Chapter Eight: Calm Down!
“What the hel—!” Constance groaned.
“I’ve definitely missed you, E-Bear” the girl cooed, pulling on his shirt.
“Get your grubby slut butt off my best friend” Constance said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.
“My ‘grubby slut butt’? My butt is way cuter than yours anyway” the girl glared at her.
“I beg to differ, little miss ‘I just met you but let’s make out’, I couldn’t care less about how cute you think your butt is” Constance said angrily.
“E-Bear, who’s butt do you think is cuter? Mine or hers?” she spat.
“Hers” Ethan answered, almost immediately.
“E-Bear!” the girl shouted, seemingly hurt.
“Get your butt off my best friend,” Constance grumbled. “Now.”
“You can’t make me” she hissed.
“Ethan—” Constance started.
“Don’t you even start whining, you little tramp” the girl spat.
“I’m the tramp? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re dressed like a stripper! And I have my whole body clothed!”
“I saw that tramp stamp, right there on your hip” she jabbed at Constance’s hip.
“Those are Ethan’s initials!” she shouted.
“What?!” the girl glared at her.
“During school today we wrote each other’s initials on our hips” Jean piped up.
“So your initials are on him?!” the girl glared at Constance.
“No,” she shook her head. “He wouldn’t let me” she pouted in Ethan’s direction.
“I wasn’t going to take off my shirt in school so you could write on me in sharpie” Ethan protested.
“Well, you can take it off now…” the girl slipped her hands under Ethan’s shirt.
“That is it!” Constance shouted. She gripped the girl by the arm and yanked her off Ethan. “You and your filthy man hands need to get out of here and away from him.” She shoved the girl all the way to the front of the second floor on the bus; which was at least 15 feet away.
“Constance, calm down” Ethan touched her arm gently.
“Why did you let her do that to you?” she half yelled at him.
“Constance, sit down, you’re making a scene”
“I don’t want to sit down” she grumbled angrily.
A light on the street suddenly lit fire and exploded next to the bus, then another and another. “Constance, please” Ethan half begged.
“Tell me why!” another light exploded.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you,” he whispered urgently. “Just, please, sit back down”
“No” the oil lamp in the front of the bus flared and started to burn brighter; looking as if it were about to detonate.
“Hey, hey, Annie, calm down or the bus will catch fire” Ethan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down into the seat next to him.
“Ethan…!” she hissed.
“Shush, shush, I’d like to live until we at least pass the ‘you’re now leaving California’ sign” Ethan mumbled.
“If you tell me to calm down one more time, Ethan James Stone, I will attempt to light you on fire” she growled.
“Please don’t,” Ethan whispered. “I don’t want to burn a perfectly good shirt”
“Tell me why you let that hoe rub her hands all over you” Constance said through her teeth.
“I met her when I was here last time, and she kinda had a thing for me” Ethan scratched the back of his head.
“What kind of thing?” she spat.
“We kissed a couple times…” he hesitated.
“How many is a couple?” she grumbled.
“Like three or four times a day?”
“Isn’t that fantastic” Constance’s arms crossed over her chest tighter and she stared at the lamp in the front of the bus, it flared up again, and her neck reddened the way it always did when she was pissed off.
“Are you just jealous ‘cause I don’t kiss you three or four times a day?” Ethan joked. Two more street lamps exploded and he automatically wished he hadn’t said anything. “Is now a bad time to tell you that you can write your initials anywhere on my body that you want?”
“I’ve definitely missed you, E-Bear” the girl cooed, pulling on his shirt.
“Get your grubby slut butt off my best friend” Constance said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.
“My ‘grubby slut butt’? My butt is way cuter than yours anyway” the girl glared at her.
“I beg to differ, little miss ‘I just met you but let’s make out’, I couldn’t care less about how cute you think your butt is” Constance said angrily.
“E-Bear, who’s butt do you think is cuter? Mine or hers?” she spat.
“Hers” Ethan answered, almost immediately.
“E-Bear!” the girl shouted, seemingly hurt.
“Get your butt off my best friend,” Constance grumbled. “Now.”
“You can’t make me” she hissed.
“Ethan—” Constance started.
“Don’t you even start whining, you little tramp” the girl spat.
“I’m the tramp? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re dressed like a stripper! And I have my whole body clothed!”
“I saw that tramp stamp, right there on your hip” she jabbed at Constance’s hip.
“Those are Ethan’s initials!” she shouted.
“What?!” the girl glared at her.
“During school today we wrote each other’s initials on our hips” Jean piped up.
“So your initials are on him?!” the girl glared at Constance.
“No,” she shook her head. “He wouldn’t let me” she pouted in Ethan’s direction.
“I wasn’t going to take off my shirt in school so you could write on me in sharpie” Ethan protested.
“Well, you can take it off now…” the girl slipped her hands under Ethan’s shirt.
