Chapter 23
If you're wondering, they did make it home safely, though, nothing particularly exciting happened. The solar storm died down after three days, and everyone went home. It was a pleasant trip, if a little chilly. Galaxy-Man wanted to camp here simply because it as far away from people as he could possible be without leaving the planet. When all was said and done, Hamilton returned home, Cutty went back to work, and with the help of Cherry, Galaxy-Man returned to his training. He was still very much serious about entering the tournament.
Instead of physically training, Cherry devised a brutal form of psychological torture for Galaxy-Man to prepare him for even the worse punishment. It was an act so sinister that it was banned by the Geneva Conventions, who deemed it too cruel. Galaxy-Man was tied to chair and forced to watch Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues on a loop for 15 solid days. He watched it a total of 237 or so times. In that time, he didn't eat anything, not because he was allowed, but because he simply couldn't keep anything down.
During the night, while Galaxy-Man was tied up beginning his self-imposed torture, Cherry decided it was high-time she had her very own chapter. Actually, she had really taken to heart the advice of her friends and thought it might be a good idea to simply leave the nest for a bit and see what kind of shenanigans she could get herself into. She really did want to make more friends, and often wondered why she had so much trouble with that to begin with. It's not like she was shy or mean-spirited. Maybe she just wasn't looking in the right places. She left without any idea of where she was going or how long she would be gone. She packed no food, brought no map, and left her phone behind.
When she tied her father to the chair, she started for the door. “I'm gone. See you when I see you.”
“Alright,” replied Galaxy-Man, “don't have sex.”
Sometimes it's good to walk down an unfamiliar road and let the world happen, put down the phone, put down the printed-out directions and let life be your map. A person who takes no risks will survive longer, but live less. No one remembers the white sheep, do they? Cherry strolled down the open road of uncertainty with a smile on her face and not a plan to be hatched. She did, however, make one brief stop on her way to wherever it was she was going. She stopped by Kenneth's window of course.
She picked up a small pebble and threw it at his window. “Yo Sexy Kenneth, get out here!” she whispered loudly. She picked up a dirt clod and chucked at his window, maybe a little too hard as the window cracked a bit. “Holy fffffart,” she muttered to herself, catching herself before uttering the dreaded F word, a word she chose to never utter. Perhaps she were saving it for the right occasion.
Kenneth woke up from his 8:15 PM warm milk and Teddy Graham induced slumber and opened his window. “Cherry?”
“It's me, Cherry. Come on, Kenneth, we're gonna hit the town, you and me.”
“What? I'll get in trouble.”
“Look, either the town's gonna get painted red, or your back porch. What's it gonna be?”
Kenneth reluctantly accepted her plea, and snuck out for the first time in his life.
Several minutes later, two kids were walking around lively downtown Spunky Hollow.
“Oh my God, I'm so happy right now!!” squealed Cherry. She was ecstatic to be out on the town. This was certainly a new experience and Cherry had smiles for miles.
Poor little Kenneth on the other hand was a bit more apprehensive and worrisome. “What if we get in trouble?”
“What if you shut up and keep lookin' fine?” They passed by a pretty bangin' house party, complete with red Dixie cups scattered around the yard and that one guy who drank WAY too much. “Hey, wanna go pretend like we were invited to that party?”
“No.”
“Then let's go, silly!” She grabbed his hand and ran down the sidewalk and into the house. There were at least 60 people there. It was quite the festivity. There were people dancing, a group of teens doing a embarrassingly bad cover of Come Together, and most prominently, drugs and alcohol all over the place. No one said anything about Cherry and Kenneth being there, maybe they just didn't care. There weren't many other kids there, and the ones that were there looked like thugs, complete with hoodies and visible Joe Boxer boxers.
Cherry was overcome with excitement. She started dancing along with awful music. “Come on, Kenneth, dance with me!”
Kenneth was noticeably nervous. “I can't dance, Cherry.”
“Dancing's easy, you just flail around like an idiot until you're having fun!” Kenneth was still scared, so Cherry took his hand and walked down a hall with him, thinking there might be a room that's less crowded. “Let's find someplace less jumpin'.”
