Current Title: The Apollo
He
stumbled through the kitchen, blood dripping from the jagged cut across
his forehead. Brief snatches of whispers flickered in and out of
hearing, none of them persistent enough to make sense of. His vision
blurred, he stumbled sharply into a table, knocking himself to the
ground. He clutched the knife to his chest, panting heavily. Suddenly,
he heard a whimper from the corner of the room. Tensing up, his breath
quickened slightly. Carefully, he shuffled towards the source of the
noise. He turned around the corner into the living room.
He
was greeted by a sharp gasp. “Oh god please don’t hurt me!” The voice
was familiar, somehow, but it came out in a garbled rush.
Then, it struck.
The
plans for the week had been fairly intricate. Most of the planning had
been done by James and Charles. The group would meet up at Sasha’s
house, then proceed to James’ place, where they would stay for the
weekend. Hopefully, due to the relative remoteness his house, as well
as a temporary absence of parents, they would remain undisturbed.
“Come
on, Elsie, we’ll be late!” Charles shoved his sister in the direction
of the hall closet. “It’s bad enough that I have to take you with me!
The least you could do is hurry up.”
Elsie
stuck her tongue out, but put her coat on without further dissent.
“You know, you could probably leave me here. Mom and dad would never
find out!”
Charles
shook his head. “As irresponsible as taking you to this party is, it’s
not as bad as leaving you with nobody here if something happens.”
“You don’t trust me to take care of myself?” His sister pouted.
“If I were just at James’ place for the night, I wouldn’t have a problem. But I’m there for the whole weekend, and there’s probably going to be alcohol involved.” He shrugged. “So, it’s probably best if you come.”
Elsie raised an eyebrow. “There’s alcohol involved, so I should come?”
“Something like that.” Charles jangled his keys. “Come on, let’s go get James.”
James
sat in an armchair, staring pointedly at the fireplace. His parents
had left several hours ago, and now he had nothing to do. At least
until Charles got there.
Sasha glanced at the clock. “Jesus. What’s taking them so long?”
William shrugged. “Charles said he might get stuck with Elsie for the weekend.”
“Ah.
That’d do it.” Sasha rolled her eyes. “And now we’re actually going
to have to be somewhat responsible. Such an inconvenience.”
“So, why are we all meeting up here if we’re going to James’ place?”
“We have to pick up Alessandra and go for pizza first.”
William nodded. “Ah. Who is paying for this?”
“James.” She paused. “I think Alessandra is getting some beer.”
William grinned. “This is going to be a good weekend.”
It
was a good hour before the group arrived to pick up Alessandra. She
was sitting on the stoop of her house, shivering a bit. As the car (an
elderly Buick Apollo that had once belonged to Charles’ father) pulled
up to the curb, she stood up.
James rolled down the window. “You ready to go?”
Alessandra nodded. “Totes.”
“Did… did you seriously just say ‘totes?’” An irritated look flitted briefly across his face.
“Yep!” She sauntered over to the car and planted a kiss on James’ forehead. “I brought beer, so I guess you’ll have to put up with me!”
James sighed, heaving his shoulders in an over-exaggerated fashion. “Well, I guess you’d better get in the car, then.”
Sasha spoke up from the back seat. “Short one goes in the middle.”
Alessandra rolled her eyes. “Fiiine.”
William opened the door. “So, short one, you gonna join us?”
“Yep.” Alessandra shuffled awkwardly past William’s legs.
“Nice skirt.”
Alessandra punched William on the shoulder. “It’s one you’re not going to get into.”
Charles laughed, and stepped on the gas.
Another
hour passed before the battered, dark blue Apollo pulled up in front of
James’ house. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, undisturbed
except for the fresh tire tracks from the car. The back doors opened,
William and Sasha spilling out clumsily. Sasha immediately went for the
trunk, removing the case of beer that Alessandra had brought.
“William, get the pizza.”
William helped Alessandra out of the back seat. “Patience. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Charles surveyed the landscape. “Well, looks like Elsie didn’t burn the house down. I’d say we’re off to a good start.”
James grinned. “Hopefully she’s not gotten too bored. That never ends well.” He sauntered to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem too bothered that she’s here.”
“Eh. There’s worst twelve-year-olds to keep an eye on.”
Alessandra shivered. “James, don’t you have a key to the door?”
“Yeah, just waiting for you guys.”
“Then... why did you ring the doorbell.”
James shrugged. “To let Elsie know we’re here.”
It was two in the afternoon.
[Updated 13/06/2012 23:47 EST]
