chickenwire
09-23-2012, 02:26 AM
“Sweat”
Thick Savannah summer sweat beads off Ellie’s forehead. We’re melting on her loft balcony as cars zoom past the Chevron across the street. Her voice is low on the phone with some guy named Tim. She’s holding a cigarette that lost its cherry a few minutes ago and her other hand holds a phone, tangled somewhere between her bleached, bead strewn hair and her ear. I’m smoking a cigarette and staring at her.
“Uh huh, I’m comfortable with that,” she says under a nervous giggle. She glances at me with a grin. I don’t know how to respond so I smile back. She says she’s picking up some gig cleaning for a guy while wearing lingerie. I know that’s not what she’s really doing--I know that’s not what Tim’s about but I keep quiet. I don’t want to get in the middle of her ****.
Through the glass door I can hear her mom’s desperate voice offering the rest of the kids cookies while they smoke pot in her living room. I don’t really want to be a part of that so I stay out here with Ellie.
A lot of kids hate her; they say she’s bat**** crazy. Her parents say she’s a lost little girl; her brother Ryan says she’s cool cause she does acid; most kids think she’s too far gone. I don’t know what I think--but I like the way she looks at me so I sit out here while she’s on the phone with her pimp. I’m not gonna tell her mom. I’m never gonna tell her brother cause he’s a ****ing idiot.
One time I drunkenly agreed to go strip with her for some bachelor party. As soon as sobriety woke me the next morning I checked my phone. “U ready to go? Bachelor party @ 7” I just laughed and told her I wasn’t game.
Now here I am again, watching her lean her tall, muscular body against the balcony.
The glass doors open and loafing figure sticks his head through. It’s Ryan. Ellie, still on the phone, motions at me toward the door. I stand up and walk through, knowing Ryan would follow.
Ryan is tall with a big head, broad shoulders and skinny legs. He has a way of walking like he’s about to fall over any second. He likes to listen to John Lennon’s “lesser known singles” and talk about corrupting power and money as he drives his brand new Honda his mom bought him.
I walk into the smoke permeated loft and hear him padding behind me, slamming the glass door to his sister’s world. I walk across the cement floor and bamboo rug to perch on one of the barstools. The rest of the kids are blasting electronica and bragging about DJing in the living area. Ryan sits next to me and gives me an expectant look. I look away immediately.
The mom is behind the bar area, moving around in the kitchen, cleaning up. She pauses and looks at me with her smile stricken face.
“How’s school going? You know Ellie’s almost done now.” Ellie is finishing high school through online courses. I tell Ellie’s mom that school’s alright.
“Did you see her new shoes? She bought those today.”
I nod.
Ryan chimes in. “Ah yeah I saw those—platforms,” he says, making sure I see him roll his eyes so I know he disapproves of her shoe choice.
Ellie’s mom chirps “I hope Ellie knows when she goes to college she can’t walk around in shoes like that. She’ll hurt her feet!”
I look away.
Ryan gets up to walk to the kitchen area.
They’re out of bottled water so he wants filtered Brita water. He opens the fridge and shakes the empty Brita filter. “What the hell?!” he shouts at his mom. She panics over to give him a hug and apologize. She starts stroking his hair. I get up and walk back outside to be with Ellie.
She’s off the phone and is lounging in the sun now. Her head’s back and her long legs are stretched out onto the bars of the balcony. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re dating my brother,” she says without looking at me. “I’m not.”
Ellie shrugs and flicks her cigarette off the balcony. “You won’t tell him right?” “Hell no.”
Ellie says Tim’s a nice guy and she’s glad she has everything set up. She says she’ll let me know the location. I tell her she can take care of herself. She looks up at me and smiles. I wish she wouldn’t do this ****. Her eyes are sparkling and vivacious and truthful. I sit down next to her and light up another cigarette.
“Your mom really worries about you,” I offer.
“Trust me, I know.”
I can still hear her mom’s high pitched voice in the kitchen. Now she’s sitting with rest of the kids in the living room area, passing around the bong. I’m sure she’s wearing that hopeless smile. I’m sure Ryan’s pouting in the kitchen, grumpy about not having Brita water and not getting 9 hours of sleep and not having Jim Morrison boots and not having everyone listen to him rant about the government.
I’ll stay out here with Ellie and the sun and the car exhaust. I’ll watch the cops at the Chevron pull over kids. I’ll nibble on French fries and laugh at the way our sweat falls. Just as long as we’re out here right now and everything’s raw and real and beautiful, like her. I want to tell her that but I don’t. She picks up the phone for a drug deal. I sit back and close my eyes, letting my red, sun ridden eyelids take over everything. She reaches over, puts sunglasses on my face and laughs; I feel her touch and I smile into sleep.
