by Pepper Pace
She got up; dragging herself out of bed and got ready for her day. Yawning, she used her key to let herself in. “Hi babe, I’m here.” Jason wheeled himself into the living room from the back. She gave him a brief kiss and then covered her mouth and yawned.
“I’m going to make coffee, babe. I need it bad.”
“You look tired. What were you doing last night?”
“Out with my other boyfriend. See after I drop you off I lead a second life with Manuel.”
“Don’t even joke like that,” he said. He moved to the computer and put on a beat that he was working on. Robin peeked out of the kitchen.
“Sounds good.”
“Thanks. I’d like to loop some vocals into it. Are you game?”
“Me?!”
“You’ve done it before.”
“Yeah, but…” He waited and she finally shrugged. “Alright. I want to go visit Mrs. Lucille tonight but I’ll do it when I get back.”
“Cool.”
Chapter 19
They went on to school and at lunch Peter slapped a flyer in front of the both of them. Jason picked it up. OMICRON HALLOWEEN PARTY! was written in bold letters. Jason scowled and pushed it away.
“Getting tired of those crowded ass-parties.”
“I know.” Peter spoke. “They are, too. We’re getting ready to move it to the Petersen Hall. Son, we are blowing up! With you and me as DJ’s they are bringing in more money than ever!” Peter leaned in to whisper. “We’re getting double the money for working the Halloween Friday!”
Robin greeted Belinda and Amberly. “Hey, what’s up, you two?”
“How are you feeling?” Amberly asked.
“Better. Thank you two for coming to the hospital.”
“Not a problem.” Amberly replied.
“How’s it going?” Robin directed to Belinda. She was dipping her spoon into a bowl of chili, but had yet to take a bite. Belinda was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck. She had not converted to her old style so her makeup was soft and her pretty auburn hair fell down in waves close to her scalp. She grinned at Robin half-heartedly.
She was feeling guilty about her actions Friday and wanted to make it up to her new friend. She’d already approached Amberly about the three of them doing some female bonding after school. But Amberly already had plans and had sucked Belinda into it and now she was about to suck Robin in to it as well.
“I’m cool. Are you feeling better? You sure look better.”
“I am, a million times better.”
“Hey, what do you do after you drop Jason off in the afternoons?”
She shrugged. “Go home. But I was planning to visit a friend today.”
“Amberly and I are finishing up on the More Love video. We could use your help on it.”
“Mine?”
Belinda and Amberly grinned at each other. “You’re going to like it, Robin.” Amberly responded. Now her curiosity was piqued.
“Okay. So…”
“Just let Link take Jason home and we’ll finish up with the video in the production room.”
Jason was listening to both Peter, as well as Robin and the girls. His brow went up. “Go ahead, Sweetheart, if you want. Link and I need to work on some beats anyways. Is that cool, Link?”
“That’s right on time.” After classes Jason led Robin over to the production room.
“Do you know what this is all about?” She asked.
“Nope.” She gave him a suspicious look. “Alright then. I guess I’ll see you back home.”
“Mmmm…” He pulled her to him and kissed her. “I love when you say that. Home.”
She smiled and cupped his face, kissing him again. “Bye, baby.”
“Don’t tire yourself out, Robin. You’re still looking tired. You had a tough weekend baby.” He probably should have left her at her apartment to sleep after church instead of suggesting they hit the haunted house. He sighed.
“I’m alright, honey. The blood transfusion helped.”
“You took your medicine, right?”
“And my iron pills. Yes I did.”
“Okay.” He released her with one last kiss and she went into the classroom in search of Amberly and Belinda.
Jason met Link in the parking lot and the two went back to his place to practice and Jason showed his best friend the ideas that he had and how he wanted to add Robin’s voice into it.
Link loved the idea. But now that Jason was solidly onboard, it was time for him to reveal the full story.
“Um…so they want us to DJ the entire night.”
Jason removed his studio headphones and looked at his friend. “How long is the entire night?”
“Seven until 2:30.”
“Wow…seriously? That’s not happening.”
“Top!” Link said. “This is our business. We have to treat it like a job. We’re getting paid like seven hundred bucks to DJ. Dude, you don’t just turn that kind of money down!”
