Thomas and Niko in the City of Trees

Chapter 4 - Part 1

So the girls come over and we're all just sitting there in Thomas's room.

"Why does it always stink in here?" Lexie says.

Madison says she likes it and gives Thomas's big arm a squeeze. Lexie looks at me and we share a private smile, because Madison is just too much sometimes.

For the first five minutes, Thomas is in another world. I can tell by the dumb look on his face that he's not seeing anyone around him, not hearing anything we say. Madison clasps his hand in hers and says something sort of witty and laughs and looks over at him. His gaze just drifts slowly over in her direction and he puts on a mild, forced smile. He's tuned out like this for only five minutes, and somehow nobody notices but me, and then he's back.

"I still have that whisky," he blurts out, scrambling to get down to the safe on the floor of his closet.

"We can't drink it here," says Madison. "Your dad will know."

"We'll go to Winstead," Thomas says. He opens up that flask and takes a huge swig from it before so much as standing up.

"Take it easy," says Madison. Her voice is so quiet and soft compared to Lexie's. It's kind of breathy.

Lexie gets this sly look on her face and pulls out two joints from her purse. "And when we run out..."

"We won't run out," says Thomas. "I hid a fifth in the garage, too." Thomas doesn't smoke weed. He's never even tried it. He calls me a stoner even though I've only ever smoked it maybe fifteen times in my whole goddamn life. I think he's afraid of it, but I would never say that to his face.

We go out into the kitchen and he opens the cupboard. He passes each of us an empty protein shaker, lid and all. "Let's see about a mixer." He opens the fridge. "Orange juice? Probably not."

Lexie laughs. "Holy shit, Thomas, I'd rather have it straight."

I look in the bottom drawer of the fridge. There's a whole unopened bottle of coke in there. I lift it out and show it to the others.

"Oh thank god," says Lexie.

We fill them part of the way full with coke, then go out to the garage. Thomas hunts down his hidden fifth of whisky. He goes around to each of us, filling those blue plastic goblets like he's the the star of the party, and when he gets to his own I notice there's no coke in there. Instead he fills it a little over half full with straight-up whisky. Thomas Chu has a number of signature moves, but that right there, that's his number one. The girls are laughing about something with their backs to us, so I doubt they even notice. But I notice.

Winstead Park is only about a twenty minute walk from Thomas's house. There's this hidden little area at the back by a fence where we can get really quiet if any cops come by. A massive pine stands over it and shades it through the heat of the day.

We're just walking along Northview. The repurposed protein shakers are hidden in Lexie's backpack. Thomas keeps pulling his flask out of his shorts pocket and taking furtive little swigs from it.

Lexie's holding my hand on and off. She falls back to talk to Madison. And then Madison says, "Where'd you get that shirt, Niko?"

"It's not mine," I say.

"I know," she says in her breathy voice. "It belongs to this guy." She plants her hand in the middle of Thomas's back as he's walking.

"I gave it to him." says Thomas. I kind of think this whole moment is eating him up inside. He takes a long drink from the flask. "I hate that shirt."

"I think it's nice," says Madison. "But it looks better on Niko." She just won't stop talking.

"No one asked you," he says. He sounds serious. By the time he turns around, he's put a smile on, but I think Madison's hurt a little.