Thick Savannah summer sweat beads off Ellie’s forehead. We’re melting on her loft balcony as cars zoom past the Chevron across the street. Her voice is low on the phone with some guy named Tim. She’s holding a cigarette that lost its cherry a few minutes ago and her other hand holds a phone, tangled somewhere between her bleached, bead strewn hair and her ear. I’m smoking a cigarette and staring at her.
“Uh huh, I’m comfortable with that,” she says under a nervous giggle. She glances at me with a grin. I don’t know how to respond so I smile back. She says she’s picking up some gig cleaning for a guy while wearing lingerie. I know that’s not what she’s really doing--I know that’s not what Tim’s about but I keep quiet. I don’t want to get in the middle of her ****.
Through the glass door I can hear her mom’s desperate voice offering the rest of the kids cookies while they smoke pot in her living room. I don’t really want to be a part of that so I stay out here with Ellie.
A lot of kids hate her; they say she’s bat**** crazy. Her parents say she’s a lost little girl; her brother Ryan says she’s cool cause she does acid; most kids think she’s too far gone. I don’t know what I think--but I like the way she looks at me so I sit out here while she’s on the phone with her pimp. I’m not gonna tell her mom. I’m never gonna tell her brother cause he’s a ****ing idiot.
One time I drunkenly agreed to go strip with her for some bachelor party. As soon as sobriety woke me the next morning I checked my phone. “U ready to go? Bachelor party @ 7” I just laughed and told her I wasn’t game.
Now here I am again, watching her lean her tall, muscular body against the balcony.
The glass doors open and loafing figure sticks his head through. It’s Ryan. Ellie, still on the phone, motions at me toward the door. I stand up and walk through, knowing Ryan would follow.
Ryan is tall with a big head, broad shoulders and skinny legs. He has a way of walking like he’s about to fall over any second. He likes to listen to John Lennon’s “lesser known singles” and talk about corrupting power and money as he drives his brand new Honda his mom bought him.
I walk into the smoke permeated loft and hear him padding behind me, slamming the glass door to his sister’s world. I walk across the cement floor and bamboo rug to perch on one of the barstools. The rest of the kids are blasting electronica and bragging about DJing in the living area. Ryan sits next to me and gives me an expectant look. I look away immediately.
The mom is behind the bar area, moving around in the kitchen, cleaning up. She pauses and looks at me with her smile stricken face.
“How’s school going? You know Ellie’s almost done now.” Ellie is finishing high school through online courses. I tell Ellie’s mom that school’s alright.
“Did you see her new shoes? She bought those today.”
I nod.
Ryan chimes in. “Ah yeah I saw those—platforms,” he says, making sure I see him roll his eyes so I know he disapproves of her shoe choice.
Ellie’s mom chirps “I hope Ellie knows when she goes to college she can’t walk around in shoes like that. She’ll hurt her feet!”
I look away.
Ryan gets up to walk to the kitchen area.
They’re out of bottled water so he wants filtered Brita water. He opens the fridge and shakes the empty Brita filter. “What the hell?!” he shouts at his mom. She panics over to give him a hug and apologize. She starts stroking his hair. I get up and walk back outside to be with Ellie.
She’s off the phone and is lounging in the sun now. Her head’s back and her long legs are stretched out onto the bars of the balcony. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re dating my brother,” she says without looking at me. “I’m not.”
Ellie shrugs and flicks her cigarette off the balcony. “You won’t tell him right?” “Hell no.”
Ellie says Tim’s a nice guy and she’s glad she has everything set up. She says she’ll let me know the location. I tell her she can take care of herself. She looks up at me and smiles. I wish she wouldn’t do this ****. Her eyes are sparkling and vivacious and truthful. I sit down next to her and light up another cigarette.
“Your mom really worries about you,” I offer.
“Trust me, I know.”
I can still hear her mom’s high pitched voice in the kitchen. Now she’s sitting with rest of the kids in the living room area, passing around the bong. I’m sure she’s wearing that hopeless smile. I’m sure Ryan’s pouting in the kitchen, grumpy about not having Brita water and not getting 9 hours of sleep and not having Jim Morrison boots and not having everyone listen to him rant about the government.
I’ll stay out here with Ellie and the sun and the car exhaust. I’ll watch the cops at the Chevron pull over kids. I’ll nibble on French fries and laugh at the way our sweat falls. Just as long as we’re out here right now and everything’s raw and real and beautiful, like her. I want to tell her that but I don’t. She picks up the phone for a drug deal. I sit back and close my eyes, letting my red, sun ridden eyelids take over everything. She reaches over, puts sunglasses on my face and laughs; I feel her touch and I smile into sleep.