Categories > Celebrities > Metallica > Begging For Monday
1981
Nadia hastily scribbled the last paragraph of her book review. She had spent the whole morning writing it, and though she wasn't completely satisfied with the result, she just wanted to be over with it.
The blonde girl was pretty sure that Hugh and James wouldn't care about the quality of the paper; it was past lunchtime, and they still hadn't shown their faces. Not that she minded; after what had happened the day before, Nadia would have been happier without seeing the two boys anymore in her life.
She had struggled to keep her voice steady when her parents had called her in the evening after the party. She had never lied to them before, but there was no way she could have told them the truth; fortunately, the morning call went a little better; she was reasonably certain they didn't spot her distress. Even Mrs. Weir phoned her to inform her she couldn't come visit as she was suffering from an excruciating headache; the woman had the suspicion that some event that had happened on Saturday was the cause of it, but she couldn't recollect anything from the afternoon onwards. Nadia wished her well and silently thanked God for her lack of memory.
The bell rang, and rang, and rang, like someone got their finger stuck on the button. Nadia groaned and went to open the door; she was greeted by Hugh's sardonic smile and James's indifferent expression.
“Hello darling, why the sour face? Aren't you happy to see us?”
Nadia scowled, not even bothering to hide her bitterness. “No. Get in and let's make this quick.”
“Oh, c'mon, don't you want this to last? It would be a real pity to finish too soon.” Hugh whispered in a husky voice, caressing Nadia's arm.
She briskly moved away, hissing “Don't touch me!” at the boy. Nadia clenched her fists and ground her teeth; the vivid memory of going into her parents' bedroom and discovering the messy, dirty sheets filled her with disgust. She had gathered all her strength and willpower not to throw up while changing them.
“So sullen and standoffish. Are you like that with every man?” Hugh grinned. “I was so inconsiderate yesterday, I neglected the bed that may need more action.”
“Stop it. Now.” Nadia growled, red in the face, glaring at Hugh.
“I know you have all these 'feeling' and 'sensations' you can't control, but you're too afraid to act on them. Tell me, sugarplum, what makes you sleep at night?” the boy kept teasing.
Nadia's expression changed from irate to contemptuous. “You think you know everything, don't you?” she sneered. ”You make lots of assumptions. You really shouldn't.”
She had had a boyfriend once, at summer camp; the first and so far the only boy who had showed any interest in her. A boy her age who had treated her like he was doing her a favour and she should be grateful he had deemed her worthy of his attention. She had catered to his every need, kissed the ground he walked on, until she had realised it was corroding her on the inside and broke up with him. He had taken it as an affront, an act of haughtiness from her part.
“I bet you can't wait to be a rockstar, surrounded by a crowd of adoring fans, crawling at your feet and longing for your awesomeness.” She said, openly mocking the boy. “Girls who feel honoured to have the privilege of giving you a blowjob. And convince themselves and other people what an epic romance those thirty seconds were.”
Hugh was mildly shocked, even though he tried not to give it away. For the first time, Nadia was facing him with resoluteness, without panicking hysterically or throwing hissy fits. He could see the change in her stance, feel it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice. Maybe he had pushed her too far.
“I'm impressed, you know what a blowjob is. Good girl.” He responded.
“Can we just start doing the review?” James interceded. “We don't have much time left.”
“I've done it this morning.” Nadia said, waving the paper in front of him. “You can copy it and leave.”
“Now, wait a minute, let me check it first.” Hugh took the paper and quickly read it, shaking his head. “This is a C+ at best. It's unacceptable, we have to rewrite it from the beginning.”
“It's a passing grade, isn't it enough?” Nadia asked.
“I'm surprised it's enough for you. English is really not your subject, uh?”
The girl shrugged. “I'm much better at Math; as long as I have a B average in English, my parents are content.”
“Well, I have A average, and I'm not willing to accept anything less. It's a matter of pride.”
“Somehow, I find it hard to believe.”