They walk into a room that seemed less lively. They walked in and there were two boys smoking weed in the floor and little girl on the bed. One of the boys was thin, tan, and had long, dark blonde hair with no shirt on, and the other was a tall, portly boy with overalls and a ball cap. He was about the same age. The shirtless boy had a tattoo of a camel on his arm, and the other boy had a tattoo of a lizard. The little girl was about six. She was wearing yellow velour pants with a black Daffy Duck shirt that was much too big. She had a caterpillar tattoo on her finger. Weird how they all had tattoos at such a young age.
“What's up?” Cherry asked coolly.
“What's crackin'?” the shirtless boy asked. He had a cool demeanor, like he was tough and hard, but fair and kind to those who treated him with the same level of respect; definitely a good kind of friend to have. He then pointed at the door. “You guys need to get the hell out.”
Kenneth's heart was racing, and Cherry was hurt, but oddly not surprised. “O... okay,” she said glumly as she began to turn around.
The boy then cracked a smile. “I'm just joshing you. You're cool.”
Cherry started laughing. “Shit, man, I thought I did something wrong.”
The shirtless boy took another hit. He was the kind of person who didn't change, no matter how high or drunk he was. “I'm Richard,” he said. He pointed to his friend. “This is Brother, that's what everyone calls him.” He pointed up at the bed to the little girl. “That's my little sis, Gidget. She's gonna stay in school and be rich someday.”
“I'm Cherry, and this is Kenneth.”
“That boy ain't said one goddamned word since y'all come in,” said Brother. He was a real Huckleberry Finn of a guy, no family, no home and he had a phony-sounding southern accent, but that was really how he spoke.
“Hello,” said Kenneth.
“Hi,” replied Brother in a bright, patronizing voice, “how're you?” He was only teasing of course.
Cherry bounced back with a clever response. “How, high are you?” She gave a big stupid grin as she said this.
Brother laughed loudly, but Richard gave only a modest chuckle. He wasn't the type of person to laugh very loudly.
Cherry went and sat next to Richard. She thought he was kinda cute actually. “Why don't you have a shirt?” she asked.
He looked down like he had no idea he was shirtless. “Oh dang,” he said. He turned to Brother. “Hey, where'd my shirt go, Brother?”
“You thought that if ya took it off you'd be more aero-dynamic,” he replied. He had big eyes and he looked right at you whenever he spoke.
They were just joking around to make the kids laugh. Cherry and Gidget laughed loudly, and Kenneth laughed through his nose and smiled.
Brother couldn't read or write, and pronounced words he was less familiar with slowly. Believe it or not, Brother was far from stupid, however. While he lacked book-smarts, he was surprisingly inquisitive and clever.
“You smoke?” asked Richard to Cherry.
“I used to smoke with my dad when I was younger, but I don't touch the stuff anymore. Nothin' against the stuff, it's just not for me.”
“Smart thinking. This stuff ain't gonna get you anywhere. Ain't that right, Gidget?”
“That's right,” Gidget replied.
Cherry turned over to Kenneth, who was standing against the wall doing a whole bunch of nothing with a side order of awkward.
“Kenneth, you can talk,” said Cherry.
“Okay,” he replied with a fake smile. Poor Kenneth was becoming a bit jealous of Richard. In his mind, he had to do something to get Cherry's attention. He was panicking. He knew he was being too quiet and too shy, so he did something no one saw coming. He yielded to dreaded childhood peer pressure. “I'll try a hit,” he said.
“You sure?” asked Cherry. “I don't think you'll like it. Besides, your mom is gonna kill you if she finds out.”
“I'm not scared,” he said in an almost sad attempt to impress his peers.
“You don't want no part in this shit, boy,” said Brother, though he was mostly teasing. “It'll ruin your world!” He then started cackling loudly, which Cherry thought was a little strange. She didn't get it.
“Shit,” said Richard, “give this man a toke. Maybe it'll calm his prim and proper ass down.”
“Boy's shakin' like leaf in a earthquake,” added Brother. He never used the word “an”.
Kenneth sat in the floor and took the blunt. He looked at Cherry.
Cherry didn't approve of this at all, but she wasn't gonna stop him. “What? I ain't your mama. If you wanna hit, that's your business, dude.”
