The Night Is Young

Hallucinations and Nelson's Lullabyes

“On A Scale Of One To Ten,”

My fingers tap against the slightly warm door handle, fingers flex around the curve of the lever; silver overlaid peeling from the metal.

“Ashanti.”

I faintly recall a voice as my eyes slide over the glass smudged from my fingers dancing around the surface. Lamplights whizz by, a purple night plays on and the scent of summer drifts in the crack, half an inch between the window and the car, “Huh?”

Claire adjusts her rearview mirror enough to show me that she’s smirking. Beside her Nikki casts me an unreadable look before twirling a strand of her still red hair. I don’t get this chick, her and Claire are like polar opposites; Claire is friendly and bubbly, Nikki is snide and uncaring. How the two became friends I will never know.

“On a scale of one to ten how much do you like my cousin?”

Nuh uh I don’t.

Girl please!

Say what?

Those are the things that come to mind, but when I open my mouth nothing but a dry croak comes out. I clear my throat, slide my tongue over my parched lips and try again, “*cough*”

Looks like someones not cooperating tonight.

“Girl I’m just messing with you!” Claire chuckles along as she parks the car neatly between a Subaru and a Honda Accord. She does it so smoothly I hardly know whats going on because I’m still hanging on from what she said before and maybe its because….

“Hello?” Claire barks as she turns off the car ignition. Nikki chuckles, her pretty little nose crinkling up.

“Is that him?” Nikki aks leaning over the armrest, her bare back half hidden by the shadows of the car.

“Yeah its him—NELSON,WHAT?”

I’m not one for hanging out, I’m not one for going out, I’m not one for doing anything essentially. I’m a couch potato with a hella good metabolism, I’m a girl who sits on the couch and stuffs handfuls of Cheetos in her mouth. I’m a girl who cries about not having friends….and when I do have friends it doesn’t feel like it.

Why?

Because I don’t like to do shit!

And maybe that’s why I’m so thankful for Claire and Nelson right now, because for some odd reason they understand me.

Yeah, they get me.

They get me in ways that my daddy can’t, in ways that Ashley would never try to achieve….and I love them for it.

And that’s why I’m sitting in Claires car right now about to watch Transformers. On July the 4th. Crazy right?

No party….movies.

But Claire’s cool with it, so its whatever.

At the sound of Nelsons name I press my forehead into Claires headrest while Nikki laughs and reaches for the phone, “Lemme talk to him.”

But why?

I mean….not that I care or anything.

I rub my nose against the smooth fabric of the headrest and watch the transition, the pink covered iphone transitions from one manicured hand to another, “Say Nigga!”

Saying nigga is my favorite pastime too, usually when I’m angry though.

“Where are you,” Nikki continues on in a voice that I can only assume is an attempt to be breathy, she twirls a long strand of red hair and giggles, “Why you didn’t tell me?”