Biker Class (8 page)

"Uh huh," she said in monotone, burying her head in her
hands and sighing heavily, sounding too stressed out for anyone her age to be.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said immediately, quickly. "Sorry,
sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I just ruined the whole afternoon, didn't I?"

"No," Melanie said determinedly, her head popping up and her
eyes shining with courage. "I am
not
going to think about… Ja-Jake–"
she shivered involuntarily "-and we are going to have a good time! I'll
suck it up and forget it!"

"Sometimes talking about it is best," Rachel suggested
timidly.

"We need to just let it go and–"

"Melanie, I'm going to tell you, as someone who has known Jake
since 2nd grade…" she trailed off, meekly, but knowing it needed to be
said. An abnormally strong gust of wind swept the beach, making Melanie's hair
blow around her face and Rachel's blow back. "And, um… this is… something
you can't just
shake off
. In the hallway, he was…
well,
I'm not going to say I've never seen him like that, because I have… but rarely.
Rarely
, Melanie.
I'm not trying to make this
scarier for you than it already is, honestly I'm not, but… don't take this
situation lightly. It'll be a miracle if he moves on
any
time soon."

Melanie whimpered, but stared at the endless blue sea, drowning.
"That's what I prayed for," she mumbled.

The darkness engulfed the beach, making anything at all nearly
impossible to see. All that seemed comprehendible was a world of uncertain sound:
the loud and lazy waves, the sea gulls cawing, the insects chirping, and a
small crackle of a fire. The last sound was all that provided any sight of any
of
these array
of things, often providing an uneasy
air to settle among anyone unlucky enough to be near. But the darkness and lack
of visibility wasn't necessarily what made someone unlucky. The group of people
taking a sit and a couple of drinks and smokes underneath a large, dark, old
dock is what would bring an unfortunate end to anyone wandering along.

This group of men were
not
wavered by the lack of sight, however, for they had been underneath this place
many times before. They had their fire; their beast, crackling fire that they
would throw their cans and bottles into when finished. They had to at least
try
to get rid of evidence, right? Incase a person comes along and stumbles across
their leftover trash… especially a cop. Police were scum in their eyes:
overreacting killjoys who ruined everything in life worth doing. That's why
they did anything and everything that might rile them. It would teach the
paranoid party-stoppers a lesson.

One of the men, the roughest and oldest, sighed and leaned back in his
plastic, dirty chair. He scratched an itchy spot on his short and dark beard,
smirking. The
overly-large
black one grinned,
revealing his yellow teeth, knowing what was coming. One, two, then three
seconds passed. Then…

A loud belch filled the still
night,
making
the three other guys there laugh and slap their hands to their knees.

"Nice," the bearded one complimented
himself
,
adjusting his leather vest on his broad shoulders. "Rage, I wanna hear
yours. See if you can beat me tonight."

A slightly disoriented
red-head
emerged from
behind one of the dock's gargantuan dark pillars, grinning evilly.

"You know you are the only
freak
out here
who
can burp on… c-command after drinkin' beer, man,"
Rage smirked, slurring his words slightly. "I gave you props last night,
dude. Leave it at that."

"That's right," the man grinned, his dark teeth glinting in
the firelight, "didn't think so. The King, right here." He pointed to
himself, looking a little uncoordinated under the influence of the alcohol.

But another belch broke through the silence, louder and more
pronounced than the first. All three heads snapped to the blonde boy who had
been sitting on a makeshift log, not saying much, just chugging them down until
now. After what seemed like ten full seconds, his mouth closed and the sound
ceased. A few moments of silence passed, shortly followed by an outburst of
laughter.

"There you go, man!" the baby-faced one boomed, turning to a
pissed-looking leader. "I think Jake just sto' yo' crown, Lawson."

"Shut
up
, Rod," Lawson barked, making the large man
called Rod instantly quiet. Rage was still laughing dumbly, the alcohol
disorienting his thinking. He glared, and Rage shut up as quickly as his
drunk
laughter had filled the space. Lawson turned to Jake
with something that was supposed to be a bittersweet smile, but came off more
as a grimace. "Well, well, Jake. Look a here at you… beaten the ole man in
a belching contest." His eyes glinted as he watched an unshaken-looking Jake
meet his eyes. "Good for
you
." It wasn't necessarily the fact
that he had been beaten in a supposed-to-be insignificant burping contest, or
that his emotions were easier to spike since he was fairly drunk, but it was
more like a challenge to his power, his seniority. The blonde shrugged and put
his elbows on his knees for support, leering at Lawson like they had been
through this many times before.

