Camaro stared from the front porch at the new neighbors moving in across the street. They appeared to have a son around his age. He made a mental note to do some research on him later. You could never be too careful he thought to himself. That was not paranoia speaking. That was experience. Camaro had far more experience than someone at the age of 17 should.
His cell phone rang causing him to tense slightly. He knew it would be his on again off again girlfriend Harriet. “What an unattractive name” he whispered to himself before answering before she could leave a long message he knew he had no intention of listening to later. Harriet knew this and would quiz him later on what she had said. “Hello.”
“Geez, pretend you’re happy to hear from me!” Harriet shouted from somewhere noisy. “You and I need to have a talk.” Camaro never knew his parents but he figured that this is the type of things they told their children. “Maro, are you there?”
Camaro hated his name. He hated it even more when it was shortened to sound like the soft tissue that occupied the interior of the skeletal system. Marrow. Camaro. One extra syllable did not seem that hard to say. He never called her “Harry” instead of Harriet. Camaro realized that several seconds had passed since she spoke and had to reply.
“Talk about what?” he asked. Camaro rarely spoke which seemed to get him in more trouble than not. He had a tendency to respond to rhetorical questions literally. If you asked him “Is it hot enough for you?” he would in great detail let you know that, yes, it was indeed hot but not hot enough to cause him any discomfort.
“I like your voice” Harriet replied completely ignoring his question. He needed to get off the phone before he went over his minutes. Camaro had a very indistinguishable accent. It was neither foreign nor domestic. It just…was. “I think we need some time apart.” Harriet waited for Camaro to respond. She had been with him for six months. When she first noticed him sitting near the track watching others running she immediately knew she had to have him. Yes, she was already dating Todd Stevens but that was getting her nowhere. Being seen with someone that looked like Camaro would for sure rocket her up the social ladder.
She liked that Camaro seemed mysterious. All of the girls wanted him but were afraid to approach. All of the guys either feared or hated him. There were rumors that he had been expelled from his last school for breaking a teachers arm but Harriet didn’t believe that. She’d never even seen him angry even when they were crossing the street and someone tapped him while they were walking with their bumper. It didn’t knock them over but it did hurt. A large guy jumped from the vehicle and began shouting at them. Harriet was about to start screaming when Camaro stepped forward and stared the guy down. He ran back to his car and peeled off.
Harriet thought that was hot. Little did she know that later that same evening Camaro had found the man and…let’s just say that he’ll never have to worry about finding a parking spot ever again.
“Time apart would be good” Camaro said into the phone and hung up. He could smell the gun oil before he felt the muzzle pressed against the back of his neck. He sighed and turned to face his aunt Stacy. “Good afternoon. Glad to see you decided to wake up. When is dinner?”
“Whenever you pick it up” she said while lighting a cigarette. “Girl trouble again?” she asked. Camaro slid past her and into the small living room. “Listen, Camaro” she began. “I know you want to be normal but you‘re-”
“-‘not like other kids.‘ I’ve heard this a thousand times” he finished. “I have no desire to be like everyone else.”
“You do know that the way you behave attracts women, right?” Camaro raised his eyebrow skeptically at his aunt. “Silent, mysterious, and handsome. You’re what grown women write about to live out their pedophiliac fantasies towards young men. Keep it up and you’ll be a father before graduation.” Stacy paused and inhaled her cigarette before thumping the ash on the porch. Camaro sighed, walked past her again, grabbed a broom, and swept it down the steps. “Are you a virgin?”
“We’re not having this conversation.” Camaro leapt onto the banister, pulled himself up to the slanted roof, and made his way to his bedroom window. He heard his aunt laugh and close the front door. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. “Yes?” Stacy cracked the door open an inch.
“Get some rest” she said. “I’ve already let the school know you wont be in tomorrow. Big job tonight. Don’t forget to oil your guns.”
“Have I ever forgotten to oil my guns?” he asked. Stacy closed the door and Camaro pulled his phone from his pocket, switched it off, and in moments fell into a deep sleep.
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