Mindf**k (5 page)

TRACK 10

Lost souls and their sins

www.sevensins.com says there are seven deadly sins: Pride, Sloth, Anger, Envy, Gluttony, Lust and Greed. You can recite it like a rhyme; almost spit it out like Minora blades.

I reckon that I was one of Generation X’s lost souls. For us there were only six sins. Pride had hit the road. Fucking emigrated to Iceland. Of what could we be excessively proud? Our excellent marks in school? Mommy and Daddy? Our country? Ourselves? Fuck, no.

Apparently, pride is the sin out of which all the other sins originate.

But for Generation X it is Anger. Because we don’t get what we want. And if we somehow do manage to get it, it isn’t enough. We are pissed off because
grown-ups
don’t just fucking leave us alone to go ahead and do whatever we want to, like doing fuck-all for hours. No, we don’t want to take out the trash. Also not mow the lawn or clean up our rooms. We want what other people have. And lots of it. (Only the nice stuff, not their shit.) And we want the sinful pleasures that lie in others’ bodies. And if we don’t get it, we go look for it in ourselves.

And in the end, only the emptiness remains. Nothing takes this away. Not cases full of beer, not ecstasy, coke, heroin, sex, music where someone screams his lungs out in frustration, not laying around and doing nothing, not computer games, dancing, moshing, slamming doors, weird clothes, Nike labels, trendy shoes, CD players, DVDs, ah, fucking name it.

Sometimes we only have to bleed to see if we are still alive. Because we have
become black holes. And nobody would miss us if we weren’t there anymore.

And so we continue downing cases full of beer, popping ecstasy, sniffing coke, shooting heroin, having sex, listening to music where someone screams his lungs out in frustration, sitting around doing nothing, playing computer games, dancing, moshing, slamming doors, wearing weird clothes, hanging Nike labels around ourselves, buying trendy shoes, switching on CD players, watching DVDs.

Seeing that we gave her a ride, Partygirl just assumed that she could stay with us. And it was okay, she was really nice. (Flashback to the scene in the car when we picked her up: Partygirl laughing, saying, ‘Especially not you’, her hand on my leg, my heart racing.)

The six-man tent had enough room for all of us. Partygirl had her own sleeping bag. And some food. We had a cooler bag
with some meat for our braai later, and another cooler bag for beer.

My cell phone rang about four times in a row. It was my dad each time. I didn’t answer, I only pushed the reject call button.

‘I’m gonna check out the FMX
warm-ups
, who’s coming with?’ asked Kerbs.

Partygirl and I went along, Sky wanted to get a nap. He still didn’t look well, but I wasn’t going to let him spoil my entire weekend.

We walked past the hundreds of tents that were already erected, still becoming even more, past the medics’ tent, a beer tent further away and next to that a huge marquee tent from which house music was pumping, to the ramps where a guy on a motocross bike shot up against a steep incline. He went flying through the air, one hand on the handlebars, the other on the seat with his body hovering centimetres above the bike in the air and his legs pointed backwards. The Superman Seat Grab. His
timing was perfect.

While the next rider was getting ready Partygirl glanced at me. She smiled and took my hand. And later, when Sick Nick did a Helicopter, she gently slipped her hand in underneath my T-shirt, around my body. And then she softly started telling me why she really came there.

TRACK 11

Sky's next revelation

When I went back to the tent to get another beer, I found Sky lying on a foldable mattress. Curled up and fast asleep. There is always this one asshole amongst a group of people whenever you go out. The guy pissing on the fire.

Ah, just let him be, it's his own money he is wasting. Softly I opened up the cooler box and removed three beers. Ice cold. There was a slight movement underneath Sky's eyelids. Was he awake?

Beep-beep, my cell phone went off.

1 message received.

It was my dad. Now he'd started SMSing!

Yeah, sure.

Delete.

‘What are you guys up to?'

I nearly shit myself. I forgot Sky was still in the tent.

‘We're checking out the guys on the bikes. It's cool. I think I should steal one and try that myself. I wouldn't want to fuck up my own bike.'

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Sky's mouth. It quickly faded again. He folded his hands behind his head, then again around his body as if he was cold.
‘Burns,' he said and kept quiet for a while, only staring at me. Almost through me. I felt a cold chill running down my spine.

‘Yes, Sky?'

He inhaled deeply. ‘It happened again … when you were away …'

Oh no, fuck.

I put the beers back in the cooler box and sat down next to him on the ground. ‘And? Are you okay?'

Again it went quiet, then: ‘One of the girls from next-door helped. She's a nurse. There was a doctor here as well. From the medic's tent.'

‘What did he say?'

‘Same old shit.'

There was something that Sky wasn't telling me. I saw it in his eyes.

‘Sky, what?'

‘You don't want to hear it anyway.' He sighed, turned on his back and stared at the roof, where the sun was sinking lower against the canvas. Outside a bunch of girls started screaming and guys whistled.

‘Come on, I'm sure you can do better than that!' shouted the guy over the microphone.