"It just came out of me, man," he smirked with his signature
smug look, letting the leader know that he was still in control. Lawson grinned
widely and uneasily, laughing a bit like Rage had earlier. The beer was getting
to his head.

"Sure, Jake, s-sure," he slurred, laughing a laugh that
would send a shiver down the spine of any other person that wasn't used to it.
Silence followed, the fire crackled, and Rage brought up a random subject that
probably seemed completely relevant in his swirling mind.

"You know what I want?" he asked the other three loudly, as
if they had impaired hearing. They raised their eyebrows. "I want a
w-woman
."
He laughed dumbly, his unattractive teeth showing as his smelly breath fanned
the fire. "A
sexy w-woman
."

"When's da last time we saw a freakin' hot one?" Rod said
bitterly, throwing his green glass bottle into the fire and watching the light
dance with aggravation.

"At the strip club," Lawson laughed, his voice low.

"Naw, man," he shook his head, shrugging. He made eye
contact with Rage, smiling a smile that was supposed to be flirtatious. "I
don't mind
them
, though, don't get me wrong now." He kicked the
sand, his heavy dark boot scraping. "All o' them are sluts, man. I'm
lovin' them," he added when he saw a look come from Jake that said 'you
say that like it's a problem'. "But I want somethin' different. Somethin'
more…
real
, ya know?"

When he looked to his fellow bikers when they weren't answering, they
were all peering at him like he was insane. Then they all burst into laughter
simultaneously.

"That's funny, man," Lawson chuckled as the laughter died
down. "It almost sounded like you were talkin' about
settlin' down
or some crap like that."

Rod busted into chuckles as well, but they weren't as loud as
their's
had been. "Naw, dude, that's a bunch a bull.
I'm talkin' about… someone not willin' ta just come up to me and show me
everythin' in five seconds. I want somebody more…
innocent
, I guess.
Still feisty, though." He growled the last part. "Ya know I love 'em
feisty."

"Are you talking
virgins
?" Jake sneered the word like
it was dirt.

Rod shrugged his burly shoulders. "Could be one, I guess, man.
Don't
gotta
be, though. I just tired of all da dirt
and predictability, man. I want somethin' new."

Suddenly, Rage spoke up, like he'd just remembered the best thing.
"You mean like that dog freak at the gas station two weeks ago?" he
raised his eyebrows. Rod's brows were knitted in confusion,
then
came apart in realization. He chuckled, a little darkly.

"
Just
like that, man,
just
like that," he
whispered, grinning from ear to ear. "Hot but resistant. Sexy but not
lettin' everythin'
hang
out 24/7."

"Speakin' of her," Lawson grinned widely, "I heard
somethin' through the old high school grape vine. I didn't get to see her, but
I hope I'm gonna get to."

"Whatcha talking about, Lawson?"
Rage asked.
Maliciousness filled his eyes. He turned to Jake.

"Apparently this little animal rights sweetheart has enrolled at
my old high school," he breathed. "At Jake's current personal hell, am
I wrong?" Jake grinned. "And I heard something that little Jakey has
forgotten to let us in on." Both Rage and Rod turned and looked at Jake,
smiling, ideas already forming in their mind, no doubt.

Not
good
ideas.

"And, Jake," Lawson began mockingly, deepening his voice
like a disappointed father, "I heard your grades are not doing well."
They all chuckled. "And he got a
smoking
tutor."

They all began nudging Jake, laughing, making noises and grunting
suggestively.

"Why didn't you let us in on it, man?" Rage demanded,
laughing, leaning up against the pillar with arms crossed.

"He doesn't want Rod over there tryin' to make a move on his
real
woman
," the bikers' leader mocked. Jake rolled his eyes.

"She's yours," Rod said, lifting his hands in surrender before
chuckling. "Gonna let the little one here get a score. Am I right,
bro?"

Jake wagged his eyebrows, clicking his tongue. His peers grinned
proudly.

"How you gonna do it?" Rage wanted to know, leaning in
excitedly. "During one of your little 'tutoring sessions'?" The fire
flickered, making Jake's facial expressions difficult to see, but identifiable
nevertheless. He scratched the back of his
neck,
something that they all had grown to know meant that he had done something
stupid.

