Bernadette Windsor
"Psst, Julian! Jule. Wake up, we're going out."
"Golds? Birdie? The fuck?"
I hold back a laugh as Jule awakes, groggy and dazed as ever. Marigold stands over him, her phone flashlight shining at his face.
"Get up and get dressed. Me and Birdie wanna go to Scraps. Alaric's waiting in the car."
"What?" Jule asks, lazily lifting a hand to block the light. Slowly, he rolls over, grabbing his phone from the charger. "Guys, it's one in the fucking morning. Get out. How'd you even get in?"
Before we can respond, we hear footsteps bounding up the stairs behind us. Alaric sticks his head through the door frame.
"You guys coming or what?" He asks, tapping a finger impatiently against the door, "I've been outside for ten minutes."
"The hell you mean ten minutes? They just woke me up, man." Julian questions. He then raises his brows, giving us a pointed look. "Where's Casper?"
I shoot Golds a sly grin, "He's fine. All fed, sleeping, and happy on treats."
Jule rolls his eyes, "I swear to god you guys only hang out with me for my dog."
Marigold pats his cheek. "Aww, you know that's not totally true."
"Well, let's hurry this party up. I need gas before we head to Scraps." Alaric mentions. He makes eye contact with me, nodding me over with his head. "Me and Bernadette will be out in the car."
"Impromptu make-out session, Marigold?" Jules flirts, giving her a smirk and a kissy face.
"I'm going to control myself and not slap you right now." Goldie retorts, flipping him off before waving us bye.
"Why am I coming with you?" I ask Alaric, trying to keep my balance as we descend side by side down the narrow stairs.
He shrugs, pulling the front door open. "Julian likes Marigold, and I want him to stop fucking whining over her. I'm just giving him a chance alone with her."
It really was no secret that Jule was love struck when it came to her. Marigold was just either too stubborn or too blind to notice his 'moves'. Anytime I brought him up romantically to her, she pretended to gag herself.
"How uncharacteristically nice of you."
"I'm nice to my friends."
"You're not nice to me."
"It's you."
I roll my eyes, pulling open the car door. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing you're not smart enough to figure out yourself, Bernadette." He tuts with what I'm going to pretend is a small grin on his face and not a blank line.
"Rude ass, and don't call me that." I huff, taking it upon myself to prop my feet on the dash and crank the music up.
I nod my head along to the music, staring at Alaric through the side of my eye. The sketchbook tattoos that littered his arms were prominent in the dim car light, and his messy brown hair strung over his face. He was on his phone, scrolling aimlessly against a dark screen in a weak attempt to ignore my presence.
Alaric and I weren't as close as the others, never hanging out or talking much outside the group. I joined their trio at random, infiltrating their group dynamic. Golds told me Alaric would be tough to connect with, as his "'vibrant personality' takes eons to register new people". It's been almost a year now, and I'm starting to believe that eons wasn't a far-off assumption.
Marigold and I, on the other hand, were quick to connect. We met the day I transferred to Johnson West High School. Her fiery red dyed hair was eye-catching, and she always had an aura of confidence that made everyone in her vicinity stop, entranced. Her face was round and beautiful, the soft Asian features contrasting her sharp personality. My first interaction with her was in math class, as she sat next to me. Conveniently for her and annoyingly enough for me, she was always stealing my worksheets in order to copy down my answers. After the tenth stolen worksheet, I finally offered to work on them with her. Study nights soon turned into girl nights, and girl nights soon turned into group nights with Julian and Alaric.
The sound of screeching laughter outside caught my attention, and I made eye contact with Alaric, who raised a brow at me. Pivoting my head immediately to peer out the window, I focused on the commotion happening outside. The front door to the two story house was flung open, letting Jule and Goldie stumble out. Marigold held out a foot, attempting to make Jule trip but he caught himself, sidestepping her trick. He held up a middle finger close to her face before opening the door to the back seat. Golds hopped in first, Julian close behind. The once silent car was now filled with childlike bickering littered with curses.
"Alaric tell Golds that having a stuffed animal is completely okay at eighteen." Jule whines, leaning over the middle console to tap Alaric on the arm.
He swatted Jules hand away, turning on the car, "Who cares if you have a stuffed animal,"
"Ha! See!"
"It makes you a fucking child but-"
"In your fa- wait! What? I am not a child. Shut your fucking trap. Birdie, you love me, right? Tell her I can have a stuffed animal."
Making slight eye contact with Alaric in amusement, I turned my body to face the back, looking at Marigold, "What about poor forgotten Charlie the Bear then."
Her small eyes squinted, "Don't you even-"
"Charlie the Bear! Hypocrite!" Julian yelled, pointing a finger in accusation.
"He's been under my bed for four years, you loser!"
"Yeah, well, Denny has been in my closet for five years! So take that!"
"Alaric's right, you're such a child."
"Says the one who is sticking her tongue out at me right now."
"Well, you're the one whining like a child."
"Sit down and shut the fuck up before I kick you both out of my car." Alaric chastised, clicking his blinker and turning sharply onto the next street. This, in turn, made the two unbuckled children in the back fall into each other.
"Asshole." Jule mumbled, pushing Goldie off his stomach. He grabbed up her seat belt, buckling her in. "Buckle up and stay in your own personal space, sweet cheeks."
"Don't call me that, shitface." She huffed.
The car fell silent, both done with their bickering. Humming to the now soft music, I followed the yellow stripes on the road with my eyes, watching as they flew past. Alaric eventually pulled into a gas station, leaving us to pile out and into the store area for slushes.
The bell chimed, signaling our presence, but it was already drowned out by our jokes and laughter. Unfortunately for Jule, it all stemmed from the fact he had tripped up the curb on the way inside, effectively scraping his knees.
