Harmonic Feedback

by Tara Kelly

  “Duck,” she said, bending over and weaving between the cars. The sound of opening doors and footsteps rang out behind us.

  “Search the southeast parking lot,” a guy said. One set of footsteps ran in another direction.

  Naomi pushed the unlock button and opened the silver door of her dad’s SUV. “Scrunch down in the seat so nobody will see you,” she whispered.

  I squeezed the handle, and the passenger door creaked open. It sounded more like a scream. They must’ve heard it. I’d gotten us caught.

  Naomi threw a blanket over my head as I climbed in, closing the door with as little force as possible. I squeezed my eyes shut despite the darkness. All I could hear was Naomi’s labored breathing and the roar of the car engine.

  “We’ll be okay,” she said over and over again. A metal song blared out of her speakers, and she tapped her hands against the wheel.

  The endless turns made me dizzy. Stop. Go. Stop. Crawl. Stop. Every second seemed like an eternity. And the screaming vocals certainly weren’t helping the mood.

  Finally, Naomi let out a wicked laugh and tore the blanket from my head. “That was such a rush.”

  I gaped at her grinning face. “Are you crazy?”

  “Probably.” For whatever reason, she seemed proud of this.

  We made a right onto the main street and got onto the freeway on-ramp. “We should go back and return the stuff. They saw us—and they probably have cameras.”

  Naomi shrugged. “I didn’t see any. Besides, it’s not like we robbed a bank. We stole some overpriced lingerie.”

  “We didn’t do anything.”

  She rolled down the window, sticking a cigarette between her lips. “You can’t tell me your friends back in San Francisco or Vegas or wherever never ripped anything off.”

  “We went to parties and clubs and stuff.”

  Her blue eyes lit up. “Ooh, you got a fake ID?”

  “No.”

  She sped up to eighty-five. “How’d you get in? Did you flirt with the bouncer?”

  “The speed limit is sixty.”

  “I had no idea. Tell me again.” Her smile faded, and she pressed harder on the gas.

  “The speed limit is—”

  “Do you take everything literally?”

  I glanced down at my shaking hands. They looked pale and small in my lap. “I don’t understand the point of saying something you don’t mean.”

  “I don’t understand the point of a lot of things.” She turned up the radio, and we rode the rest of the way home in silence.

  WE WAITED FOR GRANDMA to go to bed before we lined the floor with newspapers and cracked open the paint. Naomi rambled on about Scott, the time Kari got lice, and a bad acid trip she had as if she’d completely forgotten the incident at the mall. I got this gnawing pain in my gut every time I looked at the stolen lingerie on my floor.

  “You do realize this is a hideous color, right?” Naomi slapped the roller onto the wall, splattering paint across her cheeks. “Oops.”

  “It’s a happy color.”

  “Says the girl who almost always wears black. I like the smell of paint, though—makes my head all nice and fuzzy.”

  “Hey, Drea.” Mom headed down the stairs. She was wearing a fitted black dress and matching heels. “Oh, God.” Her eyes widened at the lime green paint. “Grandma is going to kill us both.”

  “I’ll paint it white again when we move out.”

  “Damn it, Drea. You should’ve asked me first.” She sighed. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow. I’m going on a second date with that dentist tonight.”

  “Ooh,” Naomi said. “Is he hot?”

  Mom grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Very.”

  I wondered if Mom wished I was boy crazy like Naomi. Maybe she’d talk to me more—like, tell me more about the guy in the first place.

  “Anyway, make sure you keep the windows open and don’t sleep in here overnight.”

  “I’m not a complete idiot.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sleeping at Naomi’s.”

  Mom gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun, sweetie. See you later, Naomi.”

  “Bye.” Naomi wiggled her fingers at Mom and slapped the wall with the roller again.

  “You’re not supposed to beat the wall with it.”

  She blew her purple bangs out of her face. “My arms are getting tired.”

  I shook my head and dipped my roller in the pan. The jittery tunes of Imogen Heap’s “Goodnight and Go” wafted in the background. The song put a grin on my face because it reminded me of Justin. I sang along.

