If I Should Fall: The Second Book of Geshichte Falls

LIFE AT SAINT ALBANS

CONTINUED

Cecelia

you’re breaking my heart

you’re shaking my confidence, daily

Oh Cecelia

I’m down on my knees

I’m begging you please to come home!

 

 “Turn that shit up!” Flipper Sanders roared as he entered Ross’s room.

 

Jubilation

I’m down on my knees

I fall on the floor and I’m laughing

Jubilation

I fall on my knees and I’m laughing...

    

Then Money Carroll came up the stairs and roared, “Bitch, didn’t you hear me banging on your floor?”

“Yeah?” Ross  said, nonplussed.

“Then get your ass down here and have a drink with me.”

She looked at the black haired elfin figure beside Ross and said, “Flipper can come too.”

“We’re studying for a human service exam,” Money informed Ross, passing him the bottle. The liquor burned his throat. He passed it to Flipper. The blacklight made it impossible to see the bottle or much else and the Grateful Dead sand in the background.

Flipper and Ross had been in Money Carroll’s room, doing shots with her and her roommate about a half hour when Coral Richards moaned, “What the hell are you doing?” as he came in.

“We’re studying,” Money told her.

“Well, I’m trying to have sex, so keep it down,” she said, turning around and walking out of the room.

“Pay her no attention,” said Money. “She’s completely dressed.”

“That wouldn’t stop Coral,” said Flipper.

“I want you to know,” Money told Ross, “that I really admire you. And I’m not saying that just because I’m ripped... Even though I am. I want you to have something.”

“Your virginity?” Flipper interjected.

“No,” Money stood up and went to her dresser. “I misplaced that a long time ago. I think it’s in Louisiana.”

She rummaged through her drawers and came out holding a white tee shirt with a basketball on it.

“Cool people never leave my room without presents. You must have this,” she folded it and handed the tee shirt reverently to Ross, then kissed him on the head. She inhaled from Marianne’s joint, blew some in Ross’s face and said, “Now you are blessed, my child.”

Just then Macy Mc.Llarchlahn came into the room behind Jimmy Nespres and said, “Ross, we’ve been looking all over for you. Are you ready to go to the train station?”

“Are you all leaving early for Christmas?” Money looked anxious.

“No, we’re going to get our cousin and Ross’s really hot friend,” Jimmy said. “We’re bring’em back here for a few days.”

“Great,” said Money, “when you all get back, bring them here so they can help us study.”

“I am so excited,” Jimmy said as they drove in Macy’s Escort toward the train station.

“I don’t know why,” Macy replied, turning on Denham Road. “It’s not like she’s going to fuck you.”

“You never know, Macy,” said Jimmy, who had been mooning over the photographs on Ross’s wall of Anigel Reyes.

“No,” Ross agreed, “But I know. You can just put that idea out of your head.”

“I hope we’re not late,” said Macy.

But there was no train at the little station when they got there right before midnight, and no one was waiting on the platform for them.

It was about ten minutes before the train rolled into Walter Michigan, and Ross and his friends got out of the car to meet it. Only two people got off of the train that was speeding away into the night now. This was only Walter, after all, and Ross threw his arms about Anigel while the three cousins stared at each other.

“We didn’t know you’d be coming until last night,” Jimmy told Russell.

“I didn’t know you guys would meet us at the station,” Russell said.

“Take the last train to Clarksville and I’ll meet you at the station!” Macy sang in her crow’s voice.

“Don’;t quit your day job,” Ross told her.

“How bout you shut the fuck up?” Macy suggested.

Russell said, “Jimmy, Macy, meet Anigel Reyes.”

Anigel shook Macy’s hand first because she hated pretty women who ignored other women and jumped to men first, and Anigel was coming to terms with the fact that she was a pretty woman. Jimmy only nodded and blushed and bobbed his head in Anigel’s presence, and she knew why.

“Now, we’ve got a party to get back to guys,” Ross was telling Anigel and Russell as he threw their bags into the Escort’s trunk.

“How did you get Cousin Patti to let you come here?” Macy wondered.

“I didn’t,” Russell explained. “Anigel did.”

“You’re good,” Jimmy said to her, eyes glowing with admiration

“My name’s Money Carroll,” the round faced white girl with dreadlocks and mascaraed eyes open in permanent shock said, “and I’m a human service’s major.”

“Actually,” her roommate said, “her name is Agnes—which is why she calls herself Money, I mean, wouldn’t you. And I’m Marianne Mahoney. I’m not really Irish, and I’m definitely not Catholic. I’m a poli-sci major.”

“Flipper Sanders—”

“Richard actually,” said Coral.

Flipper shrugged, “I used to be a phys ed major and a football player believe it or not—”

“But now he’s a bisexual and a music major,” Coral said.

Anigel shook Flipper’s hand and she asked, “How do you major in bisexuality?”

“Practice.”

“You’ll have to show me sometime.”

“I like you,” Flipper decided.

And Russell decided he liked Flipper. He was odd, like Cody, with heavy black lashes that almost covered his dark eyes, but Russell was too nervous to speak to him so he said:

“And you?” to Coral, who was nearly a foot shorter than him.

“I, young one, am Coral Richards.”

“What’s your interest?” Anigel.

“Fucking people. But my major’s English Lit.”

At about three in the morning Ross stretched, put out his cigar and announced he was going to bed.

