by Jim Ody
Little Miss Evil
Chapter 16 - Jenny
T he ceiling was already beginning to wobble. Jenny handed the bottle back to Meg, who knocked it back like it was nothing.
“Look at our girl now!” Nat grinned, nodded towards Jenny.
“I should probably cut back a bit,” she said waving off the offer of another swig. Meg and Nat fell into a heap and giggled uncontrollably.
Jenny wasn’t a drinker. The last time she really drank a lot was down the park with her two friends a few months back. They had sat on the covered platform at the top of the slide in the kid’s playpark, and drank a bottle of vodka.
It was the first time she’d drunk more than a swig of alcohol, and when she was throwing up in the bushes, she swore it would be the last. And yet, here she was, heavily encouraged by her friends, and also a little nervous about seeing Marshall again.
If he turned up.
Meg was playing down the whole boy-thing, pretending she didn’t care whether they or not they met up with the guys. Nat wasn’t so good at pretending. Jenny caught her glancing at her watch and itching to ask when they were leaving. She’d fallen deep. And fast. It wasn’t the first time she’d done that, and Jenny suspected it wouldn’t be the last. In fact, a few months back, she’d fallen for a lad called Josh who worked at the local ice-skating rink. She’d had a kiss with him one night, and from that day forward they’d returned half a dozen times. Meg and Jenny had got quite good at skating, whilst Nat spent most of the time staring at Josh. It transpired, he didn’t remember her, and soon he was seen walking hand-in-hand with a girl whose curly hair bounced when she moved. Nat was heartbroken. Meg and Jenny were disappointed they’d not be going ice-skating for a while.
“Shall we get some food?” Jenny slurred. She knew she needed to eat something. “I could do with something inside me.”
Meg and Nat stopped, looked at her and burst out laughing.
“I’ll bet you could!” Meg grinned.
Jenny looked confused. “What?” then the penny dropped and despite the alcohol, she felt her cheeks redden. “Oh.”
And that was when the dismissive talk of the evening was pushed to the side, as suddenly, and almost without word, Meg and Nat began to change into revealing tops and smooth-out their complexion with colours like true artists.
Meg was straightening her hair when she turned to Jenny, and said, “You not changing into…” she struggled with her words. She was doing her best to be nice.
“―Something sexy!” Nat purred with her tongue.
Jenny looked at the T-shirt and jeans she was wearing.
“What’s wrong with this?”
Meg went to speak, but Nat jumped in. “You look fine if you were off to college… or to see your grandparents… but you look like you’re like forty or something, and trying to look young!”
“Really?” Jenny had never paid a great deal of attention to her clothes other than to make sure they looked clean and smart. She didn’t like to show too much skin other than her arms, and she certainly wasn’t going to be flashing her boobs anytime soon!
She looked at Meg who was wearing a top with a plunging neckline. She had her blonde hair down, and huge hooped earrings were peeking out around her jawline. Nat was doing her best to show the world her assets, with an open blouse and a small vest underneath. She had put her lipstick on, and retouched it a few times.
“That won’t be on long, judging by earlier!” Meg swayed her hips so they nudged Nat’s hips too.
“I hope not,” Nat agreed.
Meg then turned to Jenny. “Let’s hope your guy shows up, huh? Although old Maxy-boy will take you in his big arms, I’m sure!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jenny said, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been thinking about him.
She saw her friends looking at each other and then back at her. They didn’t believe her.
She changed the subject. Something she was masterful at. “There’s takeaway burgers, or a sit-down meal. Whatever you fancy… er, food wise.”
“Sounds great!” Meg said.
A few minutes later and the gentle breeze hit them as they left the cabin.
Jenny suddenly felt really drunk, and as she saw other people felt a little ashamed of herself. Especially when she saw kids. It felt wrong to be drunk around families. She could picture how disappointed her parents would be if they could see her now.
“So how are we going to meet the boys?” Nat said, and looked a little worried. Jenny could tell she was itching to see Adam again.
Meg rolled her eyes at her. “Oh, Cinderella, your Prince Charming will find you! If not, well―” she stood still with her arms out open. “―we find some more!” The surrounding area still had more families and couples than single lads. For a second, Nat looked like she might cry.
And then they heard the wolf-whistle. Without looking Meg grinned. Nat shot her head around.
“Don’t look!” Meg hissed. “You have to make them work for it!”
Nat looked confused, and Jenny really had no idea what it was all about. If you liked someone, then why not let them know? If you don’t then stay away from them. Meg’s confidence again was not only apparent, but backed up by her actions.
The wolf-whistling continued until there were thunderous footsteps, and Brett slipped his arms around Meg.
Meg turned and feigned disappointment. “Oh, it’s you. I thought it was Chris Hemsworth.”
“Funny,” Brett said, and instantly changed the subject. “You eating? Or do you just drink water to maintain that killer bod?”
Adam and Max then joined them. Adam slipped his hand into Nat’s, and silently they both looked equally smitten and awkward.
“We eat a little, but we drink a lot!” Meg grinned, still looking at Brett, clearly happy he was there.
“I’m gonna guess that with the drinking, you girls have already started, right?” Brett observed.
