MUGD -- Chapter 2 (the party)

“You really had me worried,” I whined as we got on our bikes.1

“It was three minutes,” said Dan. “Not much can happen in three minutes.”2

“If I were three minutes late, you’d be worried about me,” I reasoned.3

“Yeah, but-“ Dan wrinkled his nose as we turned the corner. “What’s got you in such a mood today, anyway?”4

I told him what happened in the cafeteria, and was sure I heard him release a laugh.5

“It wasn’t funny,” I retorted.6

“Okay, sorry,” he said, taking his hands off the handlebars until he saw that I was watching him, and he placed his hands back on the handlebars.7

“What kept you?” I figured this topic had to be more interesting than how embarrassing my day had been.8

“The Chicks,” he replied.9

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You were late on account of barnyard animals?”10

Dan bit his lip. “Um… you know what? Never mind.”11

“No, tell me,” I pleaded.12

“Considering you’re only nine, ignorance may be best as far as this subject is concerned,” said Dan. “Besides, there’s something more important I need to teach you.”13

“What’s that?” I asked as we turned onto Seashell Street. Our street.14

“I need to teach you how to embrace your so-called embarrassment instead of fearing it,” he replied.15

“How’s that?” I asked.16

“Well, all of this teasing about your ‘boyfriend’ is really-“17

“Boyfriend?”18

Perhaps it was merely my imagination, but my dad’s voice seemed to echo all along the road.19

“Shouldn’t you be at the restaurant?” Though he tried to cover it up, I could hear the fear in Dan’s voice.20

“Isn’t Monica a bit young to be dating?” Dad asked. His ignorance made it obvious that I was the first-born.21

“Yeah,” said Dan as he got off of his bike. “About that…”22

“It’s my fault,” I said, but Dad didn’t seem to notice. Even if he did, he seemed much more likely to believe it was Dan’s fault than my own.23

“Don’t you go taking the wrap for this,” said Dan. “After all, it is my fault. You see, Uncle Robert, I kind of hooked up Monica with this guy-“24

I couldn’t believe what Dan was saying.25

“MONICA ORION GINGER, GET IN THE HOUSE!” Dad shouted.26

I couldn’t believe Dad had made my middle name “Orion”.27

Upon hearing my full name, I hurried inside, terribly afraid. For Dan.28

I shut the door and peeked through the kitchen blinds, through which I saw Dad leading Dan into the backyard. Dan was in trouble.29

For a moment, I heard nothing, and could only imagine what was happening. Then, without warning, I heard a ripp! And a smack! It was all I could do to keep from crying as the ripps! And smacks! repeated themselves. Over and over again.30

“And that will teach you to ‘hook up’ my little girl!”31

Who was he calling a little girl? I was nine years old and darn proud of it.32

I heard footsteps approaching the door. If Dan saw me, he’d know I heard. Even if he didn’t see me, he’d know; but he seeing me would hurt him worse. And I didn’t exactly want to see him just yet.33

I ran into my room and turned the radio on. Loud. I couldn’t bear to hear Dan’s groans of pain.34

I didn’t see Dad or Dan until supper, during which an awkward silence lingered. Typically, Mom would have wanted to know what had happened, but she was still at work, so no one said anything. Not until Dad had cleaned his plate.35

“Will you be staying here or at Samuel’s?”36

Samuel was my uncle, Dad’s brother, and Dan’s grandfather. After what had happened this afternoon, I was sure that Dan would to be as far from Dad as possible. But-37

“If you don’t mind, Uncle Robert, I’d like to stay here,” said Dan. “For tonight, I mean.”38

Dad shrugged, but I knew he wanted Dan as far away possible as soon as possible.39

Sensing Dad’s dislike of having Dan in the house, or perhaps remembering the buckle on Dad’s belt, Dan said, “I’ll pitch the tent in the backyard?”40

Without thinking, I asked, “Ooh, Dad, can we use the two-room tent so I can sleep out there, too?”41