“You know what teachers always say about me? That I'm brilliant, but need to be more disciplined.” Hugh explained. “I'm good with words, and I'm good at finding out what teachers like to ear, and give it to them. I can write or talk about topics I know almost nothing about and still give the impression I'm an expert.”
“That's true, he does.” confirmed James.
The tree kids sat down at the table and for the following three hours concentrated completely on the book review, guided by Hugh. Nadia reluctantly had to admit that the final result was excellent, way above her expectations.
“What did I tell you? This is an impeccable book review. I'm not only good at tormenting scrawny blonde girls.”
“I guess.” Nadia murmured. “Well, you can leave now. See you on Monday.”
“Slow down, girlie, I've got a little reward for the tree of us.” Hugh said. “you know, for such a well done job.”
Nadia narrowed her eyes; the humiliation and the shame she had felt the day before still stung her. She didn't want the two boys around, she didn't trust them and certainly wasn't looking after any kind of reward from Hugh.
“Let's just go, we don't need to waste the rest of our afternoon here.” said James.
“Yeah, I'm sure you have better things to do, don't you?”
Hugh silenced them with a gesture. “Hush, both of you. I have something you guys need to try.”
He took out of the pocket two of his jacket two hand-rolled cigarettes. Nadia thought they looked weird.
“I don't smoke cigarettes, they're bad for your health.” she said.
“But these are not regular cigarettes.” He grinned.
“Oh no, I certainly don't smoke marijuana!” Nadia squealed. “First you get me drunk, now you want to get me stoned, what do you...”
“Smoke these with me and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the year.” Hugh interrupted her.
Nadia didn't reply immediately, pondering the pros and cons. “Is that a promise?” she asked, still uncertain.
“I swear on my balls, may them drop on the floor if I won't be true.”
James groaned in frustration. “Do we really have to do this?”
“Why, yes, my friend. It's time for you to smoke your first joint, don't you think?”
Hugh grabbed a bottle of water -to hinder the dry mouth effect, he said- and told James and Nadia to sit on the carpet.
“Suck the smoke and let it fill your mouth.” he instructed them, “Inhale slowly, count to three, and exhale slowly.”
Hugh lit the joint and took a drag, then passed it to James, who did the same. Nadia held the cigarette between her thumb and index finger and stared at it, unsure whether she really wanted to smoke it or not.
“Remember our deal, blondie.” Hugh said, as he noticed her indecision. The girl put the joint to her lips and inhaled.
James laid his forehead on the wall, trying to calm down get a grip of himself. Wasn't that shit supposed to mellow you out? There must have been something wrong with Hugh's stash, James thought, because all he could feel was an increasing, crushing anxiety. He looked at his friend, slouched on the sofa, smoking the second joint in complete relax.
Fucking bastard. He cursed him. What was he supposed to do now? Wait for the effects to go away? How long would it take?
James inspired and expired deeply and carefully to avoid panicking. He decided to go to the bathroom and splash some cold water on his face, hoping it could help him.
He opened the door and saw Nadia down on her knees on the bathroom floor; her hands were clenching her hair so close to the skull he was afraid she would rip it off. Clearly, she was experiencing some pretty bad negative side effects like him.
James approached her slowly and gently grabbed her wrists to make her loosen her grip. Nadia stared at him with her eyes wide open.
“What if nothing changes? What if the problem is me?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I'm a loser.” She cried. “I've always been and I'll always be.”
James clamped his mouth. Here he was, experiencing the worst anxiety attack of his life and trying to comfort a chick who was losing her mind. He didn't need that shit. He seriously didn't need that shit in that moment and was half tempted to knock her out.
“Listen, this is really not the time to freak out, ok?” he scolded her, but she didn't seem to be listening.
“You can run. How long can you run? How long do you have to keep going?”
“Stop it!” he shouted, violently shaking the girl.
“Don't you get it? You can't stop, you can never stop!” she screamed at him. “It will catch you again, whatever you thought you had left behind, it will grab you and drag you down again.” Nadia pushed James away and scratched her face with her short nails. “I can't do this, I can't.”
