Page 17 of The Red Zone
“Double digits…” Scarlett whispered, tipping her head with a lifted eyebrow.
“Easily… and if not, damn close.”
What in the world?
How did this conversation even get here?
“If you guys want to continue to fawn over October’s dick, go do it in front of his face. I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to have a couple of girls praise his manhood,” I grumbled, sitting back down on the pink chair in front of the center vanity.
“Oh, come on! It was an honest question for… you know, research purposes.” Scarlett shot me a teasing wink before claiming the only other open seat in the room.
Can you believe she was the one who was always telling meIwas the terrible liar of the group?
“Aww, Mae girl, we’re just having some fun.” Lea wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me into a hug so tight both of our faces scrunched together. “Are you ever going to tell me what the deal is between you guys? Why you hate each other so much?”
“Oh, I’ll tell you…” Scar piped up. “Since we were five—and October six—the two of them have had a silent competition to see who could irk the other person’s nerves the most.” Scarlett looked over at me for confirmation, to which I gave her an indifferent shrug. “Like one time when October beat her in the Pi Day contest, so Mae made it her life mission for the next year to memorize as many numbers of Pi so not only would she beat him the next year, but also so she would break the school record for most numbers recitedknowinghe would be going to middle school the next year and wouldn’t be able to challenge her title.”
“Okay, first off, I won that contest fair and square. Second, I am still the proud Pine Crest Elementary School Pi Day Challenge record holder. Fifteen years strong. I even have a plaque to prove it.”
“We know… it’s hanging up in your office downstairs.” Scar and Lea looked at each other and their smiles deepened into laughter. “Back to your original question,” Scarlett started again. “The real kicker in their relationship happened when Mae and I were in second grade, though. At the time it seemed subtle, but looking back, Mae was a woman scorned from that Spring forward…”
“Hmmm.” Lea raised her brows with a sarcastic smile. “Imagine that.”
“Only… to this day, Mae hasnevertold me the reason.” Lea mock gasped at Scarlett’s over exaggerated confession. “To think, my best friend,my sister, has kept a secret like this from me for two decades. The betrayal!” Scarlett sighed dramatically while lifting the back of her hand to her forehead like she was the lead in a period drama who just found out terrible news.
“Oh, cut the dramatics. There’s hardly anything to tell.”
“So, you’re admitting there issomethingto tell?” Lea pried with narrowed eyes.
“If I say yes, then I would be incriminating myself, and if I say no… that would be a lie.” I turned up my nose. “And frankly, I’d rather not accuse myself any further.”
The thing about my revulsion toward October was that while it might’ve been slow and contentious to start, like Scarlett mentioned, there was a vital turning point that shifted my view of him from minor competitor to public enemy number one in a matter of minutes.
It all boiled down to the fact that Molly Goldberg was a big mouthed, two-faced bitch from hell. Always had been, and as far as I was concerned, always would be. Last I heard, she was working at a topless bar somewhere off I-95, but got into an argument with the owners and was told to never come back. Word around our hometown spread that she was unemployed and living in her parents’ basement because no one would hire her.
Can’t say I was surprised.
In case you haven’t heard, karma’s a bit of a bitch.
Back to the point…
Many, many moons ago on a planet far away, I had a teensy tiny schoolgirl crush on October Calhoun himself. Though in today’s day and age, I’d never, under any circumstances, outright admit that.
It all started the first moment we met at his parents’ Halloween party. His mom, Mrs. Tish, was one of those people who made the holiday their entire personality all year round. Granted, she might’ve been a little too obsessive, but who was I to judge?
It had been a windy night in South central Florida and the chilly air smacked our faces as the five of us—Scarlett, her mom, me, and my dads—marched down the sidewalk toward the California ranch style home which sat on the corner of Pine Street.
Eerie tunes blared from the speakers and as soon as the door opened, a tall dark-haired woman with buttons stuck on her eyes like Coraline greeted us with the most enthusiastic welcome as she waved us into her home.
There were people in costumes of all kinds—princesses, doctors, monsters—but when I locked eyes with the boy across the room wearing football pads and a Rhett Fuller jersey that was three sizes too big for his body, the biggest crush I’d had in my five-year-old life washed over me, completely consuming my being.
I was too hardheaded to let it show, but it was there buried deep down under there.
However, Two Valentine’s Day’s, a humiliating moment, and a gut-wrenching sentence from Molly Goldberg later, the crush I’d had on October was dead on impact with no chance of revival.
* * *
The night was young and there was a pleasant breeze rolling off the water, which was a refreshing change from the late August heat. Scarlett and Lea had their arms looped between mine as they guided me down a dock toward the luxurious black and white yacht with the words “Dirty Beach“ painted on the side in a decadent royal blue.