“Us?” Meg tried innocence. She batted her mascara covered lashed, and held a hand to her chest. “Only to wet our whistles!”
Brett laughed at that. “Wet your whistle? My nan says that when found holding an empty sherry bottle!”
“Sounds like a wonderful woman.”
“Hi everyone!” Max then said, with a strange little wave too. “I’m here as well, just in case anyone was wondering… I’m guessing you weren’t… but, you know―”
“Shut the fuck up, Max-stallion!” Brett laughed.
Max went to reply, possibly with a retort he thought at first to be clever, but then second guessed himself and didn’t bother.
“Max-stallion?” Meg grinned.
Adam was the one to reply this time. “You ever shower with him, and you’ll know!”
Nat giggled, and Meg turned to Jenny. “See? I told you, didn’t I?”
Jenny went a deep crimson. It was one thing to talk about boys, but for them to be thinking they were talking about their bits, made her really uncomfortable.
Brett, of course, joined in. “It’s true. I mean I’ve got the technique, and the general skills, but Max-stallion over there,” he puffed out his cheeks. “It’s like a toddler’s arm!”
Meg turned to look at Max. He followed behind like an obedient dog and flashed a look that said he’d had this conversation a million times before.
“Sometimes it’s best to just ignore them,” Max said to anyone who’d listen.
“Don’t go out of my sight then,” Meg said. “When this one gets boring, I’ll be needing something extra!”
That time Max did get embarrassed.
Jenny felt sorry for him. It was great when you met people, but when you’re the spare part, you just feel like you’re getting in the way.
“What d’you fancy? Takeaway or sit down posh-nosh?” Brett loved to take control. He seemed to need to know what was going on, and plan things out. Jenny was similar but without being so loud. She didn’t want to be in charge, just have an idea on what was happening.
“We’re having takeaway, aren’t we girls?” Meg said matter-of-factly. Jenny couldn’t believe how she was still keeping up the pretence of not being bothered whether or not Brett was there.
“We are,” Nat agreed. “You coming too?” she then added to Adam, but it was obvious the two of them would not be parted for a while.
“If that’s okay?” he said with a lot less gusto than his buddy.
“Of course,” she confirmed.
“I suppose you can tag along too,” Meg said, and for the first time flashed something that might’ve been considered a warm smile.
The large building had more people around it. It was the entertainment centre of the place. The doors swallowed them up as they walked inside.
A couple of lads glared at them as they walked in. They were about ten and had shaken off their parents. By the looks of things, their parents were probably happy to be rid of them.
“Sluts!” one of them tried coughing out much to his mate’s amusement.
“You what?” Brett said, stopping and eye-balling the lad who had said it.
The lad gulped, and his sudden red cheeks didn’t match his shaved head. “I gotta cough, innit.”
“What the…? When did everyone start saying innit?”
For the first time, Jenny actually felt some sort of respect for him. He’d stood up for them, and there was something decidedly middle-class about him. She wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad, and in fact she felt a little embarrassed that she was relieved he had some class.
“Hayfever,” his mate added. “He got it bad.”
“Really?” Brett chuckled. “He had better watch out how it affects his mouth around beautiful ladies then, hadn’t he?”
“Let’s go, Beckham.” And off they ran, but not before one of them turned and gave them the finger.
“And that is an example of tomorrow’s leaders,” Brett laughed.
“I thought you were going to hit them!” Meg said, sounding relieved.
“Nah, the little shits probably have dads that look like Tyson Fury.”
“Or are in prison!” Adam added.
Then Brett stopped. He clapped his hands together, then held them out and didn’t care who heard him.
“Let this evening begin!” He proclaimed like the town Cryer, and weirdly, instead of funny or disapproving looks, Jenny was surprised to see smiles and even a couple of claps from passers-by.
“We are only young once!” The clichés, like the alcohol, were about to come flooding out.
Little Miss Evil
Chapter 17 - Keith
H e was humming. He didn’t realise it at first. It seemed almost comical. How can you not know you’re humming?
It was some catchy pop song. Keisha, or Katy Perry, someone like that. A strong woman who could sure teach him a thing or too! He grinned at the thought. It’s what he needed – or rather, what he wanted.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a little pasty, he decided. He bent down to the floor and proceeded to try a few press-ups. He got to four before his shoulders and chest muscles screamed at him in pain. How the hell would he ever look like The Rock when he could barely do four press ups? These were on his knees, too. He wasn’t even doing them properly.
He got back up and looked in the mirror again. This time he had colour. That was something at least.
He looked at his skinny arms and once again contemplated getting a tattoo. He wasn’t sure he really wanted one, and he was scared to death of the pain, but it would make him look… well, he wasn’t sure how it would make him look. Tough, maybe? Perhaps something like an eagle, or a lion. A strong creature known for catching its prey.
He walked over to his cupboard with a little more swagger. He pulled out a packet, ripped it open like he was an action hero and put on the brand new pair of pants. He always liked to wear new underwear when he went out. It made him feel clean. And sexy. Even after a shower, where he’d scrubbed himself from head to toe, this was the cherry-on-top.