James was really on the verge of hitting her. Here's what happens when you open the can of worms, when you lift the lid that cover the boiling pit and let everything spill out. You make a disgusting mess all around you.
He clamped his jaw shut. There was no point in talking, not now, not ever. He felt the need, from time to time, but ultimately restrained himself. Nothing good ever comes out of it. You could blurt out your shit like Nadia was doing, and then what? He didn't know how to help her, he had no way to. That's why he never spent too much time alone with his thoughts; some things were better left ignored, buried deep inside.
“I was eight, and this kids at school always taunted me. One day, at lunch, they ran after me with a Sharpie. When they cornered me, one of them... one of them drew some obscene things on my face as the others kept me still. I screamed and screamed, but nobody came. It was a permanent marker. It took three days to fade away.”she sobbed. “When they let me go, I was so furious I punched on the nose the kid who doodled my face. I made him bleed. I was so proud of myself.”
“Stop it.” James hissed.
“I was punished by the school authorities an shunned by the other kids.” Nadia burst into tears.
James knew he couldn't just walk away and leave her like that; he had to find a way put a stop to her emotional outburst.
“It will be better.” He replied, grabbing her face, making her stare at him.
“You don't know that.”
“Neither do you.”
They lied on the floor, both exhausted and worn out, waiting for the effects of the drug to finally wear off. Nadia cast a glance out of the window and noticed that the sun was going down.
“It's late. We need to straighten up before mom and dad come home.”
“You should try to get in trouble with them for once, it may do you good.”
“Do your parents agree with this line of thought?”
James didn't answer and let the cold of the tiles penetrate his body.
THE END
Author's Notes: Since I'm bad at writing captivating summaries, I've stolen a few lines from some songs:
chapter 1: well, this line actually comes from the movie “Young Frankenstein”, chapter 2: Iggy & The Stooges – I'm Sick of You, chapter 3: Velvet Underground - Beginning to See the Light, chapter 4: Lubricated Goat – Jason the Unpopular, chapter 5: Acid King – Electric Machine, chapter 6: Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell
Praises, critics, insults for my feeble grasp over the English language? Write me a comment.
Nadia hastily scribbled the last paragraph of her book review. She had spent the whole morning writing it, and though she wasn't completely satisfied with the result, she just wanted to be over with it.
The blonde girl was pretty sure that Hugh and James wouldn't care about the quality of the paper; it was past lunchtime, and they still hadn't shown their faces. Not that she minded; after what had happened the day before, Nadia would have been happier without seeing the two boys anymore in her life.
She had struggled to keep her voice steady when her parents had called her in the evening after the party. She had never lied to them before, but there was no way she could have told them the truth; fortunately, the morning call went a little better; she was reasonably certain they didn't spot her distress. Even Mrs. Weir phoned her to inform her she couldn't come visit as she was suffering from an excruciating headache; the woman had the suspicion that some event that had happened on Saturday was the cause of it, but she couldn't recollect anything from the afternoon onwards. Nadia wished her well and silently thanked God for her lack of memory.
The bell rang, and rang, and rang, like someone got their finger stuck on the button. Nadia groaned and went to open the door; she was greeted by Hugh's sardonic smile and James's indifferent expression.
“Hello darling, why the sour face? Aren't you happy to see us?”
Nadia scowled, not even bothering to hide her bitterness. “No. Get in and let's make this quick.”
“Oh, c'mon, don't you want this to last? It would be a real pity to finish too soon.” Hugh whispered in a husky voice, caressing Nadia's arm.
She briskly moved away, hissing “Don't touch me!” at the boy. Nadia clenched her fists and ground her teeth; the vivid memory of going into her parents' bedroom and discovering the messy, dirty sheets filled her with disgust. She had gathered all her strength and willpower not to throw up while changing them.
“So sullen and standoffish. Are you like that with every man?” Hugh grinned. “I was so inconsiderate yesterday, I neglected the bed that may need more action.”
“Stop it. Now.” Nadia growled, red in the face, glaring at Hugh.
“I know you have all these 'feeling' and 'sensations' you can't control, but you're too afraid to act on them. Tell me, sugarplum, what makes you sleep at night?” the boy kept teasing.
