squirmed free of whomever it was.
'Love your bra. Where's your blouse?' It was Billy and he was ogling the flesh spilling from the top of her halter. '
'Don't you think this covers enough?' she said, thrusting her tits out at him; then she continued to make her way to the back where she expected to meet Jeanie.
Nick winked at her as she passed and she blew a kiss to him. Tessie knew that he liked her, that he wanted to make it with her, but it was always too crowded for her to get close enough to seduce him, and he never attempted to seduce her. In fact, Nick, as friendly and kind to the kids as he was, never had more than a business relationship with any of them. He smiled a lot, talked a lot, but said very little, especially about himself.
'Can you send a cheeseburger to the back for me, and an order of fries?' she yelled across the counter, so that he could hear her above the din.
Nick nodded and smiled, his white straight teeth showing themselves, accenting his deep, year-round, tanned complexion. 'And the coke is on me.' He returned her kiss, blowing it over the tips of his fingers.
She finally reached the back of the store and found Jeanie, scrunched between the wall and the jukebox. Jeanie was stoned on something and stared straight ahead, absorbed in her own thoughts and images. She didn't even recognize her friend.
'Great! What's she on?' Tessie asked Vince, who didn't look like he really knew what was happening, either.
'Dropped a quay. Want… while they last?' His eyelids struggled to stay open.
'No. Who wants to be a zombie?'
'You don't know what you're missing, babe.'
'Yes I do. That's why I don't want any.' She walked away from him, not wanting to explain that she was sick and tired of ups and downs. Except for grass, she was bored with drugs, and with beer and cheap wine.
Besides, Joey didn't take drugs. He didn't even. smoke grass, or drink. And he didn't approve of Tessie's using drugs. She wished that she was with Joey now, instead of in this crazy place. She liked being with Joey; she always felt at ease with him, and would see him every day if she could. He worked after school though, so they could only be together twice a week. They covered a lot of ground in that short time, however, fucking a full seven days' worth.
After Joey had taken her virginity, Tessie had fucked other boys, too, and some men, but none were as good as Joey was, and Tessie found herself depending more and more on him – for a lot of things.
'Here… you can sit here,' Sandy called to her, pointing to a small space on the bench against the back wall of Nick's.
Tessie squeezed her way behind the table and sat down. Nick brought back her order and she ate, talking to Sandy between bites.
'I like your nail polish… best shade of green I've seen yet,' Tessie said, then stuffed two French fries into her mouth.
'My father says that it makes me look like I have some disease,' Sandy giggled. 'My mother wants to borrow it though… to antagonize my father, I think.'
'Your mother is an okay lady. I lice her.'
Sandy's thinly plucked eyebrows raised. 'She's a shithead… always trying to be like me… as if to prove something. I just wonder who she's trying to prove it to.'
'Hey, what are you doing this summer?' Talking about mothers made Tessie feel uncomfortable, so she changed the subject.
'I don't know, probably go to summer school. Beats working. What about you?'
Tessie shrugged. 'Same I guess.'
'Smart girls; like Tessie here, don't have to go to summer school. Do they?' The sarcastic voice belonged to Eleanor Stuart, Thoreau's biggest female toughie.
'Yeah. What's that supposed to mean?' Tessie answered, unintimidated by the girl she thought of as a bitch dyke. Tessie had learned fast that if you act intimidated by someone like Eleanor, all you get is your ass kicked in.
'Well, you know, all you gotta do is lick ass and you get a passing mark… like with Mr. Sands in history.' Eleanor bent over the table, bringing her face an inch from Tessie's. 'Ain't that right?'
'Honey,' Tessie snickered at Eleanor. 'It isn't just the ass you're supposed to lick. No wonder you fail everything.
'Bitch! How'd you like me to tear your eyes out?'
Looking the overweight girl straight in her heavily made-up eyes, Tessie asked if she could finish her cheeseburger first. Infuriated, Eleanor grabbed Tessie by the hair, yanked her head back, and banged it against the wall.
'Fight!' someone screamed, and kids bled about, making room for the after-school entertainment. 'Girls… the girls are gonna fight!' someone else shouted, and the plug was pulled on the jukebox. A hash fell over the place. There were only two things that could bring quiet to Nick's at this hour: the cops or a fight. The kids favored the fights, but the cops were also always good for a kick or two.
When Eleanor let go of her hair, Tessie regained her composure in seconds. She was frightened, hurt, and confused, and verb determined to keep that a secret from Eleanor. She stared coldly at the girl, defying her to try it again. Eleanor raised her hand, as if to strike Tessie, and Tessie stood quickly, moving the table away with a quick swing of her hip.
The table shoved into her belly only angered Eleanor more. She wasn't about to be made a fool of in front of all the kids. At least not by Tessie, the one girl she hated the most. Always with another guy… just because she wore those fancy purple rhinestone – studded platforms and wiggled her slim ass at every pair of balls that passed by. Eleanor slapped Tessie across the face, and, less than a second later, Tessie was over the table, grabbing Eleanor by her stringy mousey brown hair.
'Outside girls. Outside, please,' Nick begged. 'My store. It can't stand no more bustin' up.' He flung open the heavy black steel door, hoping that the girls would listen to him.
They didn't, but Vince did, and he grabbed each girl by the back of her jeans, dragging them outside. He wasn't being nice to Nick, it was just that everyone could watch the girls wrestle better out there, and the long stretch of dirt and pebbles would give the girls more room to go at each other in.
Once outside, the two young girls circled each other, waiting for the first strike, their eyes glaring widely, both with hands on hips. The. sun beat down on them, and on the large crowd they had attracted.
'I'm gonna cream you,' Eleanor threatened.
Tessie didn't answer her. She just smiled wickedly.
'Gonna wipe your ass up and down this fuck' alley.'
Still Tessie didn't answer.
'You hear, sonofabitch… you hear?'
Mocking her on purpose, Tessie laughed at Eleanor. Then: 'Come on… if you dare.' She hissed the words, through clenched teeth.
Eleanor hinged at Tessie, both her hands going for Tessie's hair again, but Tessie, hands still on hips, slid gracefully out of her way.
'Come on, fat girl. Can't you move any faster than that?'
Eleanor's face turned scarlet, fire blazed in her eyes, and once more she lunged, this time falling flat on her stomach as Tessie again swerved away. But Tessie didn't taunt Eleanor anymore, knowing that you can just do that so often before it loses its effect. Instead, Tessie pounced on Eleanor's back, and, not so gracefully, sat on the girl, pinning her down.
Tessie pulled Eleanor's arms up and wrapped them behind the girl's back, while, with one hand, she grabbed long strands of her hair. She used the hair as a handle and wiped Eleanor's face from side to side on the ground.
'Eat dirt, you fuck. Just jealous 'cause you ain't got no boyfriends. Not my fault you're an ugly bastard. It's your father's… if you got one.' Tessie was not about to rely on' physical strength to save her from this skirmish. She'd rather bend Eleanor's mind all out of shape, and win that way. It was all so much easier, and so much less painful.