"What did you
do
, Jake?" Lawson wanted to know,
actually leaning forward
himself
. All three of them
were leaning towards him, watching him for his response. Jake opened his mouth
to answer, but was cut off by a knowing leader. "You told her to leave you
alone, didn't you?"

All three of them groaned and Jake rolled his blue eyes again.

"Idiot!" Rage raged. He wiped the corner of his mouth with
the back of his hand, catching drool that Rage had just realized was on his
face.

"Crap, man, why'd ya do that?" Rod said with Rage's yell. Lawson
just sat there, his hands folded together on his stomach, watching the scenario
with dark observance.

"I was gonna have to be with her and study
every Wednesday
for who knows how long!" Jake defended himself, throwing an empty silver
can into the large fire. "Nobody's gonna tell me that I
have
to do
anything! I don't want to waste my time with pointless stuff like 'studying'!
It's a bunch of shi–"

"We know that, Jake," Lawson said, his voice calm and
suddenly more sober-sounding. His hands were still folded together, and he was
still watching like a cat watching mice squabble: entertained, scrutinizing,
curious,
observant
. He rested his right ankle on his
left knee. "But you
do
hear yourself, right? You could be with her
every Wednesday. As in,
be
with her every
Wednesday." He grinned in a sick way.

Jake groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Yeah, I think
of that
now
."

"Screwed up, man," Rod shook his head.

"I still see her every day, though!" he defended. "I
barely ever go to class. Caught her in the hall the other day alone. Little
Miss Perfect got there late." Jake grinned to himself, a flash in his eyes
the others saw. They smiled as well. But then the brilliant blue darkened,
becoming dangerous.
Their
smiles faded; everyone's
except for Lawson's. It stayed. "A few complications got in the way,"
he muttered, his voice low with anger. "But it's gonna come through in the
end. I know it will. I'm making sure of it."

Lawson's grin turned up coldly, proudly. "Good, Jake. Good."

When the dark blue lightened again, the other two felt it appropriate
to speak again.

"You gonna reactivate your tutoring stuff, Jakey?" Rage
teased.

"Do I have a choice?" Jake smiled. "Sure I am. She's
gonna be avoiding me already, being spooked and all."

"Lovin' the chase?" Rod looked off into the distance,
thinking about his own chases he had loved so much.

"Yeah, man."

"Aw, is she
scared
?" Rage laughed, honestly thinking
it was humorous.

"She's terrified," Jake growled happily. He sounded
thrilled. He remembered her whimpering, the look in her eyes when he'd pin her.
It was all too funny, really. Seeing her strain was hilarious and just plain
entertaining.

"This'll be interesting, Jake," Lawson smirked. "I'm
excited to see how all this works out. Tell me how she is."

"She's still got her V Card, don't she?" The baby-faced one
asked the dumb question.

"Idiot!" Rage yelled yet again, directed at Rod this time.
Rod glared at him then looked at Jake, brows raised. His tone was suddenly
serious.

"You takin' a V Card, man?" he asked. He didn't sound
disapproving, but his voice was void of any type of approval whatsoever. Jake
suddenly felt… what was that, uncomfortable? Nah. He was just unsure. He
shrugged, his shoulders feeling heavy under the weight of all of their stares.
He glanced over to Lawson, who's gaunt face was eerie in the flickering
firelight, unreadable. He wasn't helping Jake on this one. He wanted to hear an
answer. But Rage's next comment may have influenced Jake's answer.

"You got any balls, Cooper?" One side of his dirty,
alcohol-stained mouth pulled up. "You gonna go there?" He was cut off
by a look from Lawson.

Jake chewed on the inside of his cheek, taking a swig of beer to stall
for time. He had always known she was a virgin. After all, it was pretty
obvious. But it had never really sunk in that he might… well…
take
it.
Especially if she wasn't willing, which she most likely wouldn't
be.

Wait, didn't that qualify as…?

"Dude, relax, it's not like you're
raping
her," Rage
laughed loudly. His fiery hair was even brighter in the firelight. Jake looked
up at them, not really saying anything but his face looking oddly
off
,
which it barely ever did. Just like how Rage was the fiery type, Rod liked to
be physical, and Lawson could intimidate anyone with a simple look, Jake pretty
much never hesitated or backed down from something. So when he didn't
immediately answer, they knew something was wrong.