Owen and the bouncer do this high-five handshake, like they’re old army pals. The guy says something to Owen behind his back and Owen replies, “Yeah, they’re underage, but they’re not drinking. We’re only here to listen to Hex Angelis.”
The bouncer scans us up and down. “Man, I dunno, Owen. This one especially looks like a kid.” He means me.
I see Owen slip the guy a folded bill. The bouncer bends down to tie his shoe, accidentally on purpose opening the door for us with his rear end.
If Owen’s going to have to bribe every bouncer to let us into clubs, this is going to cost him a fortune. He must be reading my mind, because he says to me, “This is coming out of your allowance.”
Actually, he yells that because it’s so loud in here the walls are shaking. I see stairs leading up, but Owen heads for the dark open room where the band is playing. Make that strumming guitars with the bass turned up so loud the reverb is doing demolition on my eardrums.
People aren’t dancing; they’re just lining the walls like black padding. Everyone’s dressed in black. I feel out of place in my powder blue pullover. Connor, of course, looks totally hot in a black leather jacket. Maybe I should take advantage of his vulnerability over being rejected by Ra-dhika and ask him to prom.
Silly boy, I chide myself. You only just lust after Connor, remember? Radhika is your true love.
We stand behind a tall round table for a while, and then Connor yells at me, “Are they singing about devil worship?”
I shrug. I can’t understand one word of the lyrics.
A waiter appears and Owen waves him off. A bunch of people greet Owen, and he chats up everyone, making them laugh. He’s a pretty popular guy. A different dude in his own element.
I wish he’d include us in his conversations. Or introduce me, at least. He obviously doesn’t feel comfortable associating with a bro. Especially a queer one.
This band is like retro goth. The whole atmosphere is goth. Older people, more into that culture when it was the rage. I don’t think a hard-core goth band will fly at Roosevelt High.
Owen yells in my ear. “What do you think?”
I holler back, “Not so much.”
He hitches his head toward the door. “We’re outta here.”
More people fist-bump Owen on our way out. It takes forever to leave. As we climb into the taxi, I suction my ears with my palms, hoping to realign my eardrums and muffle the ringing. I stretch my jaw to pop my ears as Owen pulls into traffic.
“The regular band broke up. Those guys suck,” Owen says.
“Major suckage,” Connor and I say at the same time. We both laugh.
Owen asks, “Do you want to hear DJs, too?”
“Not really,” I say. “We pretty much all agreed we want a live band.”
“We’ll try Trex,” Owen says. “See who’s playing.” A man steps off the curb to flag down the cab. Owen zooms by. “Can’t he see I’m off-duty?” Owen growls.
Owen’s sacrificing fares?
We stop at a red light and Owen swivels around to face me. He looks at Connor. He looks at me, then at Connor.
I say what I’m thinking: “I can’t figure out what’s in this for you. Schlepping me around. Pretending we’re not related.”
Owen doesn’t answer.
It’s a mean thing to say, but it comes out anyway: “I guess that’s how bros roll.”
Radhika is waiting on a patio chair outside her condo when I swerve to the curb. It’s a nippy day and she’s wearing her pink hoodie and black skinny jeans. She’s tall and refined. She has this grace about her.
I get out, trot around the Caddie, and open the front door for her.
As she slides in, she crunches her knees to her chest and gazes ahead, like she doesn’t want to engage in inconsequential chatter. Which is fine with me, because I have only one thing on my mind.
We’re almost at Azure’s and still my mouth won’t open. I drive past Azure’s street on purpose.
Radhika looks at me. “You missed the turn.”
“Did I?” I smack my head. “Brain clot.” I brake at a stop sign and turn to Radhika. “Will you go to prom with me?”
She freezes like an ice sculpture. Slowly, she lowers her legs. “Did you just ask me to prom?”
I nod a hundred times. A car behind me honks. My foot hits the accelerator and we jerk forward. Then I gain control of my reflexes and pull to the curb to park.
Radhika’s staring at me. Those dark, bottomless eyes. She lowers them and looks away.
OMG. You know when you realize you just made the worst mistake of your life? This is that moment.
I click on my signal to merge into traffic and take the next street to circle back to Azure’s.
“Luke…”
“Hey, it was a long shot,” I say. “Don’t worry about it.”
As we enter Azure’s driveway, she hurries out of the house. She opens the front and back doors of the Caddie and waits for Radhika to join her in the backseat.
Radhika says, “I’ll ride up here today.”
“Can you smell me from that far away?” Azure asks. She scoots in and shuts the door. “Our water heater went out and I didn’t even get a shower. I know, I stink like a used Odor-Eater.”
Neither Radhika nor I say a word.
Azure goes, “Brrr. Turn up the heat, Luke. It feels like it’s going to snow.”
I slow at the end of her driveway, then take a left toward school. I’d turned the radio off so I could ask Ra-dhika The Question.
“Is this Day of Silence?” Azure says. “Oh my God. Did I forget it was Day of Silence?”
“No,” I say. I want to add, It’s Day of Humiliation.
Radhika twists her head to speak to Azure in the backseat. “Luke asked me to prom.”
In the rearview mirror, I see Azure’s eyes bulge.
“I’m really sorry, Luke,” Radhika says.
“Like I said, it was a long shot.”
Radhika crosses her arms, like she wishes she could disappear into herself. I know the feeling.
Azure’s mute.
Damn. Dammit. In a way, I’m relieved that it’s over with. Still, now I’ll be going to my senior prom alone.
We ride the rest of the way to school in total silence. Awkward. I check Azure out in the mirror and she’s shooting me a death glare. What? What’d I say?
As soon as we get to school, Azure flies out the back door and runs off. I figure Radhika will follow, but she lingers. “I don’t know what to say, Luke.”
“Don’t say anything. We’re still good, right? Still buds?”
Her eyes pool with tears. She says quickly, “I need to check something out in the library.” She takes off.
I punch the hood. I’ve screwed everything up. Now nothing will ever be the same between us.
As I stagger down the hall, everyone’s smiling or saying “Hi, Luke” or asking about the play. It’s like this dull buzz in the background. Suddenly I’m ambushed from the right and slammed into a locker. “I hate you!” Azure screams in my face. “How could you?”
“What?”
Her eyes burn with fiery rage. Just when I think she’s going to hurt me in a very physical way, she stomps off.
What the holy hell?