“Link, it’s Halloween, I mean…I might want to do something with my girlfriend. I have one now. I’d like to have quality time with her that doesn’t include running to school and squeezing time in during the evening.”
Link scowled. “Girls! Girls are meant to be looked at, enjoyed, not allowed to rule your actions!”
“Link, you are seriously tripping, Robin doesn’t rule my actions. I do what I want to do. It’s me that wants to hang with her instead of DJing.” He placed his headphones back onto his head. He pressed some buttons and a smooth hip hop beat began playing.
Link watched him unhappily but then began an impromptu scratch and then the two continued doing their thing the way no other two DJs could.
***
Robin was intrigued by all of the computer and production equipment. It wasn’t the biggest room and it was crammed full of items. Belinda waved her over to a table where there were several computers set up.
She perched herself onto a stool and looked at a still shot on one of the computer screens. “Hi girlie.” Belinda said with a huge smile on her usually solemn face.
“Hi.” Amberly was smiling equally as large.
“Okay, now you guys got me scared. You’re not planning to prank me or something?”
“No.” Belinda laughed. “Amberly play the video of Friday’s party.” Amberly hit a button and she could hear the sound of tape rewinding. “So when Wheels of Steel was still a group, Amberly would tape the performances. We just used it for our own purposes. They aren’t really for YouTube.”
“Yeah, Jason and I watched a few this weekend.”
“Well this is some of what Amberly taped on Friday.”
Amberly pressed play and the music came through loud and clear. It sounded so awesome! She couldn’t help but to clap her hands together and bounce in her seat. Jason and Peter were concentrating on DJing, both looking hot and sexy. The camera closed in on each of them; Jason looking like a little boy deep in concentration, and Peter looking like he was the center of attention, more showmanship and cockiness. They were a great compliment to each other.
The camera cammed out to the crowd. People were really into it, dancing, and throwing up their fists, but then the camera rested on Robin dancing. She straightened quickly and looked at the two girls in embarrassment.
Oh my god…it was her. She was more grooving to the music than actually dancing. Her hips swayed and her body seemed to mimic the music. She was about to cover her face in embarrassment, but it cut to Belinda who was dancing like she was at a club. The three of them chuckled.
Amberly pressed stop. “We need you to do that again in front a green screen. No one will even know that it’s you because we’re going to digitize it-”
Robin erupted into a fit of laughter. “No.” She finally said.
Amberly and Belinda were smiling slyly. “Yeah.” Amberly said. “I told her you’d say that.”
Amberly stood up and moved in her stilted way to the adjacent wall. She pressed a button and a screen came down.
“What are you doing?” Robin asked.
“Well, if you won’t do it then Amberly offered to.”
“I’ve never danced in a video before.” She said excitedly. “They never let me. So in every video I’m always looking like I’m flying or some such idiocy!” Amberly said.
Belinda stood up and went to a camera that was already set up. “Robin press play on that.” She called out. Robin did as instructed and the music resumed. Suddenly Amberly began to dance. Robin’s jaw dropped and her eyes bugged. She looked away uncomfortably, but like a train wreck, she was drawn back to the sight before her. Amberly was the worse dancer she’d ever seen!
Oh my god! The girl had no rhythm, she was stiff, she lurched around, and she did it all with a smile on her face. Sheesh!
“Ok!” Robin leaped to her feet. “I’ll do it, please make her stop!” Amberly and Belinda both began to laugh.
“Go ahead and stand where Amberly is standing…was standing. Amberly get out of the camera shot.”
“I’m moving, I’m moving!” Amberly went to stand next to Belinda. “Don’t worry, we’re going to digitize it completely just like More Love with all the flying…that’s me incidentally.”
Robin smiled at her. She took a deep breath. What in the hell was she doing? Was she seriously about to dance in front of camera??
Robin closed her eyes and began to move, knowing that she was probably pretty stiff, but she was feeling a little uptight about the whole thing. She concentrated on the sound of the music and the way it made her feel. And then she peeked at the two girls. Well they weren’t laughing at her. She began to relax a little.