I was terrible shocked when Dad said yes, but Dan didn’t look surprised.42

“Why do you think Dad’s letting us do this?” I asked Dan as we started setting up the tent.43

“Two words:” said Dan. “No boys.”44

“Did someone say ‘boys’?” asked my mom’s voice from the side of the yard.45

“No,” said Dan immediately. “I said toys. We’re camping out here tonight, but Uncle Robert didn’t ant Monica to bring and toys out.”46

Under normal circumstances, Dan probably would have taken the blame again. Dad must have hit him hard.47

“You’re back from work awful soon,” I said, hoping to change the subject quickly.48

“Soon?” Mom repeated. “It’s eight thirty.”49

Typically, the restaurant closed at six. It must have been busy that day.50

“Time sure flies, doesn’t it?” I laughed nervously, hoping Mom wouldn’t linger.51

“Well, I won’t keep you.” She said, “Have fun!” and entered he house.52

Dan and I didn’t talk until the tent was set up and our stuff was brought out.53

“Do you think he’ll tell Mom?” I asked from my room of the tent to Dan’s as I buttoned my nightgown.54

“Nope,” said Dan.55

“Why not?” I asked as I undid the zipper between our rooms enough for my head to poke through, and closed my eyes. “Are you descent?”56

Dan let out a half-laugh. “Yeah, come on in.” He was slipping on a browns tank top, at which time I saw a badly bruised back.57

My eyes widened. I was sure the bruises were from Dad’s belt.58

“I fell at school,” he said in reply to my wide eyes.59

But I knew he was lying, and it scared me that he wouldn’t even discuss it with me. He needed to let it out, though, lest he grow depressed. And a depressed Dan was not a good one. So, I threw him the “mm-hmm-yeah-right” look that he sent me every time I confided in him.60

“Monica, I-“ he exhaled slowly. “It’s not that big of a deal.”61

“Yes, it is,” I insisted. “You’re really hurt, and-“62

“No, I’m not-“63

“If you just told my mom what happened-“64

“No.”65

And I knew that was the final word. Dan was only twelve years old, but his voice could silence like the winds at the end of time.66

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I wasn’t too sure what I was sorry about, but I felt like I should be.67

“Don’t be,” he whispered back. “You were just worried about me. I know I would’ve been if this were you. You’ve just got to trust me when I say that telling Aunt Janet isn’t the answer.”68

“I trust you,” I whispered, and almost instantly fell asleep.69

I awoke the next morning on my side of the tent, and in my sleeping bag, to the sound of birds, exchanging their latest gossip outside. I crawled out of the tent and stretched my arms. The sunrise was as beautiful as ever.70

Back inside the tent, Dan snored in his deep sleep. What with getting… punished… by Dad and being held up by baby chickens at school, I doubted that Dan had slept well, and decided not to wake him.71

Dad had all of the doors to the house locked, so without a key, I was stranded. Therefore, it was a good thing that Dad had entrusted me with a key to the front door.72

Once inside, I quickly got dressed, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair – or tried to, anyway. I decided to skip breakfast because I had extra things to do, which left me with no time to eat.73

I took out a pen and a piece of paper, and scribbled down:74

Dan,75

76

You had rough day yesterday. You slept in. I didn’t wake you. Went to The Place with The Guyz. Chill out. You’re not in trouble.77

78

Monica.79

80

I taped my note to the outside of the tent, and took off on my bike. Without Dan’s guidance, it took about twenty minutes to get to Tidal Park; The Place; the same park I had gone to with Dan the morning before.81

The Guyz were waiting for me there, or rather, waiting for Dan.82

Chad scratched his brown crew-cut hair. “Where’s The Boss?”83

“He’s going to be excused from school today,” I said. “You’re going to hand in a note from my mom saying he’s got a twenty-four-hour bug.”84

Chad sighed. “So, where’s the note?”85

“You have it,” I insisted.86

“What are you talking about?”87

“You88

Re going to forge a note,” I explained.89

“But forgery is wrong,” said Brad in his “you-know-better-than-that” voice.90

“That doesn’t seem to stop you,” I crossed my arms, and raised my eyebrows at the two of them. “For example, I know you guys have been forging my mom’s signature because you have her grocery list in your backpack.”91

