Boring Girls(35)



“Asshole deserved it,” I said.

“Let’s all just calm down,” Edgar said. “Fern, you’re sure you’re okay?” After she nodded her reply, he turned to me. “Are you okay, Rachel?”

“I’m f*cking great,” I trilled.

“You gotta be careful,” Edgar warned. “There are some real psychos here. I’m glad me and Craig were there.”

I had to stop myself from laughing. Craig and Edgar hadn’t helped Fern. They had done nothing. Obviously I could take care of Fern and myself.

“You’re f*cking tough,” Fern said to me, and I beamed. Craig nodded, and I looked away from him. I couldn’t help it, though; I felt a surge of pride that even he had to admit I’d done good.





THIRTEEN


I was pissed that I’d broken off my heel and was now hobbling, but it was so worth it. I kept replaying what had happened as Fern, Yvonne, and I made our way through the crowd to the girls’ bathroom. I kept an eye on the crowd, brazenly making eye contact, daring any of them to approach us.

In the bathroom, Fern wet some paper towels and tried to wipe the blood out of her hair.

“I can’t believe it,” Yvonne said. “Rachel, you’re an animal. That’s so cool. You beat that guy up!”

“It was amazing,” Fern said. I soaked it all in, gazing into the mirror. My makeup was smudged, but so was everyone’s. My hair frizzed and stuck out, but still looked good. My hand was starting to ache dully, and my knuckles were red. They’d probably bruise.

“Bam! Fuck you!” Yvonne punched the air in front of her, imitating me. “Damn, I wish I was that tough. I’d probably have been too chickenshit to do anything.”

“I wonder if we should get out of here,” Fern said. “I wonder if that guy will try to find us later or something.”

“Fuck that!” I said. “I’m not letting him ruin our night. What’s he going to do? Obviously he’s a f*cking moron. I’d like to see him try anything with us.” I grinned.

“I guess,” Fern said, frowning. “You’re probably right.”

xXx

We watched the rest of Surgical Carnage’s set from the back of the club. My lopsided heels bothered me so much that I’d had enough. I slammed my foot against the floor over and over until the other heel broke off too. Still felt awkward, but at least now I was reasonably balanced again.

When the concert was done, a huge swell of people made their way back out the door. The five of us joined the crowd, shuffling forward slowly.

As we reached the door, someone said, “There! There she is.”

There was a burly security guy wearing an orange shirt by the exit door, and next to him stood the tall gangly * from the mosh pit. His face was covered with dried blood, and his eyes were wild with anger. He was flanked by a few of his friends, who looked somewhat amused and annoyed. The guy pointed at me. “That’s her.”

The security guy looked down at me in surprise. “Her?”

“Yeah! That little bitch broke my nose.”

The security guard chuckled, and even the guy’s friends cracked up. “Really?” the security guy said, grinning. “Sweetheart, did you beat this guy up?”

I smiled. “Nope. I have no idea what happened to him.”

The bouncer turned his smile on the guy. “The little lady says no, my friend. And I’m inclined to believe her.”

“Yeah right!” the guy said. “Why would I make this up?”

“Maybe because I wouldn’t make out with you,” I improvised, rolling my eyes at the bouncer.

The guy’s friends howled, and interested onlookers started laughing too. The bouncer waved his hand at me dismissively. “Go on home,” he said to me, and then turned to the guy. “Just ’cause you can’t get lucky doesn’t give you the right to try to get this girl in trouble.” The guy started arguing like an idiot, flailing a pointed finger towards me, and I rolled my eyes again and turned my back on them. The five of us filed out of the building.

“Rachel, you are f*cking amazing,” Fern said. She and Yvonne linked their arms with mine, and we made our way back to the car.

xXx

The ride home was quiet. Yvonne and Edgar fell asleep, and Craig drove silently. Fern and I were still awake, but we didn’t talk. We were all exhausted.

I sat staring out the window at the night. It was mostly farm pastures and forests, so there weren’t many lights, but I watched the dark shadows as we sped past them, trying to absorb everything that had happened at the concert.

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