Only the Young

Part II: Waffle House

We ended up at a 24 hour Waffle House at 1:00 in the morning. I was dazed by the time we arrived, because everyone in that van was passing around something. When I hopped in I had sat down next to Allie and she was smoking, but it wasn't a cigarette it was a blunt. She passed it to me and I didn't have a care in the world, so I started puffing on it. It wasn't by any means the first time I had smoked weed either. When you smoke weed you don't have a conscience I'm high feeling, everything's just slower. The best thing to do when on grass is listen to music. I don't know what there is about it, but it makes you feel like your inside of it, feeling every note. But anyway I was pretty mellow by the time we reached the Waffle House. When we went in everyone knew we were gonna be disruptive. You could see it in their faces as we walked in. They probably saw a lot of teenagers coming in under the influence cause of their hours. I can't say I blame em either if I had to deal with us I'd be pretty peeved too. We moved a table against a booth and all sat down. The place was cold and fluorescent lights illuminated the dining area. It smelled like a breakfast place like coffee and syrup. The menus where sticky and everything was too bright. I ordered pancakes and bacon cause grass really does make you hungry. Everyone had ordered, now they where just talking over each other. I learned a lot about them that night. Allie played the guitar and sometimes sang back up vocals. Jack played the drums and was dumb as a rock. Harry played the bass and had the personality of a rock. Max was on keys, he was actually a pretty cool guy. Diane sang she reminded me of a bird all angles and flighty. She had a shocked look in her eyes all the time too, like you did something that surprised her. They where all significantly older than Allie and Sharon. They all ranged from 17 to 22. But Allie was just that good I guess. She was all passion in the beginning. I learned that the band all lived with each other in an apartment about five blocks from where Carl and I lived. It seemed cool to be in a band and live with each other. However living with that group could probably turn anyone's mind to liquid.
"What was your favorite part." I was snapped out of tucking into my pancakes by Allie she was holding her coffee cup and staring at me. She looked tired.
"All of it I guess" I replied, " I've never really been to a concert before."
"Really? livin in LA and never been to see a rock band. That's just insubordination." She was shocked in a mocking sort of way.
"Yeah, we'll I don't know really orchestrate our plans. Carl usually comes up with the grand Friday nights. And they usually include just getting drunk or hitting up a house party."
"Carls not much of a music person huh?" She asked in a statement sort of way. I looked down at the end of the table he was sitting next to Sharon and laughing at something Max had said. It was the first time I had ever realized we weren't the same. We weren't made of the same things. And we weren't gonna end up in the same places. It was true he liked music most people do. But he didn't feel music it didn't connect to him. He never really thought that hard about anything. I think he did that so he never had to face the fact that he was never getting out of here. Easier to blend in and have fun than try to claw himself out of a pit.
"I guess not." I replied
"You are though."
"I suppose so. Never really gave it that much thought." I said setting down my cup of orange juice.
She stopped talking then, and cut pieces off her French toast and ate them. I think we were having too much stupid fun to try and continue that conversation of why people felt things differently. After that Jack tuned to me and started droning on about some chick he had met earlier that day.

Around 2:30 the band dropped us off by the bar we where at earlier that night. We go run the car we had driven up in. Cause the bar was across town from where we lived. Carls older brother usually drove that car. But he was in jail at the moment so Carl was driving it. Illegally of course. We didn't drive if that often though, cause he'd beat us to a pulp if he found out. My parents would kill me too if they found out I rode around with Carl driving. Carl was a good driver though it was in his blood. Even though he didn't have a license he'd been doing it for a long time, so I trusted him. We drove in silence. I was too sedated to do any talking, and he never felt the need to fill empty space. The radio played in the background smoothing the silence. When we got to the complex, we went our separate ways.
"See ya tomorrow Mikey."
"Yeah Carl, back at you."

I climbed up the fire escape to sneak back in my room. All the lights were off, so I figured I was safe. I went to sleep feeling as if things would change. I knew they already had, and things would never be the same. But I never expected any of it to turn out how it did. I hoped I didn't smell like weed.