“So what?” Chad asked. “So maybe we were going to do some more shopping for your mom on the way back from school.”92

“You’re buying last month’s groceries?” I asked. “Admit it; you were using that list to copy my mom’s handwriting.”93

Brad sighed. “The Boss tells you everything, doesn’t he?”94

“Oh, please,” I yawned. “I could’ve figure3d that out in my sleep. Now, are you going to write that note, or what?”95

Chad and Brad exchanged looks before Chad said, “Fine, but only because we’re behind schedule, and don’t have time to discuss it any longer.”96

I doubted that Chad and Brad didn’t enjoy forging notes, and that was the beauty of it. Dan had prevented me from getting punished by Dad, so it was my turn to prevent him from getting detention.97

We rode our bikes to the school, just the way Dan had taught us, and then The Guyz left for the middle school.98

The schoolwork at George Willfin’s (G.W.’s) Elementary School was, as always, pathetically easy. However, my mind was with Dan that day, and my grades surely suffered because of it.99

During lunch, I went to the office to make sure that Dan was still at home, and that Dad hadn’t caught him yet.100

“Hello?” The voice on the phone was male, but I couldn’t tell if it was Dad’s or Dan’s.101

“Dad?” I figured asking if it was Dan would be far too risky.102

“Monica, what’s wrong?” he asked, and I knew it was Dad, for Dan would’ve said, “Hey, Girl, what up?”103

“Nothing,” I was quick to say. “I just thought you’d like to know that I got an A-plus on my vocabulary quiz yesterday.” This was true, of course, but definitely not the reason I had called.104

“That’s great news,” Dad said, but he sounded rather bored. Did I parade my good grades around that much? “You need to get back to class now, okay?”105

Disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm, but relieved that he hadn’t caught Dan yet, I replied, “Alright, Dad. Bye.”106

My mind was mostly at ease for the rest of the school day. When the bell rang, I hopped on my bicycle, and before I had even thought about what I was doing or where I was going, I found myself in the exact middle seat of the third-closest row to the stage of Dan’s school.107

Beep! Beep! Beep!
“Monica?”108

The voice was on time, but it didn’t belong to Dan. It was a girl’s voice.109

The girl approached me. She was Hispanic, and had her long, black hair clipped back into a barrette. The thing I liked least about her was that she didn’t look even vaguely familiar.110

“So, Dan’s your brother?” she asked.111

“Second-cousin,” I corrected. “But yeah.”112

“Oh, he just always referred to you as his sister,” she explained.113

“Who are you, anyway?” I had to know.114

“Natasha, she answered. “Surely, Dan’s mentioned me before?”115

“Nope,” I said. “After all, why would he? It’s not like you’re his girlfriend, right? Even so, that would make him less likely to mention you.”116

“A couple? US?” Natasha asked in what many would mistake for disbelief, but I was sure that it was sheer hope. “No, no, no. His GPA is about eighty-seven. No offense, but my girls and I have a reputation to protect.”117

“So, you are your girls are The Pops, then?” I asked.118

“Pops?” Natasha repeated.119

“The populars,” I explained.120

“Well, no,” said Natasha. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have any dignity left to my name.”121

“Oh,” I sighed. “Did you get to see the attack of the chickens?”122

“Was that in the theater or something?” Natasha asked.123

“No,” I answered, wondering how low her GPA must be to not know what I was talking about. “It was at you guys’ school yesterday.”124

“Who told you that?” Natasha asked.125

“Dan,” I replied. “He was late so I asked him what kept him, and he said ‘chickens’.”126

“Chickens?” Natasha repeated. “You mean ‘chicks’? He – wait – he called me a chick?”127

“So you made him late.”128

“He called mea chick?”129

“Is that good or bad?”130

“Horrible,” Natasha answered, although she seemed somewhat flattered for some reason. “The word ‘chick’ is used by absolute pigs in reference to girls.”131