  Naomi snorted out a laugh. “Okay, Drea, I think you’re a wonderful human being.” She sighed and met my gaze. “But you can’t sing.”

  I moved closer to her and sang louder.

  “Stop!” She covered her ears. “Get your mind off Justin already, will ya?” She smirked as if she’d read my mind.

  I focused back on the wall. “It’s not on him.”

  “It so is. You’re thinking about the many ways you can rip his clothes off and ravage him.”

  Giggles escaped my throat. “Nooo.”

  “You should invite him tonight.”

  “He’s got work.”

  “At midnight? I highly doubt it. But maybe it’s past his bedtime—he does seem like he’s every mother’s dream.” She laughed and slapped more paint on the wall. “I bet he helps little old ladies cross the street in his spare time.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “He just seems a little too nice, you know?”

  “I don’t think he’s fake, if that’s what you mean.” Usually people smiled too much or asked pointless questions in a high voice when they were being fake. Justin never did that.

  She grinned and flung paint at me. “You’re so hooked.”

  I loved moments like this with Naomi. They felt close and warm. If I could put this moment between us in a box, I’d hide it under the bed and take it out whenever I could. And I’d throw out the incident at the mall and Scott. I wished this was enough for her. I wished I was enough for her.

  We watched Ferris Bueller with achy arms and grumbling stomachs. Saturday night wasn’t the best night to have a pizza delivered quickly. Naomi’s blue floral couch smelled like cat pee, and Lizzie insisted on playing with my hair.

  Naomi was laughing at a scene where this guy Cameron didn’t want to leave his dad’s Ferrari at a parking garage in downtown Chicago. He listed all the bad things that could happen to it, which made perfect sense. But his friend Ferris didn’t think it was a big deal, even though they took the car without permission.

  “You remind me of Cameron,” Naomi said.

  “Why?” I detached Lizzie’s claws from my hair.

  “You freak out over little stuff.”

  “I wouldn’t call getting caught stealing little.” I was happy when she’d taken the clothing and stuffed it in her dresser. Out of my sight.

  “Uh, how about throwing the pipe at Roger because the bell rang?”

  “I didn’t throw it at him. And I told you—I needed air.”

  “Or how about freaking out over ice cream expiration dates? Plus, you’re pouty like Cameron is.”

  “I don’t mean to be.” Lizzie made smacking sounds next to my ear. “Why is your cat eating my hair?”

  Naomi hoisted the cat from her perch and kissed her head. “She likes you. Don’t you, Lizzie Wizzie?” Lizzie meowed in response, her dreamy green eyes blinking once.

  Keys rattled in the front door lock. Lizzie scrambled out of Naomi’s lap and squeezed her chubby body under the couch.

  “It’s just my dad. He went camping with some buddy of his.”

  The door swung open and a tall man wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans walked in. He had sandy hair and thin arms—almost scarecrowlike.

  I looked back at Naomi. She focused on the movie. Two parking attendants were stealing the red Ferrari.

  “How are you, Kari?” Her father was peering at me fro
m the dim entranceway.

  “It’s Drea, Dad. Our new neighbor. I told you she’d be coming over.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.” His voice was almost too soft to hear. “Naomi, I’m taking…” The roar of the car on TV drowned out his words.

  Naomi hit the mute button. “You can come in here, you know. I can’t hear you.”

  Her father cleared his throat and inched into the living room, giving us a tight smile. “I have to cover for Brenda this week, but I’ve got the first two weeks of October off. We’ll car hunt then, okay?”

  “Why not leave me a check and I’ll do it myself?”

  “You said you wanted me to help you.”

  “Yeah, but then Lisa might need to go on maternity leave. Or Vickie might get pneumonia. Or maybe you’ll decide to work those two weeks just because. I’ll need a car regardless.”

  He glanced at me before shaking his head. His eyes were a mess of shadows. “I’m not going to do this in front of your friend. We’ll talk later.”

