Harry was sound asleep with a smile on his face when a long, slender tongue began coming down on his ear. The tongue began licking in and around the ear. The smile on Harry’s face disappeared and a look of disgust washed over it. His eyes shot open and Harry pushed himself out of bed and onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” Harry shouted at the woman who had penetrated his ear with her tongue.
“Using a unique way to wake you up,” the woman smiled. “Do you want to go again?” she grinned.
Harry stared at the woman in the bed, trying to remember her name. He then looked over at the clock. “Emily! Yes, that’s it. That’s your name. I would love to…do all that but I’m late for work,” Harry said, telling the truth but it obviously sounded like a lie. Harry stood up and began searching through the mess that was Emily’s floor. She eyed his genitals seductively and licked her lips. Harry noticed and covered himself. “Stop looking at it!”
“You didn’t seem to mind last night when my whole head was in that vicinity,” Emily smiled.
Harry found his clothes and began putting them on. “I had a nice time. I’ll see you around, Emily.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Emily pleaded. “You’re already late for work. What’s another thirty minutes.”
“No, I have to go. See you,” and Harry left Emily’s bedroom.
Emily rolled over on her back and moved her fingers to her crotch. “What if I lick your asshole?” she shouted after him.
It took Harry about ten minutes to get from the dorms where Emily lived at Engel and Irving Hill Road to the Tank N Tummy convenience store at Sixth and Kasold. The Tank N Tummy was your average convenience store selling your common overpriced wares all because the gasoline doesn’t make a profit. Harry parked his Ford Explorer on the west side of the building next to a beat up Toyota Tercel hatchback. The Toyota belonged to Harry’s best friend, Zeke.
Zachary Hollister, or Zeke, which is what he wanted to be called, had been friends with Harry since Kindergarten. Zeke began elementary school as a shy, slightly overweight, red-haired wimp and after high school was an outgoing, slightly overweight, balding wimp. Harry took care of the shy part.
Harry walked into the Tank N Tummy. Zeke was behind the counter restocking the cigarettes. “Zeke, I’m sorry I’m late. I wasn’t sleeping in my own bed, her actually wanting anal sex threw me off and this morning, there was a tongue in my ear,” Harry attempted to explain.
“It’s okay, Harry. You know people just come in to buy coffee, newspapers and cigarettes in the morning. Why are you late?” Zeke asked.
“I met a girl. Her name is Emily. She let me do awful things to her,” Harry said and smiled.
“Oh, you thinking about seeing her again?” Zeke asked.
“Of course not.”
“Why did I think otherwise?”
“Are we still on for tonight?” Harry asked as he grabbed an issue of U.S. News & World Report off the shelf and went behind the counter with Zeke.
“I don’t know about Jason or Dustin but I’m ready,” Zeke said. “I printed off a bunch of stuff about the house and cemetery last night and spent most of last night reading about it. The stories people tell about them are amazing and it would be great if the stories were true.”
Harry began reading his magazine. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Why do we need a reason? We’re doing it to find out if the legends are true. Common sense says they are not but there are some strange things in this world. Plus, it’s a part of our history being in this county,” Zeke exclaimed.
“Eloquently said, Zeke. I’m gonna go get me some Cheez-Its,” Harry left the counter and walked over to the aisle with chips and crackers. Cheez-It was Harry’s only vice and he would go long way for the name brand baked cheese goodness.
“We don’t have any,” Zeke said as they reached the shelves the Cheez-It’s used to be.
“Why not?” Harry asked with anger rising in his voice.
“They weren’t selling so the boss had me not order any this time around. We’ll get more next week.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Harry complained.
“Oh, calm down. There’s still a box of Cheesie Bits down there,” Zeke pointed.
“You know damn well they are not the same thing!”
“Oh, here we go,” Zeke rolled his eyes.
“Cheez-It, produced by the Sunshine Biscuit Company—now a property of the Kellogg Company—have been the premier baked cheese snack cracker since 1921 and while Nabisco’s Kraft Cheese Nips come close and have, admittedly, more cheese flavor, Cheez-It are the go-to cracker for both cheese and salt,” Harry illuminated.
“I know. You’ve told me,” Zeke complained.
“Remember when we ran out of gummi worms and I told you to just eat gummi bears?”
“Well, gummi bears are just plain disgusting,” Zeke made a face.
“Well, so are generic baked cheese crackers,” Harry sighed and went back to his magazine behind the counter.
Someone came into the store and headed over to the coffee station. Zeke sat down on a stool with the local paper and began reading. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Harry asked.
“Miyoki died,” Zeke said and showed Harry the obituary in the paper. The picture accompanying the obit was Miyoki’s senior high school picture, Zeke recognized.
Harry read the obit. “Wow…” he said. “I wonder what she died from.”
“It doesn’t say but she was in San Francisco. I should call her parents,” Zeke said.
“Are they parents that still like you?”
“All my former girlfriend’s parents still like me,” Zeke said.
“You just keep telling yourself that,” Harry shook his head.
“Miyoki was my first,” Zeke said solemnly. “I can still remember how it felt.”
“I don’t need any details.”
“Who was your first time?” Zeke asked Harry.
“Your mom. Why don’t you call Miyoki’s parents now?” Harry said and scooted the magazine over when the customer finished at the coffee station and came up to the counter.
“How come you don’t have any of that flavored coffee that those big chain store have?” the customer said.
“What? You mean like Starbucks?” Harry asked.
“Yeah. I love their coffee,” the customer said.
“I do too. $2.35,” Harry said.
“I drink your coffee because it’s cheap,” the customer chuckled.
“Yeah…” Harry hated talking to the customers.
“You should put out some chocolate syrup and whipped cream for people to put in with their coffee,” the customer suggested.
“Then we’d have to charge a lot more than $2.35 for it,” Harry faked a laugh and smiled big.
The customer laughed too. “Yeah, I guess so.” The customer headed out the door. “Have a good day!” he shouted.
“You, too!” Harry shouted back then angrily went back to his magazine. Zeke returned and sat back down on his stool. “You get a hold of Miyoki’s parents?”
“Yeah,” Zeke answered.
“How’d she die?”
“She was in San Francisco—she moved there for school—and she was riding the Golden Gate Transit, a public transportation bus, and she saw someone she knew and wanted to get their attention so she opened the window and stuck her body halfway out. The bus makes a sharp turn and she hits a light post, cracking her skull and snapping her back,” Zeke said.
“Ew. That’s graphic,” Harry said. Harry thought for a second and began chuckling. “’Stuck her body halfway out’? I can actually see her hanging out of the bus window, flailing her arms and screaming. It’s kind of funny.”
“A girl died Harry. A girl we both knew and went to school with,” Zeke said. “It’s not funny, it’s tragic.”
“Oh, quit being overly sensitive. You acted the same way when that football player died in our senior year.”
“It’s sad when people that young die!” Zeke exclaimed.
“It’s sad when they have a disease. It’s sad when they are in a car accident. The football guy was drunk. His blood alcohol level was 0.22 which is almost three times over the legal limit. He’s lucky he didn’t hurt or kill another person,” Harry pointed out. “I’m sick of him being made out to be a martyr.”
“Jeez, calm down. You’d feel differently if it were you.”
“I already told my mom not to make me out to be a hero if my death is my fault,” Harry went back to his magazine.
“That’s a nice mother-son conversation,” Zeke said.