“Pigs can talk?”132

“I’ll kill him.” `133

“Who?”134

“Dan.”135

“Over my dead body.” I stood up and placed my hands on my hips/136

Natasha stormed out of the auditorium, and my resent for her grew.137

I got back on my bike and started for home. As I passed Tidal Park, my bike made a sudden stop. And I didn’t slam on the brakes. A hand clapped over my mouth, and someone lifted me off of my bike. However, I was not alarmed, for the hands had a familiar touch to them. I felt that I was not being abducted, but rather, I was being rescued.138

“Chill, Girl,” said a familiar voice as the hands released me.139

“Did those kids give you any more trouble?” Dan asked.140

“I didn’t notice,” I said, and despite the “yeah-right” look Dan was giving me, it was the truth.141

“Fine,” said Dan after five minutes of silence. “We’ll talk about something else… What did the note say?”142

“Note?” I repeated. “Uh, right, the note. It said you had a twenty-four-hour bug and would be well and in school by tomorrow.”143

“Twenty-four-hour bug?” Dan smiled. “That’s genius.”144

“Oh, and Natasha’s going to kill you,” I added.145

“She told you that?” Dan asked. “Did she say why?”146

“Something about pigs calling girls chickens…”147

“You told her I said that?”148

“You said pigs can’t talk.”149

“Yeah – I mean, no – they can’t – she was just being rude, okay?”150

I sighed. “Whatever you say, Dan.” I didn’t feel much like carrying on a pointless argument. “So, Dad doesn’t know you skipped school today, right?”151

“Hey, you skipped school for me,” Dan corrected. “But yeah, I’ve been here, at the park, all this time.”152

“You didn’t eat lunch?” I asked.153

“Nope,” he replied.154

“You must be starved!”155

“Would you two like a lift?”156

I looked and saw a white Cadillac with black polka-dots; it was the only one like it in the country, and it happened to belong to Mom.157

“Sure,” I said, and I walked my bike over to the car.158

“Monica, maybe we should walk,” said Dan, gesturing toward his bicycle.159

“Nonsense,” said Mom. “Your bikes will fit in the backseat.”160

“Come on, Dan,” I pleaded.161

Dan sighed. “Alright, as long as I don’t have to clean out the dirt these bikes track in.”162

“Agreed,” Mom and I said together.163

Dan and I carefully loaded our bikes into the back of the car before taking our seats in the front. Because I was only nine, and therefore smaller than Dan, I sat in the middle, and he sat by the window.164

“You’re back from work early,” I observed.165

“Oh, yes, that,” Mom sighed as she put the car into drive. “Your dad came into work early; said he needed to do something to take his mind off of stuff.”166

Something about the way Mom said ‘your dad’ sounded weird to me; it had never sounded quite normal. On several occasions, I had brought it up in a conversation with Dan, but he had always said I was “just imagining things” or “being paranoid”/ But that wasn’t the only thing Mom said that made me think. She said he needed to take his mind off of stuff, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew about all the times Dad had “punished” Dan. Was that why Mom said ‘your dad’ so strangely? Maybe Dan was right; maybe I was being paranoid.167

I didn’t say anything more on the drive home, and neither did Mom, so I assumed that she hadn’t figured out about my getting Dan out of school that day; with The Guyz’s help, I had pulled it off.168

The next day, everything was back to normal: Dan slept over at Uncle Samuel’s house (he had legal custody of Dan), I battled with my hair until Mom yelled at me to hurry up before I was late, and Dan was waiting for me by the stop sign.169

School also carried on as usual: the work was easy, the kids at the social rejects’ table were annoying, The Pops ignored me, I waited for Dan in the exact middle seat of the third-closest row to the stage as my alarm sounded, and Dan entered the auditorium on time.170

One thing, however, was not normal that day. Instead of saying, “hi, how was your day?” and such, when Dan came into the auditorium, he merely walked over to me and let out a long, heavy sigh. Something was wrong; something he didn’t want to talk about, but I did want to talk about it.171

“Were your teachers mad about you missing school yesterday?” I asked as we left the school.172

