“I guess. She never told me her last name.”
“Sh-she’s the only Jade in the school. How did you… I mean… How?”
Zak smiled, lightly slapped Kip on the back of the head. “You haven’t changed much since we were kids, have you, Kip? Like… at all.”
Kip’s face burned red and he could feel his acne start to frenzy like cooking pig flesh. “Yes I have.”
“How?” They were out the door now, walking toward Zak’s car. It was old-looking, covered in rusty blotches that reminded Kip of his own skin.
“Lots of things. I turned the attic into my room. It’s pretty cool, you should come see.”
“That’s not what I mean, Kip. I’m just gonna come out and ask. You ever had any pussy?” Zak was in the driver’s seat now, twisting his fists over the steering wheel and smiling up at Kip as he entered the car. “Ever kissed a girl at least?”
Kip lost his footing and slammed his chest into the passenger seat, his backpack swinging up and slapping him in the back of the head. He cleared his throat, couldn’t look his cousin in the eye anymore.
“I think that answers my question, cousin. It’s cool, man. Can I ask why not?”
The car was parked against the curb, and they took off toward school.
“I don’t know. I can’t talk to girls. I mean… look at me. You know what they call me?”
Zak pursed his lips, widened his nostrils. Kip could tell he already knew. It was probably Jade who told him. But Zak shook his head.
“They call me Toad. Because of my pimples, they say I look like a toad covered in warts. How am I supposed to get a girlfriend with a nickname like that?” Kip felt like crying, but concentrated hard not to.
“You know they got pills for that now, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been taking them for like a month. It’s like my acne is from another planet or something. It can’t be killed! Super-human pimples. It’s weird.”
Zak reached over and patted Kip on the knee. “We’re teenagers, cousin. Lots of teenagers have acne, it’s no big deal. You can still get a girl if you have pimples. Even if your nickname is Toad. I promise you.”
“Yeah? How?”
“Confidence. You have to show them that none of that shit bothers you. That even though you have zits or whatever, even though they call you Toad… you don’t care. You have to show them that you are the man and you know it. Girls eat that shit up.”
Kip sighed. “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say. I can’t do that. No way.”
Zak stared at the side of Kip’s head for a minute, but didn’t say anything. Kip couldn’t look at him, was too embarrassed. He checked his reflection in the side mirror, wished he could just grab hold of his face and rip it off like a mask. Then maybe a new one would grow. One that looked more like Zak.
Or anyone else.
The car stopped.
“All right, Kip. Jade’s house is just down the street. Sorry, man. About making you walk. I’ll make it up to you, all right? You won’t tell your mom or anything, will you?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kip hopped out and started walking. It would probably take him a good fifteen minutes to get there, and he would have to run straight to class to make it in time. But at that moment, he was glad to get out of Zak’s car. Didn’t want to talk about his inability to attract the opposite sex anymore.
“I promise, Kip. I’ll make it up to you. Maybe we can hit a movie or something, yeah? Just me and you.”
Kip couldn’t keep his mouth from rising into a smile. “Yeah? That’d be cool. Street Trash is playing at the Alamo right now. I was wanting to go. Is tonight okay?”
Zak obviously had never heard of the film. Kip liked old corny horror movies as much as he liked his video games and comic books.
“Yeah, sure. See you later, cousin.”
“See you at school, right?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll be there. And, uh… Kip? You think maybe, I mean if I need it or whatever… that you might be able to help me with some things? Homework, studying for tests… that kind of thing?”
Kip’s grin nearly ate his entire face.
“If I need it,” Zak repeated.
“No problem. I’d like that.”
“Cool.”
They stood there for an awkward moment, Kip smiling stupidly at his cousin.
“All right then. See you later,” Zak said, then was off down the road.
Jade Brewster. Wow.
Kip started walking toward school, but his walk became a trot as his excitement burst out of him. It was the first time in a long time that he actually felt like he had a friend.
His zits boiled and vibrated, filling him with ecstasy.
Poor kid.
Zak felt bad for Kip, though he wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to be more like him. Kip had it easy, still the same old kid he always was. Just so goddamn innocent. School was second nature to him. He still found joy in things like super heroes and video games. Zak would give anything to be able to think that way.
But that acne. Jesus…
Zak had never seen anyone with acne that bad before. Each zit was big enough to have its own brain. And they looked painful, like every facial expression must be agonizing. He could tell Kip picks at them too, with all the scars and dark spots on his skin. A few of them had been bleeding, little red beads swelling at the tips.
And Zak could have sworn he saw them move. When Kip was in the passenger seat and Zak was asking him about girls. It was like they were bulging out, almost like they were breathing.
Just the sunlight hitting them weird. That’s all.
And the kid said all the other kids call him Toad. Actually, Jade had told him about it the other day. “You’re Toad’s cousin? Seriously?”
That’s so fucked up. Zak wouldn’t let that shit stand, not while he was around. Kip was a good kid, always had been, and he was the last person that deserved that kind of treatment. He knew every school, every grade, had their Toad. The kid everyone else picked on to make themselves feel better.
But not Kip. Not anymore. They can find someone else.
When he pulled the old Corolla up to Jade’s house, she was leaning against her front door smoking a cigarette. She wore a short black skirt that hung down just above her knees, with white stockings covering her long legs. Curls of smoke billowed from her fat, pink lips. She stomped her cigarette out, then crossed her arms, mashing her breasts together, deepening her light brown cleavage.
Zak’s pulse quickened, but he remained calm. Cool. He had only known this girl for a few days, and though she was definitely hot, he could already tell she had some crazy in her. She reminded Zak of himself, the old Zak anyway, and that scared him.
“What’s up?” she said as she slid into the passenger seat. She leaned over the middle console, both of her tits pressing up against Zak’s forearm. Her lips found his ear, and as she kissed, lightning shot down Zak’s spine. Then she found his mouth with her tongue and his crotch with her hand.
Her caress felt damn good, if not a little rough, but Zak pulled away from her, sort of chuckled. “Whoa. Happy to see me?”
She looked stunned, her mouth hanging open. “What the fuck is your problem, man?”
“What? Just chill out, all right?” Zak tensed up for a minute as she stared him down with venom in her eyes, but then her face softened and she smiled, bit her thumbnails.
This girl is trouble. Big trouble.
“So where we going?” she said, pulling a small bottle of lotion from her purse. She squeezed a worm of the pink stuff into her hand, rubbed her palms together, and released the smell of raspberries into the car. She pulled up her skirt—flashing the crotch of her hot pink panties, her pussy lips chewing on the fabric—rolled her stockings down, and ran her hands across the pale flesh of her legs.