Dani took off her shoes, shouted, “Bitch!” and went inside. I craved a beer, even a lukewarm one, so I muttered, “Shit,” and walked in behind her. Hazel Kinney, Dani’s worst enemy since the sixth grade, sat on the floor swigging from a brown bottle of beer. Wayne and Billy Varnel and a kid named Jared sat across from her. Billy waved a very real-looking pistol at us and laughed when we ducked. After a couple of lame jokes about barnyard animals, Wayne, the boss of the barn, explained they were playing Russian Roulette Truth and the realistic pistol was only a starter pistol full of blanks.
The rules went something like this: On your turn, you put in a blank, spun the cylinder, held the gun next to your head, and pulled the trigger. If it didn’t go off, you took a drink. If it did, you had three choices: they could ask you any question they wanted and you had to tell the truth, you could take a dare, or you could go up in the attic with the last person who got shot.
We found out Jared jacked off three times a day minimum and Wayne had never had sex with a pig. Some of us doubted that last one, and when we said so, Wayne turned tomato head and stuttered something about us not knowing what all he did with his cock in private. Billy admitted to once letting a dog lick cheese spread off his dick. After that, Wayne took to calling him cheese dick. I drank three beers and felt better.
On my third turn, the gun went off and I chose truth. I told them I got my period in the seventh grade. This was a lie. I didn’t get it until ninth grade. Dani, who knew the truth, winked at me. Barely twenty seconds passed before the gun went off again. Billy, who had the hygiene habits of a goat, chose to take me up to the attic. Of course. My ears still rang so loud I couldn’t hear a word he said. Billy trapped me in a corner and got a mouthful of hair before I slid out from under his sweat-greasy arms and escaped.
On the seventh or eighth time round, the gun went off against Hazel’s head.
“You ever been lezzy with another girl?” Billy asked her. There was a scratch on his face from where he’d fallen after I’d pushed him in the attic, and I felt like adding a little length to it.
“Well,” Hazel said, drawing out the e. “I’ve never actually done anything myself, but I’ve noticed Dani is always staring at me when we’re changing for P.E.”
“That’s just ’cause Hazel’s got a giant ass,” I stage-whispered to Wayne. “Looks like someone tied a piglet around her waist.”
Hazel either didn’t hear or pretended not to. Dani kept her mouth clamped shut and tried to strangle her with her eyes. Wayne and Jared laughed. Then Billy laughed, but by that time he was so drunk I’m not sure he even knew what he was laughing about.
“That reminds me of what you told me about your brother,” Dani said.
“What?” Hazel said. She stood up.
The room went quiet.
“You know, how you said you like to watch him through the crack in the bathroom door when he’s taking a shower.”
The boys laughed. I wondered if this was something Hazel had actually told her when they were friends. It seemed possible. Hazel was trashy.
“Fucking cunt,” Hazel said. She ran across the room and grabbed Dani by the hair. I got up to help Dani, but Jared grabbed me by the elbows and held me back.
“You got to let them fight it out,” Jared said.
“No, I don’t. Let loose of me.”
Dani’s crate tipped over backwards and they rolled around on the ground. They weren’t really hitting each other, just scratching and biting. Hazel got a slap in and then Dani tore a fake fingernail off clawing at Hazel’s cheek. She left a long red gash. After a couple of minutes, they stopped cussing at each other. It was all grunting and screaming. Both of them cried and dripped mascara. They kept at it for a good ten minutes at least. Finally, Hazel clocked poor Dani in the eye with her beer bottle. It made a hollow clunk. She stopped fighting. Her face went greenish gray. The lantern continued to swing. None of us said a word for a very long moment, but our shadows shrank and swayed and grew as the lantern moved. Dani pulled her knees up against her chest and sobbed.
“Alright, now. Leave off,” Wayne said. Hazel had reared her foot back and looked ready to kick Dani in the head, but Wayne managed to pull together sense enough to stand up and grab her first. Jared let me loose.
“Get the fuck out of here, you bitch, and take that dyke with you!” Hazel screamed at me. Wayne still held her, so I slapped her as hard as I could. It made me happy to see I left a handprint. She kicked her legs up in the air trying to get away, but Wayne held her and smiled at me.
“I like to see a little spunk in a girl,” he said.
“Man,” Billy told his left foot. “Girls fighting.”
I helped Dani stand up and we left without saying another word.
Jared stood in the doorway and called after us, “Don’t be like that. We didn’t even get to mess around yet.”
The walk home was silent but for the sound of Dani’s head slowly swelling larger and larger. We swiped a venison steak from the basement freezer and Dani fell asleep with it melting on her face.