"You scared the shit out of us!" Tracy yelled at me. "You little asshole! What the hell are you doing home now anyway?"
Cindy's boyfriend was giving me a hostile look, a look that made me wonder if another Richie type encounter was brewing.
"The same thing you are. " I told her mildly, kicking the door shut. "Cutting school and smoking weed. " I looked around the room, shaking my head sadly. "However, I'm a little smarter about the way I do it than you idiots are. "
They all gaped at me. It was an expression that I was starting to get used to. I was starting to think of it as THE LOOK.
I stared at Tracy. "What if I'd been Mom coming home from work a little early because she didn't feel good or something? That kind of shit can happen you know. Do you think Mom would call the house to let someone know she's coming home? Why would she do that? Nobody's supposed to be here. You got the music turned up so fuckin' loud you didn't even hear me open the door. The damn door wasn't even locked. You guys are a freakin' bust waiting to happen!"
Cindy and Tracy just stared at me in shock. Like I said, I had always been shy before and to them my personality would have appeared to have changed radically overnight. The old Billy would, upon interrupting their session, have simply blushed and muttered a brief apology before slinking out of the room. They did not know what to say or what to think about what I'd said. But the football player reacted as his personality instinctively commanded him to.
"What the fuck is it to you?" He asked me, glaring.
"Shut your ass ball boy. " I shot back at him. "You're in MY house and I wasn't talking to you. "
His face reddened with rage. He stood up suddenly. "What did you say to me you little pussy?"
"Jeff, leave him alone. " Cindy spoke, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back down.
He shook her arm off angrily, "Say that again to me faggot. " He challenged. "I fuckin' dare you. "
"You fuckin' dare me?" I answered mildly. "Okay. " I nodded. "I told you to shut your ass. I then made a derisive remark aimed at your meager football skills. Did you hear me that time?"
"You're dead kid. " He said, starting to move towards me.
"Jeff!" Tracy spoke now. "Leave him alone!"
Jeff continued to head towards me. He was actually planning to beat me up in my own living room in front of my sister who had invited him in there. Christ why was everyone so violent? No wonder the human race fought so many wars. "Richie Fairview told me I was dead too. " I told him. "Right before the ambulance picked him up and took him to the hospital. Would you like to join him there asshole?"
He stopped. Apparently he'd heard that story. His eyes showed immediate doubt as he stared at me. I stared back.
"Go sit your ass down. " I told him. "Before you get hurt. "
He licked his lips nervously, sparing a glance at the two girls.
"I think you'd better do what he says Jeff. " Tracy told him. She was hiding a smirk as she said it. I suddenly realized that Tracy didn't like Cindy's boyfriend too much. Interesting. Was there hope for her yet?
"You're lucky they stopped me. " Jeff finally blurted. A pretty pathetic face-saving measure I'm sure even he would agree. He returned to the couch and sat down.
"Yeah, I guess I'm lucky. " I agreed, turning to Tracy. "If I was you I'd open up some windows in this house before Mom and Dad get home. The whole place reeks of pot. Do you guys do this sort of thing a lot?"
"No. " Tracy told me, obviously lying.
"Well it's amazing you haven't been busted yet. " I told her, casting my eyes on Cindy, who was looking at me as if in awe. She was wearing tight jeans and a loose fitting sweater. I'd forgotten how pretty her eyes were. They were a deep blue, the kind of eyes you could melt in. Currently of course, they were very reddened and only about half-staff and her honey-blonde hair was in disarray from Jeff's fingers. Her neck was marred by a red hickey; Jeff's territorial mark. I supposed it was better than peeing on her like a dog with a fire hydrant. I wondered about the possibilities of Cindy. Could I do it? It would be more challenging than Debbie had been.
I gave her a seductive smile and she blushed deeply. Jeff saw it and fumed at me but didn't make a move. Finally, without another word, I headed upstairs to my room, closing the door behind me.
My room was a filthy mess. I was offended by it. During my adult years I'd lost my teenaged sloppiness and had become something of a neat freak. Though I was still feeling the effects of the marijuana I'd smoked earlier and desperately wanted to lie down and take a nap, I began picking up the room.
It took me nearly two hours to get it clean, but it was a fascinating two hours none-the-less. I came across many objects and possessions that I had not seen in years. I found places for them and by the time I finished it was quite a startling change. But there was one thing missing.
While I'd been cleaning I'd heard the sound of my father coming home. I sincerely hoped for Tracy's sake that she'd cleaned the house well enough. I guessed that she had since she and Cindy were in her room, looking through some magazines as I passed by. Jeff of course, was long gone. Both girls watched me as I went by, shutting up with whatever they'd been talking about. I smiled, especially at Cindy, who returned it weakly.
Dad was sitting in his chair and drinking a bottle of beer. The television was on, showing an early edition of the local news. Again I found myself staring at him, marveling on how young he looked, how thin. He wasn't much older than I was in a way. He caught me staring at him and looked at me.
"You okay Bill?" He asked, concern in his voice.
"Oh sure Dad. " I nodded. "I'm cool. I was just tryin' to picture you with gray hair. "
"What?" He chuckled. "Why would you do that?"
"Well, Grampa has gray hair doesn't he? It stands to reason that you will too doesn't it? I was just trying to picture what you would look like. "
"That's kind of depressing. " He smiled, sipping out of his beer. "What brought you to that subject?"
"Oh, uh, we were studying genetics in Anatomy the other day. That's a dominate trait you know?"
"I've heard that. " He answered. "What're you up to?"
"Just getting the vacuum cleaner. "
Now he really looked at me strange. "The what?"
"The vacuum cleaner. " I said. "I just got done cleaning my room and now I need to vacuum it. "
"You cleaned your room?" He asked in disbelief. "You?"
"Yeah. " I nodded. "It was pretty dirty. Why did you guys ever let me get away with being so messy anyway?"
"What?"
"Never mind. " I said, moving towards the living room closet. I opened it and the vacuum was there. "I'll bring it back in a minute. "
While I carried the appliance upstairs his puzzled look followed me up.
After I stowed the vacuum back in its closet I went back upstairs to lie down. Though I was exhausted I could not sleep. For one I was afraid. What if I went to sleep and woke up back in my other life? Was that possible? I surely didn't know. What I was dealing with here was way beyond my limited range of knowledge. My very existence back in 1982 was something I'd thought impossible but here I was. Somehow that dying Chinese man had done this to me. How I knew not. Were there any rules? I could conceive of being only allowed one day. It seemed possible that I was only allowed one waking period back here. I was not ready to return yet.
But there was also the possibility that I was stuck here for good. I had to consider that too. In fact I considered that the most likely scenario. There were many ramifications to that possibility and I needed to think them through carefully. How much did I dare to change? How much could I change?
What would happen if someone found out about what had happened to me? There were people in the world that would do almost anything to get their hands on me if my situation became known. Governments wanting to know about the next seventeen years, business people wanting to know about stock trends. I could envision my family being held hostage to get me to do their bidding.