Gennie had finished fixing up Page’s old bike and it looked fabulous. She spray painted it a sparkly red and for an accent, painted a silver stripe going across the top tube. She put a matching stripe on the chain guard. Every weekend she would go to Racer’s Bike Shop near Union Square with Colleen and pick out a high-end replacement part. Since Colleen knew nothing about bikes, she never said anything when the price tag was outrageously expensive. Last week, Malcolm let her know that refurbishing it cost a hundred and five dollars and two cents and that she could have easily bought a brand new bike for only twenty-five dollars. If she wanted to do any more projects like that one, she would have to get a job.
Gennie didn’t have a problem with that, and taking off on her bike rode up and down Ocean Avenue inquiring about jobs. She eventually got one as a dishwasher, working weekends at Bella Cucina, a small Italian restaurant. She clocked in eight hours on Saturday and Sunday, making a dollar twenty-five an hour. She was saving up her money for her next project. She wanted to buy a cheap used car and fix it up herself. She was sixteen now and was eager to get her license and start driving.
Gennie put on her work clothes and was about to get ready to leave when she remembered she had to ask Ben a question. He was holed up in his room, as always. Gennie knocked on his door. This time, to her surprise, he answered it instead of ignoring her.
“What?” he said, looking very irritated.
“I wanted to tell you one of the cooks at Bella just left and they’re looking for a new one. They start really high, two fifty an hour. Do you want to stop in and apply for the job?”
Ben shook his head. “Charlene invited me to Golden Gate Park to go roller skating with her.”
“I can get an application from work and you can fill it out when you get home.”
“I told you no. I’m too busy. I’ve got to have time for rehearsals.”
“Charlene’s not going to want to date you if you don’t have any money.”
Ben huffed. “I’ll get a job after the play is over.”
“Also, you have to have a driver’s license and your own car. No ‘normal’ girl like her is going to go out with a guy who doesn’t have his own set of wheels.”
“Lay off of me, will ya? I’ll get my license soon.”
“I think you’ll have to do better than that, Ben. Johnny Briggs drives a brand new Corvette Sting Ray.”
Ben made a sour face. “Guess what? Charlene won’t care what kind of car I drive.”
“Oh boy…do you have a lot to learn. Girls like her care very much what cars their boyfriends drive.”
“You don’t know jack about Charlene. Oh and by the way, how did you become such an expert on this subject? You’ve never had a boyfriend in your entire life.”
“I’m not interested in them.”
“I agree with the not interested part. They’re not interested in you. Something about girls who act and dress like lumberjacks turn guys off.”
Gennie’s annoyance turned to anger. “No one’s interested in you either…including Charlene!”
“No, I don’t agree. Charlene really likes me.”
Gennie rolled her eyes.
“I wish you never got the part of Romeo. It’s gone straight to your head and you’ve been acting like a total prick since.”
She thought that would get Ben’s ire up but he simply shrugged.
“Hey, I was the most talented guy of the bunch.”
“See what I mean?”
“And Mrs. Erwin says Charlene and I have a lot of chemistry.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s in love with you.”
“She says hi to me in school now.”
“In front of her friends?”
“Yeah, when she’s with her friends she waves to me.”
“And in front of Johnny?”
“No, but she only spends like fifteen minutes with him in school and doesn’t see him on school nights. She only goes out with him on the weekends.”
She shook her head. “I’m so sick of this. You know as well as I do that this thing is going nowhere. You’re just going to end up getting the crap kicked out of you by Johnny and the rest of the football team.”
“Well, at least my life is not as pathetic as yours. If I were you, I’d probably kill myself.”
Gennie felt her body go rigid. You bastard, she thought. Before she knew it, she smacked him in the face.
He didn’t react at all, except for staring blankly at her. She thought he would either go into his room and slam the door or apologize to her. Instead, he throttled her onto the floor. He wrapped his hands around her neck so tight she couldn’t breathe. She tried to push him away, but couldn’t. She gasped desperately for air.
When she stopped struggling, he took one hand off her throat. She didn’t know when he became so strong. When they used to arm wrestle as kids, she always won. She inhaled deeply, relieved to have a little more air to breathe.
“Say you’re sorry,” he commanded.
“Sorry for what?” she said. “That you’re both a moron and an asshole?”
He backhanded her across the face. It stung so hard tears came to her eyes.
“Why did you make me do that?” he said. Instead of angry, he sounded exhausted and sad.
Gennie spat in his face. She thought he was going to hit her again but he didn’t. He stood up and wiped his face with his hand.
“You know what?” she snarled. “You’re the one with the pathetic life. Your whole reason for living is a stupid, blonde, selfish bimbo. That’s not much in my opinion. Actually, I hope Charlene goes out with you. When Johnny beats you in front of the whole school and she dumps your ass the next day, you’ll figure out what I was talking about.”
He didn’t answer except for turning around and closing his bedroom door. She just lay on the floor and listened to him put a record on the turntable. “Don’t Bother Me” by the Beatles began playing.
After about five minutes, Gennie stood up. She was so glad Malcolm and Colleen went out to the movies with friends. She didn’t want them to witness something like this.
She went to work and to her relief no one noticed anything. At eight o’clock, she called home and luckily, Colleen answered. She asked her if she could sleep over Page’s house, since she had to go there anyway to get her school textbooks. To Gennie’s relief she said it was fine. She biked over to Page’s house and spent the night there.
At school the next day, she could barely concentrate on her work. She kept reliving what happened the day before over and over. She couldn’t see how she could stay in the same house as Ben any longer. They barely talked lately and every time they did, it ended in an argument. When she came home from school, no one was there. She went into her closet and retrieved the red hardback suitcase Malcolm and Colleen bought for her birthday. She packed some shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, a few skirts and dresses for school. She then went into the bathroom and took her toothbrush and comb. She remembered that promise Ben made to her when they were five years old that they would never be apart. A sob slipped out of her throat but she managed to hold in the tears. Her hands were shaking as she wrote Malcolm and Colleen a note on the kitchen table. She felt like she was going to fall apart at any minute.
When she left the house, her suitcase and books tied to the bag carrier in the back of her bike, her mood lightened. It was as if she was being let out of prison. The cold March air on her face felt so good. She was almost her old self again. Usually she was fairly slow and careful on her bike, but this time she sped away. The sooner she could get away from there, the better.
Chapter 18: March 23
What They Left Behind Page 17
