“Got my new kicks dirty already,” Devin said.
“Should we knock?” Carter asked.
Devin looked up from his shoes. His nose was long, his cheekbones high, his brown skin had a tinge of red.
“I don’t know,” Devin replied.
A girl from the group sauntered over, her hips rocking back and forth, her cowboy boots clomping on the wooden porch. She held a bottle of Corona with a lime wedge inside. The girl wore short jean shorts and a tank top. She smiled at the boys through perfect teeth.
“Carter and Devin,” she said.
They widened their eyes. “How’d you know that?” Devin asked.
“You’re the two transfers everyone’s been talkin’ about. I saw you guys at the scrimmage. You came to the right place.” She smiled and bit the corner of her lower lip.
“For the party or the school?” Carter asked.
She giggled. “Both. I’m Amber by the way.”
Amber had big, round, green eyes, and a thin nose.
Carter stood, staring. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Devin looked at the pair with his head cocked.
“Why don’t you two walk around, enjoy the party,” she said. She opened the front door and stepped aside. Voices and music flooded the air.
Devin stepped inside. As Carter moved to follow, Amber grabbed his hand. He stopped and turned.
She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “Why don’t you come find me later?” she said.
Partygoers were scattered everywhere. The house had a rustic feel. Exposed wooden beams crisscrossed the ceiling, and a generous stone fireplace was set into the wall. Deer heads were scattered haphazardly across the walls. To their right, guys were crowded on a couch watching college football. Voices and music drowned out the commentary. Beyond the television was a staircase going up. Girls stood together, red plastic cups in hand, laughing and telling secrets. To the left a group of girls and guys bounced quarters into shot glasses on the dining room table. Carter followed Devin straight ahead, down a short hallway to the kitchen. Zach, Justin, and Noah sat around a square kitchen table, casually drinking, a half-dozen girls around them. In front of the kitchen counter, three kegs were submerged in trash cans filled with ice. Dwayne and Luke pumped piss-colored liquid into red cups held out by underage girls like it was communion wine.
“It’s the army boys,” Zach said, raising his cup. His crew cut was gelled, his button-down pressed.
Carter and Devin turned toward the table.
Noah glowered at Carter. “Hey, douchebag, you’re not keepin’ my position.”
A strawberry blonde sitting next to Noah giggled, baring a mouth full of metal.
Carter smiled. “It’s a lot easier to keep it than to get it.”
Justin stood up, stretching his six-foot-two frame. His fresh crewcut was turned into a tight Mohawk. “It’s a party, boys. Tonight ain’t about football. It’s about fuckin’ and gettin’ fucked up.”
A handful of guys raised their cups. “Yeah, buddy!”
Justin stepped between Carter and Devin and put his arms around them. He walked them to the kegs.
“Hey, Dwayne, you know these two boys,” Justin said with a crooked grin.
Dwayne looked at Carter with a scowl. Large diamond studs punctured both his earlobes.
“What’s wrong, Dwayne? You want your red jersey?” Justin laughed.
Dwayne handed his drink to the girl next to him. “I’m gonna fuck you up.”
Justin had a shit-eating grin.
Luke jumped between them, wrapping Dwayne up in a bear hug. “Relax, he’s just fucking with you,” he said.
Dwayne backed off, moving back to the keg. He glared at Justin.
“Quit being a dick,” Luke said to Justin.
“I’m just tryin’ to be a mediator here,” Justin said, trying to contain his smile. “Gettin’ defensive backs and receivers to call a truce. Maybe y’all can kiss and make up.”
“Fuck you,” Dwayne said.
“Well at least get my boys here some beer.”
Dwayne motioned to Devin and handed him a beer in a red cup. Luke handed Carter a beer. Dwayne started to give Devin a crash course in how best to secure female companionship.
Carter opened the sliding glass door and walked onto the deck. It was packed with groups of guys and girls talking and drinking. Everyone had an orange tinge from the last bit of sun as it dropped below the horizon. A handful of girls smoked. He guzzled his beer. A tall girl in heavy makeup and a tight shirt took a drag from her cigarette. She dropped her hand to her side, burning Carter’s forearm. He yanked his arm back.
