Permanent Adhesives (18 page)

“I have to go to get going,” he said softly, looking into my eyes searching for something.

“Okay.”

He squeezed my hands, gave a meek smile, and hopped on his bike. Elias pedaled off to work, and I took the bus in the opposite direction in which I usually go to go home and took it down to the ‘L’. I was heading to my favorite art store. While on the train, I discreetly put one of my stickers on a sign next to the door that was advertising monthly passes or something. I got off at the library, the jumbo downtown one, and found a couple more objects to stick my stickers on. There were tons of people around, but it almost seemed easier because I could hide behind somebody and quickly slap a sticker on something.

It was colder downtown, and the wind was at full blast. I held onto the strings that ended the earflaps on my hat and pulled my hat down and close to my head and walked against the wind and business folks and college students, so I could get to the art store. I found the store, which was the first floor of some like eight hundred year old high-rise, and entered—the door making a jingling sound as I walked in. It was warm and fuzzy in there. I was greeted nicely by the shelves of art supplies and then by some dude behind the counter who was hidden under a mass of wild hair who mumbled, “Hey.” Let me tell you, art supplies is one of my most favorite things in the world. I started wandering through the aisles admiring the tubes of acrylics, oils, and water colors and checked out all the colored pencils and the graphite pencils and sniffed some erasers: a pink one, a kneaded one, and a gum one. Yes, I like the way erasers smell.

I continued on and browsed through the markers, where I actually picked up one to buy—it was one of those jumbo huge ones—for what I was planning on working on that evening. Then I looked at pens and ink and picked up a couple of the ink pens I use for my comic. Next I went to the paper aisle and perused through the sketchbooks and pads of paper. I found a huge newsprint one, but wanted larger. I wandered down the aisle to the back of the store where they sold things on rolls, and I found the most perfect roll of newsprint to buy.

I know you’re probably like
Wait, she’s buying stuff? I thought she didn’t have a job, and her family was all poor like?
All of which is true, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret and no, it’s not about shoplifting. Over the summer, I was a camp counselor at a nearby city park. I told my mom I was volunteering, but I actually got paid and cashed my checks at the currency exchange and saved the money and used it on occasion when I really needed something. I dare never spoke of or mentioned it because Janie would have somehow got every penny out of me, or would go on a search for it because she was quite dissatisfied by my lack of employment. It’s wasn’t even that much money, but enough to subsidize my needs when it came down to it. On occasion, Kate would also spot me a few, like when I got my wheat pasting supplies because she knew about my secret stash and didn’t want it to run out on me. When I earned enough money with my comic stuff, I owed her big time.

When I was leaving the art store, I reached in the front pocket of my backpack and pulled out a small pile of Sasha stickers. I threw them on the floor next to the other free stuff: newspapers, zines, flyers, etc.

*************************

Once I got home I rolled out my paper, took out a ruler, flipped it over six times, made a mark, and cut the six-foot piece off the roll. I was going to make a life-sized cutout of Sasha Santiago, so I could paste it up somewhere. I then taped newspaper all over the kitchen floor because I was going to use permanent marker on newsprint, so there was definitely going to be some sinking through. I didn’t want to ruin the floor because I already messed up my bedroom wall from where I wheat pasted that poster. Let me tell you, wheat paste is one heck of a permanent adhesive. It was up there for the long haul, unless someone had a sand blaster or something, it wasn’t coming down. I tried to peel it off to test the strength of the paste and holy poop on a stick that is some good glue. All I got off were these little scrappy pieces, just barely anything.

I laid out my newsprint on top of the newspaper, and in pencil I drew Sasha Santiago at a front three-fourths pose with her hands on her hips standing in a wide stance. After that, I went over sections with the jumbo marker I bought, which was a grayish-blueish color, and colored in blocks of color and shadow and some details. I then went over that with a thinner black marker to do some outlining and additional details. End result: pretty cool.

We were all sitting in Taco Mel’s when Sasha Santiago walked in. I know, it wasn’t the real Sasha because she’s a fictional character that I made up, but somebody was dressed as her and did a fantabulous job. Sasha approached the table where Kate, Roberto, Elias, and I sat. I think Elias was actually sleeping. He had his elbow propped up and was holding the side of his head, and his mouth was kind of hanging open. He might have been faking just so he really wouldn’t have to talk to me because we had yet to address the topic of us.

“Ya like?” she asked, flouncing the black wig she wore.

“Nicki,” I said. It was the first in a long time that I had seen her in anything other than vintage clothing or rain coats or fish nets or anything from her closet of peculiar. “You look great.”

“I’m jumping on the bandwagon,” she said, sitting in a purple swivel chair next to Roberto.

“Where did ya get the outfit?” I asked.

“Surprisingly enough, the clothing, boots, and socks are all mine. I just went and bought a wig,” Nicki said.

“Sweet,” Roberto said, totally checking Nicki out.

She leaned forward putting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands. “I so have to go somewhere dressed like this. You all wanna hang out somewhere tonight?”

“Yes,” Roberto said very quickly.

“Won’t you be cold?” I asked, totally not wanting to be a Debbie Downer, but it seriously went from chilly cold to holy crap its cold overnight.

While remaining seated in her swivel chair, Nicki grabbed her ankle and pulled her leg straight up in the air. Let me tell you, she was flexible. It made me think about when during gym class, they make you take those evil fitness tests and how I always struggled just to touch my toes, so I was quite impressed by Nicki’s feat of limberness.

“Dance tights,” she said, putting her leg down. “And see my arms?” She held out her arm and Roberto ran his fingertips over it.

“Dance tights?” he asked.

