Building Friction (Part 7)

I waited most of the night at the computer for Geoff to make a reappearance on messenger. I added his screen name and then spent three hours alternating between a card game and my buddy list. I went to bed reeling with an empty sense of confusion and wonder in my stomach.

I was scheduled to substitute at a Jr High the next day. The class was 8th grade English and the students were less squirrelly than I was expecting them to be. Even better were the line of computers in the classroom. I pecked out a piece over lunch break detailing some of what had occurred over the weekend. I masked it by turning it into a piece on how the people that are the most obnoxious always hold our attention more than the amiable people did, but it was by far one of my most autobiographical pieces. Sure, I'd written a great deal about intimate details of my life before, but not as much in the open way that I'd chosen for this piece.

I sent it to my e-mail address and then deleted it from the computer's system. I didn't have a picture attached to my online column and as of yet had not been discovered by anyone within the schools that I had worked at. I couldn't imagine what would be said about me by the teachers, or even worse, the students, so I kept that part of my life as private as possible. It was worrying about my friends that was the problem. They had a tendency to pass along my information before I even got a chance to consider doing the same.

Thinking of that, I picked up my cell and dialed Steph.

"Hey, did you give my messenger info to Geoff?" I asked without a hello.

"Shit," Steph cursed in a hushed tone. "Hold on, let me close my office door if you're going to start yelling at me."

I sighed. "I'm not mad. Well... I guess I am a little. This guy was totally off base with me on Saturday. Then he comes on Sunday and tells me that I've been the only thing that he could think of since he left the house. What the hell is up with that?"

"Well, he called Alex and was asking if you were really the girl from the column. Apparently he's been reading your stuff for a lot longer than any of us were aware." I could hear Steph settling in her chair. "Alex said he put on some big show when he mentioned that you were a friend of ours. Started asking 'Oh, what does she write?' and stuff like that, but then had quotes from your stuff down."

"OK, this is just getting a little creepy. I've had guys read my stuff and try and find me before. I've never had one actually succeed." I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to stave off an impending headache.

"Ooooo.... like that one who started the website dedicated to you??" Steph was laughing now. A few months back one of my loyal readers started a tribute site to me. They only had a first name to go on because the magazine didn't publish my last name, and with no picture, they made had decided to make up strange little cartoons of what they thought I might look like. Little X-rated cartoons that they also put themselves into.

"Please don't remind me," I sighed and checked the hallway before ducking out of the classroom and popping into the teacher's restroom for a smoke. I'd tried having one outside of the gates once before but got ragged on by some anti-smoking kids. Whatever happened to the age of experimentation? I lit a smoke and huddled into a stall like a fugitive.

"Well, anyhow, Geoff calls up the house yesterday and asks for Alex but gets me. He started apologizing for all of the commotion and explained that he'd been a fan of your writing for a long time and when he heard that Alex knew you, he got really excited. Said he wasn't sure how to act and then there was the shock thing and the beer thing and that everything went down the drain after that." I could hear Steph tapping a pen on her desk as she spoke.

"Tell me about it," I blew a stream of smoke toward the ceiling and slumped back against the wall.

"He sounded sincere, that's what got me. Sure, he was being a sarcastic dick when he was there, but his voice was totally different on the phone. He practically begged me for your info. What exactly did he say to you?"

"Just that he was like that little boy who pulled my hair in grade school all grown up." I had to laugh a little at that. I'd rarely met another person who had such a flare for descriptives besides myself.

Steph laughed loudly. "Almost sounds like something you might say. Or write."

I choked on my next inhalation. "Holy fuck!" I proclaimed. "I DID write that!"

"What are you talking about? You wrote that you were a little boy who liked to pull hair?" Steph asked, confusion in her voice.

"No! I wrote it as a response to one of the comments that Sickness left! Remember? He'd been steadily commenting for almost a month with nothing but negative shit to say, taunting me to reply to him. I hadn't previously because I figured it would just add fuel to the fire."

"Yeah, I remember that!"

"So finally I wrote that one day when he asked why I was too chicken to take him on in any of his arguments. I said that I had been taught by my mom that whenever a boy was mean to you, he actually liked you, so I was considering all of his criticism as his way of saying he liked me." I took one last drag off of my smoke and then tossed it in the toilet and flushed it.

"Geoff is Sickness?!" Steph cooed. "It all makes sooooo much sense now."

