Record Store Blues // Steve Harrington

Chapter 4

"Steve Harrington?" Robin repeated, "I thought you said we were going to your friend's house!" She glared at Anthony.

"We are!" He held out his hands, kicking aside an empty cup. "After the game, Steve went around and told me there's a party at his house."

I replayed the scene of Anthony blowing us off to sit with Tommy and Carol at the game. "Are you sure he wasn't talking to - oh, I don't know - the people sitting next to you?"

Anthony paused; he opened his mouth as if to say something but then thought against it. Well that about confirmed it. Shaking aside whatever thoughts he had, Anthony walked confidently towards the front door while Robin and I cowered behind him. I stayed silent, still in shock and embarrassed at the fact that the freshman had the balls to bring us to a party we were NOT invited to.

Our entry was blocked by a couple making out against the front door. I wrinkled my nose at the sight while Robin made a gagging noise. Anthony, on the other hand, watched with admiration, even cocking his head sideways for a fresher angle.

"How lovely," he commented. Whether this was sarcastic or not, I still don't know. His wonder quickly turned to disgust, as he cleared his throat to put an end to the interaction.

"What?" The guy snarled, turning his head to face us. It was Tommy and Carol, who looked particularly pissed off at the disturbance.

"Hello again, Thomas. Please move aside so we can go in." Anthony proceeded to move towards the door, but Tommy immediately blocked his way with a free hand.

He took a long stare at the three of us, his eyes travelling up and down our outfits. I readjusted my jacket uncomfortably. "I'm not supposed to let losers in," he dismissed. He turned away from us and continued his make-out session. Robin gagged, again.

"Forget about it," I told Anthony. "Let's go chill somewhere else."

Robin agreed. "We can go hang in my basement. There's better music too. Not this Top 40 crap."

It was no surprise that Anthony ignored us. He cleared his throat once more.

"What's your damage, man? I told you - No losers," Tommy said, breaking away from Carol. "Hey... aren't you that freshman turd that kept butting into our conversation?"

Carol took a closer look. "Yeah, it's that annoying freshman," she chimed in, chewing her gum with an open mouth.

Anthony gasped and placed his arm on his hip. "Are you discriminating against the disabled?" He accused. I raised my eyebrows, skeptical of the plan that was brewing inside the freshman's mind.

"What?" Tommy looked puzzled.

Anthony held up his plastered arm. "Do you have something against disabled people?"

The bubble that Karen blew popped. "Tommy, that's so not cool. You know my cousin's a retard."

"I swear - I swear I'm not," Tommy stammered. "Did I call you guys losers? I meant to say really rad people. My mistake," he said as he moved over and opened the front door for us.

The cool breeze from outside was soon dissipated by the hot air that radiated from the crowd of people dancing around the house. I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist. Even with the number of people already inside, the house wasn't at full capacity yet. No wonder they called him King Steve.

"I can't believe you just did that," Robin exclaimed.

He smiled. "Ladies, when Anthony makes a promise, he certainly delivers. Now, shall we look for some refreshments? Anthony's getting hungry."