“Hey, watch it,” he said with a scowl. “You burned my arm.”
“Then move out the way,” she said, matching his scowl and placing her cigarette back to her lips.
In the blink of an eye, he snatched the cigarette from her hand and tossed it over the edge of the railing. She stood dumbfounded. He turned away from her and walked down the deck steps to the back yard. A mixed group of kids sat around a fire pit, mesmerized by the flames. Most of the boys were backup defensive backs, Ben included. The girls looked young, probably tenth grade.
“What’s up, guys,” Carter said as he approached.
“Hey, Carter,” one of the guys said, a skinny kid with patchwork facial hair. “What are you doing slumming it out here?”
Ben stared into the fire, his back to Carter.
“Didn’t y’all hear?” the skinny kid continued. “Carter’s the new starting free safety.”
“Good for you,” another kid said, raising his red cup.
Carter gulped the rest of his beer. The girls, previously uninterested, eyed Carter with curiosity. The boys made no attempt to continue the conversation or to make room for him around the fire, so he walked past toward the barn. A single lightbulb shined above the barn door. The wooden building was dilapidated, its red paint peeling. A metal trash can stood to the right of the open door. He dumped the plastic cup in the can. He glanced inside the door. It was empty except for an old motorboat on a trailer. It was a cruiser, but the engines were long gone. The upper deck was open air. Portholes along the hull signified lower deck sleeping quarters.
He hiked past the barn, stopping at the top of a bluff. Down the hill was a pond about half the size of a football field. Bulrushes and cattails sprang up from the water edge. The middle was still and blue. He moved down to the edge and stood listening to the frogs, his hands in his pockets.
“There you are,” a female voice said.
Carter turned around. Amber stood with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.
“Hey,” Carter said.
She strutted down to the water, bumping him with her hip. “I thought you were gonna come find me?” She pulled the hair tie from her ponytail and shook her head, letting her dirty blonde hair settle on her shoulders.
He blushed. “I was just looking around.”
“Are you shy?” she asked, interlacing her hand in his.
He looked at the water.
She slid in front of him, her chest brushing against him, her hand still intertwined in his. “Do you like me?” she asked.
“Well, we’ve known each other for thirty minutes.”
She frowned. “I didn’t say love. You should know if you like someone right when you see them.”
“Are you asking if I’m attracted to you?”
She nodded, her bottom lip pushed out. “Don’t I look pretty?”
“You look beautiful, there’s no doubt about that.”
“Awwww, aren’t you just the sweetest?”
She stepped closer, pressed against him, and slid her hands around his lower back, just below ol’ pineapple face. He pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth parted, her tongue stirring against his. After a moment they separated.
“I like you,” she said. “I’m sure now. A kiss can tell a girl everything she needs to know about a guy.”
Carter narrowed his eyes. “All that from a kiss?”
She giggled. “So … if you happen to find yourself in the basement later, I want you to come down here to the barn. Nobody will be here. It’ll be easier.”
Carter raised his eyebrows. “Easier for what?”
“You’ll see.”
“I’m actually thinking about getting outta here.”
She frowned. “You just got here. The party just started. It’s gonna get good, you’ll see.”
“All right.”
“You hungry? I saw some pizza somewhere.”
“Yeah, I could eat.”
They strolled arm in arm up the hill, past the barn, to the fire pit. Only the girls remained from the group. Carter glanced up at the deck, and again – only girls. They stared at Carter.
“What’s going on?” Carter asked Amber. “Where is everyone?”
The corners of Amber’s mouth quivered. “Not sure. Let’s go inside and see what’s goin’ on.”
They wandered through the crowd of girls on the deck, opened the sliding glass door and entered the kitchen. A couple of girls squirted wine from a box into their cups. The same girls from earlier still sat at the kitchen table. Zach and Justin stood in the hallway across from a closed door. They leaned against the wall, their arms crossed. Amber looked up at them and motioned with her eyes. Justin moved first, stepping in front of Amber and Carter to open the door. Zach wrapped up Carter in a bear hug, using his mass to push him toward the open door. Carter saw the stairs leading down. He thrashed, pushing back, not giving ground.
