Page 54 of Make Me Pretty
He keeps glancing behind us, even though it’s dark, and it’s near impossible to really see shit in the spaces between street lamps.
When I’ve finally caught my breath, I huff, sending my bangs blowing back from where they escaped my hood. “Shit,” I rasp, throat gravelly, mind pleasantly warm and fuzzy. Lance is staring intently at a bush. “He’s not just going to pop out of the shadows, dude,” I deadpan. He mutters something I can’t make out but turns back around. My backpack rattles with the sounds of the paint cans as I hoist it up with my one strap, arm extending to pass him the spliff.
He takes it with an unsteady hand, eyes drawn to the cherry, following the smoke curling up. “You’re right, sorry. I’ve just never…”
“Broken the law?” I waggle my brows even though he can’t see it. “I’m giddy. I love corrupting the pure and innocent.”
Lance scoffs and ruffles his hair. “I’m far from it.”
I go to roll my eyes, but then I realize that takes too much energy, so I stop mid-roll. “Uh-huh.”
“It’s true!” he huffs cutely, still just holding the half-gone joint.
I shrug and dip my head toward it. “If you get defensive, it’s probably because you’re lying.”
It’s quiet for a minute as we trudge through the grass toward the school’s parking lot, now in sight. Lance finally hits it, immediately blowing out the smoke as he starts hacking. I laugh through my nose, lightly patting his back with a heavy arm as he coughs and spits on the ground.
By the time he stands back up, his eyes are glimmering with wetness streaking down his cheeks. “First time?” I ask with a curl to my lips, already knowing the answer.
“How’d you guess?” he croaks as he hands it back, making me laugh all over again. I pat his shoulder before pinching the cherry between my fingers and flicking it to the ground. Then I lift my foot and tap the end to the midsole to make sure it’s extinguished before slipping it in my front pocket.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Get used to it.”
We walk in silence for a few minutes, only the sound of our breaths and footsteps permeating the cool air. When we near the edge of the large lot, Lance starts jerking his head around, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“It’s like, thirty something degrees out right now. Are you seriously sweating?” The reminder of the chill has me hunching my shoulders to my ears, now numb from the breeze.
“I’mnervous!” he whisper-shouts, voice wavering. And I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. The sound of my cackle bounces around the vacant space, refracting louder. “Someone’s paranoid.”
“Shutup!If we get caught, we’re getting expelled. This is—this is defacement of property! And theweed—” He cuts off with a sour, pinched face.
Jesus,I’m glad smoking doesn’t makemeparanoid. “Oh, chill out. It’s just pot.”
Lance balks. “Just—you’re insane, you know that?”
I scan the empty lot. “Yeah, I’ve been told,” I respond absentmindedly. “Now, where the hell is his parking space?”
Lance points somewhere to my right. “Over there. They give the seniors front parking.”
“Excellent. Follow me, my dearly corrupted.”
His footsteps are loud clomps behind me. I kick a rock with the toe of my scuffed shoe as I step over a crack, watching it skip as Lance mumbles to himself, probably regretting ever agreeing to my little adventure.
“You’re harshing my mellow,” I call back to him.
“Thisis mellow? What the fuck else do you do if this—this isrelaxing to you?”
I tilt my head to the right as I slow my steps, waiting for him so I can mirror his pace. “Babe, we fucked around in the choir room. At school. After it was closed.”
He stutters, and I catch a flash of his flushed face as we pass by a light pole. “Well, yeah, but?—”
“This isn’t any different. It’s all an adrenaline rush if you do it right, hence getting stoned first. The vibes marry perfectly. If you don’t get paranoid,” I add on a mumble.
“There’s a right way to graffiti?”Gods, what an innocent little baby I have here.
I nod, tucking my hair behind my ears beneath my hood. “Absolutely. Just follow my lead, buddy boy. I’ll never steer you wrong.”
