I, Racki (Part XVI)

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I rang the doorbell. I was giving Jailey thirty seconds to answer it. When she came to the door she had a towel wrapped around her head, a sweatshirt that said “Scuba Divers Do It Deeper” and no makeup.

She opened the door and in about as surprised a voice as I’ve ever heard, exclaimed, “Racki!”

When I saw how much she was smiling I thought maybe she had had herself a stroke. I said, “Hey, Jailey, get fired much?”

Sunlight was beginning to fill up the sitting room from the west, and she took off her towel and bobbed her head to and fro, teasing and pulling at her long black hair.

She looked at me for a second, scrunched up her face at me, then said coyly, “Did you come over here to fool around for a little bit, Racki?”

“Been there, done that, honey. Plans have changed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Me going with someone else tonight instead of you.”

“Is this a joke?”

“I don’t joke,” I told her.

“I quit my job, I bought a dress.”

“Those were two among the other mistakes you made,” I said.

She was shivering with teary, hot rage. “On the day of the Prom, Racki. Who is it?”

I had a sit on one of their comfortable leather chairs. “I’m taking Petra Plascak.”

Stunned, she breathed, “No.”

Jailey could tell I meant business and so she didn’t jump into a bunch of cheap hysterics. Mr. Sius, the chemistry teacher, had hooked me up with Jailey as a lab partner last semester and before long I was banging her. You could say she was a Goth chick, the way she dressed. I just thought it would be nice to have a girlfriend for a while and under all that makeup Jailey looked alright. Mr. Sius got drunk a lot, and one night he fell down a well. That was it for him. But Jailey to me became one of those girls that you really don’t take so much to the hot parties and school functions that are the parade ground of teenagers in lust, as much as one of those break-the-glass girls you see when you need something done to you in the utility closet during fifth period and other than that not getting into your way a whole lot because you have important things you’ve got to do.

“Can I ask a favor, Jailey?”

“You want me to give back the boutonniere you bought me so you can give it to Petra.”

“How’d you know?”

“I’m psychic. I’ll be a laughingstock thanks to you.”

“Like you weren’t before?”

“Right. You can have the boutonniere. Petra Plascak.”

I waited for her to go get it. “Anything else?” she spat.

“Yeah. Can you still do my book report? I need it Monday and I didn’t read the book.”

“I’ll do it.” Sniffling she said, “Tell Petra I said ‘Hi.’”

“Well, I doubt I’ll do that.”

I could tell she was still ready to pop a rivet. But I know defeat when I see it. “That’s it then,” she told me. “I’ll see you around.”

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