Page 101 of Anthem of Love and Loathing

For now, I’ll play along

Cause we both know your breath is my favorite song

My favorite song

(add heavy sexualized breathing)

35

Riot

Itear out the leaf of paper from my book, scrunch it up and toss it at the trash. It misses and ends up with the others scattered around the base of the can.

A giggle erupts behind the pulled curtain on Golden’s bunk.

Kelsey’s still not talking to me. It’s been days and she hasn’t said one fucking word to me since our heated exchange about the money she stole and why that means I need to not only pretend I can stomach being anywhere near Sonatina Savant, but that I have affection for her.

But she’s been as friendly as ever with Golden, Bronx, and Kodiak.

While she and I skirt around each other in bunk alley, she spent the late hours after the Tacoma concert watching infomercials with Kodiak in his bunk. Yesterday she spent cuddled on the bench seat with Bronx playing video games, and then slept in his bed. And this afternoon... I managed to catch a glimpse of her and Golden in matching goopy face masks as they emerged from the bathroom prior to holing up in his bunk.

The only place she should be is next to me. I have half a mind to drag her out of his bunk and keep her captive on my lap while I work.

“Another song?” Bronx puts down the game controller and stretches his arms above his head

“More like a whiny, pining ode to cherries.” I get up and collect the scraps of paper and dispose of them properly.

“Oowee, Chula Chula?” Bronx smirks.

Kodiak scratches at his messy hair as he looks up from his bass. He’s been focused on fiddling with the strings and practicing a new riff to perfection. His brow pulls together. “What?”

“Crazy night.” Bronx gets a faraway look on his face. “Will go down as one of the best nights ever.”

Kodiak shakes his head. “Are you all not talking English?”

“No, not strictly,” Bronx says.

“What happened on this best night ever?” He taps a beat on the side of his bass.

Bronx and I share a glance.

“Some nights can’t be explained.” I sit back down.

Kodiak looks to Bronx for clarification.

Bronx shrugs. “Sorry, bro. You had to be there.”

Kodiak shakes his head. He goes back to playing the riff. “Whatever.”

Bronx abandons his game to sit opposite me. “You want to talk about it?”

“Oowee, Chula Chula?” I raise a brow, pretending I don’t understand the deeper meaning behind why he used that reference.

He rolls his eyes. “What did we miss between you and our girl? One minute we were group bonding in the best possible way, the next you two haven’t talked to each other in days. What happened? You were a jackass, weren’t you?”

“No.” Maybe. I could probably have handled things better. If she’d give me anything to work with. I haven’t found the key to understanding her journal, even though I went back and started rereading it from the start. It’s like she knew I would get my hands on it and read the damn thing eventually. “Everything is fine.”

“Bullshit,” he says. “We’re on a bus. It’s not like we can miss the way you two are around each other.”