“No, but close. I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret.” Nicki stood up, and I was very unsure of what she was about to do. She pulled up her tee-shirt, but instead of us getting flashed, we all stared at the shimmery bodysuit type of deal she had on. The main part that covered her body was turquoise with glittery flecks and silver swirlies all over it and at the top of her outfit, over her chest and arms, was a different material, a flesh colored one. “I tore the little skirt off of this, but this figure skating outfit belongs to me. I’m a closet figure skater. I was thinking that if I’m going to fully unleash my superbness, I was going to have to come clean.”

Kate and I looked at each and both immediately started cracking up.

“No way,” Kate said. “You bought that at a thrift store or something.”

A grin was spread across Roberto’s face. He seemed to have liked what Nicki said.

“Wait right here,” Nicki said, and she ran out of the restaurant. A second later she appeared outside on the sidewalk. She nodded to make sure we were all watching. Nicki then ran backwards and leapt into the air in a spiral, landed, and then leapt up into another little spinny thing-a-ma-do. I’m going to say it was some kind of axle followed by a toe-loop. I’m not quite up on figure skating, so those were my guesses. Wow, I thought, she really is a figure skater.

“Holy crap,” Kate said, punching me in the shoulder.

Nicki did a little curtsey and ran back inside.

“We believe you,” Roberto said with a big grin.

“But why were you hiding the fact that you figure skate?” I asked, thinking how I might have kind of wanted a glittery little outfit too.

Nicki sighed and pulled at her sleeve. “It doesn’t really fit my whole persona, ya know?”

Kate snorted. “No, it fits. I think it somehow enforces your oddness. You wear 1950’s house dresses with raincoats, and you figure skate. That’s not a combo you find every day.”

Nicki then looked at me with a small sweet smile. “I kinda feel complete now that I’ve unleashed my superbness.”

*************************

Jump to hours later and we were all at the corner of Belmont and Clark, and Nicki was dancing in the middle of the Bunkin Donuts parking lot. A couple of people from the donut establishment stared out the large glass windows at her as they consumed unhealthy levels of sugary goodness. Curious passer-bys’ glanced her way, but nobody really thought that much of it because there’re a lot of crazies in the city, so seeing a girl doing the running man in a parking lot really wasn’t that odd. She wasn’t carrying around a life-sized crucifix like this one guy I always saw, and she wasn’t standing on a plastic crate screaming about the end of the world. She was just a girl doing an outdated dance move.

“We need some music,” Nicki shouted at us. Us being: Kate, Roberto, Brian, Reynaldo, Dean, me, and Anna. We all leaned against the wrought-iron fence that ran around the parking lot.

An idea popped into my head. I told them I’d be right back and ran to the corner, waited for the light to change, and ran down to Elias’ work. I bounded in the door and whipped around the front counter to find Elias in the same exact position as when I first visited him at the store. He was even wearing the same hoodie.

“Hey,” I said.

He held up a finger, finished typing a sentence, and looked up at me with a totally blank expression.

“Are hot pink striped hoodies part of the uniform?” I asked.

“No, I just wear this when it’s cold in here, which is like always. You guys up here with Nicki?”

“Yeah, right now she’s dancing in the Bunkin Donuts parking lot. It’s pretty interesting. She’s sure to get kicked out soon, but she says she needs music.”

“Okay,” Elias said pensively.

“So I was thinking,” I said, wringing my hands together.

“That I happen to have a boom box lying around?”

“No, can I borrow your phone?”

“For what?”

“I wanted to play Nicki and them your song. She’ll then have something awesome to dance to.”

“Oh, so very no,” Elias said, vigorously shaking his head.

“But didn’t you make it for this kinda stuff, like a theme song? We can like film Nicki dancing to the song and stick it on YoobToob.”

Elias licked his lips and then pursued them together. It looked like he was holding his breath. He shook his head no again.

I frowned and sighed. “But I really like it.”

“Good, but no, so no, we can use the song, but the only way it will ever be heard is if someone else sings it.”

“But…” I said.

“Please no,” Elias pleaded. He looked terrified at the prospect of someone hearing him sing the song. I mean like really freaked, like somebody just told him they were going to stab him to death in a minute.

“Okay,” I said, sighing. I recognized that look of terror, fright. I’m sure my face had held that expression many times before. Mainly due to something my father did or was about to do. Like threaten my mother, or break in a back porch window with a chair. So I decided to let Elias be because I was familiar with being scared. “Do you work tomorrow?”

He nodded yes.

“What about Saturday?”

Elias shook his head no.

“Come over to Kate’s then with me, and we’ll record the song with her, okay?”

He meekly shook his head yes. “I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing.

“Don’t be, it’s okay.”

He sucked on his lip and ran a hand through his hair.

“I should go make sure Nicki hasn’t been hauled away somewhere.”

“Okay,” Elias whispered.

I leaned over the counter, took my fingers, and stuck one in each corner of his lips and made him smile.

“Stop,” he said, laughing and swatting me away.

I walked out to leave, stopped in my tracks, and turned around. I went back over to the counter. “Hey, what ya doing after work tonight?”

“Finishing up a paper probably.”

“Wanna meet in front of my house around midnight, just one quick mission?”

“All right.” Elias took a deep breath before he spoke again. “Um, real quick maybe, maybe now, can we talk about…”

I didn’t give him a chance to finish his question. I was still in avoidance mode of what I was sure he wanted to talk about. “Tonight, we can talk then.”

Elias nodded, and I went back outside where Nicki was out of the parking lot and on the corner screaming, “Ask me who I am,” and handing out my stickers. People probably really thought she had problems. She turned to us all, and her face lit up. “Let’s all dance together!”

I myself, had very little to no dancing skills, so I remained still, as did the founding members trio, but Roberto and Anna both gladly joined her. I handed them stickers. “Have fun.”