Fighting to Survive (34 page)

“
We
grabbed munchies,
”
Melanie said, sweeping her red hair out of her face. Handing over a
bag of chips to Shelley, she added,
“
We
were thinking about setting off fireworks later. Dylan bought some
off that asshole Shane yesterday.
”

“
Sounds
like fun,
”
Jason decided. He felt kinda old up here with the kids, smoking dope
and swilling cola. He could feel Shelley
’
s
hand lying on his leg. It made him nervous. Nerit
’
s
talk about taking advantage of the moments of life they had now had
really affected him. He was thinking about a lot of things in a
different way. He had even made himself scarce when it was obvious in
the early evening that Juan and Jenni needed time alone. It was time
for him to chill out and try to enjoy life.

“
Has
your Mom remembered it
’
s
your birthday yet?
”
Melanie asked.

Jason
shook his head.
“
Not
yet. I keep waiting, but I
’
m
not sure she even knows what month this is. She
’
s
kinda an airhead at times.
”

Shelley
took the joint and inhaled deeply and swatted her brother
’
s
hand away when he reached for it.
“
You
’
re
too young.
”

Ricky
frowned.
“
I
’
ll
tell Dad.
”

“
Go
ahead,
”
Shelley dared, and thunked him on the head.

“
Bitch,
”
Ricky said sullenly, then sipped more cola.

The other kids
joined them one by one. Soon, they were all joking and laughing.
Drinking way too much soda and candy, the younger kids were soon very
hyper, while their older, stoned counterparts just giggled.

Jason
was feeling pretty good when Shelly gave him the first kiss of his
young life. It wasn
’
t
expected so he blew it a little by trying to ask her what she was
doing. Her lips pretty much hit his teeth and tongue. She drew back,
leaving him startled.

“
Sorry,
”
she muttered.

“
No,
no, try it again,
”
Jason said quickly, and flung his arms around her.

This sent Melanie
and Dylan into guffaws of laughter, but Shelley smiled sweetly and
kissed him firmly on the lips for about two seconds. It was enough to
make him blush and grin.

“
Ugh,
no making out in front of me,
”
Jenni said from above him.

Jason
looked up to see her standing over him wearing a bright red tank top,
a knee-length cotton skirt with black abstract designs on it and
sandals. Her long hair flowed loose around her face. Juan was
lingering at her side, his new cowboy hat looking far too neat on his
tussled curls. Jason had seen him earlier trying to get it to look
more worn. It had been funny watching Juan throwing it around and
smacking it against things to break it in.

“
Uh,
busted,
”
he decided.

“
Yeah,
you are.
”

“
Oh,
gawd,
”
Jason moaned.

“
I
’
m
sorry,
”
Shelley said quickly.
“
It
’
s
his birthday so…”

Jenni
laughed.
“
Yeah,
yeah, I know.
”
She hugged Jason tightly and kissed his cheek, embarrassing him as
only a mother could. She handed him a small brown bag as Juan sat
down across from them.
“
Open
it.
”

Jason
smiled and opened up the bag to find a copy of
“
Ender
’
s
Game,
”
his favorite book.

“
I
grabbed it a few weeks ago when scavenging the library,
”
Juan explained.

Hugging
his Mom, he kissed her cheek.
“
Thanks,
Mom.
”
To Juan
’
s
surprise, he hugged Juan, too.
“
Thanks,
Dude.
”

Juan
nodded.
“
No
problem. Hope you enjoy it.
”

Jenni
leaned over and snagged the joint from Dylan, who was trying to hide
it.
“
What
’
s
this?
”

“
Look,
I…uh...found it on a waiter. I think it
’
s
a cigarette…” Dylan mumbled.

“
Sure
you do,
”
Jenni answered. She inhaled deeply and handed it to Juan.

“
I
’
ll
pass,
”
Juan said, and handed it back to Dylan.

“
Shit,
”
Dylan whispered in awe, staring at the doorway to the ballroom.

Jason looked up to
see Katie in the doorway. She was wearing a very slinky purple halter
dress with high heels. She looked absolutely hot. He must have been
staring, because Shelley smacked his arm.