“That is it!” Constance shouted. She gripped the girl by the arm and yanked her off Ethan. “You and your filthy man hands need to get out of here and away from him.” She shoved the girl all the way to the front of the second floor on the bus; which was at least 15 feet away.
“Constance, calm down” Ethan touched her arm gently.
“Why did you let her do that to you?” she half yelled at him.
“Constance, sit down, you’re making a scene”
“I don’t want to sit down” she grumbled angrily.
A light on the street suddenly lit fire and exploded next to the bus, then another and another. “Constance, please” Ethan half begged.
“Tell me why!” another light exploded.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you,” he whispered urgently. “Just, please, sit back down”
“No” the oil lamp in the front of the bus flared and started to burn brighter; looking as if it were about to detonate.
“Hey, hey, Annie, calm down or the bus will catch fire” Ethan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down into the seat next to him.
“Ethan…!” she hissed.
“Shush, shush, I’d like to live until we at least pass the ‘you’re now leaving California’ sign” Ethan mumbled.
“If you tell me to calm down one more time, Ethan James Stone, I will attempt to light you on fire” she growled.
“Please don’t,” Ethan whispered. “I don’t want to burn a perfectly good shirt”
“Tell me why you let that hoe rub her hands all over you” Constance said through her teeth.
“I met her when I was here last time, and she kinda had a thing for me” Ethan scratched the back of his head.
“What kind of thing?” she spat.
“We kissed a couple times…” he hesitated.
“How many is a couple?” she grumbled.
“Like three or four times a day?”
“Isn’t that fantastic” Constance’s arms crossed over her chest tighter and she stared at the lamp in the front of the bus, it flared up again, and her neck reddened the way it always did when she was pissed off.
“Are you just jealous ‘cause I don’t kiss you three or four times a day?” Ethan joked. Two more street lamps exploded and he automatically wished he hadn’t said anything. “Is now a bad time to tell you that you can write your initials anywhere on my body that you want?”
“Can I kick you in the pants and hope that maybe you won’t be able to have kids?” she growled.
“As great as that sounds, I’ll have to pass on that offer, but I still have that sharpie if you want to put your name on me” he attempted a smile.
“I don’t want to anymore! That girl had her hands all over you…it’s her property now” Constance laid her head on the other side of the chair so she was facing Jean; who had plugged in her headphones and ad her music so loud Constance could hear the hum of it from where she sat.
“Her property? Constance, we’ve been best friends since we shared crayons in kindergarten. If I’m anybody’s property, I’m yours and Jean’s” he stated.
“Yeah, right…” Constance reached over and grabbed Jean’s custom made nail polish remover liquid brush from her purse. She pulled up the corner of her shirt, and pulled her pants down to reveal where Ethan had written “E.J.S.” on her bikini line. She brushed over it, and it disappeared in seconds; she put the brush back in Jean’s bag.
“Now why did you do that?” Ethan asked.
“Because I can” she replied.
“So you wanna play that game?” Ethan asked. As he pulled up his shirt Constance turned back around, she hated when he did that; he tried to distract her with his chest so she wouldn’t be that mad at him. He pulled up his shirt and took the sharpie from his front pocket. He wrote “Property of” and then left space for someone to sign. “Sign it” he gave her the sharpie.
“Why the heck would I sign your flat chest?” Constance pushed at his hand, her face turned so she wasn’t looking at him.
“Flat? Last time I checked there were a couple bumps on it,” he took her hand and put it on his chest. “There’s one,” he ran over one of his abs. “Two…three…four...” he made her count his abs with her hand.
“I’m not signing it” she ripped her hand from his and turned to face the other students on the bus; none were paying attention to her at all. They were all on their phones or iPods or portable dvd players; some even had laptops.
“C’mon, you know you want to” he put the marker in front of her face.
“Just because I want to doesn’t mean I’m going to” she muttered furiously.
“I’ll kiss you three or four times a day if you do” he joked.
“I don’t want your stupid kisses, save ‘em for the slut” Constance growled.
“I’m not putting my shirt down till you sign it, so you can either sign it now, or be stuck looking at it the whole way to New Hampshire” he put the marker in her hand again.
“Fine!” she clenched her fist around the marker and turned to face him. He had his shirt up to his neck, exposing his tanned chest and stomach. In permanent black marker the words “Property of” stood out on his skin. She practically stabbed him in the stomach as she wrote her name on his stomach. “Happy now?” she threw the marker at him and turned back around.
“Constance, look at me, please?”
“Why? So you can just show me another one of your other ‘special friends’?” Constance ignored his attempts at catching her attention by poking her shoulder continuously.
“Annie, Annie, Annie” he murmured, pulling his arms around her waist and putting his head on her shoulder.
“Get the heck off me, Ethan” she pushed at him.
“I’m tired” he let her go and pushed himself against the bus window to look at her.
She turned to face him, “Then go to sleep” she muttered.
“I need a pillow” he said.
“Didn’t you bring one?” she looked around for his carry-on bag; but he didn’t seem to have one.