They screamed even louder. And then a helluva noise broke loose. The next band had probably hit the stage. Yes, the music started. It sounded like Prime Circle.

‘Fuck, tell me.' I shifted around uncomfortably. The hair at the back of my neck stood up. Sky still stared up at the roof.

‘That girl we picked up,' he whispered, so softly that I could barely hear. ‘She's going to die.'

‘Wow, massive revelation, Sky. We're
all going to die. Some time or other.'

‘This weekend.'

‘What?'

‘She's going to die this weekend, Burns …'

‘How?'

‘I don't know.'

‘Accident?'

Only then did Sky turn to me. ‘I don't know.'

There always has to be one guy in the group who comes and pisses on the fire.

TRACK 12

Partygirl organizes the beer

‘Let’s find the others and go to the main stage,’ I said to Sky, just because I didn’t know what to say. I took a few beers from the cooler box. ‘And then get pissed. Perhaps the Angel of Death will leave us alone if we are motherlessly drunk.’

Sky got up. There was a skull on his wrinkled T-shirt. ‘Yeah, whatever, let’s go have fun. Maybe I’m just silly.’ He put his hand on my shoulder. We went to fetch Kerbs and Partygirl from the FMX show. All around us there were guys and girls who still hung around at the tents, getting really drunk or high.

A guy walked by in front of us, dressed only in a transparent shower curtain. Two holes cut out for his arms and lightly stitched together at the back with fishing line. From the front you could see his dick swinging below the dark bush of hair. ‘Fancy a shower?’ he asked a girl. She only giggled and moved along.

At another tent there was a braai fire going but the guys had already passed out. They lay across each other, snoring. One of them was sleeping on top of the tent.
Don’t piss me off. I don’t know where to hide all the bodies anymore,
read his T-shirt.

As we got closer to the ramps we heard the people cheering. ‘Give it up for my man, Sick Nick!’ More cheers followed.

We found Kerbs and Partygirl amongst the people, watched as one of the bikers did another back flip, and then we were off to the main stage.

Prime Circle was still playing. Ross Learmonth, their main vocalist’s voice
rocked! Now there was a South African band that was destined to kick butt overseas.

We worked ourselves through to the front, straining past the warm bodies in the crowd. The ground was already covered in beer cans, forcing you to watch your step.

Prime Circle performed another three songs. Partygirl danced as if it was the last band of the weekend. She was already on a vibe. And the sun had only now started touching the horizon. Partygirl raised her hands above her head, grinding her hips she turned to me and took me around the neck. I felt her hips rubbing against me. She brought her face closer to mine, her lips opening slightly as if she wanted to kiss me … Then she turned around to the stage again.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, Prime Circle!’ the presenter shouted. (I didn’t recognize him, but I think he was from Kovsie FM.) Cheers, whistles and applause.

‘Next up,’ the presenter said while the
crew moved around at the back, getting the stage ready for the next band. ‘Next up we’ve got a band that I’m sure you are familiar with. They’ve supported bands like Simple Minds, Live and The Mission. All the way from Jo’burg. Wonderboom!’

Cheers, whistles and applause.

Partygirl went wild. ‘Shit, they’re good.’ She took another sip of her beer. The foam shook from the can as she jumped up and down.

‘And while they set up the stage for Wonderboom, I’ve got some presents to give away. A big thank you to our sponsor, Castle Lager! Who would like a six-pack of beer?’

Hey, everyone was willing to knock back a few Castles.

‘But you’re not gonna get it that easily. You’ll have to work for it. Now let me see, what can you do to earn this six-pack?’

A couple of morons still tried to grab the
beers from the presenter’s hands. Security had to step in.

‘Geez, but you oukes are thirsty,’ the presenter laughed. He moved over to the other side of the stage, our side. ‘Okay, I know. This one is for the girls. Sorry, guys, girls only this time. If you want this six-pack, I want to see some happies, girls. Come on, don’t be scared. I won’t go and blab on you to your mothers. Any takers?’

‘Yes-ss!’ Partygirl shouted. She pulled her T-shirt up over her head and her tits jumped out. She threw her arms in the air and turned around for everyone to see.

‘Oe-oei-i-i!’ I shouted and lifted her onto my shoulders. (Some of the guys around us wanted to start groping.) When Partygirl rose above the crowd they went even wilder.

‘There you go! No stopping that girl tonight. Here you are, girl, you’ve earned it. And a nice rack too. Hell, I wish I could go home with you. With you and my
girlfriend.’

Now it was only the guys cheering.

Partygirl jumped up and down on my shoulders. She opened up a beer, spraying the people around us. It ran down my hair. I tilted my head backwards and opened my mouth to drink. Partygirl poured more beer into my mouth.

Kerbs came closer for a sip. Sky only shook his head. ‘You’re fucking crazy!’

I set Partygirl down on the ground again. She pulled her T-shirt back on, massive smile on her face. ‘Don’t ever say I don’t bring my own booze, boys!’ She knocked her can against mine.