He wondered what the lucky lady might look like who would rip his new underwear off. More than likely it would be in such feverish desperation, she’d not even notice how fresh and clean they were. But he’d know, and that was all that mattered.
He looked back up at the mirror and winked to himself. He’d know alright.
The world was changing, and so was he. Keith was fed up being alone. There was a whole world of potential wives out there, and he really needed to up the ante to find one.
Had he been too picky in the past? He wondered, thinking back to Rita. She was full of smiles, but was huge. Not tall, just wide. She had a giggle that he liked, and she seemed to be permanently happy… but… he thought back to flashes of fat rolls, puckered skin and acne on intimate areas, and then all he could think about was her crying uncontrollably when he told her she wasn’t physically attractive.
He never saw another of her smiles again. Just her fat arse wobbling off to MacDonalds to go large.
Some lonely nights he wondered whether he’d been a little hasty. But then other nights he wanted to marry film stars. Maybe there was a balance he was missing?
He pulled on his favourite cords. The brown ones that were baggy enough to make it look like his legs were thicker than matchsticks. He slipped on his lucky belt with the large buckle. He’d read somewhere that if you have a fancy buckle then women are instantly drawn to it, and from there their eyes linger and they start to have naughty thoughts! He liked the thought of that! It meant they were already waiting for him to make the first move.
Smiling to himself, he slipped on his smart jumper and took a deep breath.
After combing his hair, he brushed his teeth twice, gargled some mouthwash, and then breathed into his cupped hand. He thought it was pretty fresh, so he walked out of his cabin.
The campsite held a world of possibilities. He had so many ideas on what he wanted to do with the place.
But mother would never allow it, he thought. She was stuck in her old ways. He knew it was a business model that was fairly solid. They broke even and then had a bit of spare cash on top of that. But he wanted more. He wanted big money. His ideas would turn the campsite away from being a place for families. It would be more specialised. A place for adults with alternative lifestyles.
He loved the idea of it.
If only his mother wasn’t around.
Little Miss Evil
Chapter 18 - Carl
H e felt the excitement build up inside. He loved meetings. He always did.
“I have to go out,” he said to Matilda with the right amount of disappointment, and wiggled his phone like Huawei was to blame.
“Oh,” she replied.
“Yeah, Johnno rang. If we’re to get this deal done then we have to come out with an airtight plan.” He sounded confident.
“I see,” she said, but he knew she didn’t. He knew because she never asked him anything. The tablets she insisted on swallowing dulled her down. She was an empty vessel parading as a wife. She went through the motions, dutifully making meals and keeping their huge six-figure nest clean, but the light was gone.
He refused to be brought down with whimsical regrets. In fact, he didn’t regret meeting Matilda at all. She was the most perfect woman in the world until… well, he didn’t want to think about it anymore. He was a man and had to think about himself once in a while. He had his only analogy: If there was no food in the house, then you had to go out and eat somewhere else.
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” he said, and quickly added, “In fact, it might be better if I stayed over at Johnno’s, you know, so I don’t disturb you when I come in.”
“Okay,” she said. Her words were neutral. He recognised her mood. She’d just taken more tablets. A top up. It would take twenty minutes for his words to register.
“Right then,” he said, more by way of something to say than anything else.
He left her to it. She was busying herself with fo
lding clothes. Later she’d go down to the cellar and paint. Somehow, her dulled state of mind had increased her output. Maybe she painted whatever she saw in the crazy world she now spent most of her time in.
If he was honest, he didn’t understand her anymore. He guessed, as things were going, he’d have a few more years before she became a liability. He planned to get her sectioned before then. Marshall would’ve officially moved out by then, too, so he would be free from all of life’s shackles to go off and do whatever the hell he wanted to.
He stopped outside of Marshall’s room. It took him almost a minute before he knocked. He didn’t know why.
“Yeah?” his son’s voice rang out in panic. He could hear movement. He gave him a few more seconds before going in. He’d been a teenager once. He didn’t much fancy catching his son in a compromising position.
“What are your plans, buddy?”
Marshall looked at him, his eyes almost narrowed. The kid was clever. He got that from his old man. He didn’t take a question at face value but quickly analysed to see if there was more to it.
“I’m off out,” he said.
“Right. Where to? In town?”
Marshall shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Why the hell would I do that? Have you been into town? Old men and wasters. That’s all there is there. Not like in Bristol, where-”
“-I know,” Carl snapped. “It’s such a wonderfully hip place. Blah, blah, blah.”
“No one says hip, dad.”
Carl had to smile at that. “I guess not. You’re not going to the Campsite, are you?”
Marshall sighed. “So what if I am? Does it matter?”
“You know how we feel about that place, mate.”
Marshall shook his head. “It’s not about you though, is it? Just because you got into trouble there, doesn’t mean I should miss out.”
Carl tried to calm himself down. “You were the one caught looking in windows.” His anger threatened to rise again.
“And what did I see in those windows, daddy-dear? Huh? What was it I saw you doing? You want me to call mum?”
“Be careful before you go jumping to conclusions,” Carl threatened him. “You don’t know the half of it.”