It was decided Anigel would stay in Ross’s room. She’d have the twin bed and Ross would take the chair, while Russell stayed in Jimmy’s room. Jimmy said the door was open, and then continued to hit on Marianne Mahoney. Russell nodded to his cousin and went up the stairs after Ross and Anigel.

In Ross’s room, they undressed backs to each other, and then Anigel said, “Is it alright to turn around?” Ross replied that it was, and in pajama pants and tee shirts they faced each other. Ross, taking out his cigars, Anigel her cigarettes.

“I’m not really sleepy,” she said, reaching under her tee shirt to unhook her bra and pulling it out.

“That is so cool,” Ross remarked, and then said, “Neither am I.”

“Then why—”

“Russell was, and he’d never go to bed unless we did. It has been a long day,” Ross told her.

“True enough,” she agreed. “So are midterms always like this?”

“Most days in Abelard Hall are like this. It’s a senior dorm. We don’t have security. Every now and then you can catch Coral walking down the hall with her bong.”

“The cute guy…?” started Anigel.

“Flipper?” Ross guessed.

“Yeah? Is he really bi?”

“Pretty much. His boyfriend stops by regularly. Really nice guy, too.”

“That so screws up my night,” Anigel said, climbing into bed with the ashtray Money had donated.

“Well, he is bi, so you’re still on the table.”

“I wish he’d put me on a table,” Anigel remarked.

Ross was saying, “He’s bi, he’s white and he’s got a man? No way in hell. That’s some shit Meredith would try.”

“How is Meredith?”

“Damned if I know,” Anigel said. “Damned if I care. And we were pretty much best friends in high school. It’s like she just dropped off the face of the earth.”

“She was so thing. Maybe she finally slid down a drain while bathing.”

Anigel snorted smoke out of her nostrils at the image, and so did Ross.

They heard a loud shout.

“What the fuck was that?” Anigel’s eyes rolled like a horse’s.

“Best to ignore it.”

“I’d agree if Russell was with us, but we don’t know what the hell’s going on in this crazy house.”

“If Russell’s in danger,” Ross assured his friend, “we’ll know.”

A shaft of fluorescent light from the hallway slid into the darkness of the small dorm room and woke Russell. The church bell over Abelard Hall rung twice in the night.

“Shut the door,” Jimmy whispered, half laughing. “You’ll wake my cousin.”

“Is it alright?” Russell heard Marianne Mahoney’s voice as the door closed.

Jimmy shifted his gaze to Russell who seemed to be sleeping on the other mattress and Russell, by instinct, shut his eyes tight.

“Yeah,” said Jimmy. “He’s asleep.”

“Jimmy,” said Marianne. Then, “Jimmy!” she pleaded. Then, “Get a condom. Get a condom,” she begged.

On his mattress, Russell went hot. His mouth went dry.

“Hold on,” Jimmy said. Russell shut his eyes tighter.

“Let me put it on,” he heard Marianne say. “Let me.”

And then, with rare prescience, Russell realized that if he didn’t look now, he’d always wonder. The debate in his head over was it right to watch his cousin copulating only lasted a second. If it wasn’t right he could repent. He had a strong sense that it wasn’t right. He had a strong sense he’d never repent.

He’d seen this before, earlier this year at the very party where he’d met Anigel. His own Jason had made Ralph Balusik watch him have sex. He watched now, in the half darkness. Marianne laughing, his cousin chuckling, but walking strangely with his boxers around his knees and his pants down, carrying her. Chuckling, nuzzling her. Did Ralph do it like this, or was Ralph too young? Did Ralph even know what he was doing? Ralph had not only been with Vanessa, he’d had sex with Cody too. Why was he even thinking of Ralph? Russell was getting hard.

Jimmy lowered Marianne to the mattress. She shrieked out a laugh. Jimmy clapped a hand over her mouth and looked in Russell’s direction. Russell half shut his eyes and feigned sleep. Through his eyelashes he saw Jimmy slide inside her. Marianne’s hands went under Jimmy’s shirt, to caress his back, presumably to caress his ass under the shirt tail.

Russell watched his cousin fuck Marianne Mahoney, slower, getting quicker and quicker, Marianne letting out gasp, Jimmy remembering to put a hand over her mouth. Now that they were into it, Russell turned on his side to watch fully. Jimmy’s face, lips parted, wings of his hair flopping, raised his face to the ceiling,  transfixed by pleasure Russell’s mouth dried in sympathy for, his own boy unconsciously pumping air as his cousin’s speed increased and the bed creaked frantically. Last time he’d seen Jimmy with a girl had been at Jackie’s wedding, and sex had been a great question mark to Russell. Now he knew it, was part of that secret club and he almost let out a cry when Jimmy stifled a scream and turned his head to the wall, groaning, his body arched as the bed settled with a thumb and ceased its squeaking.

Russell turned away now, hot, but not quite embarassed. He heard Jimmy and Marianne whispering, the bed sighing as they rose. Jimmy walked across the room to the trash can. A few seconds later he was opening the door. Weak white light came in. They left and a minute later, Jimmy returned alone. He heard Jimmy strip down and crawl into bed.

“Goodnight ceiling,” he heard Jimmy whisper. “Goodnight wall.”

The church bells rang.

“Night bells.”

Then he whispered affectionately to the cousin he thought was sleeping, “Goodnight, Russ.”