“Relax,” Amber said. “It’s okay.”
“Just go down there, damn,” Justin said. “It’s for your own good.”
Carter continued to struggle. Zach had control of Carter’s upper body. Justin grabbed Carter’s legs and they carried him downstairs. Amber closed the door. Zach and Justin carried him through a crowd of his teammates to the middle of the room.
“I knew he’d be a dick,” Zach said as they dropped him.
Carter looked around. The light was low, the ceiling was low, the wooden joists visible. It was musty but cool. The floor was gravel. Sixty or seventy football players crowded around the edge of the room. A dozen or so of Carter’s teammates stood with him in the middle, stuck in a similar position. Ben and Devin were included in this group. He stood up and dusted off his jeans.
“What the fuck is this?” Carter said.
“Initiation, bitch,” Noah said. He stood with his arms crossed, his biceps bulging. A cardboard box filled with cucumbers sat at his feet.
Carter glanced around for an exit. “I don’t give a fuck about your initiation. Let me out.”
“It ain’t my initiation, it’s yours,” Noah replied.
Carter walked toward the stairs. Zach and Justin stood at the bottom of the steps, almost five hundred pounds of muscle blocking the way.
Zach shook his head. “No way you’re getting out of this.”
Carter turned around and saw another set of stairs on the opposite wall. He marched across the room. Eight guys blocked the exit, Dwayne and Luke in front.
“Relax man,” Luke said. “It’s not that bad. It’s actually pretty fucking awesome. So quit being a dick.”
Carter took a deep breath and shook his head. “This is fucked.” He walked back to the middle of the room. He stood alongside Devin.
“Chill,” Devin said. “Team player, remember.”
“All right,” Zach said, stomping to the middle of the room with his captives. “Now that everyone’s here and accounted for we can begin.” Zach glowered at the players standing in the middle of the room. His beefy arms were sunburnt, his cheeks red. “Everyone who plays varsity football for the North Potomac Marauders has to pass the initiation test. A lot of you guys fresh off the J.V. squad already passed at the party during spring camp, but we still have a few bitches left.”
Carter crossed his arms, eyeing Zach.
“There are only two rules for initiation.” He turned, his arms aloft like an actor addressing an audience. “Rule number one: no two initiations can ever be the same. Rule number two: the seniors decide what the little bitches have to do.” Zach looked at the uninitiated players with a smirk. “We thought this time we’d be nice and give you a choice of three different tests. Don’t y’all bitches think that’s nice of us?” Most of the hostages stared at the gravel floor. “I asked y’all a fucking question!”
A few guys nodded their heads. A few spoke the affirmative.
“So here’s the deal. Option number one is, in my opinion, the easiest. This is what I would do if I were in your shoes.” Justin and Noah suppressed grins. “Option one is quick and painless. All you have to do is get on your knees, and let Justin smack you in the face with his dick.” Zach chuckled.
Eyes widened among the captives.
“Don’t worry,” Justin said. “I’ll be gentle.”
“Come on y’all—that’s not so bad,” Zach said. “It won’t hurt and it’ll be over in a split second.”
Carter stood expressionless.
Zach continued. “Now option number two is called the jubie. Noah over there has a box of cucumbers.” Noah picked up a penis-sized cucumber and held it in front of his crotch. Justin and several others laughed. “All you have to do is hold the cucumber in your ass-crack for ten seconds.” Zach looked at the assembled neophytes. “I’ll give y’all a hint on getting that cucumber to hold. If you want it to stay in place, you gotta stick up in there just a little bit.”
“Just the tip,” Justin blurted out.
Everyone in the room laughed except for the thirteen kids in the middle.
“Now option three,” Zach said, “is by far the most difficult and most embarrassing of the three tests. If you choose this, you’re fucking insane. For option three, you have to strip down and leave all your clothes, wallet, and keys down here, where we will keep them until you’ve completed the test. You will exit the basement up those steps over by Luke and Dwayne.” Zach pointed across the room to the star quarterback and receiver. They stepped aside revealing concrete steps. “Now once you get outside, you have one goal: find a girl to fuck.” Zach laughed. “She’s gonna know you’re ready to fuck because, well, you’ll be butt ass naked.” A spattering of laughter ensued. “And because we’re all about safety here, Luke will give you each a condom.”
