ain't no fooling

Well..this was unexpected.

Jen didn't think Clive would even know where she lived. They rarely ever spoke to each other. Although, he always gave her a discount when she and Carly got their burger and fries fix, on occasion.

"What are you doing here?"

April wasn't exactly spring yet. It was quite a mother of a wind out. Chilly, in fact.

"I didn't know where else to go." He shrugged as if she were his very last friend.

About then, Carly peaked over Jen's shoulder.

"Who are you?"

Jen wasn't sure how to explain Clive.

"Just a friend." Evidently, they were friends.

He did look out of it. Like maybe he robbed the place he worked. Or maybe his brother shot someone. That was always one of Clive's worries. Especially, when his brother didn't take his med.

Yes, Jen remembered. She'd listened, back then, when she was at all those parties with the other cheerleaders.

She shut the door behind him and told him to come upstairs. The last thing she needed was her mom dropping in to put in her two cents worth. As it was, she was with  baby Bella. Probably, reading her a Chubby Bear book.

It pained Clive... as to where to start. Yes, he'd done a very bad thing. And awful thing. For real.

But first, he took a nose dive into Jen's bed as if he just wanted to sleep and forget about it.

"Oh, great.." Jen's fists were on her tiny waist. She looked like she might do a cheer of some kind, on his head. But he pretty much knew she must have assassin skills with the gymnastics she did.

He rolled over and laid there as if he was truly dying. "It sucks to be me."

But it was pretty sweet to have a red head on one side of him and a blonde on the other, Clive couldn't help but smile.

"Would YOU just spill it!" Jen jabbed him in the ribs.

"OK." He finally gave in. "I did it. With somebody." Yeah, it had finally happened. Clive was no longer a virgin.

"Oh God! You, came here to tell me this!" She scowled as if she was ready to kick his goods and then some.

"Wait." He rose up on his elbows. "I won't deny it, but..it was a little sick." He pouted with his fat lip and then he laid back down. "But it was really good." He sighed as if there was no denying it.

Jen gave him the evil eye as if she was definitely getting tired of this one man show.

"It was with..someone at work." He sighed as if it that was the worst part. "I mean, we'd had some really good times. You know, with her cousin and her boyfriend. We went bowling."

"You, did it? At the bowling alley?" Now her friend Carly was interested.

"No." He wrinkled his forehead. "It wasn't suppose to happen. OK? It wasn't." He rose up on his elbows. They'd done it in Jess's car. After work. Late. Actually, the wee hours of the morning. He hadn't slept since. "But..but Jess was so out of it. She..she knew she couldn't trust her cousin Irma. She just knew it.and..and well..one thing lead to another ..and well..it happened."

He'd had a sex with a fat girl.

But it didn't feel like that.

"She's...like ..a wild woman..you know. I mean..the way she kissed..and..and.."

"God..shut up..shut up..shut up, shut up!" Jen put her fingers in her ears.

Carly just laughed. "Oh..you can tell me."

Jen stomped out of her room. She said they needed refreshments.

"Well, it sounds like you really must be..in love." Carly told him, giving him the benefit of the doubt. As if it were really special and of course, amazing.

"But..but I'm not. I can't be. I can't." He winced hard as if this was the best and the worst thing that had ever happened to him. "God..swear you won't tell. You can't tell Jen..you can't tell anyone. NOT A WORD." This couldn't be love. He didn't want it to be. But it felt so REAL. His heart was about to burst with that thought that this was EVERLASTING LOVE. He wanted it to be with Jess.

"I dunno anyone too tell." Carly told him.

Clive sighed in relief.

Irma roamed the isles of the mega grocery store. She didn't know what to do. As she bit her bottom lip, she noticed how chapped her lips were. It had been a long walk here in the cold wind. It was suppose to be spring but it felt like winter, snow in the forecast.

She did her best not to think how upset her cousin had been.

She didn't even like her cousin's boyfriend. But there was no explaining. Jess had decided. And now Irma had no home.

Irma found the rows and rows of hair products. Each offering something totally amazing. She studied one of the generic products thinking maybe she should dye her hair blue. Something different. Of course, she didn't know where she could do such a thing. The restroom at the grocery store?

Irma winced hard. She felt like she was in a rut. The same old rut that just got deeper, somehow.  How was she going to get out of this? She was even afraid to go to work. Of course, she didn't have to be there for another four hours.

She heard her stomach growl. Immediately, she felt tears trying to flood her face.

She looked in her wallet. Well, at least she had a little money saved. Maybe she could live at the motel not so far from work. Of course, there were a lot of old men there or just strangers who looked pathetic.

Irma strolled by the deli. Naturally, the pizza caught her eye, but she walked on by. She asked for a coffee at the cashier station.

"Hey, you're sure you don't want this last slice of cheese pizza?" The guy at the pizza counter called to her after she paid for the coffee.

She tried to smile.

He put it on a paper plate and brought it to her. As it was, there was hardly anyone around.

"On the house," he said.

"You, can do that here?" She winced.

"Depends on who you ask?" His smile was up to something. "I bet you don't remember me."

She shook her head, no.

He went into great detail about a young nerdy teacher she remembered in fifth grade.

"Holden? Right?" She recalled he was always up to pranks. "You, scared her with a real snake."

"It was only a garden snake." He shrugged, pleased that she remembered. "What are you doing here?"

They'd both been in Sioux City then.

"Oh, I needed a change." She smiled as if he didn't really need to know she was so down on her luck.

They went out to sit in dining area. He grabbed a coffee and found them a booth.

"So, shouldn't you be going to that Indian college in Lawrence?" He asked.

"Well..I..I haven't finished school." She'd never thought of her Native American heritage being anymore than a long wait at the clinic or run down housing on the reservation.

"Yeah, its taking me forever to get out of school, too." He winced as if he understood. "But hopefully, this is the year." He made it sound like a musical.

Holden did make her smile. It was nice to see a familiar face, especially one that could always make her laugh.