Tko's Dik Dot Friend

III. Sucker Punch

I needed to move away from the intoxicating energy of the crowd for a while. I spotted some theatre-style seating area to the far right of me and headed in that direction. My heart sank as I approached and found still bodies slumped into every seat—most of them in deep sleep or aloof.

I made a U-turn and headed for higher grounds in the back of the auditorium to get a better view. The higher I climbed up these stairs that turned out to be benches like you'd find at a school gymnasium, the more I realized how bipolar the entire hall was. It was a theatre pretending to be a gymnasium.

The top of the bench gave me a much better three-sixty view with less of a crowd. I stood a few inches from a very tall and striking guy with a long, black ponytail. He was about six feet two inches tall. I let out a smile and went back to watching the band and audience go nuts. I could see Amanda still dancing and bouncing to the music and Caleb jumping right next to her. My mouth gaped open for a second. I could not believe they had found common ground that allowed them to co-exist in this one moment in the same space.

"Hi!" Called out a voice to my right. I turned and was pleasantly surprised to see the tall guy reach over to me.

"Hi!" I replied. "Cool band!" he continued. I nodded. "Yeah!"

"I'm Michael!" he nodded as he tilted his neck in my direction."Tko," I said finally.

"Tko. Let me guess Japanese?" He asked with wide eyes. I nodded with a hint of surprise written across my eyes. "Kinda... It's a nickname. My full name is Maritzko. The ko is a Japanese thing."

"That is so cool. Your mixed?" And I nodded again.

"That explains why you look so exotic"

"Aww. Thanks." I blushed.

"So you're from Portland?" I asked, now swinging my body from side to side.

"No. Alaska. I'm Native American," He replied. I almost jumped up as my smile and eyes widened.

"No way! I always said if I ever met a Native American or anyone from Alaska, it would probably feel like winning the lottery for me."

"Well, looks like you've won the lottery twice." He said with a kind grin on his face.

I stopped to reflect on my words. Hoping it was not offensive. I got so excited that I failed to remember that he probably had some hang-ups about how people perceived his ethnicity. I took a deep breath.

"Oh my God. So you're not upset?" I asked. His nose and forehead scrunched up with one eyebrow raised.

"About what?" he asked. " I got so excited that I forgot to take into consideration how my reaction might have an off-putting impact on you based on how the media and pop culture have portrayed your people in the media for hundreds of years ...etc." He stared at me with a confused expression plastered across his face, then he giggled.

"You worry too much Tko. You're good." I smiled back in relief.

"So, who are you here with?" I asked. The possibility of hanging out with him even for one day began to look more and more promising. I felt we were in similar situations. He was probably visiting Portland as I was making my exit. He pointed in the direction of a girl with less than shoulder-length brown hair walking up towards us with two beers in hand. I nodded. My heart sank for a moment as I watched her walk towards us.

"She's a friend. I'm visiting her for the first time. We met on Tumbler." He said.

"Of course. Cool." I replied, bouncing my head up and down.

"What's up?" Were the first words out of the girl's mouth. She was pale and pretty despite her plain-Jane appearance. The stern look on her face didn't translate to just friends. I knew more was going on, and I suddenly didn't want to be the third wheel on this bus.

"This is Tko. Tko, this is Sarah." Michael introduced us casually while grabbing one beer from Sarah's hand.

"Thanks." He said as he took a sip. "

Yeah, we were just, um...well, it was nice to meet you, Sarah, and you, Michael. Enjoy the; you know, show. Okay, Bye." My palms were sweating as I ran off like a scared cat. My senses were on full alert as I tried to dodge the invisible daggers coming at me from Sarah.

I began looking for Amanda and Caleb in the crowd once again. I spotted them as I walked down from the bleachers. I could only see their waist and above as the rest of their anatomy was invisible to my naked eyes due to the heavy crowd surrounding them. And in what felt like a split second, Amanda clenched her right fist towards Caleb's face; her eyes widened like a feral cat and lips wide open, and in that split second, her fist hit his jaw so quickly that it knocked him off balance. Still, he bounced back from an instantaneous push from the guys standing to the left side of him. Caleb's eyes rolled back behind its socket as the punch landed on his jaw. Amanda turned around and walked into the crowd. She pushed her way through the crowd as she tried to get to the exit.

"Amanda!! Amanda wait!! Amanda!" My calls to her went unheard as the music was the only dominant sound occupying the space. I pushed my way through, but she was nowhere to be found by the time I got to the exit. I knew she was probably headed to her car, so I ran towards the parking structure where we had parked but much to my dismay, her yellow coupe had driven off the parking lot and was at the first light at the intersection. I pulled out my phone from my dark blue shoulder bag and began texting.

"What happened?! Where are you going?! Without me? Sad face emoji" I stood and waited. Hoping she would remember she left a friend behind – drive back, but after what felt like three long minutes, I gave up on her coming back for me.

My shoulder slouched in a defeatist slump as I took a deep breath that awakened my disgust for Caleb. My blood boiled at a hot temperature, and my heart bumped at a rapid pace. I turned around, my lips pressed together very tightly, and walked back into the yellow building on the hunt for Caleb. I needed an explanation. I tried to focus on Caleb, who had casually gone back to enjoying the newest band playing on stage—banging his head back and forth as if nothing had taken place in the last five minutes.

Getting through the crowd this time felt like navigating a massive wave of emotion that left me feeling guilty for dragging Amanda along and enraged at myself for giving Caleb the benefit of the doubt. I felt a tightening in the pit of my stomach. As I got close to him, a part of me wanted to lay another punch on him, but I found myself tapping him on his right shoulder instead, interrupting his trans-like moment.

"Tko!" He screamed, wrapping his arms around me like we were long-lost friends but quickly unwrapped his arm as he gazed upon the look of disgust painted on my face.

His body went into a swinging motion as a look of guilt began to creep up on his smug face. "Men, your friend was tripping." He mumbled incoherently while still swinging his body side to side.

"What did you say to her?!" I demanded with eyes of fury.

"I told her she had nice tits!" He said with a shrug.

"She hears that all the time. There's no way she hit you because you said that!" I replied, my voice oozing with suspicion, but he shrugged his shoulders a second time.

"I guess she was on her period!"

"Oh fuck off!" I turned to storm out, but he grabbed my left arm, which only sent chills up my spine as his very touch repelled me at that moment. I removed my arms from his grip by pushing myself forward and almost bumping into a body.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He declared, raising his hands in a surrender motion. I stopped and waited for the next words out of his mouth.

"I didn't mean to upset you. Let's get out of here. Go somewhere a little quiet so that I can explain myself better." He said as he walked through the crowd. I took a deep breath and followed behind him as he led me through the wave of people and suddenly made a sharp left turn into an empty and faintly lit long corridor that led to a red door.