How to Win at High School (26 page)

Sam looks at Adam.

Adam shrugs.

“I'm the Pizza Man,” Adam says. “Surprise.”

Sam shakes his head. “What does that even mean?”

“It means . . .” Adam trails off. Can't think straight anyway. He looks around the party. “This,” he says, gesturing. “It means
this
.”

Sam doesn't look impressed. “Oh,” he says.

“Anyway,”
Adam says. “Can we get this man some girls, please?”

Paul Nolan brings a couple of his college friends over.

They're smoking hot.

They look like real women.

All the other girls look like kids playing dress-up, by comparison.

Adam forgets their names as soon as he's introduced. He tells the girls all about Sam and his hockey career. About how Sam was a god back at Riverside High. The girls are into it. They look impressed.

“What do you do now?” one of them asks.

“Sam's making moves,” Adam tells them. “He's got big things popping, believe me.”

Sam gives Adam another funny look. “I work at the doughnut shop,” he says. “Across from city hall.”

The girls laugh like it's all a big joke.

Then they realize Sam's serious.

The girls wander off.

The girls wander over to Rob Thigpen. Rob chats them up. The girls laugh at whatever he says.

The girls stick around.

They don't wander off.

Adam and Sam hang out for a bit.

“You want another drink?” Adam asks Sam.

Sam looks at his cup. It's half-full.

“I'm good,” Sam says. “Thanks.”

They kind of stand around together in a corner of the suite, staring out at the chaos. Loud music. Drugs. Hookups.

Best. Party. Ever.

Then Brian disengages from Amanda and motions to Adam from across the room.

“One sec,” Adam tells Sam. “I'll be right back.”

He wades through the sea of people to where Brian stands by the window. Brian looks worried.

(Brian always looks worried.)

“What if Jamal hears about this?” Brian says. “What if he shows up?”

“He's not going to show up,” Adam tells him.

“The whole school knows about this party,” Brian says. “Jamal will find out.”

Adam shakes his head. Slaps Brian on the back. “You're fucking up my high,” Adam says. “Would it kill you to have a little fun?”

Adam is intercepted on his way back toward Sam.

It's one of the college girls.

(Rebecca?)

(Rachel?)

“Are you really the Pizza Man?” Rebecca/Rachel says.

Adam glances at Sam. Sam's alone in the corner. He's not talking to anybody. Nobody's talking to him.

Adam looks at Rebecca/Rachel. Then back at Sam.

(Rebecca/Rachel is smoking hot.)

(Sam's all alone.)

(Shit.)

Adam grabs a freshman girl walking by. “Go talk to that guy in the corner,” he tells her.

The girl screws up her face. “Who, the guy in the wheelchair?”

“That's my brother,” Adam says. “His name's Sam.”

The girl looks the other way. “My friends are all over there.”

“Just for a little while,” Adam tells her. He pulls out a baggie of pills. “I'll make it worth your while.”

The girl looks at the baggie. Then at Sam. Sighs.

“Fine,” she says.

Rebecca/Rachel is still there when Adam sends the freshman away. “So you
are
the Pizza Man,” she says. “The guy
they're all talking about.”

“Only if they're saying good things,” Adam says. “Is your name Rebecca or Rachel?”

Rebecca/Rachel laughs. “It's Aimee,” she says.

Adam's still talking to Aimee when the first noise complaint comes.

Brian handles it.

“The hotel manager,” he tells Adam. “He told me if we don't turn down the music he will call security.”

Adam looks around. The party is bumping. It's maybe a little loud. “I paid a thousand dollars for this room,” Adam says. “The manager won't do shit.”

Aimee watches Brian walk off. Wraps her arms around Adam's neck.

“You have any more of those pills?” Aimee says.

“I sure do,” Adam tells her. Then he spies Sam across the room. The freshman is nowhere to be found. Sam's alone again. He's just chilling in his wheelchair, not having any fun.

Adam sighs. “Give me one second,” he tells Aimee. “I'll be right back.”

Aimee pouts. “Don't be too long.”

Adam pushes through the crowd to Sam.

