Renaissance of Chaos

IV

   The Jojo's was a small bar in the center of the village, nThe Jojo's was a small bar in the center of the village, near the main street, consisting of a two-story building with a baroque façade and gothic influenced interior. On the first floor, there was a small shop for everyday needs, where many of the village children worked for at least one summer after they turned 16. A funny tradition considered by many a sort of "rite of passage" for the teens getting closer and closer to adulthood and all its joys and woes. Though this internship was unpaid, the owners, Joe and his wife, Octavia, had other means of rewarding those who worked for them by giving them snacks for free or letting them rent the bar on the second floor for a third of its price during special occasions, which was not a bad deal.
   When you worked there together with Kai, you two would grab a soda from the fridge along with some snacks and, along with Jim, you would spend the evenings at the bar, playing bingo and telling jokes or discussing the latest prank your friends wanted to play on some poor sod. Neither of you cared that Jim was present. He was a good sport and would often aid you with whatever you guys were up to, since most of the victims were people with whom he, himself, had beef with. With time, after more of your friends went through the "initiation" process, the bar became another one of your gathering spots on the slow nights or during the weekends, after closing hours, having a drink, and laughing as metal and rock-and-roll blasted in the background. Joe didn't mind, as long as Jim was there to keep an eye on you guys and guard the scotch and whiskey from curious tongues.
   The rain had stopped by the time you arrived, but the clouds hadn’t gone away, their dark color still dominating the heavens. A shiver ran down your spine as you gazed upon them. Suddenly, the chill in the air was much colder than before.
   As Eliot pulled into the almost full parking lot, Kai busted through the restaurant door, rushing to the car, her cheeks colored bright red. You barely had the chance to take off your seatbelt, when the car door was swung open and she grabbed your wrist, dragging you out, while screaming loud enough to wake up the dead in the cemetery two streets over.
   "Where the hell have you been? You gotta see this!" she shouted as she pulled you after her. “You too Mr. Harris! Come upstairs! Quickly!” she yelled at your uncle who was just getting out of the car.
   A bad feeling began to nest into the pits of your stomach, a node forming in your throat. Was the situation truly that dire?
   The moment you stepped into the empty shop; you felt your shoulders slump beneath the tension in the air. Whatever hopes you had of this being an elaborate prank flew right out the window. From the second floor, voices could be heard, angrily discussing something, though what you couldn’t tell.
   “Come on.” Kai said, letting go of your wrist and walking towards the stairs in the back.
   You followed herm, a million of questions cramming themselves into your head. The moment you reached the restaurant door, you saw the source of the noise, making you freeze in your tracks. At the counter of the restaurant, trying to hide himself behind Joe, was Gabriel, the village policeman, subjected to the furry of a large group of villagers, each of them screaming louder than the other. One of them was holding up a piece of paper for him to see, yelling the loudest. Gabriel was trying to say something, but each time he was interrupted by some else, shrieking all the way to the Heavens, leaving the poor man to cower and keep silent. Joe said nothing, cleaning away the shot glasses spread across the counter, whistling a song which got lost in the sea of screams.
   In a corner, you saw your older sister May and her friends, chatting among each other, some with concern in their eyes, others with amusement. You waved at your sister, but she didn't notice you, being deeply engaged in discussion with her bestie. She looked rather irritated at the situation, whatever it may be, which made you swallow the node in your throat.
   "What the hell is going on?" you asked Kai as she led you deeper into the restaurant.
   "Grace has gone nuts, that's what." she answered, letting out a long and annoyed huff.
    "....So? What's new in that?" you thought, casting one more glance towards the gathering, their discussion now evolved into a full argument. You couldn't make out what they said, but their raised tones was enough to get you on edge.
   Kai led you to the back of the restaurant where Jim and the rest of your friends were, doing their own thing as if the commotion going on in the front didn’t even exist. Monica, and Luke, were sitting at a table for six, watching the argument unfold as if they were watching a movie and not a live soon-to-be-fight, a mess of soda cans, bags of chips littering the desk. Jim and Fabian were playing billiard next to them. Their game was slow, and it was obvious neither of them was paying attention, Fabian being more concerned with hiding his lit cigarettes and Jim watching the gathering with a bored expression. You doubted anyone cared who was winning so far.
   The moment they saw you, Monica's eyes grew twice their size behind the thin framed glasses, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor.
   "Holy shit! Those bastards didn't go easy on you." she exclaimed, as you sat down next to her.
   “Yeah. I haven’t seen you roughed up this bad since that day you tripped and rolled down the hill in my backyard.” Luke chimed in.
   You gave them a weak smile and took one of the sodas on the table, fiddling with the tab. Kai crashed into the seat next to you and you could feel her gaze examining the bandages on your hand and face. In her haste, she barely had the time to get a good look at you, but now, with the adrenaline worn off, she took in the full extent of your injuries, her eyes growing wide and jaw almost dropping to the floor.
   “Yep. It was quite nasty.” you said, opening the tap and taking a big mouthful of soda.
   "Bet next time we skip, you'll tag along." Fabian joked, taking a quick huff from his cigarette before hiding it behind his back, looking around for anyone who could have seen him. Having someone rat him out to his grandfather about his smoking was the last thing he wanted.
   The windows nearby were all opened wide, but you doubted it actually it did anything against the scent of the smoke in his hair and clothes. However, you kept that to yourself.
   "As if! I'd take a beating from Kristina and her gang every day over facing my mother's wrath for skipping." you replied, leaning back into your chair, and looking at the adults arguing in the center.
