WingWard Side

Chapter 5: Bonfire

The night of the bonfire came a lot faster than I wanted it to. Not that I didn't want to go, cause believe me I wanted to go. Marshmallows and Tainbo Lake and fire and just our friends, it all sounded like a heck of a getaway. And I needed a little break.

But, Pluto and I, well we hadn't talked much since the Choppe. And sure that's only a day, but for us that's a long time without talking. And I was picking her up, her and Roger, and that didn't sound like the most pleasant car ride.

And yet there I was, two minutes to leaving, trying to figure out what to wear.

"So where is this hangout?" my mom, who had come home early, asked from outside my door. I tried on a black sweatshirt, and that didn't look good either. I don't know why I was even getting dressed up, or picking out an outfit, 'cause I don't usually do that. I'm not a 'worry about what you wear' kind of guy. But tonight, looking good seemed important, after all, we hadn't seen many of the gang members for a while.

"Lake Tainbo, picking up my friends and we'll be there a while." I tried on this old ragged jacket I had forgot about, but then tossed that onto the floor too.

"Kay, well, don't stay too late." I heard her footsteps trail away. I didn't pay attention to the last thing she said, 'cause I was gonna stay there late anyway. She probably wouldn't even notice. Finally I found a gray jacket, the zipper was ripped off, and a dark blue t-shirt and wore that. I looked in the mirror and shuffled my hand through my hair, trying to get it to spike up. And then I remembered Ace, the way he only zipped the bottom of his jacket, and wished I could do that. Maybe I'd look cooler if I did. But maybe I wouldn't look so great with a cowboy hat, so I just hurried out the door.

And heck, I was already five minutes late. So I grabbed my keys and raced out that door before even glancing at my parents again. But I did hear a little bit, and I didn't like what I heard.

Pluto didn't live too far away, but the neighborhood was crummy, so it only took a while cause you had to drive like two miles an hour there. Longest 10 minutes of my life, watching skateboarders roll by and laugh and the houses rumble by. And finally their run down house came into view just before the end of the road. I parked in front and checked my phone to see if they were ready, but Roger opened the screen door and walked over. Looked like he added some hair gel or somethin cause his hair was pressed down to the side. Then behind him Pluto stepped out, and dang she looked pretty. Her hair was curled at the bottom, she was wearing a white lace shirt and jeans with a jacket over it. She shut the door and followed after, and when she got in she gave me a little smile. I smiled back and started the car. Thankfully it wasn't awkward between us, but Roger kept giving me looks like he knew. I ignored him.

Lake Tainbo was just Outside of WoodTier, a stretch off the highway. I pulled onto the road, hitting a good 75 with my old hand-me-down car, then we drove onto the dirt path. The car bounced back and forth and we had to hold onto the side to keep from flying out. Roger made a joke that we all laughed at, and then we saw the lake.

It was huge, the other side was just before fading out and the lake was shining the whole sky across the water. Out on the beach most of the WingWard side were surrounding a big bonfire they had started. One of them had a huge speaker and was blasting some rap party music that some girls were singing to. There was a beer keg or something and everyone had those red cups in their hands, everyone was laughing and dancing and having a good time. The whole place was surrounded by trees, some were green but now that it was fall some were turning red and yellow. It was a real pretty place.

Pluto clapped her hands excitedly and jumped out of the car. She ran to her friends, Bella and Aspen, who were waiting for her. Aspen was a little taller and had blonde hair, while Bella was a little shorter and had brown hair. They started talking at like 300 miles an hour and laughing and giggling at stuff. I turned to Roger and followed him to our part of the gang.