What About Loyalty

Chapter 17

To put it bluntly, I went through the rest of the school day at my most depressed. I won't even describe exactly what happened during that period.

When the dismissal bell rang, I went straight from my last class of the day to right out the main door. From there, I walked directly to a local bar.

A few years ago, I had a fake ID created for me so I could go into a porno magazine shop, and now, according to my fake birth date, it implied I was old enough to drink, and drink I did.

Disclaimer, I had never tasted alcohol before in my life until then. By this point, however, I was desperate to feel good about myself after all the crap I went through.

In case you haven't tasted beer, it can be described like this; it's very bitter, yet you just can't get enough of it.

Six bottles of Coors Lite later, I began to act like a true maniac. I danced like a total jackass; I stole other people's drinks; and, somehow, I was desirable to the ladies. In fact, a few of them danced with me (and in some cases, on me).

About five hours later, I left the bar, totally drunk out of my wits. I swear, I was extremely wasted. I spent a good chunk of the night walking all through the town.

Somewhere along the line, I actually thought it was a good idea to use a payphone. When I found a phone booth, I went in it, inserted a quarter, picked up the phone, and, without thinking, dialed Ali's cell phone number.

It took a few seconds, but finally, she picked up. "Hello?" She said. I heard a sprinkling noise, so she was probably about to take a shower.

"Hey, Ali!" I said in a disoriented tone. "Whatcha doin', baby?"

"Harvey? Is that you?"

"f**k yeah, it's me, girl. Whatcha doin', eh?"

"Well, I was taking a shower until my phone rang. Harvey, are you drunk?"

"Hell yeah! I'm 'bout as faded as an ol' marker!"

Many people regret their first experience with alcohol. Although I didn't know it yet, I was going to be one of these people.

"Ya want me to come over tomorrow, Ali?" I queried quite harshly. "I bet I could pet your kitty cat nice and soft."

"But I don't have a cat," Ali replied.

"No, yer other kitty cat!

"Ooooooooh. Uh, Harvey, I don't know if-"

"C'mon! Just lemme come over and I promise I'll take my time eatin' your sushi roll an' I'll try not to pop your balloons!"

Somebody just spray me with a hose right now. I welcome it.

"Uh... okay. I guess you can come over tomorrow. I'm not sure about your innuendos, though. I feel like you're asking me for s*x. I mean, I like you, but-"

"s*x nothin'! I just wanna pet your kitty cat, eat your sushi, an' play with your ballons."

At this point, Ali probably thought I was crazy, and I didn't blame her. "Like I said, you can come over tomorrow," she said. "Just don't get drunk again."

"Ya got it baby!" I replied. "Don't keep me waitin' okay?" The next thing I heard was a dial tone, which meant that Ali must've hung up.

I dropped the phone and walked out of the phone booth. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that where I stopped was where I was gonna sleep.