“That’s it.” Belinda said. “Keep going.” Robin kept her eyes closed and just began to let herself go. Suddenly the music ended and her eyes popped open. Amberly was fiddling with the music controls. Suddenly Love’s End began to play.
“Now again.” Amberly prompted. Robin closed her eyes and moved the way the music told her to move; sensually, spinning, bringing it down and then back up. When the music ended Belinda wolf whistled and Robin’s eyes popped open and she grinned sheepishly.
“Oh I think we got it.” She said. “Now Amberly and I work our magic on it. You can leave now, girlie. And thank you. It’s going to be perfect.”
Robin rubbed her moist palms together. “That better not appear on YouTube un-digitized; ever.” She said seriously.
“It won’t, it won’t. We’ll give you the original.” Amberly said quickly.
“Okay…I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Yep. Thanks Robin. This is so much better than…um, well-”
“Shut up!” Amberly yelled. “I’m not that bad of a dancer, honestly. I was just hamming it up.” She eyed Robin. “What are you wearing for the Halloween party?”
She shrugged. “Do we have to dress up?”
“No, but there is a costume contest.”
“I have a secret look!” Belinda said excitedly.
“Don’t even ask, she won’t tell.”
“No, it’s going to be so good.”
Amberly grinned. “I’m going as Cruella Daville. I even have the wig. I’m going to put on some crazy makeup! I’m definitely going to win this!”
“I’ll see what Jason thinks.” Maybe it would be fun to dress up.
“Last year he went as Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons.” Amberly said.
“But everyone thought he was Ronald McDonald.”
“Yeah, he was pissed.”
“Yeah,” Amberly laughed. “He was like, ‘Ronald McDonald doesn’t have freaking dreds!”
“Jason had dreds?”
“I put fake ones in.” Belinda said. Man, she would have loved to have seen that. These friends had such a history together. She was so happy to be able to share in that. Robin left, promising to see each of them the next day.
Her cell phone rang as soon as she got into the car. It was her mother wanting to know if she had heard the tests results back from the biopsy. Robin had promised that she’d call her as soon as she did. They chatted for a few moments, thankfully not about Jason.
By the time she got to her house, Robin had no energy to go anywhere or to do anything but to crash into her bed.
***
Jason frowned and checked his watch. It was after eight. How long did the girls need Robin? “Bro, let’s take a break. I need to call Robin.”
Link checked the time. “Yeah. What are we going to do about eating?”
“There’s food in there.” He dialed Robin’s cell but got no answer. He left a worried message. “Babe, what are you doing? Give me a call…love you.” He glanced over to see if Peter had heard, but he was preoccupied with digging through the refrigerator for food. He decided to call Belinda.
“Hey, what’s up? You guys still working on the video?”
“Amberly and I are.”
“Well where is Robin?”
“Robin? Well we only needed her for about an hour. She left ages ago.”
Jason frowned. “Okay…”
“She’s not at your place?”
“No. She’s not answering her cell either.”
“Okay…Jason, look, don’t worry. She is just probably sleeping or something.”
Jason took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thanks, I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up quickly and tried her cell two more times. Fuck, was she asleep?! Was she in a car accident? Maybe someone snatched her and dragged her off…
“Fuck!” He yelled. Peter looked up, a piece of bologna hanging from his mouth.
“What?”
“She’s not answering.”
“Jason…sometimes that happens. Sometimes girls don’t answer their phone. It’s okay, budd-”
“It’s not okay if you just rushed your girlfriend to Emergency just a day ago!” Jason snapped. Peter gobbled up the remainder of the bologna.
“Let’s go.” He said while wheeling past Jason and to the door. “You know where she lives, right?”
“Yeah!” Jason said excitedly. He quickly strapped on the braces and picked up his crutches. Robin had porch stairs so Link would not be able to come inside. He stood and his joints screamed. He made a pained face and Link frowned.
“Top, what’s wrong with your legs?”
“They hurt. Let’s go.”
In the car Peter got them going. He looked over at the younger man as he drove. “Top, what’s up with your legs?”
“My joints.”
“Shit.” Peter knew the seriousness of this. If Jason’s body locked up then the only way to unlock it was through surgery.