Luke stepped forward and held up a box of condoms as if they were a game show prize.
Zach continued. “Once you get some pussy, you can get your clothes back. This last one is fucking hard. You’re gonna be outside naked in front of two hundred girls trying to get laid. If you can’t do it, you’ll just have to sleep outside with your dick blowing in the wind. So what’s it gonna be, faggots?”
The captives glanced at each other, waiting for someone to choose.
Zach exhaled and tapped an imaginary watch on his wrist. “Let’s go, I don’t have all night.” He glared at Ben. “What about you, little Wheeler? You got the stones to be the first one to make a choice?”
Ben stared at the gravel. “I’ll do the first one,” he said.
“What was that?” Zach asked. “Speak up.”
“The first one.”
Much of the room laughed. Zach’s eyes widened. He glanced at Justin and Noah. Justin shrugged.
“What about you, Carter?” Zach said. “You’re such a tough guy. Think you can hold a cucumber in your ass?”
Carter took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. “Y’all are gonna fucking pay for this shit. Every last one of you.”
“Is that your choice?” Zach said with a crooked smirk. “You want the jubie?”
Carter shook his head. “Let me out of here. If I have to leave my clothes … fine.”
Carter marched to the Bilco doors, where Luke and Dwayne stood. He took off his T-shirt, slipped off his running shoes, and pulled down his jeans. The eleven undecided players followed him. They stripped down to their boxers and socks. Ben stood alone, fully clothed in the middle of the room.
&
nbsp; “Can I change my choice?” Ben asked. “I’ll go out naked.”
Zach shook his head. “On Friday night, can you change a decision, or do you just have to deal with the results? What do you guys think, should we let little Wheeler change his decision?”
“Dick-slap the little faggot,” someone from the audience said to laughter and applause.
Carter looked across the room at Ben. His head was down, his shoulders slumped. He glanced at Devin.
Devin shook his head and mouthed, this is fucked up.
“Sorry little buddy,” Zach said. “Now get on your knees and take your medicine.”
Ben bent down in his jean shorts, his knees digging into the gravel, tiny shards creating indents in his skin. His eyes were closed. Justin sauntered in front of him. He pulled his zipper down. Ben’s chin began to tremble. Noah handed him a cucumber. Justin put it up to his crotch, turned his hips and smacked the vegetable across Ben’s face. The room erupted in laughter. Ben opened his eyes. The cucumber still dangled in front of his face. Ben staggered to his feet, little bits of gravel sticking to his knees.
Zach scowled at Ben. “Go on back upstairs, you’re done.”
Ben trudged up the basement steps. His teammates stepped aside like he was infected with some horrible disease.
As the door shut someone shouted, “Cocksucker!” The room erupted in laughter once again.
Zach moved toward the dozen guys that stood by the concrete steps in their underwear. The crowd closed in.
“Let us out,” Carter said.
Zach laughed. “Not like that.” He shook his enormous head. “That’s not naked. Y’all better get them drawers off.”
Carter took a deep breath. The guys looked at each other with wide eyes and downturned mouths.
“I’ll tell you what,” Zach said. “Y’all can wear your socks and shoes, but the drawers stay here.”
Carter bit the inside of his cheek. He pulled his boxer shorts down, stepped out of them, and slipped on his running shoes. The others followed suit.
“Don’t forget your condoms,” Zach said. “I wouldn’t be raw dogging with some of those hoes out there.”
Carter glared at Luke and Dwayne. “Move out of my fucking way.”
They stepped aside. Carter snatched the condom from Luke and climbed the concrete steps. He pushed the Bilco doors open. A crowd of girls were massed outside. Camera flashes blinded him. Shouting, laughter, and catcalls pierced the humid air. He blinked, trying to focus through the bright lights. He saw cameras and smiles, girls holding up trench coats and blankets.
Initiation Page 6