“It's bad for ya,” said Gidget. She was a pretty quiet girl, but gave good advice.
Kenneth put the blunt in his mouth and inhaled. He didn't cough like you expected him to. He held it for a few seconds and breathed it back out.
Brother smiled and put his arm around Kenneth. “What's it taste like?”
“Like burnt cat pee,” he replied.
“Take a few more hits and it'll taste like a chocolate moose.”
“You take a few more hits and you'll turn into Brother,” said Gidget.
A few hours passed and everyone simply sat around and talked. Cherry was really liking this Richard guy, and Brother was pretty cool, too, if a little strange. Maybe it was the weed talking, but it seemed like he thought every word that came out of his mouth was pure gold. Cherry didn't really form much of an opinion on Gidget, she seemed nice, but didn't talk much. She was actually asleep at this point.
“I was out at Davisville,” said Brother, who was telling one of his famous life stories. No one could vouch for their authenticity, but everyone enjoyed hearing them. “I was workin' as a bricker for Revahn Doyles when a ol' boy named Gerald Dukeson was up on the scaffold, both hands in his goddamned pockets lookin' for a light, poor bastard fell off and hit the ground like a rock. Boss man was cuttin' on the saw horses, looked up, and just went back to cuttin' blocks, didn't say a word. Funniest shit I ever seen in my life.”
“Hell, did it kill his ass?” asked Richard.
“No, he went back to work that same day. He can't afford no 'mergency room bill.”
“Dang, I feel sorry for that dude for real,” said Cherry.
“I feel weird,” said Kenneth.
“We know,” said Cherry. “You've been saying that every ten seconds for an hour. We get it.”
“Why do you like hanging out with me, Cherry? I'm not fun and fantastic like you are.”
“This dude is baked right now,” laughed Richard.
“I like you 'cause you're nice, Kenneth. You don't ever talk bad about no one and I respect that for real. I just wish you'd unwind more and be you. You need to quit being so afraid of yourself.”
“Aww,” gushed Brother, “that's real purty. Y'all datin'?”
Cherry was shocked to hear a question like that. She liked Kenneth as a friend, but nothing more. “What, me and Kenneth? Nope. Me and Kenny here are currently available. Actually, I don't know about Kenneth. He's a real lady-magnet.”
“He must be one of them magnets what re-pels instead of attracts,” quipped Brother.
“Burn!” Cherry teased.
Kenneth didn't say anything. His feelings were a bit hurt as he did have a crush on Cherry.
“Sounds like the party's dying,” said Richard. “You guys wanna come back home with us? I can stick a couple pizza's in the oven and we can watch Ghost Busters or something like that.”
“Wait, you don't live here?” asked Kenneth.
“Hell naw, I don't know these people. I'm just pretending like I'm with that guy who's passed out on the pool table. We ain't important enough to get invited to a shindig like this, man.”
Cherry started laughing. “Neither are we, man. Me and Kenneth were just passing by and thought it looked fun. Hell yeah, let's go back to your place.”
“Can you swim?” asked Brother. Now why would he go and ask something like that?
Next thing they knew, Kenneth and Cherry were being led through the woods to a secluded river bank. Richard led the way with a Bic lighter to light the path. Cherry followed close behind. Kenneth lagged behind with Brother, he was feeling weird indeed, and also jealous of Richard. Cherry was really taken with him it seemed. In the middle of the river was one heck of a fort, clearly built by children. It was built with only the most random bits of rubbish available: plywood, old signs, mattresses, tarps, and driftwood to name only a few of the many materials used. It was quaint to say the least, but it kept the rain out.
Everyone swam across the river to the island in the middle. Richard carried Gidget on his shoulders. Amazingly, their fort had electricity. Cherry saw a long, long extension cord running through the water and through the woods.
“Who ya stealing power from?” asked Cherry as everyone walked inside. Inside was a large rack of towels for drying off.
“You know Hamilton Beach?” asked Richard as he dried off. “It's that guy who lives across the street from him. We've been stealing power for years and he ain't caught on.”
“That would be my dad.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, but it's cool. He doesn't care, trust me.”
