flicker of green

not quite there

"I swear life is just too complicated." Hummer threw her phone to the bed and walked out to her kitchen.

"Give me something easy. To the point. Something possible." At that moment the door down the hall, the one that never opens, creaked. The girl went to grab the soda she came for and escape, but it was too late. She had manners and he would have seen her and her attempt to avoid him.

His hands seemed much too close to the floor and his jeans were too big. They were ripped everywhere, and anyone who saw him twice in a week was sure to see the same pair every time. He cared but didn't have the time or the energy to put anything else on. Occasionally he changed out one black shirt for the next. Not often. He was dirty. She grimaced and backed away to give him a clear path to the fridge. He pulled out a couple white claws and nodded in her direction. She didn't respond. They were siblings and this was the last thing she wanted to remember. When was the last time they spoke without a filter? Fifteen years ago, when they were just beginning kindergarten? Hummer barely remembered his existence, unless he came out of the cave. He lived in a dark room at the back of the house where the air conditioning didn't really do much good. The lights were always off and the curtains were always drawn. He played video games with his friends and did nothing else.

She couldn't help but scoff after he had gone. How could someone like that survive? She shook her head and went back to her room, already forgetting about the bad mood she was in. It was back to being on auto-pilot. She folded some laundry and got ready for bed. Tomorrow she would go out and find some girls to be friends with. Dysfunction was her game. Somehow. Her life was mundane and she never once stepped out of line (as long as anyone was around). This weekend, though, her dad was away and he told her she had been good recently and to invite some people over. She stocked up on pot and vodka, messed around with a vibrator, and then went to sleep.

The next day she did nothing. Hummer knew that she was made for the nighttime. She stayed in bed all day watching porn and then stepped out into the 10 pm breeze. She got into her car (it was lime green, her dad bought it as a punishment) and drove off to the mall. She kicked herself every time she chose the mall, but there wasn't much else. The stupid girls went to the mall anyway. She liked stupid girls. She walked around for a while and made note of how busy it was. Some event must be going on. Most of them looked young and gay.

"Makes me gay too," she thought to herself. An evil chuckle slipped out from between her blackened lips. One girl, who she thought was probably a little too young, was eyeing her intensely. She might have recognized her. It had been years since she first started coming here looking for a good time. She had three categories for the pretty faces here. 1: fucked 'em. 2: gonna fuck 'em. 3: there is no three. The girls that are too young never follow through. Thanks to how rough she plays, she doesn't have to worry about that. On the nights that she didn't feel like being out late she just took someone with her to the girl's bathroom. Tonight was different, because tonight she found someone new. Not new as in she hasn't seen them in a few months- no. This girl was fresh meat. F-r-e-s-h meat. There was no letting this one go. She stood tall in the middle of the Justice store, and looked refreshing amidst all of the pink. Don't get the wrong idea. This girl was bland. That's what Hummer liked. She wanted something unexpected. Her black flip flops and jean shorts were painfully boring.

She had to act fast, because after watching her for a while she realized the girl had friends. Friends meant fewer opportunities. None of them interested Hummer. One or two of them had been with her before. Old news. This girl looked soft and impressionable. Like a puppy. Finally she saw her walk off to the bathroom by herself. She waited a minute before following her in, and then settled in to the wall with one foot propped up against it. Listening to her do something as simple as using the toilet was fascinating. She heard the flush and couldn't help but smile. Tonight was going to be good.

The target stepped out of the stall and only glanced at Hummer. She walked over to wash her hands and glanced again. Her eyes narrowed.

"What?" She said curtly. It surprised her. Maybe she would need to take a different approach.

"How you doin tonight?" Hummer asked her nonchalantly.

"Fine. Get to the point. You wanna kiss or something?" She was drying her hands now, time was running out and this just got interesting.

She was going to respond but found that she was lost. The bathroom girl scoffed and threw her brown hair over her shoulder.

"Meet me outside in ten minutes. If you want." She gave a quick smile, also unexpected, and walked out. Hummer was humiliated. None of the girls have ever made her speechless like that. She tried to follow her out to see where she went but she was already gone.

She knew this was a sign of weakness and promised herself right then and there that this girl would be her next project and she would not let her get the upper hand. No emotions. She's made it this far without falling for anyone.

Ten minutes passed and she saw the mystery girl sitting on a curb outside. Hummer made a point to walk past her and call over her shoulder,

"Coming?" She did.