  “Yep, it’s always later. What if you wake up and find there’s no tomorrow, Dad?”

  He ignored her and climbed the steps with slumped shoulders.

  “Sorry about that. He really pisses me off sometimes.” Naomi nibbled on her thumbnail.

  “Where does he work?”

  “He’s a flight attendant.”

  “That seems like a cool job.”

  “Sure, if you don’t mind never being home.” She shrugged. “I could scream in that man’s face for hours and he wouldn’t even flinch. He responds to my words, but he never actually hears me, you know?”

  “Maybe he doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “No, he just doesn’t care. Anyway, enough about him.” She smiled, but her eyes looked darker than normal. “If the pizza doesn’t get here in the next five minutes, I’m going to eat the delivery person too.”

  “I doubt that would taste very good.”

  She laughed and paused the movie. “It’s nine thirty. I bet Justin is off work by now.”

  “So?”

  “You should call him.”

  “No.”

  “Fine, give me your phone. I’ll call him.”

  “Use your phone.”

  “It’s upstairs charging. Come on, fork it over.” She made a grabbing motion.

  I opened my lunch box and fished my black cell out. “Don’t do anything embarrassing.”

  Naomi batted her eyelashes, taking the phone from me. “Never.” She pressed speed dial and put the call on speaker. I sank into the couch.

  It rang three times before he picked up. “Hello?”

  “Hey, baby.” Naomi made her voice higher. More breathy. More like mine.

  I tried to grab the phone from her. “Stop!”

  She pulled away and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door. “I’ve been thinking about you all night.”

  I pounded on the door. “That’s not me!”

  “Oh, yeah?” Justin’s voice echoed inside the bathroom. “You’ve been on my mind a lot too.” His voice sounded different. Lower. It made me stop knocking.

  “What are you wearing?” Naomi continued.

  “A pair of tube socks. What about you?”

  “Just some lacy nighty I found in a gutter somewhere.”

  I slid against the door, putting my face in my hands. This was a nightmare. He’d never talk to me again.

  “Wow,” he said. “That’s hot.”

  “You should come over and check it out.”

  “Sure—on one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “You take me off speakerphone and give Drea her phone back.”

  “You’re no fun,” Naomi said in her normal voice. “And that’s technically two conditions.” She opened the door.

  “Sorry, Drea’s yelling in the background kind of gave you away. Plus, you’re a shitty impersonator.”

  “Hey, I was the prank call queen in junior high. I could do anyone’s voice.”

  “It was her idea to call you,” I said. “I didn’t want to bother you again.”

  Naomi raised her eyebrows at me. “Again? Oh, my.”

  “Did you finish watching your movie?” Justin asked.

  “Not yet,” Naomi answered. “We’re getting antsy because our pizza hasn’t shown up yet. Seriously, you should come over. My boyfriend is taking us to a race tonight, and Drea needs a buddy.”

  “I’m not going,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re going. Can’t punk out on me now.”

  “A street race?” Justin asked.

  “Yeah,” Naomi said.

  “Where is it?” he asked.

  “Why—you wanna race?”

  “No, I just didn’t think it was possible to drive more than twenty-five miles an hour in this town.”

  Naomi rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know—people are, like, allergic to their gas pedals here.”

  Justin exhaled a laugh. “Anyway, can’t go. I’m babysitting my niece.”

  She scrunched up her nose. “Sounds riveting. You going to bake cookies for your grandma too?”

  “Probably.”

  The doorbell rang, and Naomi’s eyes widened. She tossed the phone at me. “Pizza’s here!”

  “Um, hi,” I said.

  “You want to take me off speakerphone now?”

  I pressed the speaker off button. “Sorry if we bothered you. It… it really wasn’t my idea to call.”

  “I know.”

  I pictured him with that half smile. “So—”

  “Hey, if you don’t want to go tonight, don’t go.”

  I watched Naomi take the pizza into the kitchen. “I don’t want to be stuck in a car with her boyfriend,” I whispered. “He’s a creep.”

  “Is he a bigger tool than Roger?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She needs better taste in guys.”

