“The Movement of Horses” by Adam Cushman
--page 7

         Want to hear something awesome? Dane comes back two hours later and guess what? He’s picked up two nectars! They’re wearing really sexy tank tops and no bras at all. Dane comes in just as Needles finishes the “Moons Over My Hammy” and the nectars wait outside the window watching. He kind of looks at it sideways for a minute like it makes him sad and then he says, “Do not worry. I mean they can remove these things very easily.” Dane tells me to pay Needles and come meet the girls. Then he bails. While he throws away the needle and cleans me up Needles tells me, “Your boy’s just like Cinderella. Ring his clock and he’s nobody. Think about it.”
         Just so you know, Needles trying my best friend like that is not something a guy like me takes lightly. What if someone tried Tom in front of Huck? Or Matt in front of Ben(14)? Still, you have to pick your fights is what they say. Maybe this is why they said that.

~

         Shira and Vera are sweating me wicked outside the Circle K, which is where we go after.
         “That’s the dumbest tattoo I’ve ever seen,” Shira jokes, “What were you even thinking?”
         Shira has one of those giant vaccination marks on her arm and still insists on wearing sleeveless shirts(15).
         “Will you stop blowing spit bubbles off your tongue!” Shira yells.
         Vera is checking me out in a big way; she digs my trick and wishes she could do it too.
         “How do you even know him,” Shira asks Dane, who shrugs and looks at her butt.         If you haven’t been featured in the Victoria’s Secret catalogue, the chances of coming to bed with me are not in your favor. That’s actually what they mean by “Secret.”
         “Why is he smiling?” Shira asks me. “Stop smiling, you puffy rat-faced loser.” She leans in to tell Dane, “Oh my God. You were so right.”
         This isn’t me being shallow. It’s just a time issue. You can’t please everyone. This must be why Shira’s so defensive.
         “I think he’s sweet,” Vera tells Shira while looking at me with penny-colored eyes. She has long black hair like Slash and is about my height.
         “Vera!”
         “Isn’t it true you have never kissed a girl before?” Dane inquires, then secretly points to Vera.
         “Of course he hasn’t, look at his dork butt.”
         “That’s so sweet.” Vera says, although she knows very well that millions of girls have been kissed by me and changed forever.
         Shira smells like a Chinese restaurant. Not her breath really, just her overall. But with her big fuzzy red hair and dark circles, she looks more Jewish than anything. She even kind of looked like a nectar at first. Plus she has pimply shoulders. Plus she’s way too into her herself.
         “Is it true you stole a car?” Vera asks me.
         “Your friend says you’ve been following him home since the seventh grade,” Shira says to me. “Are you a ’mo or something?”
         “You don’t have to run away you know. You probably shouldn’t,” my little concubine whispers.
         “You’re sixteen,” Shira says to Dane, “Why do you even need him?”
         “What grade are you in?” Dane is suddenly suspicious.
         Vera says eighth and Shira says twelfth at the same time, then Shira looks at Vera all mad and Dane secretly motions me toward the car. Right now, Vera and me are the only two people on the planet. She won’t stop staring. Aside from the whole shaggy dog thing she’s not butt ugly. Maybe she could use a little sun. Some boobs wouldn’t kill her either.
         “Tell me something sweet,” Vera says and touches my hand with the back of hers.
         “How beautiful you are is causing me physical pain,” is that something.
         Dane looks at me all weird for a second, then Shira laughs and my heart begins beating really fast for some reason. Vera looks at me like she’s waiting for me to do something and then what happens is, after passing a little gas, I begin running around the parking lot full speed(16). Everyone watches me barrel across the street, through oncoming traffic, into the Red Lobster parking lot and then into a strip mall. After about ten minutes is when it’s clearly time to stop showing off. So, upon sprinting back into the Circle K parking lot, for good measure(17) I go ahead and abruptly puke on the pavement in mid-stride, then walk the rest of the way. To my surprise though, Dane is sitting in the driver’s seat with one leg out of the car, his cigarette smoke curling up along the roof. Vera and Shira don’t seem to be anywhere.
         “Where’d they go?”
         Dane looks at me and starts the car.
         Amateur.

~

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