Nadia's expression changed from irate to contemptuous. “You think you know everything, don't you?” she sneered. ”You make lots of assumptions. You really shouldn't.”
She had had a boyfriend once, at summer camp; the first and so far the only boy who had showed any interest in her. A boy her age who had treated her like he was doing her a favour and she should be grateful he had deemed her worthy of his attention. She had catered to his every need, kissed the ground he walked on, until she had realised it was corroding her on the inside and broke up with him. He had taken it as an affront, an act of haughtiness from her part.
“I bet you can't wait to be a rockstar, surrounded by a crowd of adoring fans, crawling at your feet and longing for your awesomeness.” She said, openly mocking the boy. “Girls who feel honoured to have the privilege of giving you a blowjob. And convince themselves and other people what an epic romance those thirty seconds were.”
Hugh was mildly shocked, even though he tried not to give it away. For the first time, Nadia was facing him with resoluteness, without panicking hysterically or throwing hissy fits. He could see the change in her stance, feel it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice. Maybe he had pushed her too far.
“I'm impressed, you know what a blowjob is. Good girl.” He responded.
“Can we just start doing the review?” James interceded. “We don't have much time left.”
“I've done it this morning.” Nadia said, waving the paper in front of him. “You can copy it and leave.”
“Now, wait a minute, let me check it first.” Hugh took the paper and quickly read it, shaking his head. “This is a C+ at best. It's unacceptable, we have to rewrite it from the beginning.”
“It's a passing grade, isn't it enough?” Nadia asked.
“I'm surprised it's enough for you. English is really not your subject, uh?”
The girl shrugged. “I'm much better at Math; as long as I have a B average in English, my parents are content.”
“Well, I have A average, and I'm not willing to accept anything less. It's a matter of pride.”
“Somehow, I find it hard to believe.”
“You know what teachers always say about me? That I'm brilliant, but need to be more disciplined.” Hugh explained. “I'm good with words, and I'm good at finding out what teachers like to ear, and give it to them. I can write or talk about topics I know almost nothing about and still give the impression I'm an expert.”
“That's true, he does.” confirmed James.
The tree kids sat down at the table and for the following three hours concentrated completely on the book review, guided by Hugh. Nadia reluctantly had to admit that the final result was excellent, way above her expectations.
“What did I tell you? This is an impeccable book review. I'm not only good at tormenting scrawny blonde girls.”
“I guess.” Nadia murmured. “Well, you can leave now. See you on Monday.”
“Slow down, girlie, I've got a little reward for the tree of us.” Hugh said. “you know, for such a well done job.”
Nadia narrowed her eyes; the humiliation and the shame she had felt the day before still stung her. She didn't want the two boys around, she didn't trust them and certainly wasn't looking after any kind of reward from Hugh.
“Let's just go, we don't need to waste the rest of our afternoon here.” said James.
“Yeah, I'm sure you have better things to do, don't you?”
Hugh silenced them with a gesture. “Hush, both of you. I have something you guys need to try.”
He took out of the pocket two of his jacket two hand-rolled cigarettes. Nadia thought they looked weird.
“I don't smoke cigarettes, they're bad for your health.” she said.
“But these are not regular cigarettes.” He grinned.
“Oh no, I certainly don't smoke marijuana!” Nadia squealed. “First you get me drunk, now you want to get me stoned, what do you...”
“Smoke these with me and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the year.” Hugh interrupted her.
Nadia didn't reply immediately, pondering the pros and cons. “Is that a promise?” she asked, still uncertain.
“I swear on my balls, may them drop on the floor if I won't be true.”
James groaned in frustration. “Do we really have to do this?”
“Why, yes, my friend. It's time for you to smoke your first joint, don't you think?”
Hugh grabbed a bottle of water -to hinder the dry mouth effect, he said- and told James and Nadia to sit on the carpet.
“Suck the smoke and let it fill your mouth.” he instructed them, “Inhale slowly, count to three, and exhale slowly.”
