna for a long time and Shauna simply stared back silently.  Finally Cerise walked out of the bathroom without another word.

At lunch Cerise ate with the boys and when Sarah asked what was going on Cerise said she didn’t want to talk about it but Sarah already knew that she and Terry had broken up.  Sarah gave a lot of advice about reconciliation but Cerise tuned her out.  The whole day seemed to pass in a blur.  After school she walked home with Jay, who was utterly and predictably oblivious to her darkened mood.
“Ok, this weekend we’re going for a new campaign.  We’re thinking a ninja and superspies thing.  Willy wanted to do a vampire campaign but we’ll squash that dream pretty fast.”
“Yeah, we’re pretty good at dream squashing, eh?” she said sadly.
“Everybody’s gotta have a talent,” he laughed.
“Yeah but maybe we’re being selfish.  I mean maybe… maybe Willy should get to be a vampire.”
“Willy doesn’t deserve to be a vampire.  He’s a lower life form.  Like amoeba only without purpose.”
“I don’t understand how people can hang out with people they hate.”
“We don’t really hate Willy, we’re just kidding around.”
“Then how come you’re so mean to him?”
“God, you’re so idealistic.  You’re all, sunshine lollypops and rainbows and everything that’s wonderful, that’s how I feel when we’re together.  Brighter than a lucky penny when you’re near me, I don’t know the rest of the words ‘cause that’s when they cut to commercial…”  Jay sang the rest of the way home.

            Karine was rudely awakened by the doorbell ringing repeatedly.  Who the hell could be banging on her door at midnight?  She looked out her bedroom window and saw Terry’s car in the driveway.  She threw on her robe but then thought better of it; she was only wearing a tank top and short shorts and she kind of wanted Terry to see her like that. 
            He practically fell into her arms when she answered the door. 
            “Hey babe!  Let’s go out.  Let’s go downtown.  Let’s go to a bar!”
            “Smells like you’ve already been to one,” she laughed, closing the front door as he stumbled into her house.
            “So?” he slurred.
            “God, Terry!  Did you drive here?”
            “So?”
            “You’re such a shithead!”
            Terry ignored her and stumbled into the living room where he went straight for the liquor cabinet. 
            “What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded.
            “Nothing.  Can’t I just want to have some fun?” he asked, taking a bottle of cheap whiskey out of the liquor cabinet and pouring two glasses.
            He handed a glass to Karine and she took it reluctantly, then sat on the couch, where Terry flopped down beside her.
            “Cheers,” he said, raising his glass.
            “Cheers.”
            They downed their drinks and Terry sighed, looking at Karine with sad puppy-dog eyes.
            “How come you’re not with Cherry?”
            “Fuck Cherry!” he spat.  “She’s a fucking bitch and I don’t even get what the hell her problem is!”
            “So it’s true?  You guys broke up?”  She tried not to sound happy about it.
            “How the hell should I know?” he slurred.  “She’s impossible to... get!  But I don’t even like her anyway!  She’s prissy and she’s all judgemental and shit and she hangs out with those dorks and they prob’ly play Dungeons & Dragons and stuff so who even cares?”
            “So what happened?”
            “She thinks she’s too good for me, you know?” he whined, his voice rising in anger.
            “Shiah!”  Karine scoffed.  “Try the other way around.  She’s a loser, Terry!  Be glad you’re rid of her!”
            “No shit!  I don’t need her!  There’s a ton of chicks I can go out with!”
            “Yeah!” Karine agreed enthusiastically.
            Terry looked at Karine pleadingly.  He put his hand on her shoulder and then leaned over her, giving her a sloppy, wet kiss.  It wasn’t exactly the best kiss in the world, but still, it was Terry and Karine returned the embrace eagerly.
Karine brought Terry up to her room and they collapsed down on the bed.  Terry’s kisses were better now, he was less aggressive, more gentle.  Karine didn’t want to be his rebound girl but she knew if she played things right she could get more out of him.
Suddenly he pulled away and stared down at her.  “I think she thinks she’s too good for me, you know?  I mean, if she saw me now she’d prob’ly look at me with that little mmmm look she has.  And I mean she’d never do this.”
“Do what?”
“Get drunk!  Or have drunk sex.  Or any sex.  She’s a virgin you know.”
“I figured,” said Karine impatiently.
“I mean we’ve done stuff.  She has the prettiest little pussy you’ve ever seen, fuck it’s so sweet.  She tastes so good…”
“Ok, I don’t need to know that,” Karine interrupted in disgust.
Terry ignored her.  “But like, she’s so pure.  Like cotton driven snow.  Or whatever.”
“Uh-huh,” said Karine, sitting up and resolving to listen.  If Terry needed a friend then she’d be there for him.
“But I mean, it’s not that she’s a virgin that makes her pure or that she’s straight edge, it’s that she like, has this like, radiosity. radial... radio... radio waves…”
“Radioactivity?” Karine smirked.
“No, all sunny and bright.”
“Radience?”
“Yeah!” Terry exclaimed.  “You see it too!  It was like in the play there, where she was being that chick and she has on that coat and then she gets to fairy land and takes off the coat and she’s wearing that white nightgown thing that was totally see through under those lights and she’s like sooo beautiful.  And then those two guys fall in love with her but it’s not because they’re under that spell it’s because her true beauty has been revealed!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Whoa, that’s deep,” said Terry with satisfaction.
“Yeah,” nodded Karine, trying to contain her amusement.
“Shit, anyway, what were you talking about?”
“Um, nothing?”
“Right.”
Terry fell back onto Karine and kissed her neck.  She knew she shouldn’t let this happen.  He was drunk and heartbroken and whatever but fuck if his tongue on her skin didn’t feel amazing.  He pulled away again just as suddenly as he’d attacked her.
“Aww K’rine.  Kriiiiine.  Reeny.  You should dump Steve and we should hook up.  ‘Cause I mean, you’re hot.  And you’re not like Cerise… at all!”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“I gotta piss.”
“You sure know how to set the mood,” drawled Karine as Terry stumbled out of her room.
Terry took so long in the bathroom that Karine finally went to check on him.  She found him asleep in the bathtub with his fly undone.  The toilet wasn’t flushed and she grimaced in disgust but felt grateful that at least he’d gotten all his pee in the bowl.  She flushed and roused him awake.
“Terry!  You can’t sleep in the tub!  Come on, you can sleep in my room.  I’ll sleep in my mom’s bed.”
“Shit!” he sat up. “What if it’s another guy?”
“What?”
“What if she’s into another guy?  Like that stupid guy with the stupid hair guy?”
“Jason Harris?”
“Shit!  I’ll fucking kill him!  I’ll kill him… I’ll kill him by the hair…” he trailed off and lay back down, his eyes closing.
Karine rolled her eyes and went to get him a blanket and a pillow.  He didn’t even wake up when she stuffed the pillow under his head.
“Wakey, wakey!” she yelled loudly in the morning.
“Oh fuck,” he groaned, stiffly moving in the tub.
“Come on, get the hell out.  I have to shower.”
“What the fuck?”  With much effort he crawled out of the tub and stood up, his bones creaking.  “Did I sleep here last night?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.  Karine, we didn’t do anything did we?”
“No,” Karine sighed.
“Thank god,” he said, limping out of the bathroom.
Karine loudly slammed the bathroom door closed and heard him groan in pain.  Served him right.