   Your uncle had arrived by this point, and joined the crowd, asking around what was going on, but nobody seemed to pay him any mind.
  "What the hell is going on? Why is Gabriel getting yelled at this time?" you asked, shifting your gaze to your friends.
   "Grace wants to create a "Home owner association"." Jim answered, his eyes cast upon the ball in front of him.
   He was leaning over the billiard table, examining the angles, the positioning of the balls, his cigarette caught between his lips.
   "Home owner association? What?" you asked, frowning at his answer.
   "Yeah. And that's not the biggest bullshit." Luke replied. "Apparently, her husband pulled some strings, and everyone is involved whether we want it or not. The rules will be enforced starting tomorrow and Gabriel will have to fine everyone who doesn’t comply."
   "They even have a committee in place, already." Fabian chimed in, walking near the window to take another smoke. "You can already guess who is in it."
   You looked at him, then at the gathering, then back at him, and then the rest of your friends, mouth ajar.  
   “You’re kidding me, right?” you asked, but the look on their faces told you otherwise. “Fuck.” you said, taking another sip of your drink.
   “Yeah. Welcome to the shi-! Crap!” Fabian rushed to put out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, then acted as if nothing had happened, drops of sweat suddenly rolling down his brow.
   You all looked around at each other, confused at his sudden change of demeanor, when you turned around to see your uncle coming over.
   “Anyone care to explain what on Earth is going on?” he asked, pulling a chair from a nearby table to sit next to you.
   “Grace had gone loony. Again.” Jim answered, hitting the ball. He watched it roll, a grin spreading on his face, as the ball knocked at least two others into the holes. “Fabian, I recommend you get ready to weep.”
   “As if!” the boy retorted and got ready for his turn.
   You watched them as your friends told Eliot what was going on. Apparently, Grace wanted everyone to adhere to a rather stupid set of rules. One such law was regarding curfew for those under 18 years of age, meaning no “loitering” on the streets beyond 6:00 PM, unless they had a permit, signed by her, of course. Any violation of the rule resulted in a hefty fine and grounding. Needless to say, it didn’t sit well with anyone involved, be it parent of teen. Another one, equally or even more annoying, were the rules about guests staying over. No more than 4 people were allowed at once, and if they came by cars, they had to pay a fine. No exception, even for the holidays. This ruffled more than a few feathers, to say the least, since many of the villagers had huge families some having more than two siblings, not to mention uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces. Holidays were known to be pretty noisy in the village from all the people gathering together to celebrate. There were other rules, all of them just as outrageous and infuriating, and after learning of them, the villager’s anger no longer came as a surprise. What still made no sense, however, was why they were taking out their anger on Gabriel.
   “They want him to do something about this since he works for the police. Of course, that’s bogus, but I rarely met anyone who’s rational when they are angry.” Jim explained, scoring another point, much to Fabian chagrin. “Anyway, looks like they are finished.” he added, motioning towards the gathering.
   Indeed, people had grown tired of screaming at the poor policeman and began to filter out of the restaurant. Those who stayed, retreated to the back to have a pint, and discuss the matter in more civilized ways, with no more yelling. Gabriel was now on the other side of the counter, drowning his grief with booze, and spilling his woes to Joe who nodded and dropped a comment here in there. Elliot got up and went to talk with them to get more info on the situation, while you looked around for your sister.  She was already gone along with her friends.
   You sighed and shifted your gaze back on the billiard just in time to see Fabian get totally destroyed by Jim. The boy already had a cigarette caught between his lips, his foot tapping against the floor in irritation. His brown eyes stared daggers at his opponent, his fingers clenching the stick tighter, to the point his knuckles were turning white. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a sore loser. None of you ever put up with him when he got like that, but neither of you went at him the way Jim did. At the slightest sight of a tantrum, the man would crack jokes at his expanse, laugh his ego all the way back to Earth. He didn’t do it out of spite or ill-feelings, and he never crossed the line. It was his way of scolding Fabian for his childish behavior.
   “So, does that mean we need to put our plans for Friday night on hold?” Monica asked, drawing your attention to her.
   She stared at you and Kai with concern glistening in her wide, green irises, rebel strands of pink hair framing her face, making her look like a lost child.
   “Are you kidding? Of course not!” Kai answered, leaning back into her chair. “We just have to be sneakier than usual.” she declared, playing with a loose string from her bun.
   “Are you sure? I mean, we already have a man down.” Monica continued, casting a glance towards you.
   “Hey! I know it looks bad, but I assure you it’s no big deal.” you defended yourself, raising your fist and swinging around as if to prove your point. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t sneaked out while grounded before.”
   “True. Like I said, we just need to change our plans a little.” Kai chimed in to support you. “I mean, yeah, it would have been nice not to have to plan a jailbreak,” she continued, a smile blooming at the corner of her lips as she watched you turn around to stare at her with disbelief written all over your face, “but that’s that, so no use to complain anymore. Still, we haven’t let that stop us before, we won’t let it stop us now.” she ended her speech, her smile now evolved in a full devilish grin.
   “What she said.” Luke popped up, throwing an arm around Monica, and pulling her close to his chest. “Come on, Moni. It’s going to be fine. We’ve done this plenty of times.”
   Monica relaxed hearing your friends’ reassurance, but there still prevailed a certain stiffness in her shoulders and the worries were not completely gone from her eyes. And she was right to be concerned. Sneaking out at midnight to go in the Forbidden Forest was indeed something that would get all of you in a mountain of trouble if you ever got caught. Especially you. However, just as Kai had said, it hadn’t stopped you before, so why now?