The interior looked about how you'd expect a children's fort to look like, but maybe a little nicer. There was a surprising amount of stuff inside. A full couch set, armchairs, a standard def TV, a PlayStation, a kitchen area with an electric stove, and tons of stolen decorations and paintings. Actually, everything there was either stolen or salvaged from dumpsters. In the middle of the room was a grand spiral staircase. It was metal and very ornate, they definitely didn't build it themselves. Where they got it and how they drug it through the river is a mystery, but it sure was pretty. Cherry actually liked it very much.
As everyone toweled off, Cherry noticed a boy lying on the couch, and curled up next to him was a girl. “Who are they?” asked Cherry.
“That's Skunk, and his girl, Jordan,” replied Richard quietly as not to wake the two.
“Skunk?” asked Kenneth. He thought the name was funny.
“Maybe you should go home, Kenneth,” said Cherry. “Your mom is gonna be up soon.”
“I'm not scared of her, Cherry. She can't control me. She's not even my real mother.”
Everyone walked into the kitchen, except Brother, who crashed in an armchair to go to sleep. “Goodnight, y'all. I'm out like a trout.” Little Gidget followed suit and lied down to sleep next to him.
“Hey, I'm just lookin' out for you, dude.” replied Cherry to Kenneth. “She's gonna be pissed, that's all I'm trying to tell you. My dad ain't my real dad, but I don't dis him, you know?”
“My real mother was kind to me. She didn't make me read all the time.”
“Hell, be thankful you got what you got,” said Richard as he chimed in. “Brother can't even read.”
“Shut up, Richard,” said Brother from across the room. “I'm learnin'.”
Richard grabbed a frozen pizza and stuck it in the oven. Everyone was starving at this point. “I wish I had a mom that cared about me enough to put me in school and make me study. Keep hitting them books, Kenneth. You're gonna be somebody one day.”
“Hey Richard, what happened to your parents?” asked Cherry.
“Me and Gidget got different dads, but the same mom. We never met any of 'em.”
“I know the feeling. I never met my parents. My dad, not my real dad, found me on Cinetron when I was a baby. He's been looking after me ever since and I love him to death. I think you'd get along good.”
“Hey Cherry,” said Kenneth.
“Yeah?”
“I feel weird.”
“Look, go home, okay? I'm really sorry for making you come out here with me tonight. That was selfish of me. I just didn't want to go alone, you know? You're a good friend, and I shouldn't have let you smoke that. It's really not for you, man. I know you did it to impress everyone or whatever, but Richard was right, you are gonna be somebody. You don't need none of that crap, man.”
Kenneth put his hands over his face. “I feel embarrassed.”
Cherry walked over and gave him a hug. “No no no, don't be. Listen, if you didn't make any mistakes, you wouldn't know anything. Take it from me. I did a lot worse than weed, man.”
“I did have fun tonight.”
“There you go,” said Richard as he cracked open a beer. He walked over and patted Kenneth on the shoulder. “You're quiet, but you're alright, Kenneth. You can come back any time you want, bud. And you ain't gotta smoke nothin', or drink nothin' just 'cause someone else is doing it. Remember that, alright?”
“Got it,” he grinned. He started laughing. “I'm kind of a dork, aren't I?”
“Yeah, but that's okay,” replied Cherry. “You're our dork.”
“Goodnight, you guys.”
“Nighty night,” replied Cherry. “Keep ya butthole tight!”
“What does that even mean?” Kenneth laughed.
Poor little Kenneth was your classic victim of peer pressure. He was scared and wanted to keep up appearances. When you don't know what to do or say, it can be easy to simply do as everyone else. As Galaxy-Man once said, shyness is simply the fear to do as yourself. He made a mistake in taking the pot, luckily it wasn't a serious drug. It's not like anyone could overdose on pot, right? While pot isn't all that bad for you, it isn't very good for you either, and it can lead to more serious vices for those not mature enough, and that is way too much for a child to deal with. Feeling very weird, Kenneth made his way home before his mother got up.
After the pizza was done cooking, Richard took Cherry up those pretty stairs and atop a tower overlooking the mighty river. They sat together on blankets and pillows on a sort of roomy balcony with no guard rails. It was actually sort of romantic for Cherry. They just sat up talking as they ate together.