"Guys, stop. It's not funny." He whined, covering his cheeks.
"I don't know, man. You looked helpless and weak lying there on the ground. Pretty damn funny to me." Gold jokes, punching his arm lightly, making him scowl.
"Wanna be next? Hm? Come here; I'll bring you to your knees." He grinned, walking close to her, regaining confidence over the situation.
I watched Marigold's cheeks dust with red as she flipped him off, "In your dreams, lover boy."
He picked her up suddenly by the waist, dragging her over to the slushie machine.
Turning I saw Alaric standing inches away from me.
We watched as they filled up a slushie cup, Julian keeping the handle down for far too long, making it fall over the sides.
"Fucking idiots. You getting one?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna run to the bathroom first. Do you mind grabbing me a cherry one?" I asked, handing him a couple crumbled bills from my pocket.
He stared at the money in my hand but didn't take it, nodding over to the bathroom. "I got it. Don't take too long. I don't want to be stuck with the children."
"Oh, thank you. I'll take my sweet time now. Have fun with them." I joked, backing up towards the bathroom with a grin. His jaw tensed as he shook his head, already walking over to the slushie machine.
I finished up quickly, making my way to where they sat waiting. Alaric swiftly hopped off the curb, pushing a slushy into my hand.
"Let's move." He said, leading our group over to the car.
We sped down the roads, windows down, and music on full blast, leaving us deaf to everything but our minds. It was a thrill I cherished. Moments later, Alaric pulled the car up in front of Scraps, its run-down warehouse vibe feeling like home.
The small old factory had been converted into an underground hangout place. The dingy industrial rooms were decorated with donated items, bringing the place together with a slight alleyway touch.
Grian Scrapley the owner, started it a couple of years ago as a way to give the city a safe place for teens to gather if they ever needed anything. Since Grian is only 25 years old, he fit in well with the lost teens and understood how the place would best function. Funding came from the tip jar and money we used to pay for food at the bar. Donations were the most effective way of helping though and all four of us had contributed frequently to Scraps.
Making our way down the concrete stairs, Alaric held open the sticker filled metal door, allowing us into the entry room.
The distinct smell of Scraps wafted through the air, its sharp, salty scent encasing me. Teens and young adults of all ages were sprinkled around the room, creating a soft buzz of noise.
"Yo, Grian!" Julian shouted, getting the attention of Scraps who sat on a zebra print chair.
He popped up immediately, his curly gold hair moving with him. Dressed in a flannel, band tee, and skinny jeans, his personality was a good representation of his hangout place.
The two embraced in a bro hug of sorts before hopping on the couch. The rest of us followed suit, taking our own seat on the worn down chairs.
"So, tell me. What shenanigans have you rowdy bunch been up to these past few days? Haven't seen yah around." Scraps asked, fidgeting with the bowl and lighter in front of him.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, man. Got woken up just a few minutes ago and here I am." Julian explained, letting out a sigh.
Golds nudged him: "Me and you literally went to the mall yesterday. Is that what you consider nothing?!"
"I followed you around while you tried on clothes. I would hardly consider that something."
"I would like you all to know that is a false statement. If anything, he was more into it than I was."
"Shut your-"
"I got him in a dress."
Alaric coughed under his breath, "Fucking whipped."
Jules glared, elbowing him.
"She promised free food. No one sane would turn down free mall food." He argued weakly, really trying to gain sympathy from all of us. "Whatever, be that way."
"It's okay; you and Denny can work out your masculinity problems when you get home. You both can have a totally acceptable cry session." Golds suggested giving him a fake pouty face and pat on the back.
"Who's Denny?" Asked Grian. I couldn't hold back the laugh from his perfectly timed, innocent question.
Julian reacted quickly, sending a quick glare around the circle for us to keep our mouths shut. "Just my dog."
Grian's brow furrowed, "Isn't your dog named Cas-"
"You know I'm really up for a game of beer pong." Jules stood quickly, his dark skin flushing. "You all in? I'll go get it set up right now."
We all watched as he walked away, chuckling as he bumped into Bunny who shot him a middle finger. Bunny was Grian's girl, a real live in the moment and fight the consequences later type chick.
They fit well together. I sent her a smile as she neared us, watching as she collapsed into Grian's lap.
"God, the type of shit high school girls go through these days is exhausting. Grace is in the bathroom, absolutely fucking verbally destroying Ava." She whined, leaning into Grian who began to massage her hair. "Did you know she cheated on her boyfriend with Graces?"
"Very fascinating. Did you stop the fight?"
She gave him an innocent grin, "It's best to leave them be. I don't want to walk out of there with missing hair or nails."
"True shit." Golds applauded.
While they continued their conversation, I began glancing around the room. Alaric was doing just the same. He raised his brows at me when we connected eyes before nodding over at Jules beer pong set up. He was almost done pouring the cups, meaning soon his pestering taps would be all over our backs until we got up to play.
I stood from my seat, making my way over to him.
"Birdie!" He greeted me, shoving a bottle in my face. "Fill those over there up, would ya?"
I did as he asked, pouring the alcohol into the red cups. We worked in silence before I spoke up.
"You know, having a stuffed animal really isn't that embarrassing." I noted.
Jules breathed out a stark laugh, "It is when she pesters me about it. It makes me feel like a child."
"Golds just likes to be the top dog." I countered.
"Yeah, yeah." He paused his rearranging of the cups and instead glanced over at Golds. She was laughing, head back, her red hair moving with the action. "Think I have a chance?"
I pursed my lips, thinking over my words, "Nope."
He threw a ping pong ball at my head.