Katie walked over to
join them, her heels clicking on the patio. Dylan was openly gawking.
Juan looked over and whistled. With a grin, Katie sat next to Jenni
and tucked her legs to one side.

“
Katie,
you
’
re
totally hot,
”
Dylan said in awe.

“
Thank
you!
”
Katie beamed.

Jason
noted she was actually wearing makeup and had let her hair fall free
and curly to her shoulders.
“
Yeah,
totally.
”
Shelley smacked him again and he looked at her and said,
“
Well,
you are, too. Seriously, you are.
”
He kissed her cheek. Her smile was a relief.

“
Yeah,
I put on her makeup and fixed her hair. She has a hot date tonight,
”
Jenni said.

“
Yeah,
who?
”
Melanie looked very curious.
“
I
didn
’
t
think there were other gay girls.
”

“
Travis,
actually. I
’
m…”
she faltered,
“
open-minded.
”

Jason
knew this wasn
’
t
the case at all, but figured Katie didn
’
t
feel like going into the details of it all. He was glad Katie was
looking happy. For a long time, she had looked rather sad.

“
Cool,
”
Dylan said with a wide grin that had Melanie glaring at him.
“
Wanna
smoke?
”

Katie
took the joint and arched an eyebrow.
“
You
do realize I was a prosecutor before the zombies.
”

Dylan
blinked.
“
Oh.
”

Katie
shrugged.
“
Oh,
well. I haven
’
t
done any since college.
”
She took a drag and handed it back.

Jason
couldn
’
t
help, but stare as the smoke unfurled from her lips. She was really,
really hot tonight.

Ricky,
again, reached for the joint. Shelley smacked his hand. There was a
brother/sister tussle and lots of giggling over it. The world on top
of the hotel was full of laughter. Jason found himself smiling more
than he had for a long time.

When
his Mom and Juan helped Katie to her feet so they could go join the
other adults inside, he stood up and hugged them all again.

“
Travis
is pretty lucky,
”
he said to Katie.

“
So
is Shelley,
”
Katie answered back.

Jason blushed and
sat back down as the adults left.

“
Super
damn hot,
”
Dylan said, watching Katie leave.

Jason
laughed as Melanie smacked him. He turned to Shelley and kissed her
very firmly on the lips.

It was an okay
birthday after all.

2. Hell Erupts

Katie
felt a little embarrassed as she entered the ballroom. Nerit
’
s
amazing work on the Halloween costume had resulted in a slinky dress
that made her slim, athletic build look very womanly. It tied behind
her neck and revealed her strong shoulders before gliding down over
her hips and ending in a slanted hemline that accentuated the curve
of her legs. Despite all her bruises, she looked amazing.

She felt very much
like a girl and it made her a little nervous. No one would have ever
called her a dyke before, but she was most comfortable when dressed
in her running clothes or a good pair of jeans and a tank top.
Dressing up was what Lydia had been good at while she had just tried
her best to look presentable when they went out. But tonight, she
felt that she had achieved a level of femininity that was new
territory for her. She felt like a bombshell.

Feeling
a bit lightheaded and giddy from the pot, she moved to the bar where
Felix was playing bartender.

“
A
glass of wine,
”
she said and blushed under his awed stare.

Sipping
the chilled white wine, she began to make her rounds around the
ballroom, greeting people, and trying not to look too anxiously for
Travis.

Juan and Jenni were
out on the dance floor laughing and hoofing it up to some country
music. They were both pretty good and their moves were fluid and
graceful. A few older people were on the floor as well, moving
slower, but obviously enjoying themselves.

Peggy
was trying hard to get away from a tall, older man who smelled so
badly Katie winced. She recognized him as the crazy old guy who had
arrived on the scooter. He was talking rapidly and waving a video
camera around.

“…
so
you can tell the Mayor that I don
’
t
believe he has the flu and I think he is avoiding me as he always
does, because I alone know the real truth of what he is planning to
do. And I plan to write letters to the media and report to them how
he has blocked their transmissions from this town so he can…”