uncool, stanley barber

7

7 - stretching out the dead leg like porn

after we picked winnie up from school and dropped her round her friend's house, stanley invited me to go round his place. lucky we're not working today.

we're chilling on his porch step when he takes his shoes off. "you think you know someone 'til they take off their shoes outside" i chuckle.

"hey" stanley defends himself "i accept your choices, you accept mine."

"what choices of mine do you accept?" i ask him.

"your choice of not accepting this blunt" he puffs it in and blows out the excess. "you've done it before, what's the big deal?"

"my dad" i sigh, resting back on my hands. "he's patrolling today, so there's a chance he could actually see his own daughter breaking the law."

"shit!" stanley curses as he frantically puts out the blunt. "you didn't tell me that!"

"was i meant to?" i giggle at his sudden change of mood.

"well, he's a cop" stanley says "and, yanno. he's your dad. i don't wanna screw it up."

i smile at his sincerity. he doesn't have a care in the world if someone sees him smoking, but he doesn't wanna mess things up with my dad, that's a sort of sign, right? oh stanley, makes my heart go.

"oh. well, you'll definitely screw it up" i say. he looks at me like he's a puppy and i've stood on his tail out of fun. "but it won't be your fault. my dad's particular."

"well, i'm gonna fucking fail at that then" stanley huffs, pulling me closer. he kisses my temple as i breath in the marijuana on his top. i shiver at the slight breeze, making him alert. "take my cardi."

"i've never heard any boy say that" i giggle, but then freak out at the judgement in my words. "that's not meant to be sexist or like gender specific or anything. i love your style and your cardigans-"

"shh, els. i know what you meant. goofball" he hands me the cardigan as i slip my arms in it. it works well with my pink striped top and jeans.

while relaxing, and me making fun of stanley wearing sunglasses whilst the sky's grey, we see syd walk by us with her backpack on. she's probably just come back from the diner. i wonder how it went with dina blabbing about bradley.

"hey, syd" stanley shouts at her as he gets up and offers me a hand to follow him. he makes his way up the drive carefully, not hurting his bare feet.

"oh, my leg fell asleep. one sec" stanley sighs as he begins to stretch it out. i giggle at syd's reaction. she looks like she's watching porn for the first time.

i decide to step in and save this tragedy. "how was the diner?" i ask syd as we begin to walk. stanley catches up and walks the other side of me.

"it was okay" she replies bluntly. "dina was fine and bradley joined us. he had a nosebleed."

"geez, that's random" stanley chirps up beside me.

"i get them. it's like a medical-passed-down thing. from a relative" i say. i get them from my mum.

"is that actually a thing?" syd asks, her voice wavering a bit. i look at her, "like, nosebleeds can just happen?"

"yeah, pretty much."

"huh" syd thinks, before we get to her house. i was right, she lives right down the street from stanley. "well, thanks i guess."

"you're welcome" stanley says, putting his arm around my shoulder. this catches syd's attention as she probably pieces together why we were hanging out and why i'm in a yellow cardigan.

"are you two, like together?" she queries. i freeze up. we haven't put a label on for rushing things, but what do we say to something like this-

"pretty much" stanley says, calmly. "well like, we've kissed and stuff."

"oh"

"thanks, stan" i nudge him in the stomach. "i haven't told dina yet. about us, sorta like this."

"cool" syd replies as if this has nothing to do with her.

"okay, well i'll see you" i mutter before walking away. i'm not trying to be rude, i just don't know sydney that well.

i wait for stanley as he puts his shades down and bows for syd. "what a world we live in, sydney" he dances my way. i watch how he twirls and skips like he couldn't care if he lands on a bit of glass or a sharp stone.

he's absolutely carefree. and i'm learning to be just that.