"I'm glad it does for you, because I'm still trying to figure it out myself." I exited the restroom and made my way back towards the classroom. The lunch bell had rung and kids were starting to file inside.

"Hey, are you going to be at the Good Bar tonight? Cara's going to play too."

"Yeah, I was planning on it. In fact, I've even got a..."

"Date!" Steph interrupted. "Yeah, Sean told me already. That kicks ass!"

I sighed hard. "Are you guys ever going to stop meddling in my love life?"

"Are you ever going to get one?" Steph countered.

"If it means shutting all of you up for five seconds, I guess I'm going to have to."

"Weee!" I could hear Steph clapping her hands. "See you tonight! And dress sexy for once!"


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I had never been what one would call a sexy dresser, preferring to stick to jeans and nice tops, but that night I decided to put on something a little different. My friend Malory had leant me her knee-length Betty dress, a black number with tiny pink polka dots and thin ribbon bows at the neck and waist. With a pair of 4 inch criss-cross black pumps, I wasn't sure that I felt any sexier, but I certainly felt taller and more aware of the evening breeze.

Matt was already waiting outside of the Good Bar when I strolled up with Sean. He appraised me slowly and then smiled.

"So you went all out on my behalf, I see," he said with a sly smirk.

I laughed behind my hand and Sean rolled his eyes and excused himself to go sign up inside. Peering through the windows behind Matt's shoulder, I couldn't spot Steph or Cara yet. "Yeah, all for you, you conceited bastard," I answered him and then reached into my purse for my cigarettes.

"OK, so maybe you wear dresses on the days that you're not buying snake food. But I do believe that this is the first time that I've had the pleasure of seeing you like this. I like it." He leaned forward to light my smoke and then added, "I mean, you'd look good in a sack, but this is especially nice."

I almost choked on my drag. Graciously taking a compliment was never one of my strong suits. having someone draw attention to me in a physical manner always made me feel uneasy. I knew that Matt meant well, but as my cheeks burned with a flush, I found myself staring at the ground at a loss for words.

Suddenly our awkward silence was broken by Cara's raspy voice. "Hey lady!" she announced, twirling me around and throwing me into her arms for a hug. "You get to cheer more than butthead tonight!"

Steph was behind her, looking brilliantly in love as always. If there ever was a model for a loving relationship that one would want to strive for, theirs was it. "So you are....?" Steph approached Matt with her hand extended.

"Matt. Although I'm sure Chloe's just referred to me as The Snake Guy." Matt smiled widely again. The dimple in his cheek stood out, capping off his wholesome looks. Steph eyeballed me over his shoulder, shooting me a look of approval.

"Nah, she's only ever talked about someone called That Hot Guy Who Works at the Pet Store," she replied, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Really now?" Matt laughed and then looked over his shoulder at me.

"Don't believe a word she says," I warned. "That girl is nothing but trouble."

"The very best kind," Cara added, sweeping an arm around Steph's waist and planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I need to go and get signed up, babe."

Steph nodded and we all entered. Sean was already saving us a table, and pouting the way he would when things didn't look good on the night's roster. "That jackass from last week is here again," he greeted loudly and nodded in the direction of a guy with stringy black hair.

"Yeah, because we all want to hear his whiney rendition of 'Under the Bridge' again," I groaned. "I swear, I think he looked up the sheet music online and has been masturbating with it. How else do you explain that voice other than paper cuts on his dick?"

The table exploded in laughter and Stringy Haired Guy glared in our direction. Matt offered to get everyone the first round of drinks, then walked over to the bar after taking everyone's order.

"Oh, he's CUTE," Steph patted me hand over the table. "You did good all on your own! I'm so proud!"

"Yeah, he seems alright," Sean conceded. I could tell he was planning on being in a pouty mood all night. "But I still think that Geoff character had some potential."

Steph reached over and smacked Sean in the back of the head. "Will you shut up about that?" She looked over her shoulder to see if Matt had taken notice of the gesture.

"Well, damn! You don't have to hit me!" Sean protested, bringing a hand to the back of his head. "I'm just saying, he seems awful fucking determined. Gotta hand it to a guy for that."

"Determined?" I asked, confused.

"Well, yeah. What else would you call it?" Sean lifted his hand and pointed towards the door. Alex was walking in with Casey and Lilly.

Geoff trailed right behind them.