“Nope,” he picked her up and put her in his seat as he sat in hers. He put his knees on the armrest so his legs were out in the aisle and laid back. His head landed in Constance’s lap and he looked up at her. “Do you mind?” his brown eyes fixated on her green ones.
“I don’t mind” she shook her head.
“Come here” he bent his finger indicating for her to lean closer to her.
“Yes?” she bent over him.
“Good night” he quickly kissed her forhead; like her mother did when she was little.
“Good night” Constance smiled and pulled her fingers through his hair quickly.
“Hey, Jean?”
“Yes, Ethan?” Jean took her headphones out.
“Come kiss me good night” he closed his eyes.
Jean couldn’t get up fast enough, she was out of her seat in seconds with her lips pressed on his cheek. She brushed his hand back, and kissed his forehead too. “Night Ethan!” she whispered, then jumped back into her seat.
Constance continued to brush his hair with her fingers till sleep took her over, and she fell into unconsciousness.
“As great as that sounds, I’ll have to pass on that offer, but I still have that sharpie if you want to put your name on me” he attempted a smile.
“I don’t want to anymore! That girl had her hands all over you…it’s her property now” Constance laid her head on the other side of the chair so she was facing Jean; who had plugged in her headphones and ad her music so loud Constance could hear the hum of it from where she sat.
“Her property? Constance, we’ve been best friends since we shared crayons in kindergarten. If I’m anybody’s property, I’m yours and Jean’s” he stated.
“Yeah, right…” Constance reached over and grabbed Jean’s custom made nail polish remover liquid brush from her purse. She pulled up the corner of her shirt, and pulled her pants down to reveal where Ethan had written “E.J.S.” on her bikini line. She brushed over it, and it disappeared in seconds; she put the brush back in Jean’s bag.
“Now why did you do that?” Ethan asked.
“Because I can” she replied.
“So you wanna play that game?” Ethan asked. As he pulled up his shirt Constance turned back around, she hated when he did that; he tried to distract her with his chest so she wouldn’t be that mad at him. He pulled up his shirt and took the sharpie from his front pocket. He wrote “Property of” and then left space for someone to sign. “Sign it” he gave her the sharpie.
“Why the heck would I sign your flat chest?” Constance pushed at his hand, her face turned so she wasn’t looking at him.
“Flat? Last time I checked there were a couple bumps on it,” he took her hand and put it on his chest. “There’s one,” he ran over one of his abs. “Two…three…four...” he made her count his abs with her hand.
“I’m not signing it” she ripped her hand from his and turned to face the other students on the bus; none were paying attention to her at all. They were all on their phones or iPods or portable dvd players; some even had laptops.
“C’mon, you know you want to” he put the marker in front of her face.
“Just because I want to doesn’t mean I’m going to” she muttered furiously.
“I’ll kiss you three or four times a day if you do” he joked.
“I don’t want your stupid kisses, save ‘em for the slut” Constance growled.
“I’m not putting my shirt down till you sign it, so you can either sign it now, or be stuck looking at it the whole way to New Hampshire” he put the marker in her hand again.
“Fine!” she clenched her fist around the marker and turned to face him. He had his shirt up to his neck, exposing his tanned chest and stomach. In permanent black marker the words “Property of” stood out on his skin. She practically stabbed him in the stomach as she wrote her name on his stomach. “Happy now?” she threw the marker at him and turned back around.
“Constance, look at me, please?”
“Why? So you can just show me another one of your other ‘special friends’?” Constance ignored his attempts at catching her attention by poking her shoulder continuously.
“Annie, Annie, Annie” he murmured, pulling his arms around her waist and putting his head on her shoulder.
“Get the heck off me, Ethan” she pushed at him.
“I’m tired” he let her go and pushed himself against the bus window to look at her.
She turned to face him, “Then go to sleep” she muttered.
“I need a pillow” he said.
“Didn’t you bring one?” she looked around for his carry-on bag; but he didn’t seem to have one.
“Nope,” he picked her up and put her in his seat as he sat in hers. He put his knees on the armrest so his legs were out in the aisle and laid back. His head landed in Constance’s lap and he looked up at her. “Do you mind?” his brown eyes fixated on her green ones.
“I don’t mind” she shook her head.
“Come here” he bent his finger indicating for her to lean closer to her.
“Yes?” she bent over him.
“Good night” he quickly kissed her forhead; like her mother did when she was little.
“Good night” Constance smiled and pulled her fingers through his hair quickly.
“Hey, Jean?”
“Yes, Ethan?” Jean took her headphones out.
“Come kiss me good night” he closed his eyes.
Jean couldn’t get up fast enough, she was out of her seat in seconds with her lips pressed on his cheek. She brushed his hand back, and kissed his forehead too. “Night Ethan!” she whispered, then jumped back into her seat.
Constance continued to brush his hair with her fingers till sleep took her over, and she fell into unconsciousness.