  “No kidding. Maybe you can ask her out.”

  He chuckled. “Does that mean I have your seal of approval?”

  “I like you. I mean—better than Scott.” I rolled my eyes. Why was this so hard?

  “Don’t worry. You had me at I like you.”

  Naomi poked her head out of the kitchen. “Say bye to Prince Charming. Pizza is getting cold.”

  “Sounds like you need to go again.”

  “Yeah.”

  Naomi ran a hand through her hair, tilting her head back. “Oh, Justin! Your voice is so sexy.”

  I covered the mouthpiece, heat creeping up my neck.

  “Is she on something again?” he asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Naomi continued to moan his name and roll her eyes up to the ceiling like she was having a seizure.

  “That girl’s a trip,” he said. A child’s voice rang out in the background. “I gotta go, but, hey, if you decide to go and her boyfriend gets weird, call me, okay? I’ll pick you guys up.”

  The nausea eased some. I really didn’t want to go, but I didn’t want to let Naomi down, either. “I will. Thank you.”

  “Anything for my new bandmates. Talk to you later.”

  “Bye.” I flipped the phone shut and glared at Naomi. “Do you really need me to go?”

  She swallowed a large bite of her pizza. “What else are you going to do tonight?”

  “I don’t know.” There was a curious part of me that wanted to be wild and crazy with Naomi. Live the life I’d overheard so many people talk about. The parties, the hookups, the “you just had to be there” moments, and even the hangovers. But so far I’d spent more time being uncomfortable. “Don’t you want to be alone with Scott?”

  “He’ll be busy prepping his car. I’ll make him take us home as soon as it’s over.” She stuck out her lower lip at me. “Please? It would mean a lot to me.”

  “Fine, I guess.”

  She did a corny dance and thrust a slice of pizza in my face. It smelled like cardboard. “Eat.”

  The pizza was cold and slightly chewy, but
Naomi’s smile made it taste better.

  Scott showed up just as Naomi stuck the last pin in her hair. She smelled like a fruity flower, and her lips were the color of red wine.

  “What’s up?” Scott said after she let him in. He reeked of cigarettes and aftershave. Naomi threw her arms around him, and he stared at me over her shoulder.

  I looked at the stained green carpet.

  “How’s it going, Drea?”

  “Fine,” I said. My lips were sticky with the brownish muck Naomi claimed looked good with my red hair.

  “I brought you a present,” he said in her ear.

  “I’ve got something for you too,” she whispered before glancing over her shoulder. “We’re gonna go upstairs for a couple minutes.”

  I nodded and sat on the couch. Their footsteps thudded up the stairs, and Naomi let out a squeal after they closed the door. More laughter followed. A few thumps. And then silence. It wasn’t too late for me to get up and go home. Especially if she was going to be girly with Scott all night.

  But I was still sitting on the couch when they came down a decade of minutes later. Like a good friend.

  “Sorry, we got a little detoured,” Naomi said. The hair she’d spent hours curling and pinning up was a limp mess around her shoulders, and her lipstick had been smeared to one side. I didn’t get it. Why spend two hours getting ready just so some guy can obliterate it all in five minutes?

  “Okay,” I said, looking down at my black sneakers.

  Naomi plopped next to me with a compact mirror. She wiped the remnants of lip color off with the back of her hand and redrew a line around her lips.

  Scott ruffled her hair. “We don’t have time for that.”

  “Hang on,” she said. Her hands shook as she applied the lipstick. I wondered if he made her nervous.

  Scott nudged her head forward so she missed her mouth by an inch.

  “Hey, jerk.” She looked over at me and grinned. Her eyes looked like black saucers.

  “Let’s go!” Scott headed for the front door and yanked it open.

  Naomi jumped up, smoothing out her rumpled denim skirt. “Okay, cranky bear.”

  Cranky bear didn’t even begin to cover Scott. I followed them out to the car, telling myself that it was good to be out on a Saturday instead of sitting at home online. Even so, I missed my computer, my pedals, and the berry candles I’d normally be burning.