“Nope.”173

“The bought our ‘twenty-four-hour bug’ excuse?” I asked.174

“Yep.”175

“Can’t I get more than one syllable?” I asked.176

“Yes, ma’am.”177

For a moment, I thought I had seen him half-smile, but when I looked more closely, I saw his teeth were barred. He was really mad, but there was no reason for him to take it out on me. Unless… as it something I had done?178

Matters only got worse in the days that followed. Dan didn’t even speak to me save for when he asked me to pass the pepper. I really wanted to tell him about the party at my school (I had to let my excitement to someone, but Dan wouldn’t listen to me; he didn’t want to). I made an agreement with myself that I would only try to tell him once more. So, one our bike-ride back from school, I explained it to him in full detail.179

“So, I know it’s a pathetic attempt, but I was thinking that if I look nice enough at the party, and I don’t make a fool of myself, I could raise my social status a hair or two.”180

Dan didn’t say anything, or look even the slightest bit interested.181

“And they182

Re going to have snacks, and punch,” I continued. “I don’t know the occasion… I guess they just wanted to get us kids together for fun, like how they have dances at your school, Dan. They couldn’t call it a dance, though, because we’re only in elementary school, and we’re not ‘emotionally mature’ enough yet. Why do people keep saying that?”183

“Because you’re emotionally immature,” Dan finally spoke.184

“He speaks!” I exclaimed, but once again, Dan wouldn’t respond. “Pull over,” I said quietly, and Dan obeyed.185

“What?” he snapped.186

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.187

“My life isn’t up for discussion,” he barked. “And neither is yours, so stick a sock in your excitement about this dumb party ‘cause I don’t care!”188

“But, Dan, I-“189

“You know what?” he said. “I am so sick of you rambling on and on about every little thing, that you can take the bus to school tomorrow!”190

My jaw dropped. Never before had Dan yelled at me, and my eyes were ready for some wet weather. I swallowed the plum-sized lump in my throat and said, “Do I have to take the bus home, too?”191

“You’ve got that party to go to,” said Dan. “Just stay there and wait.” Saying no more, he took off on his bike.192

I knew that Dan knew that I couldn’t just stay at school. I needed to talk to someone who could make sense of it all, and that person was sick of me; that person was Dan. I needed someone to talk to. I couldn’t talk to Dad; when Dan wasn’t around, he was too goofy for me to have a serious conversation with him. Mom was a kid a long time ago, so I didn’t feel like she would understand. Who else was there? I had cousins, but the ones my age weren’t ideal for talking to; on Mom’s side, were the twins, who were 10, blonde, and obsessed with vanity. On Dad’s side, was Erl (which was short for Erlando), who was 8, and his best friend was Bessy (the pregnant pig in their sty). Other than that, all of my cousins were twenty years old at a minimum. After much debate – most of which was with me – I decided that my best bet was the twins. The twins lived miles away, so, obviously, I couldn’t pay them a visit, but I could call them.193

I made my way home, where Dad was washing his jeep.194

“Hi, Dad.”195

“How was school?”196

Dad hadn’t asked me that when Dan was here. I was glad to see him lighten up a little. It was too bad I couldn’t say the same thing about Dan. 197

“Okay, I guess,” I said. “What’re you doing?”198

“Funny story,” he said as he dropped his sponge in his bucket and picked up the hose. Then, he turned the hose on me. “I’m washing the jeep.”199

“And me,” I said as I wiped water off of my face. “I need to use the phone, okay?”200

“To call who?” Dad asked with mild interest.201

“Aly and – Allyson and Abigail,” I corrected myself quickly. When Dad gave me a “why-would-you-want-to-talk-to-them” look, I remembered that I had not yet his permission to go to the party. “Oh yeah, there’s a party at my school on Friday – tomorrow, I mean. It’s my first one, so I kind of need a girl my age to talk to about it.” That was pretty close to the truth – and as close to it as I was going to get; I wasn’t about to talk to Dad about my fight with Dan. “You don’t mind if I call them, do you?”202

