Prom Night in Purgatory(22)

Maggie nodded, waiting for him to explain further. He shrugged, pride warring with principle.

“I’m sorry I kissed you.” He was so full of shit; that was the one thing he wasn’t sorry about. “I mean, I’m sorry I...acted the way I did, that day in the garage. I asked you to come, and then I was a jerk. I’m sorry.”

Maggie seemed surprised by his admission, and her face relaxed into a smile. It warmed him, seeing the pleasure his apology brought her.

“It’s okay. I understand,” she said softly. “But thank you.”

A loud bell clanged through the gymnasium like a runaway train and Maggie and Johnny both jumped. Maggie cursed under her breath and seemed to realize she had lingered too long.

“I have to go...” She stuttered, grabbing up a duffle bag and forcing her music box inside of it. “I’ll see you soon...okay?”

Johnny nodded, and watched Maggie run from the gymnasium on light feet, leaving him alone, standing in a place that echoed with a million yesterdays. He thought he glimpsed a flash of red at the outside entrance , but when he turned his head there was nothing there.





~7~

A Time to Break Down





Teenagers spilled out of the brightly colored doors, several of them congregating on parked cars and leaning out of open windows. A huge burger, fries, and a shake topped the establishment, which used to be called The Malt. It had been renovated and expanded over the years, and it was now called Shimmy and Shake, because in addition to providing ice cream and food, there was a big, loud, old-fashioned jukebox off to one side and a small dance floor to make good use of the tunes. Everyone just called it Shimmies, and it was the place to be if you were above the age of fourteen and below the age of twenty- five. Families usually didn’t come inside to eat; it was too loud. Instead, they pulled up to the drive thru and left the dining room to the younger generation.

Maggie had been there a couple times with Shad. He liked to go out on the dance floor and try to impress the ladies with his skills, which might have worked if he’d had any dancing skills. Shad had been on her case since she got out of the hospital to “hit Shimmies.” She had used every excuse in the book, but after school that Friday, he had wheedled and begged her to take him, and now she was here, tired, hungry, still a little freaked out from the ghostie episode in the gym yesterday, and definitely not in the mood for Shimmies. But it was Friday night, and she really had nothing better to do.

As soon as they had walked in, Shad was off to work the room. At the moment, he was entertaining some new friends with a wild tale, his mouth working overtime, his hands flying with descriptive enthusiasm. The kids around him were laughing and listening, and Maggie felt a measure of relief that Shad was enjoying his new-found fame. Maybe it was because the jerks who had locked him in that locker and then forgot he was there when the school was on fire had made him their new pet. It was amazing what a guilty conscience could do. Their attention had drawn the admiration of others, and in just a matter of weeks since the fire, Shad was living in a whole new social hemisphere.

The smell of french fries and meat sizzling on the grill had Maggie’s stomach grumbling loudly, and she was thankful for the music pounding throughout the room that disguised her famished state. It was still early -- barely six o’clock -- and the place wasn’t full, but it would be soon. Maggie sank gratefully into an empty booth on the edge of the dance floor. She hadn’t even picked up the menu when she saw Johnny’s car pull into the lot. It was the last place she thought she would see him.

Johnny climbed out of the Bel Air and shut the door slowly. His eyes were wide as he checked out the cars littering the space – everything from trucks with monster wheels to VW Bugs but all of it a novelty. The girls spilling out of a few of the vehicles were almost as mind boggling. For a minute, Maggie imagined how strange everything must seem to him. The fashions had definitely changed. Dara Manning and several of her equally blonde friends chose that moment to pull up in Dara’s red Mustang convertible. The took the only spot open in the whole lot, mainly because it was marked Handicapped. That didn’t stop Dara, and she and her friends checked their lipstick and fluffed their hair as Johnny checked them out. Maggie could hardly blame him – there was an awful lot of skin on display-- but she suddenly really wished she wasn’t there.

It took about two seconds for Dara to notice Johnny. Her brows shot up and she said something under her breath to Carly Nelson, sitting beside her in the passenger seat. Carly’s head swiveled around, and Johnny, as if realizing he had totally lost his cool ogling everyone around him, turned and walked to the door without a backward glance. Maggie felt silly sitting all alone in the red booth and wished she had thought to head to the bar when she’d seen Johnny. Of course, he spotted her as soon as he walked in. He didn’t wave or nod, and he took in the joint for several long seconds before he headed her way.

Maggie tried not to squirm but did anyway. Johnny slid into the booth across from her, assuming she was alone. Of course she wouldn’t have a date! She was in love with him, as he well knew. She sighed crossly and grabbed a menu for something to do. She would let him be the first to speak since he had joined her...without an invitation, she thought with a mental snarl.

The menu she held in front of her nose didn’t stop her from seeing Dara and her friends crowded around the jukebox. They were taking turns posing and tossing long looks over their shoulders at the cute new guy none of them knew. Dara caught Johnny’s eye and mouthed the word “Hi.” Then she tossed her hair as she turned back toward the jukebox display, leaning over more than she needed to. Johnny just shook his head and looked back at Maggie. Maggie just pushed her glasses higher on her nose.