“I mean, I do wish I had a mom sometimes,” said Cherry. “I know my dad feels bad for me, but I wish he didn't. He does all he can, and that's enough. I wish he knew how much I love him.”
“But Cutty's like a mom, though, right? Didn't you say that was your dad's girlfriend.”
“Dude, I don't even know if they're dating sometimes. I've never seen them kiss, not one time. Don't get me wrong, I love Cutty. She's such a good person. I just wish one of them would make a move, you know?”
“Maybe they just don't kiss when you're around.”
“I don't know. I just wanna little sister damn it!”
Richard started laughing.
“What's so funny? Don't make me have to rip that cheesy-ass mustache off your face.”
“Aw come on, it ain't cheesy,” he said as he brushed his barely visible yellow whiskers and drank some more beer. “You're a pretty cool cat, man, and your dad sounds cool, too.” He put his arm on Cherry's back. “I'm glad we met.”
“Me too. Man, I've been trying to make friends forever. I got cooties I guess.”
“Say what? People don't like you?”
“Hell no. I try to talk to folks when I'm studying at the 'brary, but no one wants anything to do with me.”
“Well there's your problem right there, dude. That's where the home-schoolers and goth kids congregate, and they ain't gonna talk to you.”
“I get really lonely sometimes. I mean, me and my dad are like glue, but there's some things I wish I could talk about with other people, and I'm kinda short in that department. I mean, I got problems I want help with, but what, am I suppose to talk about my period with Kenneth? I mean, he's sweet, and he's a good listener, but he's so hard to talk with sometimes.”
“He's a pretty cool dude. He'll come around. He's just figuring out who he is right now.”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, you can stay here with us for as long as you want. Me and you are tight, and Brother likes you, too, I can tell. We look out for our own here, and we're always here for each other. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of us.”
This really meant a lot to Cherry. She almost shed a tear, which was a little unusual. She was very touched by Richard's words, and full of emotion. “That's so sweet, Richard. I'm kinda honored.”
“Only kinda?”
Cherry gently punched him in the arm. “I can't believe I didn't even know you just a few hours ago, and now I feel like I've known you my whole life or something. I feel like I can tell you anything.”
The two didn't say anything for several seconds. They just sat, looking out on the river, not even eating their pizza anymore. It sat in their plates getting cold. Cherry leaned in close to Richard, very close. Her and Richard looked into each others eyes. Cherry closed her eyes and began kissing Richard on the lips and on the cheek. He didn't kiss back. Cherry put her arms around him, trying to make out with him, but the feeling was not shared.
“Cherry...” said Richard, “no, Cherry.”
“It's okay,” she replied, “I want it.” Cherry took off her shirt. She of course had no breasts to speak of.
Richard shook his head.
“I'm ready, I really am. Listen, I know what sex is.”
“Put your shirt back on, Cherry. This is not gonna happen, okay? You can just forget about it.”
“If you're worried about hurting me, don't be. I know my limits pretty well at this point, trust me.”
“You're WAY too young to even be thinking about this kinda stuff.”
When Richard rejected her advances, Cherry felt overwhelmingly embarrassed. She began to whimper and cry. “I'm... sorry.” She put her shirt back on. “I just thought- I don't know what I thought. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” She had never felt so humiliated in her life.
Richard gave Cherry a hug to comfort her. “Hey, it's okay. Listen, it's normal to be curious about that stuff, but you're too young for that. Hell, I'm too young. Listen, I won't tell anyone, okay? It's our secret, I promise.”
“Okay. I'm really sorry, Richard. I can't believe I did that. I'm such an idiot. I guess I just got caught up in the moment.”
“Hey, we all do sometimes. It ain't nothing to be ashamed of. If makes you feel any better, I kissed my teacher back when I was in school. I was about your age. Let's just say the feeling was not mutual.”
Cherry laughed at that. “That... is... hilarious. He must've been so weirded out.”
“Uh, he?” Richard then gave Cherry a punch in the arm.
“Ow, too hard. Nah, you're a good friend, Richard. Thank you for hanging out with me tonight, and again, I'm really, really, really sorry I made things weird. I've never done anything like that before.”
“It's no trouble. You're a good kid, Cherry.”
