Audrey and Leslie entered wearing identical outfits of off the shoulder white blouses and dark skirts stretched over a stiffened petticoat so that it stood out from their slim legs. They had on white bobby socks and ballet slippers and looked old and sophisticated with lavish makeup. This was how Balga wanted to see them and he did. They slid into his booth in a swishing of petticoats and took up the whole of one side of the booth. They smiled and said that they had gotten over the now Steady Eddie as out of sight was out of mind. Balga went to get them a couple of spiders and when he came back they wished him a happy birthday and made a joke out of his age adding “man” after every remark they made. Balga laughed along with them at last enjoying his birthday. Still, he hated being a kid. Yeah, seventeen and never been kissed and all that. Yeah, he was just a juke box baby at seventeen.
Ted the Ted came to them with free sodas before the song had finished. Balga grimaced as it begun again. Ted nasalized: ‘There is a spectre haunting the fifties and what is this but the juvenile delinquent. I admit I was one before there was any such thing; but today I feel, indeed I expect that the name has been coined to fit our bodgie mate here who is not only that in dress, but in name, though why he wants to be known as “Bodgie” is out of my understanding.’
‘And this from a bloke who calls himself, or wants to be known as Ted the Ted. Jesus, it sure takes one to know one.’ Leslie retorted, stretching out her hand into which Ted dropped a couple of tabs.
‘Anyway,’ Audrey laughed, ‘he calls himself Bodgie to fit in with my Widgie. So from now on, I’m not Audrey, but Widgie. So dig that.’ And she too held out her hand for tabs.
Balga or as he now called himself Bodgie too held out his hand. A half dozen purple hearts dropped into it. ‘Ah, you give me your heart,’ Bodgie said his mood lightening. ‘I’m goin’ to be a big bad man at seventeen and scare all t’e squares as I go on the prowl. Yeah, but not just yet, I have ot’er things to do,’ the lad said trying to suppress the tremor in his voice. ‘Now let me pass on my heart to you,’ and he pressed two tabs into Audrey’s palm. Her fingers closed on them and she tickled his palm in return.
Bodgie washed the purple hearts down with a swig of soda and then got up and up. He swaggered over to worship their god, the rainbow hued juke box. He fed coins into him and his first selection hit the air: Halley’s Crazy man Crazy. Bodgie felt the music, the beat and as he turned from the juke he saw Chinkee and Leslie bopping. He smiled at Audrey and Widgee came to Bodgie. They jived. She taught him and from somewhere he remembered a move and held her hand and leant right back. His head almost touched the floor and he came up still moving his feet to the beat. Man, he knew that he was a natural.
They were sweaty when they returned to their booth. Ted came with cold sodas which must have been laced with his magic pills as Bodgie felt he was flying as soon as he downed his drink. Then he felt tuckered out. He sat slumped down and sort of drifted away, though somehow he had shifted to sit beside Audrey. Bodgie felt half buried in her voluminous perfumed skirt. He came to to find that the girls were stirring ready to hit the road.
‘Can I tag along,’ he asked.
‘Sure why not, it’s not even dark yet, man.’