Rolling Thunder

Chapter 3- You're Just Really Stupid

Chapter 3- You're Just Really Stupid

Ash's Point of View

“A school project?” Seth wonders with a laugh.

I nod with my cigarette between my lips. “It’s fucking stupid but it’s either that or not graduating.”

“Okay well that’s crap,” He decides, tossing one of the half-inflated basketballs to the other side of the empty court. The pathetic bouncing sound echoes through the empty room. It’s Friday and I’ve decided that I’ve done enough school work for the week- I went for two half-days which adds up to one full day and that’s probably a record for me this school year so it’s a miracle that I even have the choice to graduate. So that’s why we’re up here in the abandoned gym again, because we’re obviously not going to class.

“Yes but at least I’m graduating,” I shrug. “Are you?”

He nods. “Probably. I don’t know, I think so. I guess that I probably should. For Maddie, you know?”

“Look at you,” I laugh. “Trying to be a good dad.”

“Shut up,” He grunts, punching my arm.

I laugh again, flick the ashes at the end of my cigarette into the ash tray beside me on the dusty bleachers, and I punch him back. “Let’s to Michigan tonight,” I suggest, referring to the University of Michigan that is across town in Ann Arbor. Most of the time, we’ll go to Detroit for a college party or something, but I don’t feel like driving that far and Michigan always has the best parties. We don’t go that often though because that’s where Hannah goes and Seth fears that he’ll run into her which is really ridiculous because she doesn’t go to parties. She doesn’t even live on campus. She lives at her house with her mom to raise Madeline.

“There’s a party?”

“It’s a university on a Friday night, Seth,” I roll my eyes at my idiotic friend. “Of course there’s a party.”

“Okay well yeah, let’s go then. There’s no need to be hostile,” He mumbles, taking a cigarette out of his own pocket and lighting it. We still have a few hours until school is out and then I have to go to the garage for a few hours to work and then I’ll be able to go home, get dressed, and then I’ll pick Seth up at his house and we’ll go over to campus.

“You’re just really stupid sometimes,” I defend with a shrug, putting my cigarette out in the ash tray.

“You should ask that brunette girl to come with us,” Seth suggests randomly. “The one that you have the project with.”

I laugh at the ridiculousness of that idea. “Yeah, I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not? She’s hot,” He comments.

“It’s probably because she’s a bitch,” I supply.

“That’s probably because you keyed her car,” He refutes with a laugh of his own.

“She’s still a bitch,” I shrug. “And I highly doubt that the only thing she does in her free time is like, I don’t know, study or some bullshit. She’d probably shrivel if she went to a party- let alone a college one. I could ask her friend though- the blonde one.”

“She’s also hot,” Seth confirms.

“Or you could ask her. Or we could just not take anybody because I’m sure that there will be enough of them there at the party,” I say. “That’s kind of the obvious choice here.”

“Okay yeah, let’s go with that,” He agrees with me. “When do you get off of work?”

“Seven,” I inform him. “We’ll go at nine.”