Cascade

1. Chess

Oddly enough, her shoulder blades were the first things I noticed about her. They protruded from her tanned skin as her hands drifted aimlessly across the shelves.

Her hair was the second; dark pieces stuck out at odd angles from her messy bun and rested at the back of her neck. I guessed she had done it purposely as I couldn’t imagine how it would look if it were neat.

I thought it weird that she was wearing an evening gown on a Friday night in the supermarket; she was either late for a formal event or she was one of those crazy sheltered girls who looked for a husband around every corner. Pity, really, because when she turned around I thought that she shouldn’t be the one looking for a man, men were the ones who had to be throwing themselves at her feet and she, like a fly swatter, should aim for every one of their balls.

I always thought girls with blue or green eyes were to die for, but this stranger’s hazel crystals were mesmerising. She caught me staring at her and I quickly diverted my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t catch my face heat up. When I turned back to her, she wore a frown but thankfully, she was no longer looking in my direction.

I thought it so typical that I girl like her would be with a guy like him; a bulky boy with a grey blazer came up behind her and hooked his arm in with hers. She protested slightly, but relaxed after he whispered a few words in her ear. I disliked him instantly; girls may not see passed his defined jawline and blue streaked hair, but I saw the jerk in him when he turned around to smirk at me a to say, ‘Stop staring, she's my pretty tanned girl with weird shoulder blades.’

I had the strange desire to flap my wings open and peck him to death to claim my prize; but she wasn’t my prize, nor was I a rooster.

I snapped out of it and quickly payed for what I came for; four six packs of coke and a few packs of Mentos. It had been a while since Devon and I held a party and quite frankly, all we could think of doing is the stupid regulars like making drink explosions and playing beer pong to get all the girls wasted.

He was waiting for me outside the white van in the parking lot of the supermarket. I cringed every time I saw it, but Devon thought it was funny at the time to buy a white van so that people would think we were kidnappers. Being an officer, his dad thought it was funny and helped fund the disaster; disaster because it broke down every few miles.

“Finally! The goods have arrived!” he rubbed his hands together and took the bags from me. “You took long, dude. What, was there a line in there?”

“You have no idea.” He chuckled lightly and we climbed into the van. When he started the van I noticed that we were low on fuel. I cursed internally; I would have to pay for that. ”Who’s coming tonight?”

“You mean, now. We’re super late; our whole class should be there and some of the older girls. All I can say is. Do not, and I mean do not come into my room tonight.” Devon bit his lip and licked his top teeth. I laughed at his confidence and ran my hand through my hair. “Damn, I just hope Ludwick doesn’t forget the liquor. A party isn’t a party without liquor.”

“In your opinion,” I added, “I’m not big on drinking.”

“Yeah, cause you’re a closeted woman.”
I grunted, “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Trust me, bro. Drink a little and it will make a ton of sense. So much sense that you’ll be laughing into next week.”

I doubted Devon’s accusations but a part of me did hope Ludwick brought the alcohol he told us he was going to bring. That way everyone would be drunk and I could crawl away and retire before 2am.

We pulled up to the driveway and were greeted by a large crowd outside the house. Devon’s parents were away for the weekend so we were able to host a party and have clean-up time before any one of his family stumbled upon us. Devon was deviant, but that’s what made friendship with him so thrilling.