Hugh lit the joint and took a drag, then passed it to James, who did the same. Nadia held the cigarette between her thumb and index finger and stared at it, unsure whether she really wanted to smoke it or not.
“Remember our deal, blondie.” Hugh said, as he noticed her indecision. The girl put the joint to her lips and inhaled.
James laid his forehead on the wall, trying to calm down get a grip of himself. Wasn't that shit supposed to mellow you out? There must have been something wrong with Hugh's stash, James thought, because all he could feel was an increasing, crushing anxiety. He looked at his friend, slouched on the sofa, smoking the second joint in complete relax.
Fucking bastard. He cursed him. What was he supposed to do now? Wait for the effects to go away? How long would it take?
James inspired and expired deeply and carefully to avoid panicking. He decided to go to the bathroom and splash some cold water on his face, hoping it could help him.
He opened the door and saw Nadia down on her knees on the bathroom floor; her hands were clenching her hair so close to the skull he was afraid she would rip it off. Clearly, she was experiencing some pretty bad negative side effects like him.
James approached her slowly and gently grabbed her wrists to make her loosen her grip. Nadia stared at him with her eyes wide open.
“What if nothing changes? What if the problem is me?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I'm a loser.” She cried. “I've always been and I'll always be.”
James clamped his mouth. Here he was, experiencing the worst anxiety attack of his life and trying to comfort a chick who was losing her mind. He didn't need that shit. He seriously didn't need that shit in that moment and was half tempted to knock her out.
“Listen, this is really not the time to freak out, ok?” he scolded her, but she didn't seem to be listening.
“You can run. How long can you run? How long do you have to keep going?”
“Stop it!” he shouted, violently shaking the girl.
“Don't you get it? You can't stop, you can never stop!” she screamed at him. “It will catch you again, whatever you thought you had left behind, it will grab you and drag you down again.” Nadia pushed James away and scratched her face with her short nails. “I can't do this, I can't.”
James was really on the verge of hitting her. Here's what happens when you open the can of worms, when you lift the lid that cover the boiling pit and let everything spill out. You make a disgusting mess all around you.
He clamped his jaw shut. There was no point in talking, not now, not ever. He felt the need, from time to time, but ultimately restrained himself. Nothing good ever comes out of it. You could blurt out your shit like Nadia was doing, and then what? He didn't know how to help her, he had no way to. That's why he never spent too much time alone with his thoughts; some things were better left ignored, buried deep inside.
“I was eight, and this kids at school always taunted me. One day, at lunch, they ran after me with a Sharpie. When they cornered me, one of them... one of them drew some obscene things on my face as the others kept me still. I screamed and screamed, but nobody came. It was a permanent marker. It took three days to fade away.”she sobbed. “When they let me go, I was so furious I punched on the nose the kid who doodled my face. I made him bleed. I was so proud of myself.”
“Stop it.” James hissed.
“I was punished by the school authorities an shunned by the other kids.” Nadia burst into tears.
James knew he couldn't just walk away and leave her like that; he had to find a way put a stop to her emotional outburst.
“It will be better.” He replied, grabbing her face, making her stare at him.
“You don't know that.”
“Neither do you.”
They lied on the floor, both exhausted and worn out, waiting for the effects of the drug to finally wear off. Nadia cast a glance out of the window and noticed that the sun was going down.
“It's late. We need to straighten up before mom and dad come home.”
“You should try to get in trouble with them for once, it may do you good.”
“Do your parents agree with this line of thought?”
James didn't answer and let the cold of the tiles penetrate his body.
THE END
Author's Notes: Since I'm bad at writing captivating summaries, I've stolen a few lines from some songs:
chapter 1: well, this line actually comes from the movie “Young Frankenstein”, chapter 2: Iggy & The Stooges – I'm Sick of You, chapter 3: Velvet Underground - Beginning to See the Light, chapter 4: Lubricated Goat – Jason the Unpopular, chapter 5: Acid King – Electric Machine, chapter 6: Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell
Praises, critics, insults for my feeble grasp over the English language? Write me a comment.
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