Balance Of Darkness

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3:

SCHOOL’S OUT

A high school, after the bell rang, was full with students and teachers walking all around it. A beautiful girl was standing at a second floor window watching outside. Her name was Melanie – almost 20 years old, 5'7 tall, with natural blond hair and green eyes; she was wearing a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. As she moved away from the window, a girl was passing by, and Melanie bumped into her. The girl got angry and said:

“Hey! Watch it, b***h!”

“b***h?! Watch your goddamn mouth or I'll break it!” said Melanie and pushed her. They were about to fight, but another girl named Nicole – a short (about 5'3 feet) brunette with glasses and star-shaped earrings, saw the scene and got between them.

“Hey, knock that off! Come on!” she said.

“You're lucky that your friend is here!” said the girl.

“Yeah, lucky to stop me from kicking your a*s!” said Melanie.

“Really?!”

“Okay, that's enough!” said Nicole, and the girl walked away.

“Well-done, Nicky! You just saved a life, you know that?” said Melanie.

“And I saved you, Melanie, from going to the principal's office... again.”

“Ah, don't worry about that. The school is almost over anyway.”

“Let's go to the canteen.”

“I'm not hungry.”

“But I am, come on.”

They went to the crowded canteen, Nicole ordered french fries with ketchup, and they both sat on a table.

“That's not a healthy food, you know.” said Melanie.

“What do you want me to eat? Just oats and bran?”

“No, there are many healthy foods, and that ain’t one of them.”

“Thanks for the concern, Melanie. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then, a boy came in the canteen – tall, with very short brown hair, and a leather jacket. Melanie looked at him like someone she did not want to see.

“Well, there goes my appetite…” said Nicole.

“Hello, Melanie, Nicky!” said the boy, and he sat with them.

“Hi, Jason...” sighed Melanie.

“How are you?”

“Before you showed up? Not bad!” said Nicole.

“You were always so charming!”

“You too. So, when do you get expelled?”

Melanie scoffed, and Jason said:

“Fortunately, never. There are less than two weeks left.”

“Yeah, how fortunate…”

“What do you want, Jason?” said Melanie losing patience.

“Would you like to be my lady at the prom, Melanie?” said Jason.

“I was your lady for about two years, it's all over. One more night ain’t gonna change a thing.”

“Come on. We graduate. Just for the prom.”

“Weren’t you supposed to graduate like… three years ago?” said Nicole, and Jason looked at her as if he wanted her to go away.

“He was, and so was I… One year ago, in my case.” said Melanie.

“Yeah, but you have a job, and he’s not exactly---”

“Nicky… I’m not going to the prom.”

“Why not?” said Jason, and Nicole repeated it.

“Don’t feel like it.”

“If it’s about the money, I can give you---” said Jason.

“No, it’s not that! And don’t worry. Unlike you, I can take care of myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know damn well!”

“Oh... The same thing again, huh?”

“Well, what do you expect?”

“I thought... maybe... you have seen things more clearly, but... I guess I was wrong.”

“Why don’t you explain those things to me?!”

“What are you guys talking about?” said Nicole.

“Nothing. See you, girls!” said Jason, then he got up and left.

“What was that all about?” said Nicole.

“Nothing, forget it.” said Melanie.

“You still care about him... He’s still getting into trouble, isn’t he?”

“We broke up! His business is his business!”

“He never deserved you. Your father was right not to approve him from the beginning.”

“Thanks, Nicky! I feel so much better now!”

“Melanie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to---”

“It’s okay. You’re absolutely right. See ya!”

Obviously Melanie had... a way with words... and with people... and she had a temper. But if she was treated well, she would treat people well, too.

After school, Melanie was driving her Chevy listening a metal song on the radio. In about half an hour she parked in the backyard of a small house at Pico-Union. There were two fox-like dogs and two kennels – they were small, beige and fluffy. When they saw Melanie, they started to rejoice and bark.

“Chuck, Jackie! What you doin’, eh?”

She petted them, checked their bowls and poured more water in them. The ones with food were almost empty too, but she said:

“You eat too much, you’re gonna get fat!”

She went inside the house, left her purse on the living room table, took off her jacket and went in the kitchen. In a few minutes she was having dinner in her room – boiled eggs, vegetables and bread; and the stereo system was playing a rock song. The room was a bit messy and dusty, but not too much. Melanie was not the best housekeeper, but she was not a pig either. Then her cell phone rang and she stopped the music.

“Hello? _/_ Oh, hi, dad! _/_ Not bad. How are you? _/_ Great, so, uh... What do you want? _/_ Oh, come on. I know you want something. You don’t call me otherwise anymore. _/_ Yeah, whatever... _/_ No! I told you I don’t want to go on the stupid prom. _/_ No, I got money! It’s just--- _/_ Gimme a break! _/_ Okay, fine! I’ll go! _/_ Uh-huh, sure! Bye!” she hung up. “Prom, prom… That’s all I hear these days! Well, I don’t care, but I ain’t putting on a damn dress!”

Two days later at the school, Melanie was standing in by a vending machine in the corridor. She got a bottle of Coke, Jason was passing nearby and came to her:

“Good morning, Melanie.”

“Good morning, uh… I wanted to talk to you.”

“What’s up?”

“I'll go with you at the prom.” she said after a few seconds of thinking.

“I thought you weren’t going.”

“My dad insisted. And he already paid, so...”

“How is he?”

“Good, I guess. Haven’t seen him in a few months.”

“Why? “

“Well... He’s got a job, I’ve got a job... Speaking of which, what’s yours?”

“My job? I still work at the bar.” “And you don’t work with that creep Crowe anymore, right?”

“No, and don’t start again!”

A boy came by the vending machine, and they moved aside. Then Melanie said:

“Well, you can’t exactly proof that to me, can you?”

“What do you want, my employment contract? Melanie, when are you gonna let it go?”

“Jason! You got a juvie record, three convictions!”

“It’s in the past now, so you should drop it.”

“Well, tell that to the employers! And not to mention that you’re 22 years old, and you had to repeat three goddamn grades! They almost expelled you more than once! And all because of the s**t Crowe got you into! If your parents could see you now, they would have---”

“Hey, don’t talk about them!”

“Why not? You weren’t exactly a model boy back then, either.”

“Yeah? What about them?! They were arguing all the time, they barely cared about me! What do you know about that?! You didn’t even know them! I know you grew up with one parent, but at least he was there for you. And he still is!”

“But you may not be here much longer, if you’re not careful! And it’s a damn good thing that those Crime Killers don’t know about you!”

“Crime Killers?” scoffed Jason. “You actually believe that?”

“Oh, and you don’t?”

“Hell, no! It’s just some police or federal trick.”

“Even so, if they come after you, what then, huh?”

“I told you, Melanie, I don’t do anything anymore.”

“For your sake I hope so.”

There were looking at each other for a few seconds silently, and Jason said:

“I’ll pick you up at six from your place in ten days.”

“Good.”

Jason left, Melanie drank from the bottle of Coke, and said quietly:

“I gotta stop drinking that, but I just can’t!”