(Leaves Aimee behind.)

(Reluctantly.)

Sam's still just kind of hanging out. His glass is still half-full. Someone spilled their drink on him. Sam smells like beer.

“Hey,” Adam says. “How're you doing?”

Sam looks at him. “I'm about ready to go home,” he says. “Can you just get me out of here?”

Adam glances back at Aimee. Rob Thigpen's talking to her. She's not looking at Adam.

“Adam.”

Sam has a look on his face like he knows exactly what Adam's thinking.

“I just want to go home,” Sam says. “Can you help me, please?”

Aimee's laughing at something Rob says. She has her hand on his arm. Adam watches her across the room. Feels his frustration growing.

“This party's so epic,” he tells Sam. “Why don't you just, I dunno, mingle or something? Meet people. Have another drink.”

Sam looks at Adam. Sam shakes his head. “I'll just go,” he says. “Forget it. Stay here.”

Sam starts to wheel himself away. He doesn't get very far
before he starts bumping into people. His wheelchair's a damn hazard. It's fucking unwieldy. Adam watches his brother struggle. Watches Rob Thigpen flirt with the college girl.

Adam feels his high suddenly vanish.

(The world just seems so unfair.)

“This is your party,” he tells Sam, “and you're not even grateful.”

Sam stops trying to wheel his way through the crowd. He looks back at Adam. Makes a face. “Are you kidding me, bro?”

“This is about the hockey game, isn't it?” Adam says. “You're still pissed that I had to bail on you.”

Sam shakes his head. “This isn't about the hockey game, Adam,” he says. “This is about what the hell is wrong with you.”

“I thought you'd be proud of me,” Adam tells him. “You should be proud of me right now. I did this for you.”

“Proud of you,” Sam says. “For what? Paying a thousand dollars so your friends could get trashed in some fancy hotel room?”

(
Well, yeah
, Adam thinks.)

“This isn't normal,” Sam says. “I don't know what happened to you, but it's really not cool.”

“What happened to me?” Adam says. He steps closer to Sam. Leans down. He's yelling over the music.

(People are starting to stare.)

“I'm the most popular guy at Nixon,” Adam tells Sam. “That's what happened to me. You told me to go out and take what life had to offer. Guess what, Sam? I did it.”

Sam just looks at him. “I don't give a fuck if you're popular or not,” he says. “In fact, if this is how it's going to be when you have friends, I wish you were still a loser. This isn't for me. This is for your needy fucking ego.”

“Fuck you,” Adam says. “You can wheel yourself home.”

“Whatever,” Sam says. “Enjoy your night.”

He wheels past Adam. Bumps into, like, three sophomore girls and keeps going.

“Fuck it,” Adam says, watching him go. “Fucking cripple.”

Sam's halfway to the door when Rob Thigpen reappears.

Adam's watching Sam wheel his way through the crowd. He doesn't see Rob.

Rob's dragging the college girl, Aimee, toward the alcohol. He doesn't see Adam. Or maybe he does, and he just doesn't care.

Either way, he bumps into Adam.

Hits him, not hard—

(certainly not hard enough to paralyze anyone)

—but hard enough to knock Adam off balance.

Adam turns. “What the fuck?”

Adam sees Rob and Aimee. Aimee's holding Rob's hand. She's laughing. Rob's laughing too.

(Everyone's laughing.)

(Everyone's always laughing.)

(No matter what Adam does, they never stop laughing.)

Adam loses it.

Adam hits his breaking point.

Adam watches Rob Thigpen drag Aimee toward the booze—

(Adam's booze)

(Adam's girl)

(Adam's god status, if Sam wasn't such a cripple)

(if Rob Thigpen's brother hadn't made him that way)

—and Adam's suddenly sick. Suddenly tired.

Adam's suddenly mad.

He follows Rob Thigpen and Aimee through the crowd. Pushes his way toward them. Rob's got his back turned when Adam arrives.

“Hey,
fucker
,” Adam says to him. Then he shoves him from behind.

Rob stumbles. Nearly falls. Catches himself on a counter and pulls himself up. He turns around and sees Adam, and smiles.