            “So it’s really true?” asked Erica.
            “Totally,” nodded Karine.
            “Oh my god!  He broke up with her?” asked Christina, a wide smile spreading across her face.
            “Yep,” confirmed Karine, taking a long drag from her cigarette.  She and Terry had come to school together and Erica was worried that they’d drunkenly slept together but she didn’t want to ask.  
            “Why?  ‘Cause I guess he finally fucked her?” asked Chrissy sadly, like she was actually feeling sorry for that stupid Cherry bitch.
            “You know what?” said Erica.  “I bet not.  I bet he dumped her ‘cause she’s a fucking frigid prude.  She probably cut off her own clit ‘cause she’s so fucking uptight.  What a fucking loser.”
            Karine and Christina giggled but Erica dropped her cigarette and walked off without another word.  This was exactly the opportunity she was waiting for.  She went to Terry’s locker where she found him popping a few aspirin and guzzling a bottle of water.
            “Hey stud, I heard you broke up with Cherry the Bitchberry,” she purred.
            “Fuck off,” he said without looking at her.
            Damn, he looked like hell.  Still hot though.
            “Relax.  You’re better off without her, you know?  You need someone more your speed.  More into the shit you’re into.”
            He sighed heavily.  “Fuck.  Off.”
            Undaunted, she went on.  “I was just thinking how you don’t have a date to prom anymore.”
            She reached out and touched his chest and he frowned, recoiling into his locker.
            “Are you serious?”
            “Listen, Terry,” she said evenly.  “I can play dirty or I can play nice… and dirty.
            She lowered her hand to his pants and grabbed his junk.  He slapped her hand away angrily.
            “Get off me!  Get a clue, Erica!  Even if I were blind and couldn’t see your disgusting face I’d still be able to smell your rank stench!”
            He slammed his locker, which seemed to stun him more than her and he stomped off.  God, what a fucking prick.  He thought he was so fucking special.  What a dipshit.  Like she couldn’t do better anyway.  Plan B it was then.
            Erica found Andrew at his locker.  “Guess what?” she asked happily.
            “What?”
            “You’re taking me to prom.”
            He looked at her with curiosity.  “I’m going with Chrissy.”
            “You’ve already had Chrissy.  It’s time to move up in the world.”
            She took his hand and led him into the boys’ locker room where they went into the showers.  She didn’t waste any time; simply unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock, stroking it until it was hard and then deep throating him until he came.  She swallowed everything.  He groaned in satisfaction and zipped his pants back up.
            “You think this is gonna make me take you to prom?” he asked, amused.  “It’s not like I haven’t fucked your dried-up cunt before.”
            Erica and Andrew had a tendency to hook up a couple times a year, whenever she couldn’t find someone better.  She smiled knowingly as she wracked her brain.  She actually had believed that a good bj was enough to get Andrew to dump Chrissy and take her to prom but apparently she’d have to be more creative.
            “I know who you really wanna go with,” she smiled slyly.
            “Yeah, and it’s not you,” he smirked.
            “It’s Karine,” she said.
            He was surprised but then shrugged in agreement.
            “You take me to prom and I will do everything I can to get Karine to hook up with you.”
            “Which means exactly nothing,” he said.  “How the fuck are you…”
            “Just leave it to me, Andy.  I’ll make it happen.  In fact, I guarantee you that by the end of the day Karine will have dumped Steven.”
            “But if I still have to take you to prom…”
            “Terry broke up with Cherry yesterday, right?  So Karine will go to prom with him.  Last night he slept at her house so they’ve probably already hooked up.  So I’ll get Karine to dump Steven and she’ll go to prom with Terry and Chrissy will go with Steven and you’ll go with me.  But at prom, you and I will switch dates.  Get it?”
            He nodded his agreement and they shook hands.  Now she just had to figure out a way to make it happen.