Cherry learned a very important lesson that night. As grown up as she feels, she can't change the fact that she has a child's body, and there are things she really ought not be doing just yet. Even though her mind was mature, her body was not. God forbid if she got pregnant at that age, she would die, no doubt about it. It's good that this happened with a nice boy like Richard and not someone who would've taken advantage of her. There's a lot of creeps out there, but fortunately Richard wasn't one of them.
Richard and his band of misfits were good kids, even if they had a few bad habits. Even Kenneth and his infinite awkwardness was happy to have gone. Looking back, he saw the pot as a mistake, but so what? Everyone makes mistakes, and that's how people learn. Relish your victories, but acknowledge your faults, because you can't learn from your mistakes if you pretend they didn't happen.
As the sun rose over the muddy brown river, Cherry lay asleep in the floor and Richard in a hammock made of chains. With plenty of bedding, it was more comfortable than it sounds. It sure was a crazy night, that's for sure, but things were far from over.
The next morning, Cherry was the last person to wake up. Richard stayed up the latest but he was always the first to rise. Richard was sort of the leader of their little clique. They called themselves the Lemon Maringe Gang. They were a group of kids who offered help to any kid with sucky parents or simply in need of help, not that Cherry had a bad parent by any means. She got up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She saw Skunk, Jordan, and Brother watching The Goonies, on tried and true VHS no less. “What's up?” she asked.
“You,” replied Richard as he walked in from the kitchen, still very shirtless. He was eating a bowl of off-brand Frosted Flakes. They were called Frosted Flakes.
“'Sup?” replied Skunk. Skunk was about 19 and had a shaved head and tattoos on his arms. He wore a G-Unit hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. It looked very clean and new. He had baggy jeans and white DCs. “I like your hair. That's pretty dope.”
“Yeah, Richard told us all about you,” said Jordan. Jordan was around 14 and had long blonde hair. She wore a black tank top with coolots. She had a butterfly tattoo on her wrist. “You seem pretty cool. Welcome to the gang, cuzzo.”
“Aww, thanks,” Cherry replied.
Brother was sitting in a ragged armchair looking through a book about squirrels. “What's that squiggly line what looks like a little man in a hat?”
“That's a 't', idiot,” replied Skunk teasingly. “It goes 'tuh', like 'illiteratuh'.”
“Damn, man, I'm just trying to get some learnin' about squirrels. They's so cute. What's il-literate even mean, Skunk? That better not be another gay joke.”
“You are a gay joke,” said Jordan. Brother rolled his big eyes.
Cherry couldn't hold it in anymore. She started laughing hard. “Oh man, you guys are something else.”
“So have you decided what kind of tattoo you want?” Skunk asked Cherry.
She was puzzled to say the least. “How do you mean?” she asked.
Skunk looked up at Richard. “You didn't tell her?”
“Tell me what?”
“If you wanna roll with us, you gotta get some ink so we know you're cool,” replied Skunk.
Cherry wasn't too sure about this. Tattoos are forever, right? Even though she just met these people, she liked them quite a bit and wanted to be a part of their gang. Cherry was about to get her first tattoo. This wasn't a peer pressure thing, and she knew exactly what she was in for; this was by her own choosing.
Skunk was the group's artist. He was very a very talented drawer and tattooist. They all sat in a back room getting ready.
“Are you sure you wanna do this?” asked Richard.
“Yeah,” Cherry replied, “ and I'm not doing this 'cause everyone else is. I'm doing this for me. I wanna remember all this forever.”
Cherry knew exactly the tattoo she wanted. Of all the things she could've gotten, she when with a Waldo tattooed on her butt of all places. It was a small tattoo and nothing too insane, though, I guess you have to be a little bit crazy to get a tattoo at all. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe when she was grown she could play a saucy game of “Where's Waldo?” with her partner.
With Cherry's brand new tat, she was one of them, an official member of the Lemon Maringe Gang, strangely fitting for a girl named Cherry Limeade. For the next couple of weeks, Cherry lived there in the fort with Richard and his droogs. It was certainly a crazy two weeks and much heck was raised. And to think, the only reason they met was because Cherry decided to simply go. You'd be surprised what you might find when you're not looking for anything in particular.