It's an unpleasant smile.

“Pizza Man,” he says. “What the fuck?”

Adam stares at him.

Adam knows this is wrong.

He knows this is suicide, what he's about to do.

But Adam can't help himself. This is for Sam.

Actually, fuck it.

This is for Adam.

Adam hits Rob.

(Cue record scratch.)

Adam hits Rob and the air is sucked out of the room.

Adam hits Rob and everybody shuts up.

Adam hits Rob and the party stops.

Adam hits Rob and keeps hitting him.

(It's like every last little slight

joke

insult

has been bottled up inside him and is now pouring

crashing

roiling

out.)

Adam keeps hitting Rob. He doesn't explain himself. He hits Rob until his fists are bloody and sore and Rob's flat on his back on the ground, shielding his face.

(Rob doesn't fight back. Rob doesn't have time. Rob's taken off guard by the first punch, and Adam doesn't slow down with the second

or the third

or, like, the eighteenth.)

Someone's grabbing at Adam. Holding his arms, dragging him up and away from Rob Thigpen. Adam wrenches free. Adam goes after Rob again.

Someone screams.

(It could be Aimee.)

(It could be anybody.)

Rob's laid out on the ground. His face is bruised. His nose is bloody. He's not fighting back. Adam's kicking his ass.

Somewhere inside, Adam realizes it feels good.

(
Take that, you rich piece of shit.
)

(
Take that, you asshole.
)

(
Take this back to your brother, for ruining my life
.)

Adam keeps hitting Rob Thigpen. Feels like his hands are breaking. His knuckles brush something, and he looks over and sees it.

A beer bottle, empty.

Adam reaches for it. Closes his fingers around it.

He raises the bottle above his head.

Above Rob Thigpen's head.

Someone grabs Adam before he can hit Rob with the bottle. It's Brian.

“Adam.”
Brian drags him away. “
Jesus Christ
, Adam, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“That fucker did it,” Adam tells him. “He fucking ruined my life. His brother's the asshole who put Sam in a wheelchair.”

Brian pulls Adam back. “Calm down,” he tells Adam. “Just calm the fuck down, okay?”

Adam struggles loose. Starts toward Rob again. Brian grabs for him, and Adam comes around, swinging. Catches Brian square in the nose. Brian goes down, and Adam's free again.

He turns back to Rob Thigpen, but it's too late at this point. The whole party's crowded around him—

(checking out the damage).

There's no getting through. Whatever damage Adam planned for Rob, it's been done. And anyway, security's coming in through the door.

Another noise complaint.

The party is officially over. GTFO.

Adam watches Paul Nolan and Alton Di Sousa drag Rob Thigpen out of the hotel room.

“Serves you right, asshole,” he calls out after Rob. “Your brother's a cheap piece of shit and you know it.”

Rob Thigpen doesn't answer. Nobody answers. They're too busy getting the hell out of the hotel room before security calls the cops.

The room clears out fast. Paul and Alton take Rob Thigpen away. Aimee disappears. Tommy's a ghost. Even Sam is gone. Brian struggles to his feet, holding his nose. He doesn't look at Adam as he brushes past him.

“Dude.” Adam reaches out for him. “Dude, I'm sorry. I blacked out or something.”

Brian's shirt is bloody. His nose is a mess. “Fuck off,” he tells Adam. Then he walks away.

Pretty soon, the room is empty. “I paid a thousand bucks for this room,” Adam tells the security guards. “I want a fucking refund for this.”

The guards look around the room. Then they look at Adam.

Then they laugh.

Suicide.

(#ItsOver)

“It wasn't even Rob's brother,” Steph says. “Jesus, Adam, it was, like, his cousin or something. Rob doesn't even know the guy.”

Adam looks up from the kitchen table, where he's icing his hands. His hands are sore and bruised black and swollen from the fight with Rob Thigpen.

(From the one-sided ass-kicking.)

(Adam's still kind of proud.)

Adam looks at Steph. “It doesn't matter,” he says. “It was a fucking Thigpen who did it. Rob had it coming, no matter how he's related.”