Dad shook his head, and I went inside and dialed the number. On the third ring, someone answered.203

“Hello. Privett residence, this is Juliana speaking.”
“Oh, hi, Aunt Juliana,” I said. “This is Monica… speaking.”204

“Monica,” Aunt Julie said. “The correct response is ‘hello’.”205

“Right,” I said. “My bad… I mean, my mistake, I’m sorry. Could I speak to Allyson or Abigail, please?”206

“You mean ‘may’?” said Aunt Julie.207

“Pardon?” I said, hoping that was “the appropriate response”; talking to Aunt Julie was like taking an etiquette class.208

“You mean to say, ‘may I speak to Allyson or Abigail’.” Aunt Julie sighed. “I shall go get them. Please hold.”209

Moments later, I heard a girlish voice in the phone. “Hi, Monica.”210

I knew Aunt Julie had hung up, for otherwise, the voice would have said “hello”.211

“It’s Ally,” said the girlish voice. “How come you’re calling, Monica? You never call us! … What?... Oh, Abby says hi.”212

I explained my situation to Aly, who relayed the message to Abby. Because Dad was still outside, I was able to tell my story in full detail.213

“Well, I should say that the most reasonable solution to your dilemma must be to keep a relaxed attitude," said Ally.214

"You're mom's in the room, isn't she?" I asked.215

"Quite right, Monica," said Ally. "You do catch on rather quickly... okay, I've got a plan."216

"She's gone, then?" I asked.217

"Uh-huh," said Ally. "I'll lend you one of my dresses; you'll blow him away."218

I deliberately cleared my throat. "First of all, there's no 'him'. Second of all, what's in it for you? You sound all too keen about the idea. And third of all, are you sure your mom would approve of you two sharing clothes with the likes of me?"219

"And just what are you implying, by that?" asked Ally.220

"By that, I mean that your mom doesn't think of me as very worthy," I explained. "I'm some sort of peasant in comparison to her Royal Highness."221

"What did she say?" I heard Abby ask.222

"She says Mom's got inflated ego!" Ally was speaking so loudly that I was sure she could be heard a block away from her house.223

I said nothing, but heard an entire conversation on the other line:224

One of the twins gasped.225

"No, Mother," one of them said.226

I could not hear what Aunt Julie said, for she always spoke quietly.227

"No, Mother!" one of the twins said. "We would never speak ill of you-"228

"It's Monica," the other twin said. "We were just advising her about a boy at her school, and she felt a sudden urge to insult you."229

"What?" I heard Aunt Julie say. "I must have a talk with your Aunt Janetina!"230

"Mother would like to speak with your mother, Monica," one of the twins said into the phone.231

"She's out," I said shortly.232

"Mother says she shall call in a day or two, Monica," said the twin. "Good-bye."233

I heard the dial tone, and placed the phone back in its carriage. I couldn't remember why I had called them anyhow. I would just go to that party and have fun without any one else's advice.234

"Bye, Dad!" I blew my dad a kiss as I got out of the car. I hadn't done that in the longest time, and yet it felt so natural.235

The cafeteria looked almost unrecognizable; the staff had outdone themselves for the first time since I had enrolled there.236

- The people, however, were entirely recognizable. The boys all wore scroungy clothes (it looked as though they had just slid into hoe plate). The Pops wore dresses that went down to their knees, and their giggles were now continuous. The girls who were neither social rejects, nor Pops, hung out in small groups of two or three. Considering I didn't have anyone to hang out with - or really any friends at all, I was rather lost at the party.237

Twenty minutes after arriving, I was bored. I had half a mind to call my dad and ask him to take me home. I poured myself a glass of punch as I pondered what to do.238

However, after I poured that glass of punch, I didn't think about hat to do next; I was distracted, for my head started to ache, and my arms started to itch. I took a sip of punch, and that took my mind off of my aching head and itching arms - but only for a moment; something else attracted my attention.239

"MONICA ORION GINGER!" a deep voice echoed throughout the cafeteria. "STOP!"