Days of Darkness

Chapter 69

Teegan

I laughed at how Gene imitated Mr. Prichard. He had the arm movements down. Had his voice been more nasally, it would have been perfect. Samantha was laughing so hard she was desperately trying not to spit out the soda in her mouth. Even Caleb laughed before he came to the poor man's rescue.

"Come on," Caleb said, trying to stop laughing, "he's a nice guy if you get to know him." This caused a dribble of coke to emerge from Samantha's lips. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked away, hoping to get serious enough to swallow.

"You've done it again, Mr. McGuire," Gene said, flourishing his hand above his head as Mr. Prichard did every time he returned a test to Caleb. Samantha lost it and spat the soda onto the lawn. That sent the rest of us into fits of laughter.

Henderson's party was truly the bash of the year. Everyone was there, scattered around the house in little groups. The family room became the de facto dance floor, and music was constantly streaming out of the speakers. The backyard, where we were, had a large fire pit blazing, attracting the pyro that existed in most of us. Billy Henderson's parents were out of town, a fact I didn't mention to Mom, which gave us freedom to be ourselves. Gene was extra entertaining.

"Stop it!" Samantha said, laughing too hard to catch her breath. I walked over to her and patted her back. Half the soda went up her nose.

"My girlfriend," Gene said with a sigh, "always had a drinking problem." I couldn't handle the pun and turned my head, so I didn't laugh in Samantha's face. Samantha straightened with coke on her chin and started slapping Gene on the chest. She couldn't stop laughing, and Gene was making sure she didn't.

"Let her breathe," I shouted around my own laughter. Gene hugged Samantha, letting her calm down in his arms. Once Samantha starts laughing, little will slow it down. It was good to let loose, and I could see we all needed it.

I caught Caleb subconsciously staring at Gene and Samantha. There was something in his eyes, a want unfulfilled. Samantha had stopped laughing and seemed to sink deeper into Gene. Caleb jerked his eyes away when he noticed my attention. He lifted his cup to his lips, quickly covering the brief embarrassment.

"When's your next concert?" I asked Caleb.

"A week before the prom," Caleb replied. "Not a real fan of the music Mr. Simpson picked, but the orchestra is starting to get it together."

"He doesn't let you guys pick your own songs?" Gene asked.

"Nope," Caleb answered. "Once in awhile he'll give a choice between two or three, but mostly he tries to expand our range." He shrugged. "He is throwing in a montage of The Pirates of the Caribbean music. I think he does it, so the audience doesn't get too bored."

"You guys should do a movie night," Samantha added. "Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"That would be cool," Gene agreed. "Throw in Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park,"

"And dum, dum, dum, dum," I said, poorly imitating the theme to Jaws. Some guys behind us, with deeper voices, picked up the theme, and it didn't take long for it to spread to the rest of the back yard. "See," I said, "you'd have the whole school into it."

"I'll pass it on," Caleb said with a chuckle. "Just know that Mr. Sampson likes his composers dead and buried for at least a 100 years." He raised his eyebrows to me, "Do you want another drink?" My cup had been empty for a while.

"Sure, Sprite," I said with a smile, handing him my cup.

"And some of those pretzels," Gene called as Caleb went into the house. "Has he even kissed you yet?"

"We're just friends," I insisted. "And I'll thank you not put anything into his head."

"What's the big deal?" Samantha asked. "You like him, and it's obvious he likes you."

"Come on," I groaned. "Einstein is going to MIT. You want us to date for a couple of months then break up." I shook my head. "There's no future for us. He's too smart for someone like me."

"I don't know," Gene smiled, "I lowered myself to Samantha's level." I held back a laugh as Samantha pushed away from him. Her lips were smiling, but her eyes were all evil.

"You want to talk grades?" Samantha said, hands on her hips. "Let's do this Mr. Brain! Right here, right now."

"I've seen your report card, Gene," I warned.

"I was speaking of height," Gene said with a look of innocence. "I find it insulting that you would even think any different." I rolled my eyes making sure Samantha saw it.

"How do you put up with him?" I asked.

"One day at a time," Samantha replied. She moved back into Gene's arms. "One day at a time." I did envy the closeness that was developing between the two. I wanted some of it for myself with someone who could share a future with me.

"Here you go," Caleb said from behind me. He had three cups balanced between his two hands. I had to grab the cup full of pretzels first so that everything didn't end up on the ground.

"Thanks," I said, tossing a salty bowtie into my mouth before handing them off to Gene.

We stayed outside and helped to feed the fire pit. People would come and go, adding then subtracting from our little group. The conversations were inane, but always entertaining. Caleb was feeding off of Gene as if he had known him his whole life. Somehow, he had learned to anticipate where Gene's silly jokes were going and helped them along. Gene shifted his words and started setting Caleb up for the punchline. Caleb's mind was very quick when he was relaxed, and he had no trouble playing a duet with Gene. They both had us laughing until our lungs hurt.

When Caleb first decided to attend the party, I don't think he thought it would be so much fun. I was enjoying his enjoyment, feeling like I had a small part in his social expansion.

"I have to find the ladies' room," I said, thinking the next round of laughter might be embarrassing. Everyone nodded as I turned and walked into the house.

"Why are you so happy?" Traci Finland asked. She was in my English Lit class, and we partnered on a class project once. Until she said something, I didn't realize I had a smile frozen on my face. "Anything to do with that guy you're seeing?" She pointed her glass toward the sliding glass doors. Subconsciously, my eyes followed and found her pointing at Caleb.

"Oh no," I said, frustrated that everyone seemed to think Caleb and I were an item. "Caleb and I are just friends. He and Gene are cracking jokes, and it had me laughing."

"You might as well date him," Traci said, absently pushing her auburn hair over her ear, "you two haven't left each other's side all night." I felt my face heat as the truth of the statement hit home. She was right. I liked being next to Caleb. It felt like something was missing now that I wasn't near him.