Telescope

Weed and Long Days

Benny

I walked down the hall, hands in my pockets, music playing in my ears. I sighed as I reached the heavy doors at the end. The quiet, empty hall would give way to a busy life with loud friends and strong fists punching my shoulders because laughing like a normal person isn't how the cool kids roll. I leaned against the cold door, letting my weight push it away.

I was halfway down the front steps when Mason materialized next to me, draping a heavy arm over my shoulder. "Benny, my man," He said, like an eighties tv host. "Come with me for the time of your fucking life."

"No, man, I'm not going anywhere with you blindly ever again. I learned that at Denny's. Twice," I said, thinking back on the many times Mason has drug me into his mess. Mason is a good friend, the type of guy you'd call if you'd accidentally killed someone, but his desperate need to live on the edge has its drawbacks. 

I mean, hey, I get it. We all just want to live. Mason, though, a skinny white boy coming from a affluent family, is desperate to not miss out on life's little joys. Like vandalism. Or drugs. 

"Benny," He said, shaking his head. "Trust me a little, bro."

"Where are we going?" I pressed as he headed over to a group of guys I didn't know. 

"Just gonna hang out, skate, smoke a little," Mason said, then to the guys. "Hey, guys. This is Benny, my main guy." 

I nodded at them, trying to smile without coming off as a pushover. They were all tall, with dark eyes and beanies and chains, gazes so cool I could almost feel it in my blood. "Hey," I said. 

"Sup, man," A tall guy said, holding out his hand. "I'm Ryder. That's Daren, and Eric." He said, nodding at the other guys. I gave a good bro nod, then found myself being ushered around the building to the parking lot, and eventually into an old silver toyota that smelled of weed and long days. 

I sat by the window, Mason in between Daren and me. I looked outside, trying to ignore the haze floating into my brain. I don't like drugs, okay? Not because I'm scared, or a pussy. I don't like what they do to my head, I like to be able to think clearly. 

As we rolled out of the parking lot, I saw Juno walking down the street. She was holding her shoes in her hand, like she was at the beach, laughing with her fellow band members. She ran a hand through her blonde hair, and I couldn't help but smile. There is something about finding someone with your music taste...

The destination of the wobbly car, bumping down the streets on the verge of a breakdown, was a parking lot.

 Yep.

My friends, ladies and gentlemen.

Technically, it was a parking garage, and we drove to the top of it. The sky was bright as the sunset, but no one noticed because they were to focused lighting up their joints and staring at their shoes to do skate tricks. 

No hate to stoners and skaters. Actually, mad respect to skaters. I mean, hell, I am one, I know how hard it is. Took me a year to master an ollie. 

But tonight, my mind was on the sky, thinking about telescopes and murals.

That night, when Ryder wouldn't let me drive despite him being ridiculously intoxicated, I walked home. It took a while, as my house was on the opposite side of town. I had to walk past the school, downtown, the stretch of beach, and through the westside. As I was passing the beach, though, I saw a bonfire, teens sitting around the burning flames. And then, for the second time that day, I saw Juno. 

I walked over, hopping one of them had a car. I assumed she was with her band, but as I got closer, I realized it wasn't them. Was that... Andrew? Dylan? Mitch? 

I knew them all, but I was supposed to. I was the funny guy who was friends with everyone. For a minute, I thought I'd walked in on a cult, but when Juno looked up, laughter in her eyes, and saw me she grinned.

"Benny!" She said, waving me over. "Come join us."

I walked over, looking around at their faces. They all seemed distracted. Distracted, but happy. Andrew patted an overturned bucket, so I sat down. "So, what is this?"

Andrew snickered, "Um, a coven. We're just hanging out, dude."

"I always knew you were a witch," I said. He gave me a look, so I said, "The leather jacket just seems kinda witch-in-disguise to me."

Andrew rolled his eyes, but Mitch laughed. I looked over at Juno. She was sitting on a blanket, leaning back on her hands, ankles crossed. I noticed her colorful anklet and silver toe ring, not to mention the dozens of braided bracelets on her wrists. This was also the first time I noticed a tattoo on her calf. Her guitar was next to her, a can of coca-cola propped in the sand near it. Her eyes were closed, and she was nodding her head slightly, her hair tucked behind her ears. I wondered if she was hearing a song in her head. 

That happens to me a lot, a song playing in my head. 

"So, Bea," Dylan asked, and I looked over at a girl across the fire from me, next to Andrew. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and dark makeup. I thought she looked pretty sick. "How's your application going?"

She groaned. "It's going," She said. "It's so boring to do."

"Probably because you don't have anything to put on it," Mitch said. 

"Says you," She retorted. "All you do is sit around and get high. You're basically me without washing your hair. You hide behind reposts of Black Lives Matter and Climate Crisis, but you don't do shit," She said.

"Excuse you," He said, "I did a beach clean up day last week." He didn't wait for her to respond, just collapsed against Juno, who shoved him off with a laugh. 

Bea smiled, "Point and case," She said, laughing at Mitch who was now laying in the sand, eyes fluttering closed.

"God, he's such a mess," Juno said, nudging him, a half sad look on her face.

"He needs a shower," Dylan said.

"You think everyone needs a shower," Andrew said.

"Most people do," Dylan shrugged.

"So, I was actually wondering if I could get a ride at some point?" I asked, watching everyone's faces. 

"Sure," Dylan said, smiling. "But you gotta stay for a while till I'm ready to leave."

"No problem here," I said. 

So I spent the night surrounded by the oddest people ever, having a great night. Juno sang a bit, Andrew and Bea smoked a bit, Dylan talked about sports a lot. They all had their own things to contribute, and nothing became boring. 

I went home that night, covered in sand, exhausted, and with a huge smile on my face.