Warren Beasts

31: Princess Chastity Belt

Every Jackalope jockey remains soaking wet for hours after the game.

Almost no one seems to care.

They've just won a thrilling game in the nick of time.

Now, though, as most of them sit around a crackling campfire set up along one of Lake Zachary's many beaches, it's nice to be wearing a fresh set of clothes. Everyone is warm. Spent. Satisfied. Everyone except Sage Sawyer, that is.

And who knows where she's gotten to.

Above the beach sits their quaint hotel, overlooking the placid waters of the lake.

"Howder hooked us up." Artie says, looking up at the brown building's edifice. Peter, who sits beside him on a large fallen log, nods his head.

"She sure did." He agrees.

Artie turns his head back to regard the rest of his team, scattered in an uneven circle about the fire. He can just about make out the faces of Talia and Gee directly across from him through the flickering flames, lit up with an orange glow. The scent of burning wood in autumn permeates the air.

Artie nudges Peter.

"So that was pretty crazy back there on the bus with Gee and Sage earlier today." He whispers.

Peter rolls his eyes, takes a very deep breath, and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his worn hoodie. He's evidently tired of talking about Genesis O'Toole with Artie. But his old friend keeps on going.

"Dude! Don't worry. Trust me, I'm kinda over her. I've been texting back and forth with Jenny for weeks now. She's everything I could've ever- I dunno. You know what I mean? She's a frikken nerd. We speak the same language. She gets tubs on a level I- All I'm saying is, you don't need to worry about me. I was just commenting on how weird that bus ride here got, is all." Artie knows he's babbling, but he does tend to get like this when he's speaking about a subject he's passionate about.

Normally it's about tubs.

Girls are becoming more and more compelling to him, though, no doubt about that...

Peter sighs, not for the first time tonight. But then, not long after, he gives his friend a shrug. "Alright. I'm happy for you. But maybe you should ask this Jenny girl out on a date and, you know, not pine over her in agonized silence for a billion frikken years like you did with Gee."

Artie puts his hands up in front of his round face. "Fine. Fine. I will, I promise. I just need the right opportunity."

Their conversation falls into a comfortable lull as they listen in on the soft crackling of the fire and the ever present murmur of their teammates. Following this peaceful moment, Peter clears his throat.

"The bus ride was definitely odd though. You're right. Who knew Genesis O'Toole was hiding a whole sordid love triangle from us this whole time!? Princess Chastity Belt herself. It's like finding out Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or something."

"Uh, Pete, she was." Artie turns to his friend.

"Was what?"

"Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Probably."

"Seriously? God, Christianity is strange. I'm glad I'm agnostic," Peter says. He pauses for a second, then wonders aloud, "wait. How do you know that?"

"Look, bro, I had a crush on Gee for years. I may have fallen down a few theologically focused, Wikipedia-enabled rabbit holes once or twice, OK? You know me, I like to be methodical." Artie looks down and brushes some sand off his wheelchair's wheels.

He's not proud of himself.

Peter shakes his head. "You're hopeless."

Peter can't leave well enough alone, so he calls from across the fire pit.

"Hey Gee!"

Artie really nudges Peter now. "Dude. What are you doing?"

Peter looks at his friend and shoots him a knowing wink. But something inside him really wants to stir the pot tonight. Gee just happens to be an easy target.

Genesis flicks her eyes nervously over the flames in his direction, attempting to brush golden hair behind a shoulder nonchalantly. "Yeah?"

"How come you didn't wear a Halloween costume today?" Peter asks.

"Halloween is not a festival I wish to partake in." That prissy tone of voice again. The one that always somehow embeds itself straight under Peter's skin.

He doesn't know why. He wants to know why. He keeps pushing.

"Wait, what?" Peter can't help but snort.

"Halloween is a pagan festival where people invite demons up from hell to trick-or-treat in the streets. You may not even be aware what you're doing, but every time you put on a Halloween costume, you're consorting with Lucifer himself." Gee says this with solemn sincerity.

"Wait. Hold up a sec. You're trying to tell me you think dressing up for Halloween is evil, but cheating on your secret boyfriend with your secret girlfriend behind both their backs is all hunky dory in the eyes of your Lord?" Peter snorts.

"I never said I was perfect." Gee's reply is barely above a whisper, but she stares defiantly at him as bitter water wells in her eyes.

Suddenly, the acid he began this interrogation with melts away. Instead of scorn, all Peter feels for Genesis is pity.

He can't fault her if her actions don't really line up with her beliefs, if she's still trying to figure out who she really is.

Peter knows how that feels all too well.

***

Photo courtesy of Joshua Newton on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@joshuanewton. Edited.